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Dear Mr. Tech CEO:

This letter is to invite you to come look at Louisiana for your business. We've heard various rumors that some of you guys are doing location shopping. Hopefully, y'all will find this state as, tech-friendly as any other.

We've read that y'all are getting quite a few letters from various regions throughout the country as of late. Everyone seems to be touting themselves as the next "Silicon Savior." While we're sure each of those enticements is well-intended, we know you'll find us highly competitive.

We've got a bunch of positives, and some negatives, too. So, before we chomp on those pluses, let's get the bad stuff out of the way.

Our public school, system is one of the best of all "third-world" nations. But, we promise, that's beginning to change. We're doing our best to attract dedicated and quality teachers into our classes by getting gamblers to pony up more at the tables. We may even start a statewide campaign giving silver dollars for A's. After all, we know how important schools are to your upwardly mobile employees.

Perhaps it's true we lack a strong technology work force. But you have to start somewhere. Plus, one of the beauties of the Internet is that if you can't find employees or contractors within the state, you can get quality help online from India and even Russia. Anyway, things are, definitely changing in this area--as we'll discuss later.

Big deal. We don't have any Worldcoms or Dells or Compaqs like our neighbors? That's why I'm writing you this letter. Look. Didn't Boeing fly off to Chicago? I think you'll soon be surprised at some big names that will be looking our way.

Politics? So we've' got the rap, of playing with a "greasy palm." But look here, unless you've been, dead as of late, we're ready to open a Louisiana wing at one of those federal clubhouses. Already got a name: The "Pelican Hall of Shame." But that's actually a positive. More fear of getting fried means less playing chicken with the rules:

Now, let's turn to the positives. We've got cheap--cheap land, utilities, beer, cost of living and other amenities. That's because we've been depressed for so long. But then again, our gas prices aren't burning holes in our pockets. To be blunt, I doubt you'll see one of those rolling brownouts or blackouts down here. Try keeping your business open in the dark. All those BMWs and "stock options" you get up there don't mean beans if you can't see, or if it's too hot, or if the traffic lights are out.

Here's where we're very competitive: We've got miles an miles of brown fiber along our highways and railroad tracks and servitudes that allow for high-speed Internet. And we're trying our best to convert most of our big population areas into cybertowns.

That's where ole Billy Tauzin comes in. You know, our Cajun is top dog of the House Commerce d Energy Committee. He's got a keen interest in making those telephone companies reach out and touch the outlying cities with broadband and with long distance.

Even though our governor is no geek himself, he has hired hot shots to handle economic development and technology. He just sighed a law that puts the Department of Economic Development on steroids. That means we can start hiring "high-paying" types from the private sector who know their end of the business instead of some classified civil servant. Some lucky one might ma e $125,000-plus, one GLAMOROUS JOB

We've also hired of those chief information officers. While some of those heads of government agencies aren't too pleased with losing power to a 30-somethin' techie making a bundle of money, at least we ha e someone who can speak G+ and UNIX.

To show how much we mean business, even the head of technology now have press secretaries--both the chief of economic development and the new CIO. That mea s there will be plenty of good news stories hitting the likes of Yahoo and Fast Company.

And it's not as if we've been sitting here without any would cards. We're launching a. major tech park in Baton I Rouge, which include a dot-coin incubator, data center and commercial area We even have specialists from throughout the nation helping us raise some dough and giving us advice. Plus, the University of New Orleans Technology Park is growing so much it might just spill out into the adjacent Lake Pontchartrain.

There's also word that at Exodus Communications will be setting up a major data center in Lafayette with government help. Doesn't matter if there's a bunch of competition. If Exodus is willing to pony up with big bucks in this state, doesn't that speck volumes?

By the way, have you read Louisiana has pole-vaulted from 46th to 18th in one of those highly recognized national surveys measuring electronic government? This was done all in one year. Pretty soon, we'll crack the top 10 and our man Foster will be coach of the year.

Another biggie is that our technology community is really getting connected, electronically. We know each other, and even argue and curse each other online. That means we're creating the infrastructure of a pro-technology political force.

Then, of course, there's New Orleans. Despite its award for most pot holes per capita, it's still the queen city of intrigue. There's a growth spurt in the downtown and warehouse districts--with condos and apartments and coffee shops and the French Quarter. They're even trying to add on again to the convention center. If so, it will probably start at Canal Street and end in Minnesota--up the river somewhere. Why is that important? Because they can attract all those techie conventions to town, which means if they play their cards right, some of those visiting companies might want to stay a spell. After all, those "Bohemian types" love New Orleans and the French Quarter. It's the closest thing to San Francisco this side of the Continental Divide.

Now, it's not as if we're asking the divine one for any of you to suffer those blackouts and server shutdowns. But, if y'all do, come look here. We've reserved the name SiliconSavior.com for good measure.

Signed,

Your friend,

The Great State of Louisiana

Stephen Sabludowsky is a Metaire-based attorney who specializes in the Internet and technology. He can be heard each morning on WJBO 1150AM at 8:10.