Argentinean Designers Show Off (Online)

Among the other non-tech, but interesting, events I attended this week was the Argentinean Consulate with Bernardo to view "Diseno." This celebration of Argentinean fashion designers showed off wild and whimsical fashion, shoes and jewelry. Among the techie-looking gear was Maria Marta Facchinelli (www.facchinelli.com), whose clothes convey the ease that we modern folk need for movin' in these hectic times. And Valeria Leik had fun shoes that rivaled part-Manolo Blahnik and part-DONALD J. PILNER (www.valerialeik.com). Before heading out to our next events, we chatted with CNN reporter Constanza Santamaria, who was covering the event.

Serious Party Series

There are a few event series our fair town enjoys-each with their own flair, drink specials and following and Thursday night, March 29th, was night of choice for many of them. Comet Systems director of marketing Ben Austin, Internet & Marketing Consultant Nicki Berlyn and Roz Goldfarb Associates Recruiter Amy Fried gathered their friends and following at the Cutting Room for their Internet MFG (Mixer For Grownups). Rhizome held its OpenMouse for art, music and digital concepts at FUN. Allison Hemming's Pink Slip Party was actually a few nights ago but draws a flood of recently laid off dot-commers. And the Village Voice's director of Online Business Development Jim Sosnicky gathered an assortment of actors, military personnel, firemen and dotcommers for the continuation of their historic and landmark watering holes tour at the Tavern on the Green. Jim introduced me to writer Matthew Reiss, who is working on a book on Fidel Castro and TBWA/Chiat/Day's Mikael Marticki. Upstairs Luke Haseloff told me he's moving on from Comet Systems. We chatted for a bit as tables of loud and young girls and boys grew more boisterous in the plush room.

Heady Discussions and Groovy Reunions

Sure it was raining cats and dogs (again!) in New York on Thursday, March 29th, but that didn't stop the city from slowing down. And just because New Yorkers had to hunt for the scarce taxis, it didn't stop them from heading out to the plethora of events to puddle-jump. For instance there was the Tri-State Private Investors Network seminar on "Success Tactics for Raising Capital" and the Consulate General of Sweden in NY and the EU Center of NY's two day event on "Democracy and the Internet." If you were up for something a bit randier, ACME Talent & Literary agent Lisa Lindo hosted a Sundance Film Festival Reunion Party at Float. For all the skinny girls with wild afros teased out or blown-out straight there were equal amounts of shaggy men in leather or corduroy. Bigstar.com's David Friedensohn and I watched a bit of one of the movies played upstairs while a heavy bass beat moved dancers in the blue-lit dance floor downstairs. Pots of gold glitter face makeup decorated tables and I could see the bartendress was liberal with her application of it as she calmly told me our ¼ pint of Vittal water was $6. It wouldn't be a party without seeing the ever-present Bernardo, who introduced me to his friend Tomas and I saw Andrew Simon chatting with other guests as we gathered my items to head onto the next party.

10 Years and Running

After going 23 floors up in the freight elevator and checking in through a textile company next door, I entered the slick offices of SJI Associates on Thursday, March 29, where I was greeted with banners on the walls with their logo and opaque clear plastic corrugated and steel cubicles filled with colorful and creative edgy design-work for their impressive list of clients including BBC Worldwide, A&E Televison, Time Warner Cable, Snowball.com and ESPN. Founded in 1991 this design and advertising firm with offices in NY and Boulder has background in corporate identity, websites, packaging and baseball cards. SJI Associates production and technical manager Jay Weiser introduced me to Suzy Jurist. Standing in another hallway I met SJIA designer/webmaster Anthony Cinturati, Karen Lemcke, Laura LaMorta and Ilene Block. Design director of the Boulder office Rich Bacher and David Roth, also of the Boulder camp, gave me some pointers on venues for our Cocktails with Courtney event there on April 11th. I swung by the Mashed Potato Martini Bar for a dollop of the soothing starchy stuff with some pesto before sampling a tasty mini-cheeseburger. Views of the Empire State Building, a block away, wowed clients and guests. Before leaving I got to meet The Segal Company actuarial associate Bob Ressegue and AF Pharma's Andy Faulkner told me they were there to support their hockey-buddy, marketing and sales VP Dan O'Shea. Martinis, cosmos and conversations among friends continued as the nice rainy night wore on, and I headed out to the next soiree.

10 Years and Running

After going 23 floors up in the freight elevator and checking in through a textile company next door, I entered the slick offices of SJI Associates on Thursday, March 29, where I was greeted with banners on the walls with their logo and opaque clear plastic corrugated and steel cubicles filled with colorful and creative edgy design-work for their impressive list of clients including BBC Worldwide, A&E Televison, Time Warner Cable, Snowball.com and ESPN. Founded in 1991 this design and advertising firm with offices in NY and Boulder has background in corporate identity, websites, packaging and baseball cards. SJI Associates production and technical manager Jay Weiser introduced me to Suzy Jurist. Standing in another hallway I met SJIA designer/webmaster Anthony Cinturati, Karen Lemcke, Laura LaMorta and Ilene Block. Design director of the Boulder office Rich Bacher and David Roth, also of the Boulder camp, gave me some pointers on venues for our Cocktails with Courtney event there on April 11th. I swung by the Mashed Potato Martini Bar for a dollop of the soothing starchy stuff with some pesto before sampling a tasty mini-cheeseburger. Views of the Empire State Building, a block away, wowed clients and guests. Before leaving I got to meet The Segal Company actuarial associate Bob Ressegue and AF Pharma's Andy Faulkner told me they were there to support their hockey-buddy, marketing and sales VP Dan O'Shea. Martinis, cosmos and conversations among friends continued as the nice rainy night wore on, and I headed out to the next soiree.

The Cyber Scene in San Diego ~ by Lilia Phleger Benjamin

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to attend "Achieve Peak Performance and Maximize your Internet ROI" sponsored by Internap Network Services http://www.internap.com and Akamai Technologies http://www.akamai.com/. The event was well attended (and well stocked with delicious food!), but by the time I arrived, the speakers had finished and the networking had begun. I did get a chance to speak to Jed Jones, field marketing coordinator for Internap and organizer of the event. He seemed pleased by the turnout, and told me a bit about their recent PNAP (private network access point) partnership with Akamai, their largest customer. Future plans include a move to Japan-something that Jed is looking forward to as an opportunity to practice his Japanese.

Jed introduced me to Eileen Wright, vice president of sales for Internap, and one of the speakers for the evening's event. We talked about the success following the opening of their San Diego office six months ago, and how happy she is with the interest their growth has generated. "The fact that both our technologies are unique," she said, referring to Akamai and Internap, "means that as partners, we occupy a unique share of the market space."

The next night was STARCOM 2001, held at the San Diego Convention Center and presented by the San Diego Business Journal http://www.sdbj.com and Rancho Santa Fe Technology http://www.rsft.com/. What an extravaganza! Billed as "A Business Success Odyssey," the evening was devoted to recognizing those companies and individuals who have achieved great things in San Diego. Sponsors included HNC Software http://www.hnc.com/, Teligent http://www.teligent.com/, American Express http://www.americanexpress.com/, and Imperial Bank http://www.imperialbank.com/.

I spoke with Terry Leber of Teligent http://www.teligent.com who told me that Seattle's recent earthquake brought in a lot of new business for them. Evidently, in one of the larger buildings post-quake, Teligent (wireless communication with a battery backup) was up and running when most systems were down. Nothing like word of mouth to boost business. No sooner did I finish talking to her then the lights dimmed, alerting us that the dinner/awards portion of the evening was due to begin.

Doors were opened and what seemed like thousands of people streamed into a huge ballroom darkly lit with blue and purple lights. It was as though we had stepped into a starry night! I found my assigned table and introduced myself to the others already there - to my left, the very outgoing and boisterous men of BashMedia http://www.bashmedia.tv led by the puckish Sebastian "Bash" Juarez, and to my right, the dignified and quietly humorous Michael Folz Wexler of the law firm of Cowley and Chidester. Luckily as a Gemini, I found it quite easy to constantly switch channels and enjoyed not only my dinner but also my dinner partners. Our dinner conversation ran the gamut from BashMedia's hip and happening dance parties in the name of business development to Mr. Wexler's involvement with the Winston Churchill Society http://www.winstonchurchill.org/ and their upcoming conference this fall in San Diego. I also got a chance to hear about BashMedia's strong presence in the printing industry as well as a recent move into web development tools for small businesses.

The event opened with movie clips of various space-themed movies on three huge screens, punctuated by flashing strobe lights, colored lasers, fireworks, and at one point, open flames shooting up from the stage. Quite a spectacle! Produced by Electronic Theater, the opening sequence set the tone for the rest of the evening, and in fact, you can check out just some of their handiwork for STARCOM 2001 at their website http://www.electronictheater.com/.

The program then began with the presentation of thirteen scholarships to area high school seniors who have excelled in math and science. Awards to the top 25 leaders in five categories then followed: top 25 private companies, top 25 public companies, top 25 emerging companies, top 25 biotechnology companies, and top 25 high technology companies. Needless to say, the announcing of the 125 (total) companies happened so fast that I was not able to keep up…however I did notice that San Diego's biggies: QUALCOMM, Gateway, Sony, SAIC, etc. were included in almost every category.

Following the very long awards presentation, Elaine Grant, editor of Inc. Technology magazine and senior editor of Inc. magazine, came on stage to deliver the keynote address. She spoke of entrepreneurs and their ability to take risks and persevere, and in fact said that current statistics list one out of every six people as a freelancer, or independent professional. She feels that it is during economic downturns that independent professionals truly succeed, as companies tend to view outsourcing as a more economically viable option. As an IP myself, I made sure that I met her after the show to thank her for her encouraging words…

When Elaine was done, it was finally time for the drawing of the various prizes and gift certificates ($1,000 cash, a vacation for two to Hawaii, etc.). However, by that time, most of the multitude had begun to sneak quietly away, causing the drawing to stretch on interminably while they attempted to find a business card in the fishbowl that actually belonged to somebody still in the room! Despite the unfortunate ending, STARCOM 2001 was an enjoyable event full of San Diego's key movers and shakers! Until next time!


Lilia Phleger Benjamin is the president of digitElle http://www.digitelle.net, a public relations agency providing market research, online strategies, and media planning. She is also the co-founder and managing director of Techniquelle http://www.techniquelle.com, a networking organization for creative and tech-savvy people. Lilia can be reached by email at lilia@digitelle.net.

The Cyber Scene in Los Angeles ~ by JoAnna Minneci

Rocktails ~ March 20, 2001
You know, I'd always heard that the Rocktails events were more about Meat Market than Meet & Greet. This was my first Rocktails, and I have to tell you, the rumors aren't true! I had a lovely time at the Tuesday night gathering at Barfly, and met lots of friendly, intelligent and straightforward people. One of the first people I met was Jeffrey Cheen (executive vice president, Time4Team.com http://www.Time4Team.com). He politely opened a space for me at the bar so that I could order a drink. We chatted for a few minutes, and before I moved on, he gave me a lead to someone who would be an excellent contact for me! I also had the pleasure of meeting Brett Cohen who is the General Manager of Rocktails (http://www.rocktails.com). He said that the group consists mostly of middle managers who want the opportunity to network in a relaxed setting. Well, it was a relaxed vibe, but I certainly didn't "relax" (or drink!) enough to think I could dance. Well, it was a "school night", and I had a client meeting early the next morning, so I cut out of there at about 9pm.

Layoff Lounge ~ March 21, 2001

There are a LOT of people out of work these days, as evidenced by the crowd at the Westwood Brewing Company. People were crammed in shoulder-to-shoulder, and there weren't nearly enough seats. Rohit Shukla of LARTA (http://www.larta.org) spoke at this, the 2nd Layoff Lounge event. (http://www.layofflounge.com) Rohit wore his traditional black on black, and from the gist of his speech, he WAS in mourning. His opening statements included "De omnibus dubitandum" (doubt everything). He left the crowd with a few significant points: The internet is about lowering costs. It allows smaller companies to compete with the big guys. Be very wary about wireless. When he said that Finland is an anomaly, to be taken with a grain of salt, Keren Taylor (manager of West coast sales, CareerBuilder http://www.careerbuilder.com) called him on it, admonishing him about being so pessimistic, saying "Ignore Finland at your own risk!"

Shortly afterwards, the recruiters in attendance took the stage, and each gave a short introduction and mentioned a few jobs they were filling. The candidates were as attentive listening to the recruiters as they did Rohit. In the other room, Kelly Perdue needed a bullhorn and a bell as he monitored the Venture Capital room, shouting "ONE MINUTE!" over the chatter of the crowd. A couple of people were disappointed that they couldn't talk with the folks with the money unless they were pre-approved by Kelly and Jeremy Gocke... "How did the guy with the cussing teddy bear get approved?" ...but perhaps those who didn't get an interview won't be too discouraged and wi ll come again another time.

AIM - Dinner & a Deal ~ March 28, 2001

The group that met at i Cugini in Santa Monica strained to hear the unamplified voices of the panel, which included Tony Greenberg, CEO of Ramprate (http://www.ramprate.com), Michael Terpin, CEO of Internet Wire (http://www.internetwire.com)and Lisa Crane, Principal of Media Ventures Advisors (http://www.mediaventureadvisors.com). After the panel's presentation, the wine flowed and the schmoozing began. Servers with trays of appetizers circulated around the room, and hungry networkers noshed a bit before the dinner was served. What a fun dinner! I sat at a table with a group with lively conversation... but what struck me as odd was that there were t wo couples at my table! I couldn't justify spending $75 per person for a Dinner and a Deal, and then sit with someone from my own company! I don't know about the other tables, but not much dealing went down where I sat. I wish there had been a bit more mingling, but once you were seated, you were pretty much stuck. Also, about 75 percent of the crowd left before dessert. Not exactly a crisis... but dessert would have been an opportunity to switch tables and meet more people. Near the end of the evening, I had the pleasure of talking with Alexis Bonnell and Ben Isaacson of AIM (http://www.interactivehq.org). Ben seemed quite pleased with the turnout and caliber of attendees. Brad Nye (founder, VIC http://www.TheVic.org) also spared a moment to say hello. (It really did take me a moment to recognize him!) When the evening wrapped up, I gathered my things, retrieved my car from the valet, and began my trek to Laguna Niguel....

The Cyber Scene in Chicago ~ by Kelly Markham

Chicago showed its entrepreneurial spirit March 27-28 when Garage.com came to town and hosted Bootcamp for Startups. The two-day event consisted of intensive, high-energy workshops on fundraising, business development, recruiting, marketing and more. The crowd of 250+ entrepreneurs learned how to refine their business models, position & pitch their startup to investors and network with peers and potential mentors.
One panel that was particularly interesting was "Venture Capital Update," whose panelists consisted of Mark Achler, Warren Holtsberg, Mike Jablo, Matthew McCall, J.B. Pritzker and Guy Kawasaki, as moderator. The panel discussion was positive and the panelists said that the economy has not drastically changed the amount of deals they're getting done.

Guy Kawasaki, CEO of Garage.com, pointed out that most of the VC firms on Sandhill Road in Silicon Valley are doing about half as many deals now as they were doing in the heyday of the Internet. The panelists noted that the quality of deals they have seen has actually increased and that the real change in deals is valuation. J.B. Pritzker said that the valuation of a deal starts with the valuation of the last round and works down from there. Today, the panelists said they spend a good portion of their time working on their current portfolio as opposed to trying to develop new deals.

The panelists were optimistic and honest and the audience seemed pleased. A few of the other seminars included: "Surviving the Storm," "Why bad times make good companies" and "Let's Do Launch."

The networking opportunities were endless and many entrepreneurs mingled during their lunch hour. As always, I visited the sponsors' booths and collected a bunch of marketing goodies. The winning goodie goes to Garage.com for their laptop backpack--very fashionable!

Check back next week when I visit Comdex/Chicago (April 2-5).

Come Invent the Future!

Sitting in Silicon Alley, it's easy to hear about everything our city and state governments are (or are not) doing for those interested in the Internet, technology, new media and other related fields. And as much as we may read about industry-specific news, it's not always as easy to learn about what other city and states are doing. For instance, our largest neighboring state, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has innumerable initiatives and incentives for business and economic development. I had the enviable opportunity of spending a solid 90 minutes with the distinguished and charming Governor on Tuesday, March 27th. We discussed the state of the industry in New York, the nation, internationally and in Pennsylvania. It was invigorating to speak with someone so forward-thinking about technology and its importance in our world (business, education and socially) - not to mention someone who also has the ability to implement many of these ideas.

There is, for instance, the Link-to-Learn program started by Gov. Ridge as a multi-year, $166 million initiative to expand the use of technology in the classroom. It includes new and upgraded computers for schools and high-tech training for teachers. Link-to-Learn is also developing a network of community-based networks called the Pennsylvania Education Network. On Thursday, the Governor announced that another 21 public and private colleges and universities will receive approximately $5 million in Link-to-Learn grants to expand and strengthen information-technology (IT) training for all of their students. Gov. Ridge also established enterprise applications for the entire state government and an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tool to replace its current integrated computer system. Now the entire organization can communicate and operate on a single, standard platform. There are high-tech councils in every region, tax-free KOZs (Keystone Opportunity Zones) and scores of websites with links, forms and more information about starting and maintaining a business in Pennsylvania than you could possibly know what to do with. The state's digital incubators, statewide, are successful examples of government assisting business growth. There are plans for more incubators in new technology areas like bio-tech. Gov. Ridge is also working with the top universities in the Commonwealth to establish more business-fostering relationships between education and business.

As we finished off our demi-plates of fruit and chocolate during our meeting room at the St. Regis, our chat ended with plans to meet again to explore more of what the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has to offer the citizens of the world (and the web)!

Bits, Bytes and a Survey

The first days of spring brought wind, rain, snow and a flurry of industry events. Starting off the week, the Downtown Alliance sponsored their own event, the Bits, Bytes and Bar at the Divine Bar on Monday, March 26th. Over 200 downtowners came for some glasses of wine and tapas, and to learn about the Alliance's new survey. You can get the more neighborhood-specific survey online now. It provides a more local perspective than the NYNMA survey. The Alliance's survey also has more "drill-down" type questions on rental space, building services, safety and restaurant services than NYNMA's. So if you're a downtown, technology-related professional, run right over to http://www.marketperspectives.com/alliance/survey.cgi and make your voice heard!

Shakers & Stirrers and Bits & Bytes

Wasserman Going Off Live
Segan Joins eTravels.net
Maguire Exerts Some Influence
Luxcore Partners Expand Service Offerings
CXOs May Be Key
Quantum Invests in FirstRain
Honoring the Women of Beauty
Gizmoz Launches Solution Provider Program
Agency.com Links Boyds to Customers
Silicon Alleyites Tell Their Stories

ADV ~ Survivors: Silicon Alley

Survivors: Silicon Alley, Tue April 10, 2001, Baruch College Conference Center. Mindshare Ventures follows the success of the sold-out iStartup Fever with Survivors: Silicon Alley and Speed-pitching. The full-day conference is a must for those running, associated with or invested in companies with dangerous burn rates. Admission $195 includes registration for Speed-pitching. Deadline for submitting biz plans 3/26. For conference agenda and to register, please visit www.mindshareventures.com.

GasPedal's Feast for Starving Entrepreneurs

When asked to cover the GasPedal Feast for Starving Entrepreneurs, I eagerly accepted, as I was literally a "starving entrepreneur"--I live and work out of a 1973 VW Bus! When GasPedal president Andy Sernovitz began speaking his words raised my battered (and hungry) soul (the usual entrepreneurial roller-coaster ride). He spoke of the undying resilience of entrepreneurs to ignore all odds, to turn a blind eye to "reason," to shrug off the endless ridicule of our friends and family--all in the name of executing our vision. Yes, we are living in a tough investment climate, and the next year is going to be rough. But, he said, these are the times that make a J.P. Morgan or a Rockefeller. It is in times like this, blisteringly tough and full of panic, that the opportunity to make the real BIG money lies.

I met Ben Appen, CEO of Alkindi (http://www.alkindi.com), a movie-recommendation service and chatted with Stephen Gilberg, publisher and CEO of HappyHours.com (http://www.HappyHours.com). Debbie Garrett, CEO of Grooming Men (http://www.groomingmen.com), could make it on the strength of her positive attitude and an interesting product and business model. I also ran into Patrick Dori, president of Beach 'N' Billboard (http://www.beachnbillboard.com). Not even billboards in the sand could prepare me for perhaps the most likely candidate for billionaire in the room that night--Stephanie Schwab, CEO of Erotigo (http://www.erotigo.com). Like icing on a cake (to complement the ice cream bars), a handful of savvy, early-stage investors were smattered throughout the party. I first ran into Bruce Ackerman, president of One Touch (http://www.onetouchcorp.com). His business is booming, and he figured it's his time now to help out some struggling start-ups. Then I ran into Jo Rosler, COO of Angel Society (http://www.angelsociety.com), a provider of information, communication and transactional services for early-stage private equity investors, early-stage companies and professional business service providers. Finally (saving the nicest treat for last), I had a chance to meet Ben Goodman, manager of NYNMA's highly-praised Angel Investor Program (http://www.angel.nynma.org). The NYNMA Angel Investors Program matches promising start-up companies with experienced Angel investors to facilitate the growth of New York's new media industry. About half of the companies that present at their monthly breakfast receive seed funding of up to $2,000,000.

Kudos to Andy Sernovitz and GasPedal for putting together an evening that made me proud to be an entrepreneur. GasPedal truly understands what it's like to work in the trenches.

Global Venture Network

Global Venture Network, held on Friday, March 23, 2001 at the Metropolitan Club on Fifth Avenue was a sellout. One of the highlights, throughout the day, were distinguished venture capitalists who spoke as panelists and offered insight for small companies. One of the speakers was Trident Capital managing director Venetia Kontogouris who said she will be spending more time with portfolio companies being pro-active to help them survive this difficult time. The consensus was that there is plenty of funding available, but securing will be selective and more difficult as the due diligence will be stiffer. Karen White, a principal of Pequot Capital Management spoke on "getting back to basics." Attending the conference and absorbing the intelligence were Pillsbury Winthrop LLP attorney Emily Campbell, Wilby Capital's Yoko Fukaya, Aclion Global Recruiting's Seth Damski, The Guerrilla Guide's Michael Roney and Schroeder Partners principal Rebecca Chiu. InHanse Corp. CEO & Chairman Robert Dansby, PhD told me about their hosting of next exchange services and I chatted with Maryland-based the Chancellor Group MD Rodney Azama; Empire State Development's Jack Van Wie, who mentioned they have money for NYC startup ventures; Oracle's Jennifer Kelley; Mindshare Ventures's Richard Friedman; LabMorgan's Alice Laidlaw; Carnegie Hill Ventures's Philip Siller and Katalyst's Sandeep Thrakar.

The Cyber Scene in San Diego ~ by Lilia Phleger Benjamin

SAN DIEGO-Well, after a month hiatus, I have come back knowing one thing for sure…size DOES matter!

I am of course referring to the Blue Horizon, located at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) in La Jolla. Nestled on the beautiful wooded campus of the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), the Blue Horizon is the largest computer in the US, the 8th most powerful in the world, and currently the most powerful available for academic research. And if that doesn't thrill you, try this on for size: 1,153 Power3 processors, 144SMP High Nodes, 576 GB memory, 1.7 TFLOPS peak speed, and 5.1 TB disk storage. When you figure that this computer can compute at the rate of 1.7 trillion real numbers per second (not just integers), you can't help but get a geek high.

Why all this talk of computers? Because the fifth Internet Strategy SIG was hosted by the SDSC, and we were treated by Mike Vildibill, executive director, to a tour of the high security computer room. Thrilling stuff, even to someone who did not know what in the world they were talking about (that would be me).

Rob Gordon, founder of the Internet Strategy SIG, has really worked hard to build this group and bring in speakers of a high caliber. At this meeting, taking place on March 15th, our speakers were Matt Ramuzzi, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Rent.com, and Steve Hundley, CEO of iStrategy Inc.

Both men talked about the current energy crisis hitting Southern California and ways to move ahead despite the paranoia in the virtual marketplace. Matt's presentation focused on e-commerce…what it is and how to do it successfully, while Steve took participant's examples and applied his marketing know-how to help problem-solve.

It would appear that despite our rolling blackouts, and the almost daily news of companies handing out pink slips, the mood in San Diego right now seems to be one of decisiveness. Companies and entrepreneurs are going back to the basics, coming up with solid business plans and slashing their burn rate. They may be getting leaner, but they are definitely getting more efficient, and time will tell if their tactics pan out.

Area organizations such as the San Diego Entrepreneurs Group, the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance, and the San Diego MIT Enterprise Forum are all working hard to stay one step ahead of the dotcom fallout by offering seminars and networking events that provide information and assistance. By pulling together, and not falling prey to the media hype surrounding the tech scene in San Diego, we stand a good chance of actually making it through without any serious damage. Until next week!

The Cyber Scene in Los Angeles ~ by JoAnna Minneci

There is so much to tell you about! In the interest of saving bandwidth, I'll skip any introduction and get right into the thick of it:

WebWomenLA
March 2, 2001

WebWomenLA had their first official meeting at Fu's restaurant in West LA on March 2nd. It was wonderful to see synergy in such a large group of people. The meeting's attendees had a common goal - to establish themselves as an entity for women in New Media in Los Angeles. Many of the people there had migrated from WebGrrls-LA, and aren't looking back. The group is so new they don't even have a website yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Vojo @ Manhattan Beach
March 8, 2001

Don't let the cute name fool you--networking at a Vojo event is serious business. I'd been in meetings since 7:30am that day, so at one point, I leaned against a pillar for a moment's rest...and was immediately approached by a friendly woman who took advantage of the fact that I wasn't already talking to someone, and started a conversation with me.

Here's a funny anecdote that made the rounds at this event: A pair of men approached a professionally dressed woman having an animated conversation with a small group. The men introduced themselves, and asked if they could join the conversation. She rebuked them saying, "I'm having a conversation here!" and turned away. The guys shrugged, backed away and moved on. Turns out this woman and her group of flight attendant friends were just having a drink at the hotel bar, and weren't Vojo networkers! The guys didn't even realize the women weren't wearing nametags! OOPS!

I would heartily recommend attending this group's events, which are scattered all over the Southland. Everyone (save the flight attendant!) was friendly, open and polite. Have your business cards at the ready, and lots of 'em. Leave your shyness at home and practice one of your most important business skills at Vojo!

Finally, It's not a secret, as far as I can tell, but I'm often asked...so here's the answer: Vojo doesn't mean anything. I talked with Tim Stinson (co-founder, Vojo) and he told me that it was catchy, pronounceable, and available as a domain. Hey, whatever works!


Spring Internet World
March 14-16, 2001

"Somber" is the word I'd choose to describe the vibe at iWorld this year.

I met up for lunch with my "Pasadena Partner", Kyrsten Johnson (read her article below!) and we started our day with lunch at the Original Pantry. We walked in at 1pm and were seated among a crowd of badge-wearing boys carrying big black bags of tchotchke. chach·ka or tchotch·ke n. Slang A cheap, showy trinket. Some booth workers were kind of stingy with their loot: At one booth, Kyrsten actually filled in a form with everything short of her blood type in order to get a "fun-size" candy bar. At another however, a man was passing out foam lizards on a "leash", and he couldn't give them away to the greedy crowd fast enough. Those lizards were a hit!

The best piece of schwag I got was an iMac-red retractable phone cord, compliments of iAsiaWorks. The girl working the booth was very friendly and polite and gave me my choice of a baseball cap, t-shirt (I had a personal moratorium on t-shirts for this event!) or the RJ-11 cord. That was a no-brainer.

There are plenty of places you can read up on what happened & what didn't... but I will share with you some comments I collected:

"There was a lot of elbow room," said Alan Elmont, partner in the recruiting firm of SEPA Systems, LLC. "I was working the floor and everyone is hiring salespeople, not techies."


"I went yesterday afternoon, and it was just about the quietest show I've ever attended. No sense of excitement or exuberance anywhere (though the kids banging drumsticks in the big Genuity "machine" were trying awfully hard) Liz Fuller, Leaping Lizard Productions


"The companies that should have been in the "exhibit hall ghetto" were right up front with the big guys, and there were lots of open spaces in the back." (Anonymous overheard quote)

I cut out of there at around 4:30, hoofing it back to my parking space so I could dump my big black bag before beginning the parties.

Tier One's post-party at the Hotel Figueroa
A refreshing light dinner was to be had at the Tier One party. Catering was done by La Salsa, and there was a three-piece mariachi serenading us. Networking was sparse as the population, but I did get to talk to a few people I've seen around. Ray Goldsmith, (account executive, AT&T), enjoyed a cigar and a Corona poolside. (Although the invitations said "swimming suits optional", nobody opted for a dip)

I was greeted by Don Baarnes and Greg Faciane early on, but they were deep in conversation the rest of the evening, and I didn't want to interrupt.

I also ran into Linda Thurman, (president, NTV: The Television Cooperative) who was excited about the following night's open meeting at iWorld. Linda explained that NTV is a cooperative for the distribution of traditional and New Media content on cable.

Said Cindy McMahen (owner, Nexus Interactive), "I'd have to say [the Tier One party] was good for me. Although there were fewer people than I expected, I connected with some interesting folks, and I met another SEO expert. I enjoyed a quick bite while resting my aching feet -- and made it home with plenty of time kiss the kids g'night."

VIC's post-party at the Mayan
Showing up at around 7:30, I found free parking at a meter. Last year's "wrap around the building" line was non- existent - I walked right in. There were plenty of hot hors d'oeuvres and not much of a line for those either.

There was a very energetic woman leading a drum circle, and at one point, a man in the middle of the dance floor was twirling two glowing schwag yo-yo's in around-the-world fashion, as if he were a fire-dancer. He didn't hit anyone.

Keep in mind, I'm comparing this year's event with last year's, when it was so crowded you'd be wearing more of your drink than you drank...My personal speculation about the reason that not as many people were there: a $20 admission fee is kind of steep when you're an out-of-work dot-com refugee.

The second level was reserved for non-profit exhibit space, and I recognized a few faces there, as well. One face I didn't see was that of the founder of VIC, Brad Nye. I heard he was there, but that he'd cut his trademark ponytail so I probably wouldn't have recognized him anyway.

The quality of people was high...it was the quantity that was lacking: I had a fun chat with Bill Rini, of Web405 notoriety (I say that with affection, Bill!) discussing the ins and outs of public transportation in France. Also went into the finer points of Harry Potter with Matthew Burgess and his girlfriend Kat.

The most obscure part of the evening was the impromptu meeting in the ladies' room, where I met up with
LeeAnn Webster ("Queen of Fun" Single Solutions). While we were talking, we drew three other lipstick-applying women into our conversation. Rubi, Clerisse and Robin exchanged business cards with us, and we all promised to keep in touch. Boys, you can KEEP your golf course. Give me a good girly-chat in the bathroom any day. That's where the real business takes place!

So much for brevity, but how do you cover Internet World in 750 words? I'll have more for you next week, with my first-hand perspective of Rocktails and the second edition of the Layoff Lounge.

Best regards,
JoAnna@SoCalNetworking.org

ADV ~ NYNMA Venture Downtown

DON'T MISS IT!!! NYNMA's VENTURE DOWNTOWN 2001
NYNMA's VENTURE DOWNTOWN 2001
Date: May 15, 2001
Place: The Grand Hyatt New York
Time: 6:30 AM - 9:00 PM
http://www.venturedowntown.org
NYNMA's VENTURE DOWNTOWN 2001 ~ DON'T MISS IT!!!

From Women in the Alley to Men in the Valley

After luxuriating in the painfully trendy lower East Side, I swung uptown to the equally painfully trendy Hudson Hotel (in the mid-upper-West side). Ian Schrager's trademark lime green highlights with stark white walls, leading up to a lush, landscaped reception lures trend-seeking trendites from all around. After taking a gander in "de bah," I spotted the treasure of my hunt - the newly shorn and sexy LA-based The Vic's Brad Nye. Gone was his trademark ponytail. Iinstead I was greeted with a very Richard Gere-looking Brad Nye. Brad was in town for a few days to attend business meetings and invited some friends to join him for drinks at Schrager's hot-spot in town. As usual, he was amidst a flock of friends who flew in from the West Coast (or from the Lower East Side) to share in his smile and stories. All was well. I chatted with Schwartz PR President Steven Wright-Mark, slightly tanned from his trip to LA for Internet World, Danielle Cyr and New Leaders for New Schools CEO Jonathan Schnur. Ariane de Bonvoisin, IBreakfast.com's Alan Brody and his wife Ellen were also visiting, as was the dashing Lucent Technologies Mads Lillelund. PSA Inc.'s Robert King introduced me to CEO David Walsh, with whom I shared a nice salad and glass of wine while chatting with two actresses under consideration for PSA's new production, "This is Only A Test." As usual, a night out in New York proved to be a safari of people and places and promises of more adventures to come!

MetamorphaNet's metamorphosis

You may remember Hsaio-ping Jao for her phenomenal job organizing the Nerds Night Out black tie party in November 1999. If you don't, then I'm sure you'll still be just as interested to learn that this dynamic woman has formed a new company called MetamorphNet. The new economy development firm is providing strategic consulting services to diverse enterprises, with special interests in technology-related, globally-oriented business development solutions. Many of their clients, including a sampling from the UN, were at the launch party at the Essex Lounge on Thursday night, March 22nd. Hsaio-ping introduced me to Wheelhouse's Robert Coverdale, Imagine Software's Sherwin Phatax and Level M's Roger Williams Meyer. As tasty little empanadas passed by, I chatted for a bit with NYSIA's executive director Bruce Bernstin, author Larry Aronson, Jeremy Kagan and SiliconAlley.net's Bob Ponce. Hsaio-ping, the CEO and president, introduced me to her COO Clara Troncoso. This 100% self-funded, woman-owned company is another testament to the strong women in the Alley, making businesses and lives for themselves. Go Hsaio-ping!

Excuse me, is that my identity in your pocket?

Ever since the Sandra Bullock movie "The Net" came out, there has been increasing media attention given to identity theft online, as well as basic privacy issues surrounding the Internet. While it may have seemed far-fetched to some movie-goers at the time, it is unfortunately becoming more and more real. In fact, Silicon Alley's Omar Wasow was on NBC's "The Today Show" Thursday, March 22nd, talking about identity theft and what you can do about it. And last week, the New York New Media Association featured probably its most popular panel to date: "None of Your Business: The Politics and Business Implications of Privacy" at the Equitable Building on Thursday, March 15th. In addition to presenting a sold-out panel with illustrious speakers, NYNMA also released its first white paper on the topic.

The first of three planned white papers, the research was produced in large part by NYNMA's board of directors; its policy committee; Primedia Ventures' Jason Chervokas; Morrison & Foerster's John Kennedy, John Delaney and Matthew Meade; and PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Tom Hyland and Peter Petrusky. The next two will be on intellectual property and taxation. And, in the 'Net-interest of things, it's all online and will be used by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York for the committee report on internet privacy they are producing. Check out NYNMA's report online.

After an eloquent introduction by NYNMA Director of Educational Programs Ellen Auwarter, NYNMA Programs Committee Chair and Board Member Howard Greenstein introduced the panel and the topic. Then they got down to business and the discussions heated up. CNN's Burden of Proof Co-host Roger Cossack kept the conversation moving smoothly among the panelists: The New York Times Columnist William Safire, DoubleClick Inc. Chief Privacy Officer Jules Polonetsky, Guardent, Inc. President Dr. Larry Ponemon, Center for Democracy and Technology Policy Analyst Ari Schwartz, and Morrison & Foerster LLP Chief Architect, Safe Harbor Privacy Accord with EU, and Partner Barbara Wellbery.

As the "elder statesman" of the panel, William Safire was among the liveliest. He drew lots of laughter with comments like, "you're all concerned about privacy because you have something to hide! We all have something to hide - we're living beings!" Roger Cossack did a great job of moving things along, and Jules Polonetsky offered a reality check regarding what happens to people's data, that it's not such a bad thing to get targeted emails or to be victim of credit card fraud. Larry Ponemon, who created the privacy practice at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, offered insightful perspective, as did Ari Schwartz. Barbara Wellbery was brilliant with her great (and global) perspective.

The sometimes vehement, but always interesting, debate covered such topics as "Do we have any more privacy left?" "Can companies change their data collection and exploitation models and still make money?" and "Can self-regulation work." As Jules pointed out, "technology is not good or bad; it's the companies that are good or bad."

Privacy was certainly a big issue and one that's going to affect businesses this year, whether they do business online or not. Barbara brought up the point that businesses need to develop privacy practices and laws based on the type of information they collect, the purpose and the planned use. We have to develop a new approach to the information being collected, including the reason and the purposes. She also warned that if the industry doesn't self-regulate, which she feels is the best approach, there will be more regulation from the government. And that would have fewer nuances and be more restrictive. Depending on how far Congress takes these issues, it could change how information on people is gathered. On the other hand, William Safire argued that the government should get involved because the Internet deals with so many communications issues. To that, Larry Poneman mused, "Can we rely on business to do that which is right?"

Opt-in/opt-out and the pros and cons of this point were also discussed for a while. This is where Safire and Polonetsky sparred the most. Jules Polonetsky's points were that while Safire was all about Opt-in, Polonetsky attempted to educate him on the vast issues on the topic. There needs to be much more research on the topic before the government, or even industry initiatives, step in and regulate. While Congress is just getting up to speed on a lot of the terminology (they're knowledgeable just enough to be dangerous), and they're learning the issues. They will, Polonetsky promised, be intimately involved but we want to make sure that it's at a sophisticated and informed level. The last thing we want is for the government to not fully understand the issues and make clumsy steps that make life difficult for consumers. He reminded us that it's not the data exchange that's the problem. It's only a problem if the data becomes lost or abused. The other issue the industry needs to contend with, and that will involve changing consumer habits and expectations is paying for content or services on the 'Net. Businesses were too quick to offer too much for free, so now consumers expect it so. Now many companies realize they need to make money and either charge or explain what they're doing with the information compiled.

This isn't such a bad thing either. There are a lot of benefits that consumers can gain, including customized services and targeted emails on the brands they buy. However, it's not entirely sensible, since you have to rely on people to take action. And the reality of the matter is that many people are inactive, busy or don't care. So, they don't act on those targeted emails. It's not that they don't care about their privacy; they just don't take the time to answer - especially when they perceive the messages as spam.

Speaking of spam, the dinner for sponsors, board members and selected guests was hosted by Spamex.com. I spoke with Co-CEO Justin Greene, who explained the product in depth to me. In an effort to reduce the amount of spam email, you sign up with their system and send out a yourname@spamex.com email address to all the sites where you register. For each site, you create a new Spamex account. Sounds like a lot more email addresses to create, no? Au contraire! All your Spamex accounts forward to one email address, which you specify. Then, when you need to change your email, you simply update the forwarding record with Spamex. You don't have to change your email address with the innumerable sites where you are registered! Pretty nifty, oui? Another major benefit is that if you receive an email that is not from one of the sites where you've signed up, you can go to the Spamex site (via a handy link provided in the email) and see which dog ratted out your email. Then you can deal with them accordingly. Another handy-dandy shortcut that you can add to your browser is a "Links" menu bar, which makes it almost a one-step process to create more Spamex accounts. There are more features, all of which are outlined and demoed at www.spamex.com.

Among some of the notable guests who took part in this heady night were iXL's Diana Butler and James Burton, FullAudio's Deb Newman, and Morrison & Foerester's John Kennedy, not to mention about 200 other savvy net-heads! The dinner and dessert (a fabulous ice cream-cookie- cake concoction) at Chez Louie's satiated the hard-working NYNMA board, sponsors and panelists. And if you, sadly, missed it all - never fear! You can catch highlights on the cyber cast online.

The Milken Conference and the REAL Economy ~ by Tery Spataro

I attended the Milken Institute 2001 Global Conference (March 19-21) held at the famous Beverly Hilton (Merv Griffin's Beverly Hilton for those of you who remember). The conference theme was the ECONOMY. Michael Milken drew an impressive crowd of 1000 attendees from business and academic backgrounds. The speaker roster was even more impressive with Nobel Laureates and leading business executives. It was truly a heady conference with a focus on speculations about the economy. The R word was used on several occasions. Yes, Dorothy we are in a recession. Mr. Milken opened the Tuesday's lunch with a talk about the real economy. "Hmm the real economy versus the flake economy...What's that about?" I thought. This discussion focused on the stock market and if it bottomed out yet. Not yet--but very close, though I believe when it does all of us who have been holding our cash will be spending it like crazy. Wednesday's breakfast offered up a slide show, one of which was quite interesting. The panel was The US: Economics, Markets and Policy. The slide graphed all the recessions from the depression. It seems to me as though recession should be an expected part of our delicate and intricate US economy. Meaning it's natural. Is this recession different because of the new industries? Or are the new industries affected the most because they are still in infancy?

Alvin Toffler, Future Shock author, romanced the technological advance of Internet and biotech industries, as a significant historical point with influences that affect all global aspects. He sees the next evolutionary phase as a fusion of technology and biology. Mr. Toffler was inspiring, and I asked him if he saw the fusion of technology and biology as the elimination of humanity. He looked at me with a bit of a twinkle in his eye and said "I would take deep offense in that" and so would I. Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, brought us all back from the future to the reality we are facing today. It was also the common sense business practices of Leonard Riggio, Chairman and CEO of Barnes and Noble, who said it best: "Spending drives a healthy economy." Here in the US we are consumers and when we don't buy we don't survive! Steven Milunovich, Managing Director and Global Technology Strategist, Merrill Lynch, talked about buying trends in technology, the influence of Y2K spending on a panel regarding US: Economics, Markets and Policy. I wanted to ask Mr. Milunovich if his opinions regarding tech spending reached the ML brokers who were buying stocks for clients like myself? Byron Wien, Chief US Investment Strategist, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, spoke about the paper he recently published on "Issues of Integrity". The paper discusses the street analysts's integrity and conflict faced between too much enthusiasm and reality. I approached Mr. Wien after the discussion and asked him if we should remain conservative? He said yes. I'm going to email him and get a copy of his paper for anyone interested in reading it I'll post it on my web site.

At the basis of every conference was the Internet industry. Us "early true believers" can feel confident that we were successful in creating a real industry. I was frustrated with conference perception that the Internet was only content-based. Yes, it is content-based but it truly is a tool. How you use the tool will determine how your business will make money. Keep in mind the Internet industry is only 7 years old. We're just at the beginning! In a panel discussion on Venture Capital and Entrepreneurs: Financing Ideas, Yossi Vardi, President, International Technologies and founder of ICQ, displayed a slide, which pictured a roller coaster and the Internet. He asked us where on the roller we are. The majority of us raised our hands to panic. Hmm panic, is it real panic or panic induced by group hysteria?

All and all I enjoyed the conference, Mr. Milken is doing a great service. I met many interesting people including Mr. Mike Lefkowitz, executive director the Samueli Foundation; Mr. Robert Widener, The Cyberspace Group, war room design firm; Mr. Edward Tuck of the Falcon Fund; Mr. James Sproule; Dr. Aleksandr Surikov, senior counselor economic affairs, Embassy of the Russian Federation; and Auste N. Viesulas. The attendee demographic mix consisted of 75% white male business executive, 23% minority business executive, 2% young aspiring entrepreneur. It is the young entrepreneur who would have truly benefited in attending finding both money and mentor.

I felt like I was the only Internet executive on hand, but much to my surprise I ran into a couple of West Coast peers: John Bates of HotWax, Tony Greenberg and I heard Brad Nye was around. I also met outside of the conference with Peter Hirshberg, Mark Jeffrey, Michael Young (CEO and President of Alton Entertainment), who all gave me insight into lay of Internet economy for LA. New York we're not alone.

Cats and dogs couldn't keep the media and good people away

It was raining cats and dogs, and the wind gusts reached over 40 miles per hour in some parts of town. Everyone who showed up was dripping wet and closely resembled a lovely, drowned wharf rat. But those were dear friends who showed up with their support for my impromptu Cocktails with Courtney event on Wednesday, March 21st. And what, pray tell, would prompt me to host a soiree at such a late notice on such a wet night? Well, dry martinis are always an allure, but it actually was at the behest of a few other sources. You see, dear readers, pauvre, fatique Courtney pulled together a special soiree because the New York Times Style section and Japan TV needed an event to document for several stories they are doing on us. What's a media darling to do but comply? And so, we hosted a small soiree at Flute Flatiron, the uptown champagne bar's newest branch, for friends and supporters we've know over the years.
And what support we got! More than 100 wonderful, darling people risked life and limb to say hello, and flash their pearly whites for the NYTimes Style photographer, the very charming Christopher Smith. The Knot.com's Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder Carley Roney, and CEO and Co-Founder David Liu came in from the rain to dry off and say "hello." The Globe's Todd Kritzleman came by to catch up on news before heading out to former partner Stephan Paternot's birthday party "way over on the West side." Forbes.com's Josh Kruter, Iguana Interactive's James Ontra, Comedy Central's Lara Stein and Cardmine's Harald Neidhardt all stopped by to hang out. Volker Detering of EventMe.com and Start Abroad.com had his photographer - a German doing a piece on his site - come by, and Live Idea's MD Larry Smith enjoyed the lounge atmosphere of the champagne bar. Steve Masur, of Masur & Associates, long-time Alleyite Seth Price, and Sports Futures' Chris Jones' stopped by before heading back out to a business dinner. San Jose Mercury News' New York Technology Correspondent Maureen Fan chatted with guests, such as Black Logic's Scott Ettin, Mark Filstrup and Iquana Studio's Jason Jercinovic. Etiquette International's Hilka Klinkenberg came in from the rain to chat with good friend and NYNMA's Director of Educational Programs Ellen Auwarter and iXL's Diana Butler.

Vincent Grimaldi networked a bit with Grand Central Holding's Greg Belmont and Lawyer Access' Josh Margulies and Kris Zdyb. CAP Gemini Ernst & Young's Julio Cassels, Jon Serbin, The Economist's Marc Seago and LocalBusiness.com's Mo Krochmal all shared a glass of good cheer and relaxed to some mellow tunes before heading back out to battle the weather. EWomp was well represented in Alan Friedman and Daniel Alvarez, while David Behin of yada yada showed his support. Juno's President and CEO Charles Ardai stopped in, and one of sponsor Aperian.com's directors, Humberg Powell, stopped by. Korn/Ferry International was the other sponsor, and together we raised a small amount of cash for the East Harlem Technical school again. Redwood Partner's Kailah Rove, Michael Flannery said "hello" and chatted with Administaff's Mark Elis and FullAudio's Debbie Newman.

Former MIT students Mark Lucente came with his wife, LabMorgan's Kathleen Kenney Lucente, and ADIA Global's Shuja Keen. Koko Interactive's Glen Lipka, Katie Peters and Spencer Spinnell dried off for a bit after a very bad downpour. The City of Yokohama's Justin Zimmerman was able to chat a bit with one of the Japan TV producer's Miuki. The Square.com's James Marciano and I exchanged some thoughts about the "Silicon Alley Stories" upcoming documentary, and producers Thurston Smith and Vittoria Frua came by to hand out flyers to the April 6th showing during the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival. Black Tie sponsor Interactive Futures' Steve Shaer came by at the tail end with a friend and bought me a delicious round of fine champagne to celebrate the rainy First Night of Spring. Dr. Askia Davis, from the Chancellor's office also came out on this wild night to represent the East Harlem Technical School, our beneficiary for this year's Holiday Black Tie. DF Consulting's Dawn Fotopulos looked as fresh as a daisy, as usual, despite the downpour, and my long-time friend James O'Connor was the Dapper-est Dan I'd ever seen on a night like this.

Alas! All good things must come to an end and after a lovely glass of champagne (or two) to brace ourselves for the night winds, the crowd thinned and I headed out into the Wizard Of Oz-like winds to find my way home.

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Susanne Lainson

Boulder Chamber of Commerce's "e-Train" Series On March 20 I went over to the Boulder Chamber of Commerce to catch Bob Burgin, CEO of Finali. His company is a Westminster-based contact center which integrates automated and live customer support. It provides best-of-breed contact center software, live reps, and a knowledge base (they track every single customer interaction and do a performance analysis). According to Bob, typically a company spends between $5-$50 million a year on customer service. Automation will cut those expenses and 50-80% of customer interactions can be automated. Finali draws upon a team that collectively has built offline call centers for 38 Fortune 500 companies.

One technology Finali uses is what it calls a netSage. Essentially it is a person-in-a-box which sits on a client's website and guides visitors. An actor (who can be cast to convey a unique corporate image) is videotaped responding to a variety of customer interactions and then those images are offered up at the client's site along with the appropriate text responses. All sorts of social cues have been programmed in so that the netSage behaves exactly as you would expect the perfect support rep to behave. He or she is helpful, non-threatening, and adjusts his/her conversation to fit your experience level. And the netSages get smarter: their repertoire expands whenever new questions are asked of live service reps and then catalogued. Even more important, netSages are a bargain. A typical interaction involving a human service rep costs $9.00; the same interaction using a netSage, just twenty-five cents. (It doesn't cost much to feed those guys in the boxes and they never need bathroom breaks.)

Bob was speaking as part of the Chamber's "eTrain" series. Wow, this guy is good. It's hard to come up with an analogy which best describes his presentation demeanor. The terms "salesman" and "evangelist" don't quite fit because the first implies a rehearsed slickness and the second an over-the-top zeal. Most apt, perhaps, would be to compare his style to the way Walt Disney used to open those "Wonderful World of Disney" shows: a pied piper you'd trust enough to follow anywhere.

Boulder Business Series The next night I went to the Boulder Business Series at the historic and charming Hotel Boulderado. This organization brings together graduates from the top MBA programs around the country. Past president Patty Rivera, CEO/founder of KidItCard and Sloane graduate, was there, as always. I also talked to Tony McDonald, president of Marz Capital Corporation.

The presentation was by Sheila Paxton, Frontline Group's EVP for instructional design, technology, and deployment. She said that by 2003, 60% of organizations will have e-learning platforms. The industry has progressed much more rapidly than analysts predicted. Reasons include cost reduction, flexibility, and the fact that these courses support adult learning models (i.e., allowing you to get what you need when you need it). Eight hours of instructor-led training can be compressed into two hours of online training.

Colorado Software and Internet Association Breakfast On March 23 I headed down to Denver for a Colorado Software and Internet Association breakfast at the Pinnacle Club, which is part of Top of the Rockies (37th floor of Qwest Towers). The best that can be said for leaving Boulder at 6:30 in the morning is that you miss most of rush hour.

Cathy Ewing, the executive director of CSIA, is doing a bang-up job. Not only is she everywhere, the CSIA has been extremely proactive in terms of community building. More than 200 people showed up at this event to network, have breakfast, and hear the presentation. Among the contingent from law firm Holme Roberts & Owen were Mark Weakley, Suzy Thevenet, Charlie Bruce, Charles Maquire, and Linda Wackwitz. Plus I met Sue Oakes, VP/general counsel at Requisite Technology, who used to be at HRO. Also there were Bill Chambers, president/CEO, and Dave DuPont, VP, marketing and business development, for LeftHand Networks.

Since most of the tables were sponsored, I grabbed a seat at one of the open ones and ended up with a good mix of people. Kevin Johnson, a lawyer with Hollard & Hart, mentioned that he had three Harleys. John Maguire, with the British Consulate in Denver talked about the upcoming UK Tech Forum to be held at the Denver Convention Center April 19. Also at the table were Ross Duncan, president/CEO of OMA Incorporated, Leanne Hurley, director of solution sales for Nupremis, and Russ Baldermann, area channel manager for Jamcracker.

The presentation, "A View from the Valley," was given by Steve Pearse, CEO/chairman of Akroria Networks (http://www.akroria.com) and chairman of Inara Networks. He opened his presentation by telling us how much portable hardware he was leaving at his table and sharing with us the line he heard at MIT: "Nerds set your phasers to stun." In other words, set those cell phones to vibrate. Among his points:

*Software is the key to value creation. Hardware is hardware but what differentiates one company from another is its service and its people.

*There is inertia in IT departments. You must offer a truly compelling IT strategy for them to make a switch. For your company to succeed today, your product has to be 10X better than the competition in terms of cost improvement, density (size reduction), and/or performance.

*Hire people from your customers because they already know what those companies need.
*The only difference between Denver and San Jose is money. There is a lot of fear of investing outside of San Jose. But a lot of Silicon Valley VCs are setting up Denver offices. It's a great time to invest; VCs are still closing rounds.
*The trouble with wireless: limited spectrums.

Before I left I had chance to talk to a few more folks. Mark Weakley introduced me to John Caprio and Brian Smith from the Boulder marketing firm, Sonant. And he also introduced me to Robert Welch, VP of business development for Tango Technologies, a Boulder-based IT outsourcing partner. We talked about recent developments alternative energy, about the need to link old economy and new economy execs in a common forum, and how the Council of Growing Companies (http://www.ceolink.org) has been doing that. By then we were just about the only ones left in the room so it was time for us all to head out the door.

BitStreams Preview

75th and Madison was the place to be on Tuesday March 20th, as museum members and a critical mass of digital artists filled the Whitney Museum of American Art for the preview of “BitStreams” and “Data Dynamics,” the museum’s selection of creative works of digital technology and Internet applications. TSC will defer to the New York Times’ 3/25 Sunday Style section for those of you who are curious about the scene-makers. While the party was exciting, all of you have a chance to experience the not-to-be-missed exhibits.

“Bitstreams” fills an entire floor of the museum with works of art ranging from Inez van Lamsweerde’s monumental digitally “re-touched” photo, Me Kissing Vinoodh (Passionately), to Robert Lazzarini’s skulls. Lazzarini created this series of sculptures by laser-scanning an actual human skull to create three-dimensional CAD files, which he stretched and distorted digitally and “printed out” by a machine that rendered them three-dimensionally.

Downstairs, in the Whitney lobby you’ll find a collection of on-line installations that signify a watershed event in the history of art and the Internet. “Data Dynamics” is composed of five major installations that are web-enabled. Adrianne Wortzel’s Camouflage Town creates a theatrical scenario for a robot that lives in the Museum space and interacts with visitors. The robot is remotely controlled by visitors over the ‘net. A second major installation, Maciej Wisniewski’s Netomat, takes visitors for a ride into the Internet’s subconscious. Museum visitors can enter “search phrases” into web-based terminals in the dimly lighted “netomat theater.” Netomat then responds by filling the immersed environment with a collage of streaming images, text, animations, voices and music harvested from the web-based archives.

Find out more about the exhibit at www.whitney.org, and mark your calendars for the Whitney Contemporaries ART PARTY 2001: BitStreams from 9pm to 1am on Thursday April 19.

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Susanne Lainson

On March 14 I trekked down to Denver for the monthly Forum for Women Entrepreneurs meeting. This time it was held near Cherry Creek at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel. As Denver locations go, this was a good one since it is centrally located without the parking hassles and one-way streets that come with downtown. And with Tiffany & Co. and the Denver Country Club just a few miles away, it's ever so convenient for those who have places to go and people to see.

I saw many familiar faces including Patty Rivera, CEO/founder of KidItCard, Laurie Wagner, president/CEO of MD-IT, Erika Brown, founder/principal of NetGoddess, Deborah Arhelger, managing partner of DuoVoce Group, and Kelly Brandner, VP of PR firm Citigate Cunningham (a sponsor of the event). Suzy Thevenet, an attorney with Holme Roberts & Owen, told me the Venture Capital in the Rockies ski trip had been great and too bad I missed it. Bernice German, CEO of Peak Achievement, said that her educational software company now has a demo up and running on its website.

At dinner I sat with FWE co-founder/CEO Denise Brosseau, who was on her way back home to San Francisco after having just come from New York. She attended Springboard 2001, where twenty-five female entrepreneurs were pitching their companies to potential investors.

The evening's program involved a discussion about funding. Here are some highlights:

Catharine Merigold, a principal with Vista Ventures, a firm that looks for early stage technology companies ("that's where the fun is") with a defensible position such as a patent. She talked about evaluating money sources based on what you need and what they bring you. Sometimes you go with venture capital not because you need the money but because getting it gives your company credibility and may allow you to hire the right CEO. She was very upbeat, saying it's a great time to be in the market and there are incredible opportunities to create value.

Chris Wand, a NetBatsu development officer with SOFTBANK, said that SOFTBANK looks for early stage investments, takes a significant minority position, and seeks to shape strategy. (To an entrepreneur, such an investor can either be perceived as active or meddlesome.) The first step is getting VCs to pay attention. The best way to do that is to get an introduction from a credible source that VCs trust. In addition, don't send in a massive business plan. A teaser will do, perhaps two screenfuls of text to pique interest. He was not upbeat about the market, saying it is a crappy time to raise money and that SOFTBANK has an obligation to its currently funded companies.

Colleen Oberbreckling, director of business development for Sun Microsystem's Support Services Group, said that Sun invests in companies which will drive the industry and get Sun where it needs to go. If an idea doesn't scale, they won't consider it.

Lisa Ireland, a partner in The Hamilton Companies (a private partnership that invests in small to mid-cap companies), said that they look for an entrepreneur who shows a willingness to hand the company over to a new CEO if necessary.

On March 15 I attended "Public Values and the Architecture of the Information Age: The Future of Intellectual Property, Privacy and Open Source," put on by the University of Colorado School of Law. We sat in a mock court room and some of the presentations were appropriately steeped in legalese. Luckily for those of us who have trouble following massive amounts of case references, other presentations were geared for a lay audience.

Some highlights:

Julie Cohen, associate professor of law at Georgetown University, said that we should care about intellectual property issues because they impact freedom of speech. She emphasized that while the U.S. Supreme Court has called the Internet the most revolutionary public forum for free speech, it is not: commercial interests have exerted considerable control over online postings.

Stephen Keating, executive director of the Privacy Foundation, said that his organization looks for holes in Internet security. ... The widespread use of social security numbers has given identity thieves a skeleton key to open all your documents. ... The best analogy of what is happening today isn't "Big Brother," but Kafka's "The Trial." ... Major online privacy issues include (1) opt in/opt out, (2) secondary use of data, and (3) overlay of data (combining data obtained from mulitiple sources). At the heart of the debate is who owns information and how much is it worth. ... Politicians are sympathetic to privacy issues because they have experienced a loss of privacy themselves. Sometime during the next four years Congress is likely to pass some form of privacy legislation.

Douglas Sicker, director of global architecture for Level 3 Communications, predicts that technology, not legislation, will solve the privacy problem.

On March 19 I attended McData's first ever analysts' day. Although the company has been around since 1982, it has been public less than a year. The turnout was very good -- approximately 75 analysts, mostly from New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. For those who arrived a day early, there was an outing to Winter Park via the ski train.

Monday morning we were served a substantial breakfast at the Omni Interlocken Resort where everyone was staying. McData employees arrived in black button-down shirts and khaki pants, a look that had nothing to do with European military history and everything to do with making it easy for analysts to spot them to ask questions. Jack McDonnell, McDATA chairman/CEO, delivered the welcome and then turned the podium over to John McArthur, IDC VP of worldwide storage. He talked about the state of the market and the future of storage area networks (SANs). Basically he said that there has been and will continue to be an explosion of data and as a result storage capabilities must follow. This sentiment seemed to be shared by those in attendance because every analyst I talked to said long-term prospects for the industry look good.

There were several other presentations, followed by lunch at the Omni, and then a trip over to McData for more presentations and a tour. The showpiece is the $15 million Solutions Integration Lab (SIL) which tests complex SAN solutions using a customer's choice of hardware, software, and applications -- even when that involves competitors' products. The SIL has been designed to recreate a customer's systems to insure reliability before installation.

Learning about switches and directors is all well and good, but my particular interest is where McData wants to go with its new branding campaign. Since the company did an IPO last year and since it acts as both a manufacturer and a systems integrator, target audiences for its brand messaging include investors, OEM/resellers, and end users. Some customers go to McData for switching products; others for complete turnkey solutions. Either way, the goal is to make the McData brand synonymous with open storage networking. Well, here's a suggestion: sell the "legend" of McData, even if you have to fabricate one. Maybe something about crazy guys who started the company years ago at the base of the Rocky Mountains and who are now billionaires who plan to donate all their money to cure mad cow disease. The media likes a good story.

ADV ~ AIM in Tampa

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Shakers & Stirrers and Bits & Bytes

DDB Exec Elected Mayor of Cannes
Premedia Teams up with ScreamingMedia
Screaming Along

The Cyber Scene in northeastern LOS ANGELES ~ by Kyrsten Johnson

A brief bit about Spring Internet World ~ March 14-16, 2001
As you read above, JoAnna Minneci and I wandered around the convention floor of Spring IW in search of a good time. We were disappointed -- there were few fanciful exhibits and not many good giveaways, but at least two items stand out in my mind:
The so-called "booth" for Genuity took up enough room to house a small factory, and it's showcase piece was a cross between a state fair ride and the Blue Man Group. In a costly display, six large blue cranes holding human-sized copper cups moved up and down in a random fashion. As we were trying to figure out what the contraption was for, guys in black t-shirts stood up in each cup and started drumming on the sides of their lofty prisons. Sadly, instead of making an impression this company's booth made me wonder how the display got approved in the face of Califorinia's current electricity crisis!

The one good giveaway to be found was a blue foam dinosaur on a strong wire offered by EmergeCore Networks. Okay, so we were easy to please, but everyone who saw us with one asked us where to get it. Even the security guards were trying to take them home!

My other reason for being at IW was to work the booth for the LA chapter of the Association for Internet Professionals. The AIP-LA is a great group for net-oriented executives and they've helped me network around this big city. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the home office folks out of New York like Lindsey Clark and Chris Feathers, and some other city leaders such as Ken Halbeck of the OC chapter. Thursday night the AIP-LA hosted its annual IW Party at the Hotel Figueroa downtown (read about it below), so Friday morning we were all nursing hangovers of some sort and were glad it was the event's last day.

Sad to say that the tradeshow itself was a bust, but I got to meet JoAnna and several other interesting people so it wasn't all bad. We left the convention floor at 4:30 so JoAnna could make it to the Tier One party, and I headed back to Pasadena for BioBrew.


BioBrew ~ March 14, 2001
I'd been trying to attend a BioBrew meeting for many months, thinking it would be highly beneficial for my company to network with some bio-tech groups. BioBrew is focused on networking business professionals, academic scientists, entrepreneurs, investors and service providers in the biomedical and life science fields. They hold meetings bi-monthly, rotating their venues through Pasadena, Westwood, and Santa Barbara.

Started in 1998 in a microbrewery near UCLA, the meetings today are organized by Convergent Ventures, a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage biomedical and life science technologies. I met the CEO, Bill Robbins, and alsoNima Shiva, who runs the group's day-to-day operations. After talking with these gentlemen awhile, it came out that I take care of the site updates for the AIP-LA, and Mr. Shiva immediately asked if I could do the same for BioBrew! Of course I said yes.

The meeting was held on the CalTech campus at the Athenaeum Club. This magnificent building was built in 1930 and meant to bring together academic staff leaders and visiting scholars for the exchanging of ideas among lovers of science, art, and literature. The mansion is furnished with lovely antiques and embellished with Mediterranean-style landscaping and tennis courts. We were in an east wing room featuring 30-foot ceilings, comfortable couches and a dominating 12-foot stoneworked fireplace. The food and drinks were quite good, and I made some very good contacts. Michael Partsch of Versant Ventures was hoping to meet people with ideas or inventions that his company could invest in, and Ronald Egge of the CFO Venture Network was looking for companies in need of financial services. Someone who I've been trying to meet was Stuart Farber, President of CO2 -- he is trying to finalize contracts to build a grand bio-tech incubator near CalTech; he introduced me to John Owens of KPMG and alsoCarolyn Siegal of Cell Matrix.

If the other meetings are as good as this one, I won't be missing the next event!


AIP-LA Hotel Figueroa Party ~ March 15, 2001
The annual AIP-LA Figueroa Party had great drinks but definitely needed more food for the 500-plus crowd. I sat down to enjoy a margarita and discovered the sandwiches were gone after only twenty minutes, so my next two drinks went straight to my head! The party was held on the large patio by the pool in the beautiful and eclectic hotel -- if you didn't know better you'd think you were in Morocco.

The fiesta was supposed to be a pool party, but the weather turned cooler that day and no one was going to take a dip in the chill! I met the most fascinating people, though, and look forward to working with them on their future ventures. Milan Stevanovich has numerous companies and is producing the upcoming TechFests, which will be in many US cities and Europe soon if he can find enough enthusiastic people and a little bit of funding. Francis Shephard is the CEO of an Australian multimedia/IT consortium called Glasshouse 101, and he's working with AIP to host and organize their many chapter sites. The ever-funny Harriett Held, executive director with the AIP, is always fun to talk to, and I found out that she's never figured out how to program her cell phone so I assisted her that night. A leader of one of the largest high-tech networking groups in the USA and she's unable to use her phone! For shame, Harriett!

The party is pretty much a blur to me for most of the night, because I met so many people and enjoyed myself so much I stopped trying to network and just chatted with everyone near me. I ended up leaving a bit early before someone could buy me another drink, but I have to say that this was one event related to Spring Internet World that was highly enjoyable, and very successful!

ADV ~ Economist Group E-Business

The Economist Group's E-Business Summit CA ~ March 29th-30th 2001 - Laguna Niguel, CA Special offer for Cyber Scene subscribers: COMPLIMENTARY tickets for the first 10 subscribers to reply. Please e-mail innagetselis@economist.com or call (1.212) 554 0655, citing reference code XPUL10. Join senior executives at this exclusive Economist Conference to examine the e-business revolution. Cyber Scene subscribers receive $400 off the standard fee. Please visit for further information

Korecktions ~ Microsoft's Loft

Oops. We were so wowed by Microsoft's Loft in last week's edition, we forgot to mention whose event it was! Courtney, The fabulous New York eComm was the generous host that brought together all those witty folks!

Shakers & Stirrers and Bits & Bytes

e-bitda Welcomes James Kung
Matt Ragas Jons HappyHours.com Board
Gotuit and Motorola Team Up
Disinformation: You Are Being Lied To
Razorfish and Telenor Media Create Info Service
The "Digital French Touch"
Eyada.com Hits Times Square

ADV ~ Courtney Pulitzer's Inner Circle

Courtney Pulitzer Venture Circle Members of Courtney Pulitzer Inner Circle, our club for internet-related professionals, can now enjoy our network and contacts for seeking venture funding. This is now a formal and regular function of Courtney Pulitzer Creations LLC. Whether a cutting-edge application technology or web-based service, and everything in between, we can find the right VCs suited for you. And if you are an investor, we have start-up companies seeking funding. For details: http://www.pulitzer.com/venturecircle/ or mailto:arthur@pulitzer.com

ADV ~ Wharton Career Development

Wharton's Day in the Life Career Development Program "Careers in the Internet Industry" Wednesday, April 4, 2001, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM ~ Free to members (only open to members) Location: Midtown, given on registration. Reservations: http://www.whartonny.com/wcnyevents.asp Find out about the good opportunities. Learn how to evaluate the companies that retain vitality and are still good prospects for your career. Benefit from the valuable knowledge shared and the quality networking opportunities at these career development events.

ADV ~ GlobalVentureNetwork

Friday, March 23rd, 2001. www.GlobalVentureNetwork.com's "Annual Venture Capital Global Summit" 8AM-5PM at the Metropolitan Club, One East Sixtieth Street, New York. A full-day Venture Capital conference featuring 25 world class venture capitalists discussing "hot" topics of relevance facing entrepreneurs and the venture community. Club dress code for men is jacket and tie and ladies (no jeans). Breakfast and luncheon with perhaps the highest concentration of venture capitalists in a single ballroom. Register online $1,095. Contact staff@globalventurenetwork.com Registration will close when conference is sold out.

EuroTech Conference 2001

Tim Martin here, on my first official assignment for The Cyber Scene. Actually, I was urgently called in from my previous assignment to fill in for some ailing team members. Now, it looks like this is the start of what will be a regular event/party journal column for Courtney. May it always be a trip to read. I pledge to at least not bore you. And I look forward to meeting you all at CPC events (I'm usually wearing some kind of bright-bordering-to-outlandish tie.) Alright, let's get on with the New Media Gonzo Journalistic Free-For-All!!!!

My Mission: To cover the DASAR EuroTech conference: a two-day event showcasing the Top 100 most promising European startups seeking partners and funding in the US. As I was a call-in lifeline to the EuroTech mission, I unfortunately missed the first day of the conference, following which was apparently a splendid cocktail party at the Guggenheim Museum. The payoff was that I was bright-eyed and bushy tailed for the insightful Opening Remarks of Alex Vieux the CEO and Founder of DASAR, a Global Access company dedicated to assisting startups expand in international markets.

Vieux was followed by Day Two's Keynote Address by Kevin Ryan of Doubleclick. Kevin was pretty straightforward in his analysis of the online advertising industry, pointing out very thoroughly that if you take a comparative snapshot of other emerging technology/communications industries (such as Radio and TV) in their first five years of existence, online advertising is doing incredibly well. Kevin elaborated that the main issue causing the current strife in online advertising and other online industries is that there is only room for a finite number of players in each sector. As M&A activity increases in the next year, the resultant consolidations will prove to be truly powerful companies to reckon with.

Ryan also stood his ground firmly under the sharp and probing point of (Alex) Vieux's Questions regarding Doubleclick's privacy "PR debacle", maintaining that DoubleClick in the end was found to be completely in line with governmental guidelines regarding online privacy. He was quick to point out that of course, although there was massive coverage of the investigation of Doubleclick's alleged violations, there very little print focused on their exoneration. Well, every little bit counts, right Kevin?

Next was a great panel on "The Wireless Rush" hosted by the always-on Burt Alimansky of http://www.nybusinessforums.com. The panel featured Thomas Zillacus, Chairman of Open Mobile, Vincent Grimaldi, CEO of The Grimaldi Group, Brian Bodell, President of Mobile Metrics, and Philippe Braweman, President & CEO of Reef. After the panel, I got a chance to chat with Count Vincent Grimaldi, an old friend of mine from the heady days of NY Venture Group Breakfasts circa Jan 2000 (ah, remember those times...). When asked how the last year has been, he responded that "Things have changed. It's just not like it was." You're tellin' me Count!

Throughout the day after that, there was a continuous flow of presentations by the European companies selected to showcase. Giving into my predilection towards Web3D companies (in my role as the CEO and editor-in-chief of http://www.3DeZine.com), I made it a special point to check out the presenting 3D and graphics companies. Among the best presentations was Dominique Pouliquen's demo for RealViz http://www.realviz.com, a 3D technology and production company based out of France. Their technology was extremely compelling, and their established clients and strategic partners are stellar. This company is poised to make a big splash in the 3D online and offline industries. Another impressive Web3D presentation was by Bruno Winck, CEO of RadialSoft http://www.radialsoft.com , whose techonology is used primarily in the B2B areas to help companies set up commercial exchanges with 3D features.

Also in high attendance were companies such as DASAR, that specialize in bringing European companies over to the US, and viceversa. I had good speaks with Sylvie Marc, the President of TransAtlantic Ventures http://www.taventures.com , as well as Volker Detering, COO of EventMe! http://www.EventMe.com and their non-profit Start Abroad www.StartAbroad.com Also in high attendance was a wide range of B2B companies that supplied solutions to the current problems facing the B2B market. By far the most impressive of these companies was Split The Difference http://www.splitthedifference.com whose patent-pending technology allows eMarket-makers to close deals in thin markets-maximizing surplus for buyers and sellers. Complementing auctions, catalogs, and RFP/RFQ solutions, SplitTheDifference solutions are customized to meet the needs of eCommerce players. I had the pleasure of meeting with CEO R.S. Ophir (Ophir) and Michael Trefz of their impressive Business Development team which includes world-renowned experts in economics, negotiation, strategy, auctions and game theory.

Finally, I had the pleasure of enjoying a delectable Plaza Hotel lunch with veteran CyberScenester Carol Peters of the Columbia University Press and Gabrielle Riera representing Interactive Custom Clothes Company (their CEO Peter del Rio spoke at last month's Morning Circle Breakfast). Also present was John Hamblet, the VP of Corporate Development of a great company called Eve Global Group http://www.eveglobal.com . John was beaming with pride for their new company, a spinoff company of Thunderbird, the prestigious Arizona-based school for MBA's in Intl. Management. EveGlobal consults early-mid stage companies in focusing their Biz plans and in determining the ever-elusive company valuation. John boasted that his guys were so good that they recently were able to reasonably valuate a Chinese syndication company! Jeez, now that's good. I'll actually be attending EveGlobal's First Year Anniversary party this evening. Congrats EveGlobal on a great first year.

So, all in all, the conference was a great success in cross-germination of European companies with American ones. And it ran relatively smoothly considering the large number of companies that were showcased- thanks to Kellie Morlock and the rest of the team at DASAR.

ADV ~ Business 2.0 Conference

Business 2.0 "Rules & Tools Conference" Conference in NYC, Hudson Theatre. (at the Millennium Broadway Hotel) in New York City, April 2-3, 2001. Learn "the proven truths of today's successful companies" as we bring together web economy ideas from both traditional and emerging businesses. Based on a series of articles published in an upcoming issue of Business 2.0 titled "Winning Business Strategies for the Long Haul", the conference features speakers like Scott Cook, Patricia Seybold, and Mitchel Resnick, tackling sessions with titles such as "Transform, Don't Conform" and "Capitalizing Your Capital". Two days full of dynamic content and outstanding networking with fellow decision makers. For the overview and agenda details go to: www.business2.com/rules. It's just $1495 if you register by March 16. www.business2.com/rules. When you register, please use Priority Code: Association.

ADV ~ Apt in the Meat Market

Don't miss these opportunities! Two live/work spaces available in the Meat Market (West Village) area:
Front loft: 1200 sf (approximate), full bathroom, 3 offices (one with kitchen) south facing windows, 11' ceiling, concrete heavy load floors, 1 freight elevator, walk up, third floor out of five, $2,500/month, commercial lease "but the landlord will look the other way if tenant works over night frequently", direct electric meter, heat and water included in base rent, term 3 - 5 years, immediately available, tenant pays commission.
Rear Loft: 2800sf (approximate), needs work, sink and kitchen area partially built, bathroom has pipes in place but needs fixtures, windows face north and east, walk up, third floor, $3000/month, commercial lease, etc., same as above. Contact: Jim Hewitt (212) 675-9173 (office) J.S. Hewitt Real Estate.

ADV ~ Aperian

Aperian: Aperian realizes that bandwidth availability and bottom-line results go hand in hand. That's why we were the first company in the world to place data centers directly on top of Tier-1 Internet backbones. Thanks to the strategic placement of our data centers, our customers completely bypass the bottlenecks of the local loop, giving them access to all the bandwidth they need, not to mention the physical environment and support services necessary to keep their websites and servers operational. Always. Your business is built to succeed. Let us make certain it's Built for Broadband.

ADV ~ Korn/Ferry International

Korn/Ferry International -- Korn/Ferry International, the world's leading recruitment company, works closely with clients to provide leadership capital solutions throughout North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific and Latin America. The firm focuses on senior search services, identifying CEOs, board members and other top executives; on middle-management recruitment through its Internet-based Futurestep; on college and MBA recruitment on-line through JobDirect and MBA Jungle and on evaluating senior management teams through our Management Assessment business. --- www.kornferry.com

History taking a leap forward

Set in a sprawling penthouse apartment on 57th street, Wave Systems Corp. hosted a WIRL (Wave Interactive RealTime Link-Up) for guests to see their technology in action. The hearty meal was prepared by Mr. Peter Sprague himself on his barbeque grill outside. I was also privy to a tour of his personal history. Some may recognize the name for his grandfather's business, started in Massachusetts: Sprague Electric Company. His great grandfather invented the electric trolley car. You start to get a sense of the electric minds in this family. I was equally fascinated by the photos of him with significant Russian politicians and threatening poses atop tanks in Poland. His "Cocktail Party Expeditor" was a brilliant idea formed in 1977, where you can beam contact information to someone you meet at a party, and see how many people you know in common --sort of like a Six Degrees meets Palm. Their Board of Directors is quite impressive too, with members like Nolan Bushnell, who invented Pong, and George Gilder.

Peter was chatting with Music.com's Gary Huff and GigAmerica's Scipione Borghese and Scott Egbert were getting ready for their trip to Austin for SXSW's major music festival. Spence Associates's Michael Gaida complimented me on my Valentine's soiree, which he and his wife attended. Hovering in the corner, I spied the actual gadget for the demo and soiree. Peter described it as a "scheme for removing cash from people in bars." But it's really a system that helps bars and vendors that advertise on the system make more money.

Swanky place, swish speakers, sumptuous snacks

Set in the trendy Hudson Hotel, the Columbia Business School Alumni in Media and Entertainment hosted a panel discussion featuring MTVi's Nicholas Butterworth, Juno.com's Charles Ardai, North Haven Partners' Adele Morrissette, Bolt.com's Dan Pelson and iVillage's Doug McCormick were the illustrious speakers. Their animated and engaging conversation drew in the audience and kept the evening rolling as they discussed the evolution of digital TV, cable, Tivo, advertising on the net and Napster. Afterwards I chatted with Zomba's Seth Schachner and Hartnick Consultant President Kate Hartnick. Charles Ardai and I caught up as he introduced me to one of his investors, News Digital Ventures Director Daniel Goldman. Lazard Freres Ilya Gertsberg landed safely (there) after his previous dotcom, RedFilter, went the way of many others. Jason Ojalvo came over to say "Hello," and I chatted for a bit with Mofo.com's John Delaney and Shirin Malkeni. As I snacked on some rich pasta dishes, compliments of sponsor Arthur Anderson, I chatted with VC Peter Boyd, Columbia MBA Kathleen Walsh and her friend Annie Kozuch, who will be co-hosting a Metro Channels TV show soon. Columbia Business School Alumni Club of NY Co-President Peter Greenough spoke with me a bit about the club's history and mission - to support the school's alumni. He also founded the Entrepreneurial and Internet Ventures Committee six years ago. He introduced me to Co-President Dean Gamanos, Ideas Trust Partners CEO Steven Feldman and Palmer Hill President Darryl Rouse. As I gathered my notes to leave, I chatted briefly with Bank of NY VP, media & Telecommunications division, Gerry Granovsky, Structured Content's Sanford Streim and Luminant's Stu Seltzer.

Springboard Women's Venture Capital Forum

Springboard Women's Venture Capital Forum, held on March 13, 2001 showcased 25 promising women-owned enterprises. In their 15-minutes of fame, each presenters highlighted her company. The day-long event was well attended by venture capital firms, investors and entrepreneurs. Among the presenters were Courtney Hudson, president of Emerging Med, a web-based company whose software accelerates development of new drugs. Erotigo CEO Stephanie Schwab, which will deliver adult content via wireless has a catchy slogan: "Sex in the palm of your hand" and will launch in NYC this spring. Cyota, Inc. founder Michal Tsur has expertise in security for financial transaction over the Internet. Post2Post.com president Gail Lindsay Blauer was very enthusiastic in her delivery for their delivery services for small and medium businesses worldwide. Xicat Interactive CEO Jamie Wolf, a worldwide publisher of game content, has built a $12 million sales company and is still growing. United Field president Marla Supnick, presented software for 4-D for corporate communications, spectacular outdoor displays and stock trading. One of the keynote speakers was Goldman Sachs managing director Abby Joseph Cohen, who feels that the stock market may be undervalued and expects corporate growth to resume later in the year. Later, at the cocktail reception I met were Alexandria Va-based Beicom David Thayer and a new arrival from Chicago, katalyst.com's Rick Tuley.

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Suzanne Lainson

On March 13 I was off to the monthly Rockies Venture Club at Denver's Marriott City Center. (The hotel is being remodeled, so the atmosphere in the public areas leaves something to be desired, but the valet parking makes up for it.) Cocktails start at 5:15 PM, and even at that early hour the turnout is good. It's the dressiest crowd I've seen at any local networking event; virtually everyone wears a suit (including the relatively few women in attendance). http://www.rockiesventureclub.org

The first person I ran into was Jeff Jensen, CEO of Dealer Parts Online. We've chatted about blending old economy and new economy businesses. Then I spotted Ty Bohannon, chief strategy advisor for eBusiness Strategies, who graciously bought me my whiskey sour. We were joined by Lauren Stevens, the company's strategic relationship manager. Our conversation centered around local economic conditions. As an example of a company that is simultaneously laying off and hiring people, Ty cited Navidec, an ebusiness solutions and services provider with whom eBusiness Strategies is working in an advisory role to create a strategic business unit. It's more a matter of shifting priorities rather than an across-the-board cut.

Fredda Krinsky, president of Krinsky & Company, came over and suggested I meet Bud McGrath, business development director of the Recycling Development Incubator. He and I talked about the importance of alternative energy research to Colorado and how it is one of the areas targeted for budget cuts by President Bush. Later in the evening I met Richard Stuebi, president of NextWave Energy, a consulting company specializing in emerging electrical energy technologies. Alternative energy technology has, for the most part, been flying under the VC radar, but that may change. Colorado is well-positioned to benefit if it does. I wouldn't mind seeing a few eco-billionaires hanging out in Golden or Boulder. http://www.nextwave-energy.com

When it was time for us to go into dinner, I spotted Allan Roth and decided to join him. He's based on Colorado Springs, so we only see each other at events like this. A financial consultant, he is also serving as CFO for MedLogic, which makes SuperGlue-like products to seal up wounds and protect skin. Among the others at our table were David Hieb, CEO of NameWise, Liz Shields, account executive for co- location provider ViaWest, Jesse Young, a principal with Catalyst Partners Executive Services, an offshoot of the Colorado Springs-based VC firm, and Matthew Messter, CEO/president of eProbe, which develops online communities for outdoor recreation enthusiasts. Another tablemate, Andrew Spaulding, regional VP for Goleta National Bank, had an interesting comment. His bank hesitates to lend to companies growing faster than 25% a year because rapid growth combined with inexperienced managers is usually a prescription for failure.

The evening's program started off with an announcement that Lu Cordova, the new president of the Boulder Technology Incubator (and a recent Silicon Valley transplant who helped to start @Home), is forming a networking group for angel investors. This was followed by five-minute pitches from three companies: Digital Office Solutions, Sportsman's Lair, and R. G. Rincoe and Associates. We learned about leasing color copiers, hunting supplies, and bionic ankles. http://www.btionline.org

Then we moved into the main presentation, featuring execs from four local Inc. 500 companies: Joel Appel (president/CEO, Orange Glo), Tom Redder (VP, marketing, Cytomation), Scott Burt (president, Integro), and Greg Jacobsen (president/CEO, XOR).

Most of my notes involved XOR, a Boulder company which builds and runs websites. It was started in 1991 and then acquired in 1999 by RedShift, where Greg was CEO. His job was, as he put it, to "create wealth in a prescribed period of time." He provided a "layer of adult supervision" by hiring people he knew from his 25 years in business. The company then embarked on an aggressive growth plan, acquiring six firms.

RedShift/XOR raised $32 million and could have used more but was limited by the size of the VC fund. The plan was to do an IPO within twelve months. But before that was accomplished, the bottom fell out of the market and now neither public nor private money is friendly. The VC community is paralyzed. This rapid change of events illustrates the need for a flexible capital plan. XOR must continually adjust its capital strategy, as it did when it quickly shifted its attention from revenue growth to profitability.

The benefit of bringing in experienced management is historical perspective. They see the cycles and know how to hunker down and be patient. The challenge is finding ways for these corporate types to work together with 20-something employees. Getting the culture right for both groups is important. XOR has the foosball table, the dogs, the bikes, the climbing wall, the ski days. There's even a "beat-the-CEO day" where any employee who can out-race Greg on the slopes wins options.

Later, while we were both waiting for our cars, Greg mentioned to me that he had been a ski team member and skied competitively during his days at the University of Colorado. That certainly intrigued me and I wanted to find out more, but unfortunately my car arrived. Maybe another time.

The Cyber Scene in Seattle ~ by Larry Sivitz

With all the construction that's been going on around the Washington State Convention Center, it would have been easy to mistake your average-size earthquake for a few thousand pounds of hydraulic hammering. But not a 6.8 quaker!! And not if you're from one of America's square states, just visiting the Emerald City for the annual Net.Marketing conference, having never done earth surfing of any kind. Our sympathies to the event planners and the attendees. At least it wasn't raining!


In his keynote address, Direct Marketing Association president & CEO H. Robert Wientzen spoke about E-commerce using the metaphor of aviation, perhaps because we're also the Jet City and the world's leading airframe builder.

When the Wright brothers turned human flight from a dream to a reality in 1903, the distance between two points suddenly shrank and an entire new world of possibilities opened up. The world would NEVER be the same. Aviation steadily progressed. Success was no longer piloting over Kitty Hawk but crossing the Atlantic, which Lindbergh did to great fanfare and celebration.

And then something happened that cast a dark shadow. The crash of the Hindenburg. A fiery disaster that shook the country and the world. That powerful image loomed large in the American psyche, and on the giant screens inside the convention center.

Of course, aviation didn't stop with the Hindenburg. Engineers learned from the tragedy and put this knowledge to work...moving ahead in new ways.

"Well, I think the story of aviation is similar to e-commerce's brief history," said Wientzen. "Every advancement over the past decade has generated more excitement...and heightened expectations. You could feel the buzz! There was E-mail! Then the Web! Wealthy cyber lords were created in the blink of an eye. It was SO new...and looked SO promising! What could go wrong...?!"

"Look at it this way...the Hindenberg was quite capable of flying...the technology was there. Remember, it DID cross the Atlantic. However, it wasn't perfect, or necessarily practical for all occasions and purposes." Unflappable logic we think.

.............

Hardest hit by the Seattle quaker was probably Starbuck's. In case you missed the news coverage, its excerpted forthwith:

Seattle, WA - Thousands were spilled and hundreds were injured as a giant tremor rocked the Seattle area Wednesday morning. Neither café lattes, cappuccinos, steamed chai, nor even the tiny espressos were spared from the force of the 6.8-magnitude quake. As Senior Investigative Baristas survey the damage, leaked reports suggest that as many as 10,000 hot drinks were spilled - many causing injury.

Survivors' statements:

Sophie: "My latte was everywhere! I always order a Grande, but after the earthquake I was left with only a Tall."

Ronaldo: "I had just collected my double tall non-fat decaf Caramel Macchiato when the terror struck. Running for the door, I practically slipped on a hastily discarded L.L. Bean catalogue. What good fortune, for in it I found a lovely Transit Rolling Pullman and placed the order right there from my Palm VII."

Chad: "Like, you're not going to believe this. Only yesterday my soy Chai leaves were, like, totally predicting this quake. In fact, today I ordered a Grande in a Venti cup because I was so, like, worried about spillage."

...............................

In other news, Seattle tech companies have been getting something of a reputation for "stonewalling." And, as one witty commentator pointed out recently, stonewalling is bad PR strategy. Why? Journalists, workers and Wall Street analysts don't forget when they're stonewalled.

Some recent examples: Microsoft remaining absolutely silent about the tech problems at its websites, instead of saying: "We don't know what's causing this, but we'll let you know as soon as we find out." And then there's The Cobalt Group, a company that helps automakers with their online dealings. John Holt, Cobalt CEO, emailed his employees that unions are not welcome at the company, in the absence of an organizing drive. In this case, wouldn't silence have been golden?

Perhaps the most extreme example of stonewalling occurred last month, when Amazon.com called a Wall Street bond analyst's report "silly." This is the same analyst (Ravi Suria) who's been issuing scathing reports about Amazon's cash-flow situation since last summer. Suria is saying Amazon is likely to face a credit crunch by this coming fall. Sure, Suria may well be too heavy-handed in his assumptions. But what he's saying is definitely not "silly."

If Suria's assumptions were silly, the convertible bonds issued by Amazon would not be trading at 45 cents to the dollar and yielding 18%, indicating that the company has a good strong chance of going belly up. If Suria's assumptions were silly, Amazon's credit rating would not be near the bottom of the barrel.

What should Amazon have said? How about: "We appreciate Suria's concern, and he does raise some valid issues, but his conclusions are entirely wrong."

The Cyber Scene in Chicago ~ by Kelly Markham

Chicago's biggest party this month was the south-side Irish parade but the runner-up was Big Frontier's Networking Extravaganza. On March 13, Excalibur Nightclub was packed with 300 busy internet executives looking to eat, drink, and socialize.

I entered Excalibur and was greeted by the Big Frontier admission booth where I exchanged my business card for a yo-yo, name tag and drink ticket. As I made my way up to the second floor, I squeezed into the crowd and noticed the event was separated into 3 areas: main networking, pink slip jamboree, and panel of power.

I moved about the floor and entertained several conversations. The topics floated around Greenspan, employment and wireless. Later, I "pink slipped" into the jamboree and chatted with job seekers while they jumped from booth-to-booth looking for employment. Aquent, Tarzian Search Consultants and Parallel Partners were some of the firms meeting with candidates.

At 6:30 p.m., I traveled across the room to the Panel of Power. Shaye Mandle, president of the Illinois Coalition, introduced the speakers and began the discussion about Chicago's Wireless Future. Dan Miller, Sun-Times business editor, and Rob Kaiser, Chicago Tribune Tech Reporter, discussed their personal habits regarding mobility and answered numerous questions from the crowd. Motorola, the leading player in Chicago's mobile economy, "hot-synched" the event with a wireless raffle. The winners received two Motorola Walkabouts.

At 10:00 p.m., the frenzy of networking started to slow-down and the organizers packed up their equipment. As I passed the empty buffet tables, I noticed I had a glass full of ice, a yo-yo and a pocket full of business cards. Yet, another successful event!

Tune in next month when Comdex comes to Chicago, April 2-5.

Austin's Powerforum and Cocktails with Courtney

As the official closing night party, SXSW worked with Networker.com to present a power panel of speakers, a full hall of sponsors pining for visitors and the VIP reception for Cocktails with Courtney guests at the Austin Music Hall on Tuesday, March 13th. Before the full-out party started, attendees heard Independent Venture Partner Robin Curle, TL Ventures's Bob Fabbio, 212 Studios' Ingrid Vanderveldt, Grande Communications' Bill Morrow, The Capital Network's David Gerhardt and Knowledge Capital Group's Bill Hopkins speak on compelling topics of the day. Moderated by Austin American-Statesman journalist Lori Hawkins, guests got to see wit and intelligence meet and match up on stage for the hour-and-a-half-long discussion. Immediately following was the party and our reception upstairs.

Sponsored by Korn/Ferry International and Aperian, our guests enjoyed a full buffet and complimentary cocktails for the soiree, overlooking the entire Hall. Korn/Ferry's North American Advanced Technology Practice Managing Director Jim Bethmann and Brad Gray were the dashing hosts as they greeted guests. And Aperian's Alliance Marketing Liaison Maureen Marroquin was the gracious and lovely hostess as she also greeted guests and introduced newcomers and old acquaintances alike. Intel's Wireless Communications Group analyst Patrick Kannar, Hoovers Online's Bill Chambers, RR Donnelley Financial's Thom Singer and Exodus' Scott Rehling were among the guests.

After their panel, Austin American-Statesman Reporter Amy Schatz, Robin Lea Curle and 212 Studios' Lyn Graft came upstairs for a cocktail and to mingle. I interviewed a number of guests, thanks to The Granite House's Dwight Adair and his crew. Meanwhile High Tech Austin Annual's Managing Editor Wendy Lawrence photographed the event for documentation. Niehaus Ryan Wong's Chris Aarons and Amy Kirkland came out to show their support, and I met University of Louisiana's Magdy Bayoumi and Pixus' Max Hoyt, and Lafayette's Chamber of Commerce's Joey Dorel. IBooks.com's Stephen Gannon, beFree's Ellen Trammell and CWC regular The Warren Group's Phil Currie also came up to our elegant little area to schmooze. Dell was well represented with Webmaster Ricardo Guerrero (who attended my panel), Sharon Baelis, Shari Hembree and Diane Hodes. Austin-based Photodex VP of Technology and CTO Paul Schmidt introduced himself to me. His technology is utilized on our sites for picture uploads and organization. With so many talented people stopping by it was hard to catch a breath! But I did, and the soiree ended on a successful note just before Austin-based famed musician Ian Moore took the stage to wow the rest of the audience.

Location, location, location

TUESDAY, MARCH 13. AUSTIN, TX. SXSW

Not organized by what we do, but by where we were, is how the panel I sat on was organized. Location, location, location focused on the debate and idea of how virtual you can be, and how important physical location is to the success of your business in this high-tech world. Moderated by Berlin-based writer David Hudson (Rewired), Dallas-based DotComGuy, Raleigh-based Steve Champeon (hesketh.com), Paris-based Axel Ronsin (Cinetic Design), Seattle-based Jon Staenberg (Staenberg Venture Partners) and I all offered our various perspectives. You may be familiar with DotComGuy's year-long experiment of living in a house without going outside once. He utilized firms in Dallas and elsewhere to get what he needed - all online. Steve heralded Raleigh for its quality of life and close proximity to other major metropolises. Axel mentioned that his command of the English language helped him land a job in London, shutting out many larger UK firms because the French firms are less costly. Jon's point of view was to "stay local" so he could really manage and work with his ventures. Et moi? Well, I like to travel all over so I can see the activity going on. While based in one city, I find it's easy to work across borders and boundaries in a digital landscape. And yet nothing replaces the essential human connection of a face-to-face. Another major point made that night was the advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting and its true success in the work place.

Roast The Net 2001

With a full belly, I went over to the Ritz Lounge, where I sat and listened to Heather Gold host her annual "Roast the Net" event. Glassdog.com's Lance Arthur entertained the audience with the Pet.com sock puppet, Liz Belile compared the porn and Internet industries. Athor Thomas Scoville droned on a bit, but then picked up audience interest with his Dr. Seuss-like poem on "I want my IPO." Links.com's Justin Hall pranced about with thoughts on online dating. The Lance and the sock puppet were the most humorous, but the others fulfilled their definition of a "roast" with their dark humor.

Digital Media Wire and Microsoft's Hearty BBQ

After "dinner" we went over to the Digital Media Wire's party, sponsored by Microsoft's Technology Center Austin at the famed Stubbs barbeque (http://stubbsbarbq.citysearch.com/1.html) for a hearty sandwich of BBQ beef and potato salad. Jim introduced me to writer Ronald Deutsch, and as I worked on my sandwich I chatted with Flood Zone's Tayloe Emery and Mason Wyatt, who were in town for the music part of SXSW. Psionic Software CEO Jerry Boudreau came over to say "hello" tipped me off to a fantastic place to have my next CWC in Austin. Stay tuned for details!

Austin Chronicle Tech Crawl and An Education on the Film Scene

MONDAY, MARCH 12. AUSTIN, TX. SXSW


Taking advantage of the close proximity of drinking establishments on 6th Street, the Austin Chronicle hosted a Tech Recruitment Crawl on Monday, March 13th. Starting off at Babes, I had some sausages with Interactive Industries Development Manager for the City of Austin Jim Butler, who gave me the scoop on Austin's thriving development. First of all, there is construction going on everywhere you look; there are at least nine cranes visible in the downtown area. Another development, but utilizing an existing structure, is the film production center that is taking over the old airport. What a great use of all those hangars and space! What a creative and smart way for a city to keep an existing and burgeoning industry thriving within city limits. The Chamber of Commerce is working in other ways to support the film, music and interactive industries. Austin Film Society's Executive Director Rebecca Campbell and Founder Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed & Confused) have had an impact, as well. I noticed more digital and low-budget, independent films, as opposed to just traditional filmmaking in Austin. Linklater gave Austin another notch on its high-tech belt by using software developed in town for one of his Sundance submissions. Drew Mayer-Oakes of Pixel Perfect is equally involved in the Austin film community with the Digital Storytellers Alliance, as is Tom Rhoades with Austin's Digital Video Center.

So, after getting the scoop on the film scene here, Jim and I knocked off a game of pool under the gaze of a big Moose at Buffalo Billiards before heading uptown to Herdomain.org's Club De Ville mixer. Herdomain-er Donna Kidwell greeted us with "Dinner is ice cream and cookies!" So, of course, we went right over to get a big heaping bowl of locally made ice cream and Pepperidge Farm cookies! We listened to the ambient Numeralia band that was quite "harp and soul-ish." (The band featured a harp.) Before leaving, we chatted with Silona Bonewald (www.exemplartech.com), who told us about her various projects and two great restaurants in town.

SXSW Hall

While SXSW is a special event, drawing together creative minds to collaborate in Film, Interactive and Music, and is usually a well-attended event, the economic roller coaster had its mark here too. The exhibition hall was sparse, to say the least, and the actual number of attendees was down from last year. While the attendees could be classified as hard-core Internet-types who are "here to stay," the sheer lack of volume made for a slightly watered-down feel to the overall impact. In my travel around the hall, though, I did get a picture with Elvis on his "hog" at the TrueLook booth. Here they offered visitors a photo with The King when you retrieved your email. You also had a chance to get a real-time snapshot of what was going on at that moment in the hall. The Robot Group took more booth space this year and showed off their homemade gadgetry that whirled, spun, lifted and catapulted. Brooks Coleman showed off his Art Bras, made out of metal and other wires (hot-tool.com). NetSpend drew people to their booth by offering sealed cards that "might be worth some money." Inside.com definitely had the most exciting and useful element at the conference - you could go and sync your palm at their kiosk with the most updated SXSW information.

Fray Café and Storytelling

If you were up for something a bit mellower, the Fray Café had a night of offline personal storytelling with local authors and other notable visitors. Emceed by Derek Powazek, performers included Lance Arthur, Heather Champ and Shauna Wright. More live music and hot tamales were highlights at the Loomis Group's "SXSW of the Border Bash." While I learned about shaking salt on a lime with my Texate cervasa, I got to meet Loomis Group Interactive Developer April Litz. Austin Consultant Emily Sopensky introduced me to Account Executives Malissa Williams and Courtney Byrd. Their brick-exposed courtyard and backyard patio, flush with tall lush plants and Mexican lighting, made for a festive and special feeling to the soiree.

Frog's WestWorld

Just up Congress Street, Frog Design held its annual classic, always the most extravagant and amusing bash. The line outside was half a block long, but people didn't mind as long as the drizzling rain was kept at bay. I passed the time (and the line) by taking advantage of the amusement outside. A real, live Texas Longhorn was standing patiently while his cowboys corralled folks to come on up and have their picture taken with him. Of course I couldn't resist, so I hopped right on top while he snorted and shook his five-foot-long head (including horns). Whoa there! Snap! And I'm off! "That'll be $10, please." Ah yes, in true New York style, nothing's free, and all the best tourist attractions have their price. I didn't mind - he was a dashing Longhorn!

The theme this year, SXSWestWorld, was much tamer than the last, "Circus of the Bizarre," but it was just as well thought out and planned exquisitely to the nines. Outside, greeting guests and making sure all the cowboys and girls were of age, Frog Operations Manager Vicky Faith oversaw operations in her cowgirl hat, chaps and bandanna. The 2nd floor was transformed into old Westworld. In rough, raw concrete space I found mismatched chandeliers and sheets hung on rope with stills of classic Western movies projected on them. The light breezes created by fans animated the faces and actions of these heroes to create a moving-image sensation. Onstage in the back, a honky-tonk western rock band played, while Satan's Cheerleaders acted as the backup group - singing, cheering and gyrating to the melody. Up front by the windows facing Congress, were promises of Armadillo races.

Upstairs on the 5th floor, Frog's main offices, was futuristic Westworld. Frog's-branded, cardboard-covered walls and soft sisal carpeting felt cocoon-like as it directed guests softly into various rooms. The main room, now devoid of all desks, chairs and office items, had a less alternative honky-tonk band. Water, beer, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish and pretzels were the light sustenance of choice for the night. IGS's Jon Lebowsky and I caught up on how life in Boulder and made promises to catch up during the Conference on World Affairs, where I'll be speaking in April. Lifeset.com's Will Kreth was just arriving with some friends, and before leaving I got to meet our one-time Denver contributor, Greg Wetterman.

One room was control central with a full computer system, a la 1950s mainframes with spinning disks and flashing lights. Along another counter were monitors that displayed the status of Delos, Gunslinger Feedback, Frog Feedback, Monitor Feedback and other stats of operations related to the "Westworld Power System."

I chatted with Frog Electrical Engineer Manager Larry Cotton and Media Director Craig Negoescu, who explained the elements behind this year's theme. Based on Michael Creighton's 1973 film "Westworld," which was a high-tech theme park where "nothing can go wrong," there were three "worlds" you could visit: RomanWorld, MedievalWorld and WestWorld. He pointed out that Frog's mainframe, which posted various statements, just flashed "Nothing can go wrong." We stood next to a NASA space suit and looked into another room, where Bender, the robot from Fox's TV show "Futurama" blinked at the people peering in. Built initially as a Halloween costume, the outfit features eyes and a mouth that are all midi-controlled. Meanwhile in the conference rooms, guests could play an entirely networked tournament game of "Unreal" - entirely retrofitted with a Western theme set in downtown Austin!

SXSW Web Awards

SUNDAY, MARCH 11. AUSTIN, TX. SXSW

San Francisco has the Webby awards, while Austin's Web Awards takes place during their famed SXSW festival each year in March. Emceed by the-over-the-top John Halcyon Styn, A.K.A Cockybastard.com, on Sunday, March 11th, these awards aren't as much of a show as the Webby, but they still bring recognition to the numerous contestants and the 25 winners. The festivities too place in a standing-room-only ballroom at the recently refinished Steven F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel. Winners included "Who Would Buy That" for the Best Weblog, The Mysterious World of Mummies for the Best High Bandwidth Site, Shortspan for Best Film/Film Industry Web site and The Promise Ring for Best Artist/Band Web site. Dotted among the crowd, applauding the winners were SF-based Wired's ORANGE SHIRT GUY, Denver-based SpireMedia's CEO Michael Gellman, Austin-based SXSW's Interactive Director Hugh Forrest and Networker.com's Harry Pape. Brainfood's Technology Director Ean Schuessler came over to say "hello," and in the most creative job-seeking act I've seen to date, Austinite Jennifer Ayers sat in the back of the room, painted silver and surrounded by computer-related hardware. Her resume sat in front for her performance art piece. Downstairs in the restaurant, I enjoyed a savory salad while chatting with local writer Ken Herbst about Austins' growing cyber scene.

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Shakers & Stirrers and Bits & Bytes

Longley Joins Danilo Black
Razorfish Names Creative Director
On the Road
Agency.com Retools Bosch Power Tools
Transforming the Frith Brothers
Bronx School Presents Awards
Razorfish Teams with Intel
Bikini.com Signs Book Deal

The 3D Scene ~ a special report from Virtual Worlds' by a participant

3DeZine: Web3D Symposium 2001, Feb 19-22 Paderborn, Germany First-hand, nth space

We hadn't been to Paderborn since 1999's Web3D Symposium when the news of Platinum's layoff of the Cosmo team was the buzz. At that time, despite all the great work being shown and the exciting technologies being demo-d, the Web3D community's optimism was seriously deflated by the news that one of the seminal VRML product lines (Cosmo Worlds, Cosmo FX, Cosmo Player which was born out of SGI) was axed. A lot has happened since then: other VRML players have appeared and improved, other proprietary Web3D formats have proliferated, and the dot-com bubble of over-valuation and over-expenditure has burst. So it was with great curiosity that the VirtuWorlds' team arrived at this year's Symposium to check out the scene- the survivors and the success stories.

Hosted by c-lab, Sponsored by ACM Siggraph and the Web3D Consortium, the conference was again held at the Heinz-Nixsdorf Museum: a futuristic complex boasting the world's largest computer museum. This, combined with the history of the town, makes pastoral Paderborn a place of paradox. As a walled city with five springs in a fertile valley 1.5 hours East of Cologne, Paderborn was a strategic center for King Charlemain's European campaign - he met here with the Pope to christen the Holy Roman Empire in the late 8th century. The architecture of the inner town is typical old-German, and the Cathedral and Rathaus can easily bring one's mind back to centuries of old.

As with any conference, some of the highlights are getting to meet your colleagues from Working Groups and Mailing lists face to face. We have found that both formal and informal events gave us time to discuss and envision our future work and collaboration. The gathering was already looking pretty good on Sunday evening when we met some other Web3Ders at the Youth Hostel and then at the Ibis Hotel and kicked off the week with a hearty sampling of the local beers…

The Trade Show / Exhibition ran from Tuesday through Thursday and a good variety of international companies participated. We will publish a complete listing soon at www.virtualworlds.com, but some notable booths included GOMID, who has built a new cross-platform browser that runs HTML, VRML and H-Anim; Humusoft, who integrated the powerful engineering softwares of MATLAB and SIMULINK with VRML visualization; GeoNova, who had some very compelling continuous level-of-detail terrain visualizations; SGDL Systems, whose light, volumetric 3D description format looked amazing; and, of course, VirtuWorlds' 3DeZine who showed their new site design, 3D navigation interface, and held 'Fireside Chats' with notable companies' representatives!

In the relaxed atmosphere of our booth, we held 'Fireside Chats' next to the warming heat of a simulated fireplace (Christmas lights in a box), we got some time to chat with the likes of Eric Anschutz & Paul Isaacs (Eyematic Interfaces & shout interactive), Neil Trevett (3Dlabs & Web3D Consortium), Sara Larsson (Cycore), and Paul Diefenbach (OpenWorlds). We will publish these interesting interviews with more detail and include our other virtual guests Holger Grahn & Marc Kaufmann (blaxxun) and Connell Gallagher (ParallelGraphics)!

The Web3D Consortium Commercial Track highlighted commercial applications of Web3D by giving companies a half hour to present and pitch their products and/or services. Some big names presented here including Sun and SONY. At SONY's presentation, we got see some video footage showing the capabilities of their Blendo project: the layered integration of 3D and rich media for broadband entertainment applications. Presenters: Sun Microsystems, SONY, Parallel Graphics, SGDL Systems Inc., Open Worlds, VirtuWorlds, Geometrek Inc., GOMID. We showcased the latest developments of our 3DeZine and announced our upcoming web destination: The Web3D Exchange. The mission of the Web3DExchange is to collect and connect the Web3D industry and community into one comprehensive and easy-to-use resource network. At the Web3DExchange, graphics designers, developers, project managers, and IT professionals will find the right combination of products, prices, and information needed to get the job done. You can find more about this at our site too, or email me.

Finally, the most fun event of the Symposium, the infamous Web3D Roundup consisted of 13 nominated demos at the Web3D Symposium in Paderborn. They were introduced by Timothy Childs and his 3D video cowboy Avatar. Eric Anschutz was excited to tell us it was a last minute creation made with Eyematic's new toy. It came out very nicely. All the attendees were given last year's "squeak-a-zugs" to yell for a demo and very noisy balloons (which sounded flatulent) to demonstrate how er, "poopy" we thought a demo was. I can tell you we were pretty rude. Anything even remotely to do with games - preferably racing - was good. JaRules' Online Music Video didn't make it through the noises and Sony's presentation was not in favorable standing with the crowd at the Roundup. Rest assured that the best two demos won... Winners this round were Papillion by Vcom3D and Eyematic by Eyematic. The atmosphere was charged with a serious level of highly energetic, yet remorseless fun, which was stirred up by the furry bendable sticks and other toys at the table. The beautifully displayed food was alluring from the corners of our eyes and of course the beer party afterwards made for much more fun!

(written by T. Martin)

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Suzanne Lainson

On February 28, I attended the kickoff reception for the 18th annual Venture Capital in the Rockies conference, an event where twenty-seven handpicked companies had the opportunity to make six -minute presentations to a crowd of VCs and other investors. This year the event was hosted by the Venture Capital Association for Colorado (VCAC), KPMG, and Red Herring. The reception was held at the Top of the Rockies in downtown Denver and was attended by several hundred people: mostly male, mostly well-dressed, mostly entrepreneurs doing some serious networking. It was a clubby atmosphere and while the complementary bar and buffet presented the opportunity to party hard, everyone was on his/her best behavior. http://www.vcac.net http://www.us.kpmg.com http://www.redherring.com
The lighting was low which made name tags hard to read, so I tended to gravitate toward people I already knew. I hung out with the Holme Roberts & Owen crowd, which included Mark Weakley, Suzy Thevenet, Charlie Bruce, and Liza Gonzalez. Mark introduced me to James Cotton, managing director of Icebear Capital Partners. James recently relocated from the United Kingdom and had gotten to know people at HRO's London office. Then Mark introduced me to James Williams, an attorney at Boulder law firm Chrisman Bynum & Johnson. (Both law firms were sponsors of the event.) http://www.hro.com http://www.cbj.com

Mark also introduced me to David DuPont, VP of marketing and business development for LeftHand Networks, a network storage start-up. Sara Gutterman, an associate with Boulder Ventures and a board member of the VCAC, was similarly engaged in conversation with David. He told me that he lived in Grenoble, France, and then in Austin, before moving to Boulder and that quality of life was one of the reasons LeftHand Networks chose to locate in Boulder. (Presumably the fact that Boulder is a data storage stronghold also played a role.) Dave is a cyclist, another good reason to locate in Boulder, which Outside Magazine has called "the best place to become an überjock." http://www.lefthandnetworks.com http://www.boulderventures.com http://www.outsidemag.com/magazine/0599/9905meccas_bco.html

I spotted Robert Anastasi, president/CEO of Zenodata. We've met at several Internet networking events and I see his wife Debbie every month at the Boulder Marcom group that she heads up. I also saw Dick Pankoski, president/CEO of COSA Technologies. He introduced me to Gretchen Jahn, president/CEO of Aegis Analytical, who was there to present her company, which produces software to access, analyze, and understand manufacturing data. I met another presenter, George Schad, president/CEO of Authentor. His company provides infrastructure security solutions. And I talked to David Hieb, CEO of NameWise, who wasn't presenting but was happy to explain his company to me. It facilitates brand name creation. http://www.zenodata.com http://www.marcomnetwork.com http://www.aegiscorp.com http://www.authentor.com http://www.namewise.com

The next day I arrived late to the Marriott City Center where the main event was being held. I got there just in time for lunch and sat between two iSherpa folks, Vipanj Patel, managing partner/cofounder of the venture capital firm, and Bradley Fehn, director of finance. Brad and I talked about TiE-Rockies (iSherpa is a sponsor). His goal is to use TiE-Rockies' great lineup of speakers to encourage drop-ins from the larger Colorado tech community, some of whom are potential entrepreneurs. Vipanj and I talked about mountain climbing in the Himalayas, the importance of Sherpas toward that effort, and how their many admirable qualities were the inspiration for the iSherpa name. http://www.isherpa.com http://www.tie-rockies.org

After lunch I spent part of my time listening to six-minute pitches, part mingling, and part in the exhibit room where entrepreneurs were available for more in-depth discussions. Among the many VCs I spotted were Brad Feld, of SOFTBANK Venture Capital, and Andre Pettigrew, of FastIdeas/iBelay. http://www.sbvc.com http://www.fastideas.com

That was on Thursday. Friday through Sunday The Venture Capital in the Rockies conference continued on with a snow weekend at Beaver Creek. Over one hundred people decided that combining business with skiing and snowboarding at one of Colorado's ritziest resorts sounded like a plan. (I was there last Christmas and can report that the mink-and-sable-per-capita quotient has got to be one of the highest in the country. Must be all those European visitors because Coloradoans with furs keep a low profile.) I debated whether or not to venture up there myself (I had a tempting offer to go snowboarding with Steve Swoboda, CFO of Ereo), but decided I had to pass.

Of the companies making their pitches, I decided to profile two of them:
Ereo caught my attention last summer when it was the subject of a massive article in the Denver Post. It continues to hold my attention because of its ambitious goal: to develop a search engine based on graphics rather than text. The complexity of the task is mindboggling. To be useful, such a search engine either has to be able to find the right image based solely on what you initially request (in other words, matching your text-based request with just the right graphic) or it has to help you quickly narrow down your search based on options it provides you (a technique Ereo employs). http://www.ereo.com http://www.denverpost.com/business/biz0730a.htm

To get a bit more info about the company, I met with CEO Mike Shehan at Turley's, a local Boulder restaurant which is a favorite place for VCs and entrepreneurs to meet over breakfast. He mentioned to me that last year Pete Estler, who founded Ereo and whose investment firm iBelay has funded Ereo, flew a group of them on a chartered plane to the Indy 500. Invited to come along was Furman, the guy who parks cars at Turley's. It's a good Boulder story: VC bonding with parking attendant. Of course, Furman is no ordinary attendant; he also races cars himself and is currently looking for sponsors. So if you are interested, pay him a visit. http://www.ibelay.com

Mike and I talked about the technology behind Ereo. Searches are based on shape, color, texture, and other attributes. While other graphics search engines may employ two or three algorithms, Ereo is currently using at least ten and always adding more of them. Four hundred thousand images a day are being added to Ereo's database, which is powered by a bank of supercomputers. While the company has applied for several patents, it plans to be competitive based on its ability to be faster and cheaper than its current or potential competition.

We also talked about the fact that Ereo has been operating on a shoestring budget, $3.25 million invested by iBelay. Mike said that had they had more money available to them, they would have gone through it, making it harder to raise additional funds now. Ereo is scheduled to go live in a few weeks. They have a deal with Excite@Home and in the future anticipate working with at least five of the top twenty portals. And then expanding into video and audio searches as well. One significant advantage in using a search engine not based on text is its ability to operate across language barriers.

The other company, LeftHand Networks, intrigues me because it promises a new spin on Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Storage Area Networks (SANs), both growing fields. Data storage has been a part of the Colorado scene since the days of IBM and StorageTek (started in 1969). In addition, Exabyte, McData, and Compaq, plus many smaller companies are all here. LeftHand was founded in November, so it is very new. The company offers a solution, Network Bonded Storage (NBS), which is both scaleable and fully compatible with the millions of routers/switches already installed and can use both the Internet and Ethernet networks to facilitate data transfer. Scaleability and compatibility are factors which all data storage companies have been challenged by, so any company that can resolve those problems should be able to capture a large segment of the market.

The management team includes president/CEO Bill Chambers (who is also the former president/CEO of Tango Technologies) and founder/CTO John Spiers. Seeing the need for a simple, networked storage solution, John started working on the concept awhile ago. The concept got a big boost when LeftHand was picked up by the garage.com portfolio. Since then there has been much interest from both the local and international investment communities and LeftHand is pulling together a syndicate which should be in place by the end of the month. http://www.tangotechnologies.com http://www.garage.com

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The Cyber Scene in Pittsburgh ~ by Bob Braughler

Welcome to the March edition of the Pittsburgh Cyber Scene. This time around, we'll take a look at the Pittsburgh Addys, and the Cyber Scene spotlight takes a look at a new player in town - "The Big Web Company."

We're constantly looking for exciting stories to tell about what local companies are up to. If your company or organization has an interesting story to tell, or you are hosting an event aimed at Pittsburgh's technology community, email me.

Spotlight:
This week the Cyber Scene spotlight falls on a company formed by a recent returnee to the Pittsburgh area. The Big Web Company (http://www.thebigwebcompany.com) specializes in web-based PR and web development.

Co-founder Kelly Collins has returned to the Pittsburgh area after eight years of working for media giants such as the Associated Press, Newsweek, and - most recently - USA Today. Collins and partner Ian Felton focus on corporate communications and consulting, as well as the technical end of site development.

In its short existence, The Big Web Company (and its sister division, Boutique Zero) have garnered an impressive list of national clients. Find out more about this up-and-coming Pittsburgh-area agency at www.thebigwebcompany.com

The Scene:
The Pittsburgh American Advertising Awards were presented on Friday, March 2 at the Benedum Center, Downtown. Ripple Effects Interactive came away the big winner in the Interactive Division of the awards, winning two Addys for business-to-consumer online campaigns.

The two Addy-winning sites were created for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Center for Tourism, Film, and Economic Development. The two winning sites are http://www.scenicroute6.com and http://www.hauntedpa.com.

The Ripple Effects team was well-represented at the Addys, as well. President and CEO Louis Malafarina, General Manager Paul Magnani, CTO Carl Kelly and Copywriting guru Gil Gillman were among those in attendance.

Labworks Interactive, Mind Over Media, and Bozell Kamstra were among the other winners in the interactive division.

Upcoming Events:
Tuesday March 13- Pittsburgh Technology Council. Topic: Overview of Web Technologies Time: 4:00 p.m. Location: 2000 Technology Drive, S. Oakland More Info: (412) 687-2700, Ext. 229 or www.pghtech.org

Thursday March 15 - Pittsburgh Young Professionals. Event: Third Thursdays Happy Hour Time: 6:00 p.m. Location: Valhalla, Strip District. More Info: (412) 263-1056 or www.pyp.org/

Saturday, March 24 - Saturday, March 31 - Pittsburgh SciTech Festival. Event: "Sci-Tech Festival," a celebration of Pittsburgh's Science and Technology Industries. Times: Varies daily Location: Carnegie Science Center, North Side More Info: (412) 687-2700 or http://csa.clpgh.org/scifestival/

Thursday, April 5 - Pittsburgh Geeks. Event: Geek Night. Time: 5 p.m. - ??? Location: Foundry Ale Works, Strip District. More Info: http://www.pghgeeks.org/

If you have an upcoming event, or would like to be considered for our Spotlight, shoot an email to bob@thecyberscene.com.

The Cyber Scene in Chicago ~ by Kelly Markham

My first stop, February 6, was Prairiefire, a business-plan competition sponsored by McKinsey & Company and First Tuesday. Prairiefire, an initiative started 6 months ago, is designed to help entrepreneur's kick-start or grow their new economy businesses in the Midwest. The competition received a total of 600 business plans that was narrowed down to 50 semi-finalists and tonight they announced the winners.
I sat in a room of about 300 to hear that the winning business plan belonged to Telcom 21, a broadband infrastructure equipment provider, based in Naperville, Illinois. Telcom 21 took home $100,000 in cash, $25,000 in consulting services from eBlast Ventures, and $50,000 in computer equipment from Compaq. The two runners-up were EnTech Engineering, based in St. Louis, MO which provides data on the destructibility of bridges and Opto Electronics, based in Mahomet, IL that has found a technique for assembling components in fiber-optic networks. Both will receive $20,000 in cash and $25,000 in consulting services and computer hardware.

This event did much to show that the spirit on entrepreneurism in the Midwest is alive and well. I think David Jacobson, the leader of First Tuesday Chicago, summed up the night best when he said, "the real winners here are not the 3 individuals who took home checks today, but the whole technology community."

On February 21, I packed up my palm pilot and headed over to Mobile Wednesday. Mobile Wednesday, is an event for executives, entrepreneurs, investors and consultants to meet and discuss emerging technologies and the future of the wireless internet. The theme revolved around M-School with Douglas Lemont, Professor at DePaul University, instructing the crowd of 200 about Chicago's place in the mobile economy. "Chicago will be a national leader in the U.S. when it comes to wireless products and we will make money," said Lemont. Representatives from Centerpost Corporation, Sun Microsystems, Accenture, Expanets, Fleishman Hillard, and Motorola were all present waiting to hear about the next Killer Application.

I closed the month, February 28, at Kustom's. Kustom's was home to Chicago's first PinkSlip party and was organized by turn-about* inc, a not-for-profit company formed to spur the success of technology companies, workers, and entrepreneurs. The organizers, all ladies dressed in pink, encouraged people to meet in small groups so job seekers could speak directly to those filling positions. The exchange was short-and-sweet, just enough to get business cards, resumes and job details.

The youthful crowd peaked at about 500 and the night turned into a beer guzzling and pizza munching party. Many attendees were still employed and the networking opportunities were endless.

The next PinkSlip party will be March 21st.

Kelly Markham is the founder of LaunchChicago.com, a web portal for Chicago's internet community. Launch! Chicago hopes to encourage community involvement, improve access to public resources and accelerate growth of startup initiatives.

ADV ~ Business 2.0 Conference

Business 2.0 "Rules & Tools Conference" Conference in NYC, Hudson Theatre. (at the Millennium Broadway Hotel) in New York City, April 2-3, 2001. Learn "the proven truths of today's successful companies" as we bring together web economy ideas from both traditional and emerging businesses. Based on a series of articles published in an upcoming issue of Business 2.0 titled "Winning Business Strategies for the Long Haul", the conference features speakers like Scott Cook, Patricia Seybold, and Mitchel Resnick, tackling sessions with titles such as "Transform, Don't Conform" and "Capitalizing Your Capital". Two days full of dynamic content and outstanding networking with fellow decision makers. For the overview and agenda details go to: www.business2.com/rules. It's just $1495 if you register by March 16. www.business2.com/rules. When you register, please use Priority Code: Association.

ADV ~ GlobalVentureNetwork

Friday, March 23rd, 2001. www.GlobalVentureNetwork.com's "Annual Venture Capital Global Summit" 8AM-5PM at the Metropolitan Club, One East Sixtieth Street, New York. A full-day Venture Capital conference featuring 25 world class venture capitalists discussing "hot" topics of relevance facing entrepreneurs and the venture community. Club dress code for men is jacket and tie and ladies (no jeans). Breakfast and luncheon with perhaps the highest concentration of venture capitalists in a single ballroom. Register online $1,095. Contact staff@globalventurenetwork.com. Registration will close when conference is sold out.

ADV ~ Pink Slip Parties

Special for Dot.com Pink Slippers: NYSIA Hiring Hall at Monthly Meeting March 12th. Free attendance for All Pink Slippers at NYSIA Monthly Meeting March 12th! You must be a real Pink Slippee! No job hoppers! Current employees of NYSIA member companies will not be allowed to circulate resumes. Pink slippers: Bring a stack of resumes, companies will be collecting. Reception 6:00 - Program 6:30- 7:30 PM @ IBM (590 Madison Ave Room 610). FREE to Pink Slippers with Resume! Tell us "Pink Slip" when you register. YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER! To register, call (212) 475-4503 or email info@nysia.org

ADV ~ NYSIA Panel on Women in Tech

NYSIA Monthly Meeting, Mon. March 12, 6PM: "Teaching the Boys to Code: Women in High Tech" Moderator: Lisa Napoli, Internet Correspondent, MSNBC. Panelists: Toni Molodowitz, CEO, Advantageware; Barbara Chang, Executive Director, NPower NY; Michelle Baker, CEO & Founder, UmbaNet; more to be announced. Reception 6:00 - Program 6:30- 7:30 PM @ IBM (590 Madison Ave Room 610) FREE to members, $20 for non-members. YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER! To register, call (212) 475-4503 or email info@nysia.org FREE to Pink Slippers with Resume (see other ad)

ADV ~ NYNMA Privacy Panel

NYNMA. RESCHEDULED DATE of MARCH 15 due to inclement weather! Registration is still open for NYNMA's Evening Panel "None of Your Business: The Politics and Business Implications of Privacy." Thursday, Mar. 15, The Equitable Building, 787 7th Ave. Reg: 5:30pm. Panel: 6:30pm. Privacy is not only a political hot button; this year, it affects your business. Our panel of experts, including William Safire (NY Times) & moderator Roger Cossack of CNN's "Burden of Proof", discuss why privacy is such a critical issue this year. Register Now at www.nynma.org Pre-registration online ENDS

Bill Gates in NYC: Building the Future: Microsoft's .Net Vision. ~ by Steve Mintz

Bill Gates spoke before a standing room only audience of Internet technologists and Web developers at New York City's Waldorf Astoria hotel on March 8 and presented .Net, Microsoft's solutions for "a new generation of Internet software and services that give consumers and businesses the Web the way they want it - any time, any place and on any device."

The vision for that type of "simple and compelling user experience" is based on the architecture of interoperability succinctly defined by Microsoft rival Sun Microsystems as "the network is the computer". Gates pointed out that the increasing abundance of bandwidth combined with the Moore's Law effect of the doubling of processing power at half the cost every eighteen months has brought us to the point where distributed computing is now ready for prime time.

* Read the rest of the compelling discussion at: http://www.thecyberscene.com
Steve Mintz ~ President/Technical Director - Tehcnology/Systems Advisors, Ltd.

Protect Your Connection

In an evening of "solutions, not rehashing a litany of woes," the WWWAC hosted a panel discussion on Thursday, March 8th on Verizon and it's monopolistic and anti-competitive DSL/broadband tactics. Safely within the confines of the Canadian Consulate, members and guests debated the topic. Although there was some controversy about Verizon-bashing, with no representative from the company as a panelist, members got to hear case points by Boardwatch columnist Bruce Kushkin; US Internet Service Providers Alliance board advisor Joe Plotkin; Columbia Professor of Economics Eli Noam; Assistant Attorney General of the Attorney General's Internet Bureau Dave Stampley; Janet Torres, who's on the sub-committee for small business, retail and emerging technologies of the NYC Council and DSL Prime's Dave Burstein. While the issue is a real one, and frustrating at that, the topic will be around for quite some time. Hopefully more discussions can result in possible solutions.

Blackbook's Creative Black Tie

Where do all the creative types go to boogie? Why, The Black Book's annual creative black tie party of course! Set in the spacious Metropolitan Pavilion on Thursday, March 8th, photographers, digital artists and creative directors were sporting flashy shirts, skimpy skirts and a bizarre accessory here and there. One sexy beefed up scraggly-bearded photographer amidst the throng was Hans Neleman (www.neleman.com), whose interests shifted from me to another fellow during our conversation. 3D Media's Justin Sather, who is a 3D animator conservatively stood out, attired in a sport coat and tie. We chatted a bit, straining our voices over the super loud band belting out classic rock tunes. Some party guests, who seemed perhaps a bit over-served, were bumping and grinding in a most lascivious manner, but no one seemed to mind the show. Ken Emerson and active scenester Andrew Simon of TechTV were dot-commers spotted in the crowd. The WebSet's Darman Lopez was sporting his ultra-cool blue-tinted shades and Dear Addy's Adriana Kaegi was very "bombshell" in her red fishnet vest over a black bustier. In the far corner, Fuji Film was taking digital print photos of party guests, all trying to look super cool and bored as they stood in front of a red velvet curtain strung with roses, other flowers and white lights.

Doing Business in Russia

Nearly 80 Russian and American women succeeded in some serious discussion and networking at the Alliance of American and Russian Women and Manhattan Chamber of Commerce's panel on "Doing Business in Russia in 2001" Thursday morning, March 8th. One woman, coincidentally, just flew in from Moscow the night before! Anne Grey, director of the Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States (BISNIS); Bea J. Celler, project manager of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and Gail Coleman, Chief Financial Officer of KMOC were the illustrious speakers who were moderated by the talented Terry Raskyn, Esq., journalist and CNN media commentator. The enthusiasm from the attendees was overwhelming and the networking as a result would've made any one of their babushka's proud. But don't get me wrong--- professional Russian women, the enterprises they're venturing into and the business opportunities with American women is a burgeoning area, and one that's breaking the traditional and outdated stereotypes of babushkas. With more meetings like this, the impressions will change and business opportunities will accelerate.

ADV ~ AIM Dinner & A Deal

AIM's Dinner & a Deal NYC. March 7th. Metronome restaurant Panel discussing "How to maximize your limited marketing budget in 2001, with a serious look at how internal corporate Marketing/IT communications effect the marketing mix." which starts at 5pm, with cocktails at 6:30, sign up at: https://www.interactivehq.org/html/dinner44ny.htm

International Wednesday

The middle of the week offered an assortment of activity for networking professionals. NYNMA was off and running with two SIGs--one on Compensation issues (Human Resources SIG), hosted by Verizon, and one focusing on India (International SIG), which was held in the Canadian Consulate. Heading down to the Angel Orensanz Foundation a collection of artists, scientists, architects and musicians rubbed elbows as they previewed a screening of Sputnik's new documentary "Man as Species." Sputnik--a content collective that tracks and interprets the emerging behavior of global culture--is hosting a two-day multimedia cultural event in June--manTRANSforms. For those with a penchant for beer, TotalBeer.com, WiredWorlds (sm) and Venture Vortex hosted a "Broadband Brooklyn Bar Night" in Park Slope, Brooklyn. And we all know how international Brooklyn is, don't we?!

The Cyber Scene in San Diego ~ by Lilia Phleger Benjamin

Last week I received an invitation to attend the San Diego Craigslist Open House, taking place at a private loft in downtown San Diego. The theme for the night was "art/food/drink + chat/friends/posts = our community."
Craigslist is one of those interesting places on the internet that encourages free speech, builds community and facilitates the free exchange of information. Started in 1995 in San Francisco by Craig Newmark, the site has grown to nine other cities in the US and two in Australia. Last fall, Craigslist's Patricia Kovara relocated from San Francisco to San Diego to start the San Diego and Los Angeles lists. In an effort to boost visibility in SoCal, Patricia decided to host an event with Craig as the special guest. That said, it was sure interesting to see the "community" that the SD Craigslist is building!

We arrived at the open house at 6:30 p.m., and already the room was filling up with people sampling the appetizers by Lilo's Restaurant and looking at the artwork on the walls (more on that later). The eclectic attendees included people in suits, people in hardly more than tattoos, lots of people in black, artists, poets, and geeks, and at the center of it all, the Craig of craigslist, who looks a little like a very young Santa Claus because of his very twinkly blue eyes.

And now about the artwork...the walls were covered with art from participants in the ARC East County Art Program, the organization that benefited from Patricia's event. What amazed me was hearing that the ARC was started fifty years ago by four parents in San Diego who wanted their own developmentally disabled children to have opportunities that were both fun and educational. Now the ARC program is nationwide, with the East County center serving about 110 people a day, some of whom were at the Craigslist open house to help sell their art! The money from the cash bar went directly to the ARC as well, so this was yet another concerted effort by Patricia and craigslist to give back to the community while creating community.

I met a lot of interesting people...but for me the high points were meeting ManBoy of the Technomania Circus... and of course, the infamous Craig.

I had a chance to talk with Craig about his latest philanthropic project called the Wishlist, a program for schools and non-profits. Basically, when Craig found out that teachers spend $500 to $1500 per year out of their own pockets, he says, "I was really pissed off!" After much planning, he launched what he calls "the bridal registry for teachers and non-profits," where needs and gifts are matched. "For a lot of us in this business, $25, even $50 is nothing," says Craig, and helped by recent coverage in USA Today, he sees this project turning into a successful venture.

I also met reps from Cox Interactive Media, who put out the site San Diego Insider. Great resource for finding out what is happening in SD...

Speaking of what is happening in SD-the Big eSchmooze is coming! This swanky schmoozefest is put on by the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance and the San Diego Venture Group, and this year, it takes place at the El Cortez Hotel. More information on the Big eSchmooze on March 1st can be found at http://www.sdrta.org/.

Also on the calendar is "An Evening with Aliza Sherman...the Original Cybergrrl" taking place on Friday March 9th. This event takes place at the Sushi Performance and Visual Art building, and is hosted by Techniquelle and WITI. Sherman is regarded as an Internet thought leader, and is a popular online marketing expert and passionate evangelist for the Internet, particularly as a valuable and useful tool for women's lives. She built the first three websites for women on the World Wide Web in 1995 (Cybergrrl.com, Webgrrls.com, Femina.com) and is considered a pioneer who helped pave the way on the Web for women. More information on this event can be found at http://www.techniquelle.com/aliza/. Until next time!

(Disclaimer du jour: The writer is a co-founder and managing partner of Techniquelle)

ADV ~ Sparklist

SparkLIST
Courtney Pulitzer's Cyber Scene is Powered by SparkLIST - The Business Email List Hosting Experts FREE Quote: mailto:sales@sparklist.com

ADV ~ NYNMA's None of Your Business

Privacy is not only a political hot button; this year, it affects your business. Over a dozen privacy bills are pending, ready to change the way business is conducted on the Internet. Join NYNMA as the Evening Panel Series presents "None of Your Business: The Politics and Business Implications of Privacy": Tuesday, Mar. 6, The Equitable Building, 787 7th Ave. Reg: 5:30pm. Panel: 6:30pm. Our panel of experts, including William Safire (NY Times) & Jules Polonetsky (DoubleClick), will debate such questions as: If opt-in is the law of the land, does the Internet still work as a marketing medium? What's required to comply with the new laws? Has the offline world ducked the punch of privacy regulation, leaving the Internet to take it? Does Congress know enough to write a workable privacy bill? Pre-registration online only ends 3/2 - visit www.nynma.org today.

Lofty Microsofty

Many most likely have heard of Microsoft's Wired Home experimental models, but did you know that now they have an uber-sized loft in trendy Tribeca? The sprawling entranceway leads you directly into the open kitchen, with a hefty workspace island (for cooking) around which many folks were gathered. I chatted with Xworld's Shawna Pedersen for a bit and then swung around to the living lounge area where wine was served and the bulk of people mingled. Myles Scherr of Mylestone Consulting and I exchanged cards before I headed over to the large-screened TV and entertainment center where I-Hatch's Chip Austin and Matt Litwin introduced me to Fusient's Marc Metis. After a compelling conversation on business models and such I took my leave and zigzagged to the other end of the loft. On my way Reciprocal's Nat Antman and I said "hello." The corner loft had Northern and Eastern views and the floor-to-ceiling windows afforded advantageous views of the city. In one of the exterior sunrooms I found the City of Yokohama's Justin Zimmerman chatting it up with JPMorgan Chase's eInvestment Banking Group's Scott McDonald and Pier Connell. These charming fellows were impressed with the loft and as we noted--the highly wired space was pervasive, so you just felt like you were in a cool loft--not a tech center. Ritsuko Daye, who has her own flower business, was out and about this night and around the corner Mike Segal was chatting with Meredith Marwill, who's looking for a job in HR! Giant Step's Kerry O'Donnell and NetQuotient's Nir Gryn were enjoying the Northern view. Quite a few gents took advantage of hopping on the computers in each room and explored some of the more proximately displayed pieces of technology. As the party winded down, the subtle flashing lights and hum of wired furniture and accessories persisted in their lively activity, making this loft one very techno-cool pad.

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Suzanne Lainson

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Suzanne Lainson On February 13 I headed to Denver for the Rockies Venture Club at the Marriott City Center. I caught up with Susan Thevenet and Mark Weakley of law firm Holme Roberts & Owen and we shared a drink at the bar before heading down to dinner. Susan and I discovered we were both military brats (Army for her, Navy for me) so we reminisced about officers' clubs, frequent moves, and the spit-and- polish lifestyle.

Approximately two hundred and forty people were already seated by the time we got to the event. I spotted Kristen Johnston, director of corporate and media communications for GETGO, Brad Spirrison, managing editor of eMileHigh, Drew Bolin, deputy director of domestic and international business development in Colorado's Office of Economic Development & International Trade, and Erika Brown, founder/principal of NetGoddess. Among those sitting at my table were David Van Bussum, director of strategic accounts at Nortel Networks, Lee Sterling, VP-general counsel at Alin Q, George Sexton, CEO/president of MH Software, and Tony Parker, senior producer/marketing manager of Bandwidth Communications. I spent most of dinner talking to Allan Roth, who runs a consulting firm specializing in financial strategy. We compared notes about Colorado Springs. He moved there from Aspen earlier this year and I lived there most of the 1980s. The Springs now has its own version of Rockies Venture, Peak Venture Group.

The three entrepreneurs making five minute pitches were David Howard, president/CEO of 1Vision Software, Eli Williams, CTO of DigitalCCTV.com, and Gene Jackson, president of Power Energy Fuels. I learned about data storage, electronic surveillance, and alcohol-based fuels generated from manure, wood, and garbage.

The featured speaker was Steve Leatherman, president of private equity firm Quest International Management and chairman of the advisory board for the Bard Center of Entrepreneurship Development at the University of Colorado-Denver. (He's also been president of Hanifen, Imhoff Investments.) Quest has invested in a variety of deals, about 50% of them tech-based. Partners have to co-invest in every deal.

Among the insights he shared were:

*Entrepreneurship involves (1) bold goals which stretch beyond what is believed possible, (2) a high degree of opportunity, and (3) substantial financial risk and reward.

*Good ideas are only 5 -10% of the equation. The ability to execute is more important. VCs look for entrepreneurs who are passionate, which means differentiating between kooks and visionaries.

Valuation is not that important. A business plan is nothing more than a screening tool, but it is more persuasive than an in-person pitch. At the same time, VCs don't trust what you say and will check out everything for themselves. Assume they will find out what you don't want them to find out.

*If a VC spends 20 hours reviewing your company, he feels he's invested a million dollars of his time. Eighty percent of the VCs who go this far will follow up with money.

*We're in for a hard landing. There is an overcapacity of IT. Venture capital investment is down 80-90%.

The next day I attended a lunch at the Mediterranean on Pearl Street in Boulder, hosted by the Council of Growing Companies. The restaurant was packed, as always. CGC is a national organization for peer-to-peer exchanges among CEOs. Greg Fine, director of chapter relations and development, was in from CGC's headquarters in McLean, Virginia. During our meal Patricia Glora, VP of operations for Tango Technologies, Bob Williams, president of Aviation Everything, and Dick Sirbu, chairman/CEO of Sirbu Enterprises and former president of AmeriTrade Clearing and OnMoney Financial Services Corporation, had high praise for the usefulness of CGC's monthly CEO roundtables. We talked about the value in bringing together old economy and new economy corporate execs now that economic conditions are forcing many dot-coms to look beyond their own sector for contacts and advice.

This week I also had a chance to talk to Richard Smith, CTO of the Privacy Foundation, based in Denver and started by Peter Barton, former president of Liberty Media. Richard lives in Boston, telecommutes, and comes into Colorado every month or two. I asked him to tell me more about what he does. "I've been involved with privacy issues for about two years. I was in the computer software business for about 25 years and had my own company. When it was sold, I had some time to investigate security and privacy on the Internet. I made lots of discoveries about the products out there and the privacy problems with them. The press picked up on what I found and then I joined the Privacy Foundation last summer."

"I take apart products, see how they work and impact on privacy, and then publicize what I find. Our main goal is to educate people on how the computerized systems such as the Internet, cell phones, and digital cable TV are different from what we had to deal with before. They communicate information about us. To some degree they act as surveillance devices. It has become extremely inexpensive to accumulate data. This enables companies to watch online behavior, record it, and then use it to market in the off-line world. Since the Internet is having trouble making money, I think there will be a push to use that data to sell us stuff through telemarketers and junk mail. The online banner ad networks like DoubleClick and Engage are in the monitoring business and they are going to try to profile people. Intuitively we think profiling works, but there has been no demonstration so far that is does. It's not been proven that this has any value in predicting buying patterns."

I asked him if he had a message he wanted to get out. "I think the industry has made a mistake in not being more forthcoming about data collection and what they are doing with it. The more they do, the more groups like us can monitor them. They can be watched, just as consumers can be watched."

The Cyber Scene in San Diego ~ by Lilia Phleger Benjamin

It has been brought to my attention that I have completely neglected to report on one of San Diego's most anticipated and well attended events-the Big eSchmooze. How such a thing could have happened, I'll never know. So let me begin...

It was a dark and stormy night. Actually, it wasn't, though it was a bit nippy for March 1st. Luckily the El Cortez Hotel, site of the event, had various heat lamps and a fireplace out on the terrace to keep us all warm. I got there a few minutes before the event began, so I was able to scope out the sponsor tables and grab some appetizers before the hordes descended. And descend they did. I heard rumors that at least 1500 people came to schmooze, and it looked (and felt) like it.

The Big eSchmooze is put on twice a year by the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance, which as you recall, is lucky to have the handsome overachiever Cliff Numark at its helm. At a time of turbulence in the technology sector, the SDRTA has consistently created opportunities for networking, education and support, and the Big eSchmooze is its flagship event.

Walking through the crowd, I was happy to see my good friends Joe Crawford from Avencom and Dan Collins of Brand X Media. We talked briefly about how cool the Brand X Media website is, and how their work with web integration is attracting some really big clients. Then we moved on to the very important stuff - the need for some way to quickly identify people's needs and expectations for the evening. For example, one solution would require everyone to don a six-foot-high bicycle flag with different colors for different needs, i.e. green for venture capitalists, pink for angel investors, yellow for startups and perhaps a heart for those looking to connect in other ways. Maybe next year.

Deciding to nosh, I shared a table with Michael Cornelius and Jon Hindman of California CEO Magazine. He told me a bit about who they are and what they were doing to convince CEOs that the magazine's content is not only necessary but vital to those eager for success. A quick hello to their friend Larry Duca, also of California CEO (a publication by the Fivash Media Group), and I was off again to meet and mingle.

Out by the sponsor tables, I said hello to the lovely Katherine Harrington, publisher of the T Sector. For those looking to read in-depth reports about the technology scene in San Diego, the T Sector is a good read, with cool layouts and colors. Not that I don't value content, but I do love a glossy, good-looking magazine!

Moving on, I was grabbed by my husband, Nigel Benjamin, who just happens to be the director of media strategy at Big Bang Idea Engineering. I met John Dowd, director of advertising for Front Porch (North America). John gave me some background on Front Porch, which was originally established in 1998 as an ISP. However, times (and technology) change, and Front Porch is now an Internet media company that "develops and deploys intelligent network services that enable ISP and advertisers to distribute personalized content to end users." No sooner did I turn to shake his hand than I was twirled around by Angie Gerken, who has just started a new job as an intranet architect for Intel http://www.intel.com/. She brought me over to Caleb Clark, whom I had met in January shortly after he relocated from the Bay Area. Caleb is now the director of the BAT Lab, which is NOT where one finds the Caped Crusader. In this case, "BAT" stands for Ballpark Advanced Technology. I get to go on a tour this week, so more on that later!

So, there is my brief report on the Big eSchmooze. If you want to see what we all looked like at the event, check out the photos at the SDRTA site as well as over at FreshNews.com.

And now on to a networking event that is new on the scene - Wireless Wednesdays. Part of a nationwide organization, the new San Diego chapter is headed by husband-and-wife team Lina Ramos-Holm and Kaare Holm of In Concepts. Wireless Wednesdays is a "connected community built around the people energizing the wireless web." If anyone was energizing, it was the lovely Lina, as she enthusiastically told me about the group, its sponsors and its goals for growth in San Diego. Lina and Kaare saw a need for systematic networking in an unstructured environment, rather than more events with guest speakers and agendas. If this first Wireless Wednesdays Happy Hour was any indication, they are on the right track.

I met up with Jennifer Beckey, president of Maptrace and development co-chair of the newly formed San Diego County chapter of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs. While describing what Maptrace does, Jennifer was kind enough to give me a crash course in location-based services, wireless GBS technology and the e911 mandate. She also discussed her plans to grow FWE and provide support and services to other women entrepreneurs.

I also introduced myself to Tasha Star Berger, producer/brand marketing for PacketVideo. Headquartered in San Diego with five international locations, PacketVideo provides MPEG-4 compliant software that enables the delivery, management and viewing of video, audio and multimedia applications over wireless networks. Ah yes, this was Wireless Wednesdays, wasn't it?

And finally, I met Anthony Medrano and Danielle Apgar of the newly formed yet incredibly experienced Seed Consulting Group. Anthony, a highly publicized technology entrepreneur, co-founded and served as President and COO of DoDots, Inc. and raised a total of 17M in equity for the venture. Danielle acted as a one-woman HR department, growing the company from two people to more than 120. With their new business, they are looking to bring their experience and expertise to other companies, basically walking clients through to viability. In fact, Anthony will be a featured panelist at the upcoming event, "Fundraising in Turbulence-A Comprehensive Guide for Funding and Financing a Technology Venture," taking place on April 7th, 2001 and hosted by the SDRTA. I know I'll be there!

That's all for now...next week: BATLab, STARCOM 2001, and the Internap/Akamai Open House. Until next time!

Great Space and a 212 area code to boot!

If you thought it was just a funny Seinfeld episode where Elaine was distressed over having a 646 area code while still residing in Manhattan, you're wrong. While the 646 numbers are becoming more commonplace, there's a sense of thrill when you can secure an actual 212 nowadays. And the NY Venture Space on Broadway and 37th is touting this feature as one of its many for new prospective tenants. Their official opening party on Thursday, March 1st drew a great turnout of investors who invested in this venture, partly because they were in a meeting before the soiree. And the reaction? They loved the space and were pleased with the tenants and how they're doing. Other guests who arrived were a consortium of people involved in real estate, construction and who were involved in the building. Building management representative John Impoco of Williams GVA was there as was Harris Smith Design's owner James Smith, who did the architecture. Joyce Schwartz, editor of the NY Venture Space newsletter and a tenant was most likely took notes on the space and chatted with some of the reps from public relations firm Linden Alschuler and Kaplan, Inc. and Cushman and Wakefield. Michael Drapkin, principal and founder of Drapkin Technology Corp. and published writer of "3 Clicks Away: A Manager's Survival Guide to Winning on the Web" made an appearance from his busy schedule to chat with guests and enjoy some of the fine white wine and stuffed grape leaves. Other notable munchies were the standard (but always nice fruit and cheese, quiche, fresh fruit, crudite, crackers and cookies. Some professors from Baruch College came, in support of their alliance with the NY Venture Space where they provide their small business center for their clients. Carla Hojaiban was gracious as a hostess and made sure guests got to meet the NY Venture Space CEO Lynda Davey, president TK Flatley and managing director George Khouri. Tours of the centrally located, fully wired space. Companies go through a screening process and if accepted, the NY Venture Space has the right to buy stock in the company at its initial price and get 1% equity. Hey, for these short-term rents and the conference rooms, secretarial services and a 212 phone number? It's worth it!

The Cyber Scene in Los Angeles ~ by JoAnna Minneci

Dear Los Angeles,

Before I go into telling you about the events and goings-on here in Los Angeles, I'd like to introduce myself: My name is JoAnna Minneci, and I'm a networking addict. Seriously. I've enjoyed many pleasant dinners of finger-food, eaten while standing up. I have mastered the skill of juggling a tiny hors d'oeuvre dish, stemmed cocktail glass and business card holder at the same time. I can't wait until they make an Olympic event of it. I'd finally get on a box of Wheaties!

I'm flattered that Lilia Phleger Benjamin, who writes the San Diego Cyber Scene, suggested to Courtney that I would be a good candidate for writing the Los Angeles edition. Some Cyber Scene readers may know me through the SoCalNetworking List, others may have made my acquaintance through WebGrrls, as I was the Director of Career Development for WebGrrls-LA. I have recently left that organization, and joined a new, exciting group called WebWomenLA.. I'll have more to report on them after their launch party on Friday March 2nd.

There were so many things going on February 22nd! Here are details for two of them...

SoCalNetworking

SoCalNetworking welcomed Craig Newmark of Craig's List to Los Angeles at a happy-hour style event at Lush. The crème de la crème of online communities were present (and partaking of the appetizer buffet!): Web405's Dennis Wilen (http://lists.southland.net:81/guest/RemoteListSummary/Web405), the Queen of Venice list's Regan Kibbee, and, of course, of Goodtimes fame, Fixer (http://www.vigilante.net/GOODTIMES).

Patricia Kovara, Craig's "Right Hand" south of the San Andreas was working the crowd. She was bright and cheery despite this being her second party in as many nights! What stamina! (See Lilia's San Diego report for details.)

Since good food and good atmosphere are two essentials of a good tête-à-tête, On Target Design donated several copies of the Zagat Dining Guide as raffle prizes. Smelling nice is important too: Beth Black ("Mayor of Splitsville", SplitsvilleOnline.com) provided a lovely scented candle and bath-salts combo as a prize, too.

SoCalNetworking is going to co-host another "Face-to-Face" event in San Diego, in conjunction with Techniquelle, on April 24th.. It's National Karaoke Week, and that's the theme of our event. Practice singing in the shower, so you'll be warmed up and ready to belt out a few tunes with us!

Layoff Lounge

Jeremy Gocke could do a little singing himself, along the lines of "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen." He's had to lay off employees of his own company, and many of his friends' companies slipped into a dot-coma too. With everybody unemployed and starting to wonder what to do with all that free time, Jeremy thought of a way to keep himself busy...and thus was born the Layoff Lounge. Rather than just throw a pink-slip party, he decided to make his event a three-way cross between a job fair, VC pitch-fest and networking event. The format is intended to appeal to entrepreneurs and employees alike.

This month's keynote speakers were Growthink CEO Dave Lavinsky who talked about what's going on in the Los Angeles VC market, and The Sales Athlete CEO Kathy Aaronson, who talked about the employment situation. I'm sure many who couldn't attend would have loved to hear her discuss how you can take a dot-bomb and turn it into a positive point on your résumé!

Well, that's all I've got for you this week, but I invite your comments, suggestions, and ideas about events in Los Angeles. If there's an event you think I should be attending, sing -me- a little karaoke: "Just call my name. I'll be there!"

Best regards,
JoAnna Minneci
JoAnna@SoCalNetworking.org