Wednesday, April 30, 1997

Tery's Group

The group presently known as "Tery's Group" met for an inital coming together of like minds and souls to collaborate commiserate scheme and celebrate! Watch out for more on this dynamic group of electric women (who happen to be eligible new media types) for unannounced upcoming gatherings.......... there's something brewing in the air..... Some of the round table members are: Deb Schultz (DRS Solutions), Bonnie Halper (a tequila drinker!), Aliza Sherman (Cybergrrl), Wendy Dubit (CD Mom) , Kora Manheimer (at Think New Ideas), the beautiful Lorraine Tobias (now at Sensenet).

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Monday, April 28, 1997

GEOCITIES 1st Annual "Best Unsigned Bands In America Contest"

GEOCITIES, A PIONEER in the development of Internet-based communities, recently celebrated the launch of its first annual "Best Unsigned Bands In America Contest" with a party at New York's trendy downtown nightspot, Mother. Presented in conjunction with SPIN magazine and sponsored by Intel and RankIt, Visa's college site, the event attracted the obvious melange of media buyers, ad execs and New York digerati. It was all very slick and very schmoozy and you couldn't help but notice the bartender near the entrance, (I like to call "her" Ms. Thang. Her blond locks and big eyelashes almost distracted me from her stuff-em-in-a-wonderbra breasts).

After attaining a beverage from said bartender, I overheard one cute guest comment, "The tension between the music and the new media industries was as palpable as that of the fin de siecle." Oh sure. The contest will run through April 28 with a winner set to be announced in mid-May. Throughout the promotion, GeoCities will feature great music from the entries, chats, seminars and contests for concert tickets and CD's.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Friday, April 25, 1997

THE ZINE2000 Program

THE ZINE2000 Program by the Society of Publication Designers at the Cooper Union, Saturday, April 25, 1997 was quite good. Some sound-bytes:

-- Matthew Butterick, Atomic Vision: "The future of the web is in information products, not shopping carts."

-- Rebecca Farwell of Discovery emphasized that online journalism is about having a conversation: "We look at it as a wholly different experience, and trying to recreate a TV metaphor would be an underwhelming experience."

-- Marisa Bowe of Word: "It is almost impossible to get a good environment on the web."

-- Roger Black, "When re-designing for the Internet, it must have usability."

-- Joey Anuff of Suck.com on 3D virtual environments: "Could I just have a gun? It's like Doom without a gun. Where's the fun in that?"

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Thursday, April 24, 1997

Pointcast, Seybold

OTHER SOCIETY NOTES: ANOTHER ADVERTISING soiree this past week was a Pointcast party. While they demoed their new model for advertising on the net, I got a chance to catch up with Damon Torres, president & creative director of The I-way Company, Thomas Hespos of K-2 Design, and Myles Weissleder and Scott Heiferman of i-Traffic. Although I was a bit distracted by the absolutely fabulous-smelling Fred Wyatt of Talent Enterprises, Inc. in his cloud of Guerlain's Vetiver... . . . Seybold Last Saturday's Party at NV in Soho on April 24 was a mixed bag. I was initially greeted by some guy (wish I got his name now!) as he yelled after me for my plate of hor d'oevres. Fortunately, Samir Arora, CEO of NetObjects, rescued me. Emily Davidow of BeHome bubbled as Kamini Ramani from NetObjects put a sunflower hairband in her hair: "NetObjects. They not only manage your website, they manage your hair!" I also got to chat with Matthew Smith, President of Oakleaf Interactive Multimedia. (http://www.oakleafinteractive.com). Oakleaf is a service company that creates presentations so all your tired and weary HTML producers and project managers can focus on just doing their job, and not pulling an all-nighter for a presentation the next morning.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

GENArt Film Festival

IF I SEE ONE MORE film where self-mutilation is cool, I'll scream! I saw a screening of "Love God" at the GENArt Film Festival, April 24, co-hosted by ECHO and NY Black Book. PULEASEE don't let this become a cult classic. The party afterwards in a gutted out Angel Orensanz Foundation Synagogue was a bit more manageable. The beautiful faded gilt gold altar was stage for the band "Family of God" which wasn't too shabby. The crowd seemed almost sparse compared to the lofty high ceilings and I recalled the scene from "The English Patient" where Juliette Binoche is swung upwards via cabling to view the frescos. Free Absolute drinks, and Cotton Candy compliments of Krispy Kreme filled the tummies of the eclectic crowd ranging from good ol' frat Jersey boys to black leather clad musician-types to grunge girls, and uber cool film folks (where I spotted Jonathan Sarno of Webcinema and Rick Siegel of OnLine TV). I spoke for a while with Steve Moore, the director of the Short "Redux Riding Hood". Originally from New Jersey, this started as a video project, and was produced in New Zealand, where people go barefoot everywhere (even in the grocery store!). Voice over talent included a stellar cast of: Mia Farrow as the wolf's wife, Kramer as the Wolf, legendary June Foray as the Grandmother, and Alan West as the geeky romantic first love of the wolf's wife in high school.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Wednesday, April 23, 1997

WWWAC Attack

After a hacker attack and overhauling the server the WWWAC list is back up! Wwwac.org

Scott Cohen on LivePerson

A Cyber Scene Exclusive! If you went to the corner of Broadway and Bond you might catch a glimpse of Kyle or Chan of Agency.com slipping out for a coffee, or maybe Roland or Joe or Tery from Blue Dingo coming back from a sushi lunch. But who's that new resident, jetting in and out of the offices with such purpose and energy the papers on the street are left swirling in the air? Why, it's Scott Cohen!

Scott has been busy in his new role as Executive Vice President - Sales & Strategic Alliances at LivePerson.com. This recent move, after a short respite from a previous post at 24/7 and at least 50 offers for top executive positions at major player Internet firms (think CBS-like), has Scott positively beaming! On-line customer service is recognized as the biggest, most crucial and rapidly growing segment for e-businesses.

When Scott met LivePerson president Robert LoCasio and saw the company mission statement in three bullet points on a white board, he knew this company will rule and define the on-line customer service market.

Scott educated me on the LivePerson product, which is a totally web-based, remote accessible, and intuitive product needing no hard nor software. After a 30-minute demo, you too could be utilizing this solid product. They are staffing up very quickly, hired Connors Communications to handle its PR, and will be opening a West Coast office very soon. Led by Silicon Alley financial digerati Bob Lessin and Dawntreader, LivePerson closed their first round of financing a short while ago. With a current client list that includes The Mining Co., Intuit, Nations Bank, Priceline and CBS Sportsline, and with targets in major networks and e-commerce markets, this is one LivePerson that promises to deliver more news!

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

The 1st Cyber Scene Character Sketch -- Mary Dawne Arden

With all this talk of IPOs and conferences cropping up like dandelions, you've got to wonder how the average measly computer geek turns into a slick new media executive so effortlessly. This Ugly Duckling story isn't just happenstance, however. Usually there's some talented person behind coaxing the charm and wit out of these brilliant 20-somethings. You know the saying, "behind every great man is a woman," and behind a lot of these smooth-talking Alley-ites is Mary Dawne Arden. She's not your typical coach though. No! Ms. Arden's extensive background in the arts, business and international marketing enables her to synthesize and refine, examine the options, and search for inspirational vision that will promote interest in whatever the strategic direction is for the person, product, company or organization. Creating and reinforcing the well-defined image is her specialty. She does career counseling, prepares people for job interviews, sales presentations, public speaking, media interviews and road shows for their IPOs.

Ms. Arden was a marketing director for international cosmetic companies, is a professor in New York University's Department of Culture and Communication, and was a performer, actress and host and producer of her own TV show and numerous documentaries. After a tour with a musical theater company, she lived and worked in Europe as a successful photographic and runway fashion model for the top French and Italian couture designers. By developing her own immersion techniques to become fluent in French and Italian she began to work in films as an actress with cool directors like Federico Fellini!

From Europe to California, Ms. Arden created and hosted fashion segments for the noon news and produced and did commentaries for big special events and charity fashion shows. In Mexico City, she once again taught herself Spanish and created a modeling, self-improvement and acting school. She also hosted TV documentaries in Spanish and created major fashion special events of top designers for a leading department store. Four years in the Caribbean and Latin America as a marketing and management executive gave her more cross-cultural experience. She spent a year in Japan in 1992-1993 to create business-training programs for Japanese executives to bridge cultural and communication differences. Today Arden is dedicated to bringing inter-personal communication skills into the public educational system as well as Media Literacy. With these efforts, she hopes to teach children, from pre-school through high school, critical thinking skills to apply to all forms of media so they begin to analyze the subliminal meanings. She also believes the more the business community becomes involved in supplying internships, apprenticeships and scholarships, it will help our society to have more well balanced highly skilled workers for the future. Arden believes everyone can make a positive difference if they have a desire and the commitment to do so!

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Tuesday, April 22, 1997

Wearing Pulitzers

Well last week they were handing out Pulitzers and this week they were wearing them! New York Junior League volunteers were modeling Lilly Pulitzer dresses at the "A Taste of Spring" cocktail party held at the Junior League's headquarters on Thursday, April 22nd. I modeled two delightfully springy outfits from Carlisle (if you're interested, contact Adair at 212.751.6490). There were other fashions, a silent auction and wine tastings for Long Island and Upstate NY vineyards. Although this evening we were relaxing, over 2500 Junior League volunteers spend tens of thousands of hours each year volunteering in city and community organizations working with children, incarcerated women, young mothers, homeless and handicapped children. These efforts help the city and provide a balance in one's overworked cyber life. Among the attendees were Angel Riggins, JL volunteer and who works at Hearst's new media division, Randall Stempler, who has the definitive Cyber Calendar of Charity events (http://www.inx.net/~randall/) and Michael Collins of Proxicom.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Breakfast Clubs

The early bird catches the worm and some biscuits and bagels too. Breakfast clubs are sprouting up all over (check out Bogen PR's newest at www.breakfastclubnetwork.com). This week Women in New Media had Tracy Leeds, chief operating officer of StarMedia, speak on Tuesday, April 20th. And then on April 22nd the New York Venture Group had J. Craig Venter (president, Celera Genomics Corp., & Chairman of the Institute for Genomic Research) speak on how gene mapping will reward investors' patience.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Monday, April 21, 1997

MethodFive After 5 Forum

From there I trekked on over to methodfive's first After-5 Web Forum held at the offices of NickandPaul in the Chelsea Market on April 21st. Kenneth Goldsmith, who heads up the design department at methodfive, spoke on "Ramping Up Without Dumbing Down: Lessons Learned from methodfive's Own Site Redesign." Below is a recap of Mr. Goldsmith's points:

"A little money spent on good design is money well spent. If the front end isn't compelling, dynamic and user-friendly, it doesn't matter how great the back end is. Make sure the design properly conveys what you want your audience to perceive about your brand. Additionally, good design should never hinder usability. Site architecture, aesthetics and usability go hand in hand. A designer should not only be thinking about the site's look and feel, but also about how a particular audience will use their design. Communicate through the entire development process. Institute and follow a formal communication process to allow key decision-makers and designers to make comments, suggest changes, and review progress. Having an objective project manager who can keep the process on track by scheduling and leading regular meetings and critiques between the "client" and designers makes the project go smoothly. Before you begin work, ask your Web development company to create a detailed site blueprint that analyzes the scope of your Web initiative: the competition, content, functionality, risks, revenue streams, etc. As the client, ensure that you understand the components and ramifications of what's outlined in the spec before submitting it to the designers or to others involved in your Web initiative, such as the content producers or programmers. All involved parties, especially the designers, should then follow this document to the letter. Using an extranet to post thoughts, comments and feedback regarding the site's development and for designers to post their work helps with communication and meeting expectations. Allow your designers to be experimental and innovative during the first stages of design to get creative juices flowing. Then assign a "cranky monkey" who helps the designers integrate their imaginative and inventive designs into a site that's practical, functional and buildable. While keeping in mind the new technologies that will be able to repackage and distribute information in a new and innovative way, be aware of who your audience is and their level of technology. Analysis on who your user is and what the level of technology they'll be using to access your site is also important. Designing for a lower-end browser and keeping plug-ins to a bare minimum to ensure that the site can be accessed by the greatest amount of people possible is one way to ensure your users are accessing your site with ease."

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Sputnik7 launched (Viant/Blue Tape)

How often is a company incubated within another firm? How often is it that the incubated and firm throw a big bash in classic Silicon Alley style for their baby? Well, Blue Tape (the incubatee) together with Viant (the incubator) launched Sputnik7.com (the incubated) on Wednesday, April 21st at Viant's sprawling offices. Blue Tape is a formation of Less Garland (one of the founders of MTV and The Box and president of Blue Tape), Morris Wheeler (CEO), Tom Grueskin (exec. VP of products) and Chris Stephens (COO) that has now spun off on its own. The streaming music video web site was up on all the conference room monitors, showing off its three pre-programmed channels (done by a VJ). There is a fourth channel where the registered members can go and review a subset of songs available and request them to be played on the jukebox channel. From the wide-open spaces where desks were adorned with martini glasses, laptops and Viant barbell water bottles, you could see how the flow of information on projects is promoted. Marilyn Dintenfass, of Viant explained that the interior design is a physical embodiment of their philosophy.

The entranceway has a big-brotherish Viant logo, which was also where the most extravagant centerpiece of yummy hors d'oeuvres were. At one end of the vast loft-like office were Katherine Cavanaugh, Co-Founder & News Director, MediaKat LLC and Richard Winkler of Curious Pictures, who were reminiscing how Jonathan Sarno of Webcinema built Curious Pictures' web site. Now their client list includes ad agencies HBO and other biggies. The ever-adorable Chad Evans, creative developer on Sputnik7, came over to say "hello" when he spied someone jetting around with a notepad. Guilty, as charged. Nearby were Alison Fishman (Viant) and Ed Bennett (Spinner.com) who were exchanging funny stories about their realtor -- who Alison recently began using as she plans her move back from San Fran to NYC in a few months. I passed Zoe Adlersberg (WitCapital) on my way over to the other side of the space, where I chatted with Sandeep Thakrar of e-com advisors and Andrew Goodman and Ian Hardman of GE Capital. In the Soho conference room I happened upon eloquent Seth Palmer of Viant's (Sputnik7 was his first project here), who is now based in their Dallas office chatting with platinum pixied Marielle Smith (Silicon Alley Connections) and the irresistible Ted Werth (Digital Club Network). When I told them that I'll be having a "Cocktails with Courtney" party in Dallas on the 19th, Seth replied it was perfect timing as Dallas is one of the special preview cities for "Star Wars" and everyone will be all trekked out!

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Saturday, April 19, 1997

Netday 2000

NEW YORKERS DO have a heart! (Who said we didn't, huh?) To prove this, the turnout on April 19 for Netday2000 at Washington Irving High School was a CyberSocial Register's dream come true. Nicholas Butterworth of SonicNet, Random-Man Geo Geller, Howard Greenstein of Microsoft, top people from Poppe Tyson, David Packman of N2K, Michael Dorf of the Knitting Factory, 70 students and 300 more devoted netnauts showed up to wire the school, set up hardware, install software, and map the network to propel this school into the future. One tenth grader, Aneudy Caba, and Greg Elin, (the Sun-sponsored-motorcycle-trip-across-the-US man) commented, "We did a way cool job with the 8th floor." Everyone echoed Andrew Raisej and Cecilia Pagkalinawan's enthusiasm in doing something so worthwhile. This national initiative also rose local interest. Area business owners, government, community, and education figures showed up. And WIHS wasn't the only local school wired: groovy cyberteacher Ted Nellen led a massive effort to upgrade the pipes at Murry Bergtraum HS.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Shakers and Stirrers - published 4/19/97

After winning a Broadcast Designer's Association Award for art directing

Lifetime Television's "The Place," Joanne

Borek moves over to iVillage to be the new art director for Parent Soup. Joanne is also currently a Professor of Digital

Photography at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.


(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Friday, April 18, 1997

Calendar of Events - published 4/18/97

ON THE CALENDAR: Calling all Intrepid NetNauts! Come help out on Saturday, April 19, for NETDAY. Here's your chance to help wire public schools -- starting with Washington Irving High School. This is an effort fueled by private companies and individuals. Using the "Adopt-A-Highway" metaphor, the goal for this particular school is to put in 54 work-stations. Andrew Rasiej of Irving Plaza has already installed a T1 line. Please come join the effort to enable our city's youth to get connected and advance technologically. You can contact Cecilia Pagkalinawan, 212-886-3964, or Andrew at: 212-777-6817.

Echo's latest interactive series Alt.Film uses the power of online communications to increase awareness and promote the work of independent and alternative filmmakers, producers, writers, and directors. This month's Alt.Film event is an sponsored screening and party at the GEN ART Film Festival. Join them on April 25th and see the future of filmmaking with the first-ever digital-video, special-effects-saturated love story to hit the big screen-- LOVE GOD, a film by Frank Grow. It's your standard love story: monster eats transvestite prostitute, schizophrenic boy meets mute girl, worm probes monster. All this on the streets of our beloved New York City.

Guy Garcia, the founding editor of Total New York and an executive producer, at Digital City Studio, will be appearing on NBC (Sunday, April 27, 6:30am) and PBS (Saturday, May 3, 1:30 pm) to talk about old media, new media and his critically-acclaimed novel, Skin Deep, which is being published in paperback by UC Berkeley Press this month. Garcia has always been alert to the malleability of original content. On the cyber front, Garcia, who is busy these days helping to build network content for Digital City, will be speaking about interactive content at Seybold at the Javits Center on April 22nd, and will appear with Word's Marisa Bowe in a panel discussion moderated by Roger Black, titled: "It's the Content, Stupid: Editors Tell How They Did It," at the Cooper Union on April 26.

Join the Russian WebGirls in their chat-room for a real conversation with the best russian actress of 1995. Alla Kliouka will be a special guest on April 28 at 8 pm. Alla is married to the notable inventor Ken Shaffer and mother of Kibo -- the youngest domain name owner and winner of the 1st Internet Baby Search!

Take in Jonathan Sarno's "The New York Filmmakers and Webmasters Spring Ball" on May 3. The Ball is going to be on the "Frying Pan," an old hull of a ship, moored on Pier 63, one block North of Chelsea Pier. There's room for 400 people and just next door is a pier with a tent (in case it rains) for live bands and Samba dancers to perform and another 400 people. All this and a view of the Statue of Liberty, the crystal clear waters of the Hudson River and the scenic New Jersey shoreline. Admission to the Ball will be free but there will be a cash bar so.

Echo's May Topic for its series "Dinner Theatre of the Mind" is FANTASY. May 13th, 7pm, Hosted by HERE (147 Avenue of the Americas), Dinner Theatre of the Mind is FREE, so please arrive early to ensure seating. Find out more at: (http://www.echonyc.com/f2f/DTOTM/DTOTMMay.html).

Stephen King's Virtual Growth Incorporated (http://www.virtualgrowth.com/)
is having a party May 15! Email for more info: sking@vgrowth.com.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Shakers and Stirrers - published 4/18/97

ANDREW LEVY at LPNYTHink told me they have been hired by the Canadian Government to create a marketing program to encourage business between Canadian new media companies and New York companies. LPNYTHink is a printing company that grew into a creative agency. Like many traditional printing houses, they've merged the two disciplines into one smooth process and invented a new kind of creative/production facility for the new media. They do packaging, corporate and promotional materials.

Straight from the horse's mouth: David Schwartz writes of his new position as director of new media at Middleberg & Associates Public Relations. He'll be handling PR, direct marketing and product branding and positioning for new media startups. Plus on the side, he'll still be working on content startups. Schwartz was formerly the first VP of marketing and a key member of the launch team for Jupiter Communications. While at Jupiter he developed some of the largest trade shows and conferences using direct mail and telemarketing.

The dynamic Chris McCarthy has recently left Avalanche to join the talented Alec Pollack and Tery Spataro, partners and creative directors, at Stir. They've all been busy lately with work on the entire Olympus site, all of Showtime Online, which will be a fully database-driven site, and the site for the movie "Father's Day" with Robin Williams and Billy Crystal.

Ross von Burg has just been promoted Head of T1 Sales, at The Internet Channel to fill Brian Freeman's shoes. Brian is going to Adler Communications.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Thursday, April 17, 1997

Shakers and Stirrers - published 4/17/97

4/17/97
MOVING AND GROOVING: Vladimir Lubel has just moved to Showtime from a long stint at Chapman Advertising . . . Contrary to the rumors, Buoyant has not merged with Spiral Media. What did happen though, was that Mitch Golden, (director of technology), Brad Justus (executive vice president) and Pall Walton (chief of production) left Buoyant and joined Spiral Media. There are also a number of Spiral Media employees who worked at Buoyant. However, Buoyant still exists as an independent entity . . . After several years at Citibank, Deb Schultz has made the move to independence with her new company, DRS Solutions specializing in Internet marketing, strategy, and development . . . Digital Pulp, agency of record to DoubleClick and BizTravel, has recently established an advanced technology division and moved to larger offices with a rooftop patio on 23rd street. Founder Steve Sacks is planning to hold weekly happy hours for the New York digerati on the roof beginning in early May. Look for Digital Pulp to make an announcement in the upcoming months.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)
NETGRAVITY'S launch party for its new AdServer 2.1 on April 17 at the @Cafe was sponsored by Net Perceptions and IChat. NetGravity has established itself as one of the industry's premier ad management system. Among the attendees were Corey Podolsky of SonicNet and Mark Friedler of Vcast. The very dapper 20's styled looking Dave Brown of CDNow filled me in on the scoop with Philly, PA: "It's cheap!" So if the rent's so cheap then that means there's more $$ for cheesesteaks, right?

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Silicon Bowl

THE DRAMA, THE suspense, the rented shoes! It was the first "Silicon Bowl" at the luxurious BowlMor Lanes on April 14. The beer was cold, the pizza was hot and the lanes were smoking as some downtown new media companies mixed it up in an informal evening of bowling and conversation. Claiming lanes were folks from Agency.com, Cybergrrl, the Mining Co., SiteSpecific, T3 Media, Stir and more. Competition didn't heat up until the final tally when Kyle Shannon whipped out his Palm Pilot to add up the scores as hostess Aliza Sherman from Cybergrrl, Inc. called out the numbers. The big winner? T3 Media with an average score of 119.6 followed by Cybergrrl with 97, Stir with 92.75 and Agency.com with 84.75. Interested in the next "Silicon Bowl?" Email event@cgim.com to be on the list.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

NETGRAVITY LAUNCH

NETGRAVITY'S launch party for its new AdServer 2.1 on April 17 at the @Cafe was sponsored by Net Perceptions and IChat. NetGravity (http://www.netgravity.com) has established itself as one of the industry's premier ad management system. Among the attendees were Corey Podolsky of SonicNet and Mark Friedler of Vcast. The very dapper 20's styled looking Dave Brown of CDNow filled me in on the scoop with Phillie, PA: "It's cheap!" So if the rent's so cheap then that means there's more $$ for cheesesteaks, right?

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

An Engaging Michalski

CONGRATULATIONS were pealed out for the engagement of Jerry Michalski of EdVenture and Jennifer Weissman. The event was hosted by the gracious Emily Davidow at the lovely headquarters for Behome (http://www.behome.com). Tery Spataro looked positively stunning in a black dress with big green flowers, Heather Champ graced the party with her cool sophisticated presence and Omar Wasow of New York Online led the men (including Alec Pollack, Samir Arora, Greg Elin, and David Blumenstein) in a debate over the 4 or 3 button suit coat.

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)

Friday, April 04, 1997

WHAT'S GOING ON AT 632 BROADWAY?

Anton Self, now CEO of Telephant informed me he's working in close proximity to, and sharing lofty office space with Ed Bennett, former Prodigy chairman. I guess it makes sense that Ed is there, considering Myriad Agency took over the old Prodigy space. I spoke for a while with EVP of Myriad Agency, Ciaran Bossom. Myriad has been busy developing for Fortune 500 companies such as ITT, Sony and Apple. Dennis Adamo, now at ICon, was chatting it up with Denise Siedner, media planner at Young & Rubicam's New Technologies group.

I congratulated silver-tongued, Samuel Huxley (another Y&R|NTer) on his recent promotion to senior producer. As we clinked martini glasses he commented, "the crowd seems quite coated in a vermouth film of malaise." (oh well)

I was off to chat with the charming Ted Werth of the Primary Group, who filled me in on all the exciting news that's happened with TotalNY and Primary and their sale to Digital City, the AOL spin-off. Christian Uhl, an architect with Denson, photographed the event for his friends at Myriad. Amidst the revelry, though, comedian-cum-web producer Mike Potter took a few moments to issue words of warning. "All of this Web hoopla is just fine and dandy," he said as he lounged on one of the velvet sofas in the back and sipped casually on his Cuba Libra, sandwiched between two long-legged model types, one blond and one redhead. "But unfortunately it just clouds people's judgment and they fail to realize that the Internet is how the Federal Government keeps track of our every move by monitoring the electronic pulses emitted from the micro chips implanted in our necks at birth." (A little too much CNN lately, Mike?)

(Appeared originally in @The Scene in the @NY newsletter)