Sunday, December 26, 1999

Submission to "The Industry Standard" for Mover's & Shakers

Business is booming all around-- Razorfish reports a 397% increase over the second quarter of 1998 earnings and the standard mag -- that is "The Industry Standard" is hiring and promoting left and right! On the East Coast, Jonathan Chalon, who formerly was the mag's East Coast advertising director has been promoted to associate publisher of the East Coast and after serving several years at the Wall Street Journal and Village Voice, Thomas Goetz fills the new New York News Editor position. And a few lucky 99ers got hits during the California (promotions) rush -- Chris Patelis was promoted to senior vice president operations from his post as VP operations. Former GM Online and business development Joe Walowski moved up to vice president business and product development. Cheryl Lucanegro made the jump up to vice president interactive sales from the vice president sales role. Executive News Editor Michael Parsons was promoted to executive editor of TheStandard.com and Matt McAlister the web producer was promoted to general manager web services group.

BITS AND BYTES - 12/26/99


Van Vandegrift, board member of YesMail announced (December 15th--the day after the December Cocktails with Courtney) his firm completed the sale of this venture to CMGI for almost $600mm. 

Goalnetwork.com announced separate agreements with leading soccer retailers TSI Soccer and the TOFFS Company to offer their soccer merchandise on www.goalnetwork.com. Selected products will be available on every page of the site through thumbnail images, banners and links in context with related stories about teams and players. Goalnetwork.com, the online network for the world's billions of soccer fans, launched on November 10, 1999. 

Object Design, Inc. (Nasdaq:ODIS), a provider of innovative eBusiness products and solutions, and CSI USA, Inc., a supplier of secure data logistics software, announced an alliance that will enable businesses to securely exchange XML data between eBusiness applications. This newly created alliance integrates Object Design's eXcelon XML Application Platform with CSI's Business Document Exchange (BDEƃ´) server software, enabling companies to provide the secure transfer of XML data over the Internet, improve the reliability of the data transfer, and enable tracking of the data as it is transmitted.

CYBER SCENE SOCIAL NOTES ~ 12/26/99

* Just like Mom always reminded you: Stay on top of those Holiday greetings and get Thank You's out at least within two weeks!

A Grand Celebration to top off them all


The Galloways--Scott and Margaret--relocated from San Francisco to New York last spring when Scott launched Prophet Brand Strategy's NYC office. Scott's also moving his other new company, Brand Farm, into their new offices in the tower at Chelsea Market in March 2000. Scott & Margaret have had several significant dealings over the last year, including the well advertised www.RedEnvelope.com for him and leading the charge at theweddinglist.com for her. To celebrate, the couple is hosting a three-day extravaganza for 65 of their closest friends and colleagues. The event seems to bring a new meaning to the term "e-ticket ride" (Disneyland used to have a ticketing system for their rides, "e" being the best rides).
 
The party was produced by Jon Taylor, who directs Prophet's marketing efforts on both coasts as well as serving as creative director for Prophet & Brand Farm. Among the guests are: Scott Galloway (CEO Prophet Brand Strategy, SF &NY; Chairman, RedEnvelope.com, SF; Founder, Brand Farm (specialty retail incubator), NY; Founder, aardvarkpet.com), Margaret Galloway (COO & CFO, TheWeddingList.com, NY), Connie Hallquist (Managing Director, Prophet Brand Strategy, NY), Greg Shove (VP, Interactive Marketing, America Online), Shelley Nandkeolyar (VP, eCommerce Division, Williams-Sonoma, Inc.), Barbara Erskine (Member of the Board, World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland), Lynne Frank (SVP/General Manager Turner Entertainment Networks, Europe) and Robert May (Founder & CEO of Ikonic Interactive (now part of USWeb/CKS)). And what will this league of glittery digerati be doing? Buying out restaurants for dinners (Savoy and a mom & pop joint in Little Italy), cocktails at the Campbell Apartment, tours of Grand Central, Daily News Building and the UN, slide lectures at the Municipal Art Society and private sunset viewing at Yale University's former dean of architecture, Paul Rudolph. Had enough? It all ends with a lovely brunch at the Galloways? Want in? Send your business plan to be considered for next year!

In Memoriam -- Marina Lakhman

Outside it was a warm spring night and inside the room was steamier. Red wine and vodka shots added to everyone's headiness at the Russian Web Girls first party that I attended on May 30th, 1997. The Russian Web Girls were swirling around in their custom-made dresses by my now choice dress designer, Anna Eliashevich. Leo and Viktor were making their rounds as "vodka boy" -- a useful version of the 40s style "cigarette girl." There was a stellar group of classic New York new media types there, and one who stood out from the crowd was Marina Lakhman.

Marina was at the time writing for The New York Times, editing for the Russian Web Girls and writing/editing for a few other publications. She was wearing a fabulously rich-colored orange printed bandana, big gold hoop earrings and a gorgeously rich fabric sarong and blouse.
Her friendliness and enthusiasm were equally colorful and she came running up to me and greeted me with a warm smile and big hug. We were "comrades" on a few levels: love of Russia, time spent living there and writing.

Marina went back to Russia to live, learn and work. She stayed there and her life blossomed in many ways. She also fell sick with Leukemia. Despite this, Marina pursued and lived life to the fullest. Her death, this past week wasn't due directly to Leukemia. She fell and fainted in her apartment and her body, after having been through so much, had a stroke, which caused her death. This talented woman and friend will be missed so much by so many people. A memorial service will be held on December 30th at 11:30 am at the 76th Street & Amsterdam Avenue Memorial Chapel.

Okay, now the fun stuff: Splashy details for the particulars

Now, what really happened online for all us real 'Netnauts? Well, we saw lots of significant IPOs: Razorfish.com in May, Agency.com's in December, and we saw millions of dollars pour into our faire e-towne to support, buy and deal with many of our friends (and competitors) companies.
But we also saw the fading of plaid flannels to slick pleather pants and beat-up Doc Martens to pointy CK spike-heels. Kidding! We did see a nice change in the average New York 'Net users wardrobe, however. Gone were parties with all jeans and sneakers. Gone were the parties with just beer and pretzels. Gone were the Caesar hair-cuts and Jennifer Aniston shags. Okay, not everything changed. At least I don't have to tell inquirers what "Proper Dress Required" means for my cocktail parties. I did, however, have to insist that my black tie benefit for was indeed Black Tie.

We saw companies like Nerve.com move into big lofty lofts and have sex-studded parties. And we saw Sonicnet and MTVi throw some racy riotous times in small, cramped, tripled-tiered South-Eastern Soho hangs. Pseudo is goin' mainstream -- sort of -- with more management changes and "upscaling" of their offices that it's a wonder the mail room knows where they're delivering mail and for whom.

Bigstar.com, SmartGirl.com and Hyperspace Cowgirls all have dynamic leaders behind them, and NYC Marathoner-David Friendensohn, enterprising Isabel Walcott and creative Susan Shaw all have more growth and development on their horizons. If my predictions see the light of day, then a more intuitive web might not be too far along, and maybe we could even converse with our sites and coax changes verbally with Catherine Winchester's Soliloquy.

Of course iXL is perfectly primed for next year's wave of increased interactive TV, broadband and streamlined, useful sites with their diverse company. They also would win the most Charitable organization with significant contributions to MOUSE and The Fresh Air Fund and a stellar volunteerism policy for employees.

Owen Davis has taken The Thinking Media from a vision to a reality over the years and I must admit, each morning that I see dark circles under my eyes from a late night at the office I remember those early WWWAC pre-board meetings over glasses of red wine when he was starting his company and writing a book.

Tery Spataro, a personal friend, had mentored me and provided more guidance and support for more woman than any one I know -- other than Aliza Sherman, of course!

And where would we all be if NYNMA's Alice O'Rourke and the program committee hadn't made so many of their panels and 'Suds such "sold-out-but-must-attend" events?! I remember her first welcoming speech at an Education SIG meeting in early 1998. She was new to new media, but she had lots of interest and energy. And I know personally what one can do with ample doses of those two ingredients.

So what's to come next year with The Cyber Scene and its sister Cocktails with Courtney? The same coverage you crave, the same quality networking you desire, but with more cities added to the roster, an Internet-based TV show (stay tuned here for details) and -- yes, even some e-commerce! You'll be buying classic cufflinks for your beau and haute couture inspired scarves for your honey. Of course there are a few other secrets that we can't let out of the bag just yet too!

Most importantly, though, is that this wonderful world and web create a perfect situation to be able to not predict practically anything! If you follow your passion (or your nose) you just might get somewhere really neat that you didn't intend. And that's sometimes the best intention -- to follow your dreams and go where you dared to think you could!

I am blessed with all your support and interest. I thrive on your comments and criticisms. I hope to continue to offer quality and entertaining information for all The Cyber Scene readers and more into our next year!

Broad Strokes for all folks


Well 1999 was an exceptional year in many ways. It was a year where we saw some of the major buzzwords go from trendy to reality, especially in ecommerce. Consider that over $6 billion was spent in ecommerce just this Holiday season alone, and that there are over 5.6 billion users on eBay and nearly 3 million households trading online, there is some significant buying, selling and investing occurring online. 

I spoke about these points this past Sunday night, December 26th, on CNN in my role as contributing editor to Yahoo! Internet Life magazine. I explained to host Angela Hall about some significant events and evolutions that occurred on the 'Net last year. The music industry was revolutionized with the development of MP3 technology allowing musicians to release and distribute their songs online and for fans to be able to download them to their computers and personal players on demand. The film industry woke up to the power of the Internet with the success of The Blair Witch Project, which was marketed and promoted online. Even the healthcare industry is embracing the 'Net with online surgeries, a plethora of healthcare information sites and the ability to purchase prescriptions online.

Our favorite buzzword du jour "broadband" also received a significant spike in interest with Victoria Secret's heralded Web cast to over 1.5 million viewers and will continue to remain a major trend for 'Netnauts and non alike. 

Continuing in the trend vein, next year will also bring the promise of high speed access for average users not just gear-heads in wired towns via either cable modem or high speed phone lines. A result of all this high speed access will bring better and more interactive rich media content and more streaming media. 

Another major buzzword that's having, and will continue to have, its day is good ol' "wireless" technology. Fortunately, I see a world where this is already becoming a reality and where the States will be able to (hopefully) catch up. Business travelers will go from being able to hypothetically call in from the car, beach or hotel to truly being able to access the Internet without three degrees in computer science and a small tool chest. 

 People will continue to use the 'Net as a business, commercial, service and entertainment source. However the usage will transform from it being considered a third party, clunky separate entity to becoming more streamlined, intuitive and informative. Hardware, software and Web sites will all work together a bit better and a bit more intuitively. People will continue to use the 'Net for things that will ease their lives: booking travel, buying groceries, purchasing gifts and other items, trading stocks and banking. With better, personalized and customized Web sites, people will be able to have personalized services they trust with the added convenience regardless of the nine to five work week. 

* Special thanks to Mary Dawne Arden for assistance in preparation for the appearance.

Tuesday, December 21, 1999

NYNMA's INTERNET TIME CAPSULE AT THE HOLIDAY PARTY

FROM OUR INTERNET TIME CAPSULE AT THE HOLIDAY PARTY,
PREDICTIONS FOR 2000:

In one year from now . . .

"B2B and ASP's will take over the world"
- Alex Lynch, Partner, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, LLP

"A year from now we will not believe that anyone ever created a .com
consumer company without a media partner."
- Bob Lessin, Chairman and Co-CEO of Wit Capital

"In the year 2000, we will see an acceleration of the economic
revolution that the Internet is catalyzing.  More Internet market
capitalization will be created in the next few years than has been
created since the birth of the Web."
- Jack Hidary, President, CEO and Co-founder, EarthWeb Inc.

"A year from now, same day delivery of products via services such
as kozmo.com and Webvan will dramatically affect existing e-commerce
leaders such as Amazon.com."
- Chris Clark, VP and General Manager, Alexander Ogilvy Public
Relations Worldwide, New York

"One year from now, there will be custom martini chips you can
plug into your USB port for a drink while surfing on the Internet."
- Courtney Pulitzer, Pulitzer Creations

"A year from now 50% of e-commerce merchants will be out of
business or out of money!"
- Jonathan Bulkeley, CEO, barnesandnoble.com

"The new media industry will be poised for a new wave of explosive
growth, in what form we don't know, so keep your eyes open."
- Cella Irvine & Connie Connors, the current and past chairs
of the NYNMA Board of Directors

- From the The New York New Media Association newlsetter

Friday, December 17, 1999

I'm "Thinking" I can see a "Bear!" (Friday night parties continue)


In the midst of the season, Friday, December 17th, was a night of holiday cheering and jeering. Starting off at The Thinking Media's (TTM) party in their new spacious offices, I had a chance to see many familiar faces. Just a short while ago their offices held hundreds of cramped workers when it was the Doubleclick space. Bill McCloskey (Comet Systems, Evangelist) and Rich Media Sig, Chairman) was there enjoying some spirits with Marni Kotak and Arthur McKinley and Sharon Tolpin (of Solbright) (who was in cute leopard shoes). The elegant Catherine Winchester and Mark Lucente (Soliloquy) and Katherine Billings (Mail.com). David West Smith and Hee Yong were looking sharp and Mary Jo Fahey was once again wowing me with the news of her most recent article. She was busy chatting it up with Steve Jacobs (who's been with TTM for 4 days as a VP of Development).
Out in the main room, with holiday lights strewn about the joint and platters of meats, pastas and a bar full of strong martinis comin' atcha, I met up with some other lively folks. Allison Johnson, the VP of TTM, West Coast, offered up heaping amounts of enthusiasm as we talked about the scene out West. 

* * * *
Meanwhile, some heavy investors types were getting' into some heavy rap at the Bear Ventures launch party in their new raw space on Spring Street above Balthazar. Everyone there knew Philip Erdoes, CEO Bear Ventures, but not everyone was net-related. One woman dancing wildly just kept announcing she had the most beautiful baby and was married to "that attractive man over there." Another danced like no tomorrow with my photographer, Hugh. Adam Tejpaul (JP Morgan) and Ann Leibowitz (Trek Sikkim) were tamer, talking near the hors d'oeuvres. The only other familiar face was handsome Guillermo Suescum (Internet Plus). Philip's guests had lots of room to dance, as they didn't heavily promote the party. It's part of their whole philosophy: "we're quiet." They take their business seriously, but not themselves -- they work hard but like to have fun. And they don't promote themselves; they promote their ventures. That seems to make sense.

Mixin' it up for the Holidays


Tony Zeoli and Jon Spooner deserve more than they might've wished for this holiday season. Both worked at least one full time job while pouring their passion into their site www.netmix.com. With some much-needed and recent funding, their work will be paying off as they ramp up, staff up, and move out (of cramped borrowed quarters to new space). Netmix's party on Friday, December 17th had some notables from Cablevision's Total Music Network/Broadband--Rocky Bucano and some notables from their own companies--Derik Ferguson of Tarpon Scurry and Colin SaVage of Wondermint. I ran into some old colleagues from Brand Dialogue and a handful of wonderfully arty, music types! The DJ tunes were spinning but I had to spin out and onto the next mix.

BITS AND BYTES - 12/17/99


OpenTable.com Expands to Chicago and Seattle
OpenTable.com announced the availability of the first real-time online restaurant reservations in Chicago and Seattle, and over 130 partner restaurants in eight cities nationwide. The move solidifies the company's position as the leading provider of real-time, online restaurant reservations.


eComplaints Launches Site
For all those people whose bags end up in Duluth after an airplane trip (while they're in Dallas), eComplaints.com announced the formal launch of its consumer complaint website, www.eComplaints.com. eComplaints is introducing a better way for consumers to complain about faulty goods or poor service, by giving them an ally in their fight to actually get what they paid for, or be compensated.


Bloomberg.Com Unveils Expanded Television Section
Expanding its high-quality television programming, Bloomberg.com (http://www.bloomberg.com) announced that it is adding three new popular Bloomberg Television programs to its online schedule. Investors will now be able to watch three daily programs offering specialized investment advice - "Money Flow", "Web Watch", and "TechLine". All programs can be viewed by using Real Player G2 or Windows Media Player.

Pseudo Programs, Inc --one of the largest networks of original Internet TV --will preview BizTech2000, its new business and technology channel, with a live 17-hour Internet TV broadcast featuring interviews with some of the Internet entertainment industry's leading executives from the Jupiter Entertainment Forum in Los Angeles on December 8th and 9th. BizTech2000, slated to launch early next year and created by former CNNfn producer Mark Berniker, will focus on news, analysis, investigation and an inside look at business in the digital age. Shows on BizTech2000 will be hosted by leaders in the business and technology arena, including Mr. Berniker, executive producer of Pseudo's business and technology programming, Jason Calacanis, publisher and editor of The Silicon Alley Reporter, and Courtney Pulitzer, president of The Cyber Scene, a popular, influential weekly newsletter tracking the community, culture, companies, and people in and around Silicon Alley.

Yack Launches Event Producer Network
YackSM, (www.yack.com) the web's most comprehensive guide to live net events, announced it has launched the Event Producer NetworkSM (EPN). This first-of-its-kind program allows online event producers to connect their original web programming and events to the rapidly growing audience of web consumers who are turning to the Internet for news and entertainment.


Historychannel.Com Unveils "Milestones Of The Millennium"
HistoryChannel.com's (www.historychannel.com/millennium) "Milestones of the Millennium" surveys the ten most significant historical landmarks in ten different categories: Art & Architecture, Inventions, Medicine & Biology, Music & Literature, Philosophy & Learning, Politics & Government, Science & Discovery, Society & Culture, Sports, and Wars.

Holiday Fundraiser Shows How Publishers Could Profit

On December 15, magazine-length excerpts of famous authors' work-in-progress novels will be posted on a new site called Hotauthors.com. To download and distribute visitors need to make a charitable donation to Literacy Partners of America. The charity demo runs until February 15.


Culturefinder.Com Launches First National Ad Campaign Are you the kind of person who thinks about going to arts events but never goes? Then you're the kind of customer CultureFinder.com is looking to reach with its first-ever national advertising campaign, which breaks this week in print, broadcast, and online media.

Aunt Ethel, We The Shoppers.Com Shopping Expert Makes Her National Television Debut This Weekend  We The Shoppers, Inc. (http://Wetheshoppers.com/event/event.html.) invites everyone to Aunt Ethel's television debut this weekend on the nationally syndicated program, Main Floor starring Nancy Stafford. Aunt Ethel is the first animated Internet personality to be interviewed on TV. In New York and Los Angeles, she can be seen Sunday, Dec. 12th and again on Dec. 18th at 11:30 a.m. on the ABC stations.

Strategic Domain, a new leader in interactive healthcare marketing, announced that the company received three prestigious awards at an awards ceremony for eHealthcareWorld’s Award Competition in New York City. The competition recognizes excellence in Internet communications for the healthcare industry.

Shakers and Stirrers - published 12/17/99

Andrew Gelman has left the hallowed walls of NBC as a Senior Talent Attorney to assume the exciting role of Director of Business Development at Powerful Media Inc. agelman@powerfulmedia.com. In his new role he will be spearheading the effort to source and execute content, marketing and distribution partnerships. Founded by Kurt Andersen, Michael Hirschorn and Deanna Brown, the company is in the business-to-business entertainment information space and its flagship product will launch in the Spring of 2000.

Paul Kontonis will be the Director of Internet Solutions and Strategy at Bessen, Tully and Lee. He will be responsible for creating an interactive division, an internet services strategy and bringing in new business.

Loren Pomerantz has moved over to Middleberg + Associates, working with Rob Argento to develop a Media Strategy department that will work with most of the accounts in the agency, as well as serve as a training ground for new employees.

Lauren Giglio will be joining Thesquare.com as their new Marketing Manager, beginning January 4, 2000. lauren.giglio@thesquare.com.

Marni Kotak has assumed the role of Director, Business Development & Marketing at Black Hammer Productions in Soho.

HotSocket, Inc. (www.hotsocket.com), the leading provider of direct response marketing on the Web, announced the appointment of John Ripa, formerly Senior Vice President of Sales of infoUSA (NASDAQ: IUSA), as Vice President of Sales.

TAHO Commerce Group announced the formation of its senior management team: Blake Henry - Managing Partner, Business Development (Co-Founder) Neal Ruskin - Managing Partner, Technical Development (Co-Founder) Robert Benkovitz - Chief Development Engineer Robert McNeice - Senior Product Specialist Phillip Moran - Senior Application Manager Vincent Petrillo - Quality Assurance Manager

Marking another expansion of the company's presence in the interactive marketplace, A&E Television Networks has created a new division, AETN Interactive. Thomas Heymann has been promoted to oversee its growth in his new role as Senior Vice President/General Manager, it was announced by Whitney Goit II, Executive Vice President, A&E Television Networks.

Charged.com, one of the Web's original leisure magazine, named Gary Wagener as business manager, a newly-created post at the company. According to Jen Heck, Editor-In-Chief of Charged.com, Wagener will oversee all advertising and marketing efforts for the Webzine, as well as cultivate new business relationships and sponsorships.

Adios, Adieu, and Aloha Means Goodbye

How does one say goodbye? For me, this is my goodbye to the Internet/new media industry that I have been a part of for the past three months. For those of you who don't know me, I was Courtney Pulitzer's assistant. This week marked my final week in that position as I am now leaving New York to attend medical school. I have enjoyed my time here and have many fond memories. Many of you have read my articles in The Cyber Scene. I hope that you have enjoyed them. For those of you who haven't read my articles, check out the archives :). Before I leave the scene, I wish to give thanks to the many people that have made my time in New York a wonderful experience. First of all thank you to all the people that I have met at the various parties that I have attended. You are too numerous to mention, but I wish to thank all of you for taking the time to talk to me and giving me a chance to learn more about your world. Thank you to my brother's colleagues at PR@vantage who always made me feel welcome when I stopped by the office.

There are two people that I have to give special thanks to. First would be Courtney. I have enjoyed working with her for the past three months. I have learned so much about this fast-paced, high-tech industry. However Courtney was more than just my boss. She became a good friend. I enjoyed going to parties with her and just talking to her in the office. She is a tireless worker and I am honored to have worked with her. Thank you, Courtney, for everything.

Finally, no thank you would be great enough for my brother, Sachin. I have enjoyed the three and a half months up here and it is all because of him. He took the time to show me the city and helped me become acclimated to my surroundings. Whether just a quick chat when I stopped in at his office or cooking dinner at the apartment, we always had a good time. Sachin has taught me so much, and for that I can never repay him. I think it was Bob Hope who said it best..."Thanks for the memories!"
To everyone out there in cyberland, have a happy holidays.

The final "Cocktails with Courtney" of the Millennium

Okay, okay. I know you're all tired of hearing about these "last whatever's of the Millennium," when it isn't even technically the true turn of the century. However, not one to ignore the bandwagon, and in keeping with my schedule, I hosted my last cocktail party of the year, nay, of the century -- oh, all right, OF THE MILLENNIUM! And it was just fantastic! There were so many great people from the "early days," like Seth Price, Hubert Chang, Steve Filler, Steve Introcaso (a great friend and fantastically funny guy too!), Lydia Sugarman and Jeff Hearon. And there were some Alley luminaries like Aliza Sherman, Renee Edelman, Monte Bartlett and Bruce Bernstein. A handful of noted writers and reporters came for some holiday cheer as well, like Stephen Miller, Caroline Waxler, Doug Donovan, Jeff Tyler, Ken Magill and Michael Rovner. Significant Alley-ers in the know like Renny Gleason (iTurf) and his wife Pam, Anne Gardner Kayman (NYC Economic Development Corp.), Rob Argento and San Fran-er Michael Tchong also mixed in the milieu.

Tasty treats floated above guests heads as wine and Bacardi specials were being poured. Sharon Tolpin (Solbright) and I chatted about events. Our raffle went well, but even with my karaoke machine we struggled to get the crowd to stop taking. No problem -- that's just the industry.

And what an industry it is. And how it's grown! Each sponsor: Real Media, UniversityVentures and eWonders.com all had significant growth and results to show this year.

(PS. I know that technically it's not the true end of the Millennium, but Hallmark seems to think so!)

Swingin' singles, Real hot rods and Tons-o-Toys

"Is that a camera in your pocket or are you excited to see me?" Her big brown eyes popped out from under a tall fuzzy white hat as NYNMA board member Mark Stahlman revealed a major lens attributed silver Sony CyberShot digital camera to Marghretta McBean (president of Fixed Earth Enterprises) and myself. It was a digital camera, and it was impressive! But then again, most of what Mark reveals is impressive.

Jonathan Perkel (Mofo.com) came over and told me about some hip-hop parties later in the week and Stephanie Agresta (Chair of Member Relations, NYNMA) came bouncing over to tell me of the successful evening the New York New Media Association had at its member Holiday party. Over 600 toys and a $10,000 matching gift by EMC Corporation were culled for the Toys for Tots campaign.
Sponsored by Alexander Ogilvy, EMC and Akamai Technologies, the "Toys 2 K" E-Commerce Campaign brought out the best of both worlds. Renee Edelman (PR 21) and Lisa Boyne (Homeontheweb.com), in a cute cow-print patterned skirt were there and I had a chance to catch up with former co-workers of mine, Jason Valdina (formerly of Brand Dialogue, now of Scient) and Aimee Soto (Darwin Digital). Carl Gambello, William Kohut and Patrick Rice of Cisco were there with Julie Anderson (consultant) and Eric Minkiewicz (AdClip.net). I met Laura Auerbach (Citibank) who wore a lovely black velvet gown and pretty rhinestone necklace and was chatting with Felice Carson (Internet.com).

Olivier Attia (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) and Nikki LeSage (Time Inc.) were there chatting with Mr. Randall Stempler.com (http://charitybenefits.com/) who brought me up to date on his Master Calendar of Charity Benefits site and reminisced about the time when Kyle Shannon, Agency.com co-founder taught him about FTP. Raphi Salem (Salem Global) gave me some Hanukkah chocolates and a dreidl, and introduced me to Wendy Schachner. I also met Julie-Ayn Steiger of NYNMA. Ellen Auwater (NYNMA) and Alice O'Rourke (NYNMA, Executive Director) looked lovely in their holiday dresses. And Alice's Christmas-tree-ornament inspired bracelet was an eye-catching as the twinkle in her eye as we discussed the successful event.

Thursday, December 16, 1999

Safety and Securities

There was plenty of time for scrutinized partying at corporate investigation management firm Strang Hayes Consulting's office holiday party at the New York Athletic Club on Thursday, December 16th. I spoke for a bit with Anne Hayes, who founded the company with former DEA colleague Robert Strang, and VP Eva Saketkoo told me about their new business that focuses on e-business, I-ensure.com. SVP and COO Jeffrey Mueller, and dir. of bizdev Melissa Zolin Schwartz were entertaining the remaining guests, including Gregory Keith Spence, VP & General Counsel and myself. As the evening came to a close, I headed West to Enock Interactive.

Chris Enock and Reuben Sushman of Enock were still groovin' to the tunes of the "band-that-has-no-name" when I came by to snack on a business-card sugar cookie and see what this I-active agency was up to on Thursday night. They're going to be giving Agency.com and Razorfish a run for their money next year that's for sure. Starting the year off with a bang and a bell, they designed the digital wall in the Conde Nast building and on January 3rd Guiliani will hit the button lighting the NASDAQ Market Tower as the bell goes off to start the trading day.

A troika and 'Skizum Muziks'

It was way back in 1994 when the $250 million promotional marketing firm Dugan Valva Contess founded its interactive division. Since then, they've acquired creative shop Muffinhead and techno-geek shop Viscient Technology. They also were voted promo agency of the decade by "Promo Magazine." Their holiday party on Thursday, December 16, brought together the mix of creative, technical and marketing from the respective firms' clients and friends. Steven Blinn introduced me around to a few of the key players, and I spoke with George Valva (Chairman/CEO), Chris-Anthony DeLellis (founding partner, Muffin-head) and Paul Ivans (group president). Paul told me how they apply the thinking behind promotion, which is behavior change. He also conveyed that not enough people understand the differences between on- and off-line promotion. Well this company certainly does understand the difference. They've got clients like Cdnow, Coca-Cola USA, Clarins and Prada.
Guests enjoyed getting to regroup before the end of the year and mellow out to the full visual and harmonic art installation that Skizum Muziks performed: Birgit chanting to classical guitarist Scott Bolden's musical mixes, with custom visuals provided by a Japanese video artist.

Wednesday, December 15, 1999

A kinder, gentler IBM...


Companies can spend millions of dollars on ad and marketing campaigns, only to see them fail miserably. IBM, however, is not only spending significant dollars toward promoting their services that help the little guy get ahead (with their ebusiness ads), but it's also got the formidable JP Frenza behind its web integrator program. JP is taking charge and changing almost every aspect of the way IBM does business with local merchants, so much so that he thinks it will be almost unrecognizable. It is a kinder, gentler IBM, for sure. He won't do an event in another town unless there's a representative of the local community involved.

And for one of their holiday soirees, they partnered up with AlleyCat News for a wine tasting at the Chelsea Wine Vault on Thursday, December 15th. Choosing only wines from small vineyards, to once again get across that IBM is helping small businesses, guests could sample a white wine from Long Island or one of two reds from the States. Two wines from Spain, France and Italy rounded out the offerings and kept guests buzzing. Justin Model (PredictIt.com) was chatting with Alan Rosenberg (Deputy Director, Management Information Systems for the Mayor's office) and Anna Wheatley (Editor-in-Chief, AlleyCat News). Guess what? Alan gave me a scoop and confided to me that the Mayor's office computer system is in a sorry state, but that he's a confirmed Palm Pilot VII owner and user.

Gregory Belmont (Grand Central Holdings) told me about one of his new partnerships with uslaw.com and about how he is spending some time chatting with Count Vincent Grimaldi, who recommended the California Cabernet and helps entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.

Stefani Feist, as in feisty, was chatting it up with Margaret Flood of AlleyCat News. On my way out I met Paul Forster of Jobsinthemoney.com (based in Austin, TX and NYC).

If IBM keeps up this sort of approach, they'll go from being "Big Blue" or "Big Brother" to "Blues brother."

Over a river and through the woods...


Actually not quite over a river, but a block from the Hudson River, Medsite had their "closing" and Holiday party at Lot 61 on Wednesday, December 15th. Adam Cooper rushed over to say Hello - I hadn't seen him since his days at iVillage. With a one-day respite, he moved over to this "home on the Internet for doctors" three months ago. Adam introduced me to Tom Feitel, SVP of marketing and CFO Greg Scott. We munched on some jumbo shrimps, stuffed with sticky rice and wrapped in a string noodle with tamarind sauce as we discussed some of the recent growth of this company. Madonna's music grooved over the sound system and more yummy empanadas, salmon wraps and spring rolls passed by us.

I made my way around the bar to chat with Pat LaVecchia, Lee Stettner, Max Haspel, and Julie Burke of Credit Suisse First Boston. They were chatting about how this is the new way for CSFB to celebrate "closings." Lee explained that traditionally, closing dinners were done in stodgy old restaurants. Well, he continued, the new way is to have an Internet party. He thinks Medsite is a great company and the top medial and "ehealth" site on the Internet. Lee was responsible in large part for the $50 million raised.

Alison Tucker, an ebusiness and ecommerce consultant, and I chatted a bit about some of the season's best parties. I have to admit, Dealtime.com's was the splashiest so far, and Clickthebutton.com's was the most unique!

The Gist of the story is...

A body with a Santa hat bobbed around the packed room and stopped to rest at the kiddy table. Jonathan Greenberg, CEO, Gist.com was donning the holiday hat as he entertained children of employees and guests at their holiday party in their offices on Wednesday, December 15th. They moved into this space two months ago, and they were celebrating in high style with overstuffed sandwiches the size of Connecticut, cheese platters bigger than Wisconsin and enough Sushi and cookies to satisfy the state of Massachusetts. Down the hall the band was setting up in their one-day-old space, and Jonathan took me around the corner to show off the space they'd been in for three-and-a-half years.

This space was true Soho-divine. Lovely glass-walled dividers and a flow-promoting collaboration. Their Webby Award was nicely displayed, a true accomplishment considering it was the only time a TV site ever received one aside from the usual winner, PBS. Mark Edmiston, Vice Chairman of the company (and former president of Newsweek International, among other luminary-roles), bid hearty "thank yous" and "adieus" to Jonathan as we rounded out the tour.

It normally would sound like the premise of a bad sitcom, but sometimes real life is stranger than we think. The fact that Jonathan's corner office overlooks his artist-mother and stepfather's Wooster Street loft, which they've had since 1975 in which he grew up, is a small-world coincidence unlike many others.

Before leaving I had a chance to see Hugh Crawford, who's had his project bought four times by different companies. His newest employ is with Cisco, and he was chatting with Emily Russo of Zeitgeist.

Tuesday, December 14, 1999

The Western Cable Show


Dec. 14-17 in Los Angeles. Promises to be an eye-opener for Silicon Alley denizens who attend. Interactive TV is bursting out with real applications, while high-speed Internet access is getting hot and Internet telephony and home automation tech/services are popping up on the industry's radar screen. This big show is going on with direct implications on businesses. Want more details? www.cct-assn.org (California Cable TV Association's site). You can use the site to register for the show online. Also, you can get faxes of show information through (888) 772-6540.

Monday, December 13, 1999

Let them eat cake


Thick, rich chocolate cake sat on the table, oozing delectable yumminess for the guests at the New York Software Industry Association's member holiday party on Monday, December 13th. It didn't go unnoticed at the IBM headquarters on Madison Avenue as I watched more than a few people walk off with some. Edward Martino, of IBM and Vice Chair of the NYSIA board, John Tepper Merlin of the NYC Comptroller's Office and the principal author of the Comptroller's Software Report, WWWAC-list vigilante Jen Runne (in sparkly eyeliner and bright fuchsia lipstick) and NYSIA president Bruce Bernstein posed for a picture before Bruce told me of their Nerd's Night Out results. Their big fundraiser for the Thomas Edison High School's robotics team was so successful they raised $21,000 dollars. Christine Rizzuto of IBM and Carmen Roman-Medina of NYSIA were among some of the supportive women who came out on this rainy night. Larry Aronson, NYSIA and WWWAC board member, began a discussion with Lou Giacolone (Richmond Research, Inc.) about predictions for the business next year as Bruce Strzelczyk (Richard A. Eisnor) and David De Santo (Cyber Solutions) listened on. Larry sees a tough year ahead and lots of lost revenue from banner ads not getting paid by defunct firms. Lou is optimistic and sees a great year. Murray Gordon, president of Quetzal and Michael Pinto (Vanguard) were also there.

Friday, December 10, 1999

BITS AND BYTES - 12/10/99


OpenTable.com Expands to Chicago and Seattle
OpenTable.com announced the availability of the first real-time online restaurant reservations in Chicago and Seattle, and over 130 partner restaurants in eight cities nationwide. The move solidifies the company's position as the leading provider of real-time, online restaurant reservations.


eComplaints Launches Site
For all those people whose bags end up in Duluth after an airplane trip (while they're in Dallas), eComplaints.com announced the formal launch of its consumer complaint website, www.eComplaints.com. eComplaints is introducing a better way for consumers to complain about faulty goods or poor service, by giving them an ally in their fight to actually get what they paid for, or be compensated.


Bloomberg.Com Unveils Expanded Television Section
Expanding its high-quality television programming, Bloomberg.com (http://www.bloomberg.com) announced that it is adding three new popular Bloomberg Television programs to its online schedule. Investors will now be able to watch three daily programs offering specialized investment advice - "Money Flow", "Web Watch", and "TechLine". All programs can be viewed by using Real Player G2 or Windows Media Player.

Pseudo Programs, Inc --one of the largest networks of original Internet TV --will preview BizTech2000, its new business and technology channel, with a live 17-hour Internet TV broadcast featuring interviews with some of the Internet entertainment industry's leading executives from the Jupiter Entertainment Forum in Los Angeles on December 8th and 9th. BizTech2000, slated to launch early next year and created by former CNNfn producer Mark Berniker, will focus on news, analysis, investigation and an inside look at business in the digital age. Shows on BizTech2000 will be hosted by leaders in the business and technology arena, including Mr. Berniker, executive producer of Pseudo's business and technology programming, Jason Calacanis, publisher and editor of The Silicon Alley Reporter, and Courtney Pulitzer, president of The Cyber Scene, a popular, influential weekly newsletter tracking the community, culture, companies, and people in and around Silicon Alley.

Yack Launches Event Producer Network
YackSM, (www.yack.com) the web's most comprehensive guide to live net events, announced it has launched the Event Producer NetworkSM (EPN). This first-of-its-kind program allows online event producers to connect their original web programming and events to the rapidly growing audience of web consumers who are turning to the Internet for news and entertainment.


Historychannel.Com Unveils "Milestones Of The Millennium"
HistoryChannel.com's (www.historychannel.com/millennium) "Milestones of the Millennium" surveys the ten most significant historical landmarks in ten different categories: Art & Architecture, Inventions, Medicine & Biology, Music & Literature, Philosophy & Learning, Politics & Government, Science & Discovery, Society & Culture, Sports, and Wars.


Holiday Fundraiser Shows How Publishers Could Profit
On December 15, magazine-length excerpts of famous authors' work-in-progress novels will be posted on a new site called Hotauthors.com. To download and distribute visitors need to make a charitable donation to Literacy Partners of America. The charity demo runs until February 15.


Culturefinder.Com Launches First National Ad Campaign Are you the kind of person who thinks about going to arts events but never goes? Then you're the kind of customer CultureFinder.com is looking to reach with its first-ever national advertising campaign, which breaks this week in print, broadcast, and online media.

Aunt Ethel, We The Shoppers.Com Shopping Expert Makes Her National Television Debut This Weekend
We The Shoppers, Inc. (http://Wetheshoppers.com/event/event.html.) invites everyone to Aunt Ethel's television debut this weekend on the nationally syndicated program, Main Floor starring Nancy Stafford. Aunt Ethel is the first animated Internet personality to be interviewed on TV. In New York and Los Angeles, she can be seen Sunday, Dec. 12th and again on Dec. 18th at 11:30 a.m. on the ABC stations.

Strategic Domain, a new leader in interactive healthcare marketing, announced that the company received three prestigious awards at an awards ceremony for eHealthcareWorldƃ­s Award Competition in New York City. The competition recognizes excellence in Internet communications for the healthcare industry.

The Cyber Scene in Austin - by Will Kreth


Snow-free and slumming at the Shoreline -- a closer look at US Creative


Well, the first of December wasn't covered with snow -- at least in Austin, TX, a place where no turnpikes exist either, thankfully. But it was a great night to roll down to the Shoreline Grill for the US Creative party.  In the mood to celebrate, having both closed a $5 million funding round (from Convergence Partners of Menlo Park, CA) and announced the launch of a new San Francisco office, US Creative is on a roll. Jocelyn Johnson of Sloane & Company (US Creative's PR agency) had invited me, flying down from Sloane's NYC office for the event. Downstairs, an airport lounge band fronted by the obligatory dusky woman vocalist was working a set of jazz standards and "casuals" (read: adult contemporary hits) for the crowd. I grabbed a drink and an appetizer and set about tracking down my host.  It was the classic agoraphobes worst nightmare: a room full of strangers, and a soundtrack only slightly less so. After a few conversations and less than six degrees of separation, I found Jocelyn.

Creative Czar

She introduced me Wayne Steiger, president of US Creative. We talked for a few minutes, but his presence was repeatedly requested on the dance floor, so we agreed to pick up our conversation in a few days. This week, I went to the US Creative office and talked with Steiger about the rapid growth of the company and how the web nurtures and connects the creative mindset.

With a data base of almost 350,000 creative professionals in 360 different categories, spanning film, video, web, design, illustration, photography and more - US Creative is a veritable Grand Central Station, hooking up artists and craftspeople with companies looking to outsource some level of their creative service needs.  Put your portfolio online, goes the thinking - and if you're good, your phone won't ring, but your e-mail will certainly chime.

Steiger joined the company in January 1999 to find a moribund web site that was 3.5 years old.  Once he convinced the founders that he could put together a strategic plan, it became clear that they had something great to work with. "In one sense, it was just a directory, but it still had the seed of a great community site," says Steiger.  Working his Rolodex and angel investor connections, Steiger went out and raised money for the company, and by May - was voted in by the board as the president of the company. With their first office located on Sixth Street (above a now defunct rock club called Steamboat), their staff quickly grew from 3 to 9 people. On September 1, they re-launched the site. 

Vibes

"We had a total of about 900 square feet [on Sixth Street]," says Steiger, "and when I think about what we paying now (on the aptly named Research Blvd.) - it was a bargain.  At the old office, if you didn't get the work done by 7PM, you'd have the choice of listening to that night's band at Steamboat, or the band at the Library Club next door."  The vibrations from the music below caused chunks of the ceiling to fall on the floor of their office, yet Steiger is convinced that the close-quarters was just the right environment for the young staff.  "It was amazing what that synergy brought - everyone knew what everyone else was doing - from marketing to engineering to management. Having been a product of the '60s myself, I felt that the communal aspect was there."

With a new print and web ad campaign sporting the tagline "Expose Yourself" - featuring shots of  "clothing free" models wearing only strategically-placed cameras, art portfolios, and other tools of their trade, U.S. Creative started to raise a few eyebrows. To Steiger, the campaign is another example of how important it is to have fun deeply woven into the business: "Hell, you have to have a sense of humor to be a freelancer -- talk about a stressful career! In this office, it's important for me to see the employees have a good time. I am extremely people-oriented.  I often said that if the day ever came where I could put an organization together, I would always lend first to the humanity of the organization, and then to embed structure, discipline, form, and function on top of that. In the end, it’s my belief that a company is the sum-total of the personalities working for it."

"You may find yourself….living in a shotgun cubicle"


"I tell everyone that I hire that "this is not your life - this is just one element of your life." However, you will spend more of your time here that you will typically spend with your spouse or your significant other. So, if that's the case - let's make this the best environment possible. We're here and you're here to benefit the company - to lend your expertise to the common goal. At the same time, these are human beings. For instance, every Thursday is massage day, and even I look forward to that."

"US Creative is not just one discipline - we see an aggregated, whole community of all kinds of creative people, all of whom have a chance to post their talents on the site. That's why we're investing in the technology to allow our members to have full audio and video streaming, so that more people will be able to have a chance to show their work."

 

No more voice-over tapes - ever!


Steiger continued: "Whether you’re a grip, a Foley artist, or an animal trainer - I want them all to have the same opportunity to be recognized for their talent, both nationwide and worldwide. The Web makes it possible - it's dropped the borders. Ten years ago, the average freelance artist worked almost exclusively in his or her own city or region. To have a national presence was unheard of. There just wasn't the means to get your work out to that many people. As such, it was the usual 'feast or famine' cycle of business."

"However, it's becoming evident that we can fill that void. How large can we grow? I wouldn't be able to guess, but at the same time, I don't see anything stopping us.  We're dealing with an industry that has traditionally been fragmented - and we're just starting to change that."

Hooking up the hinterlands


With 10,000 new members since the September re-launch, 15,000 page views a day and offices set to open in NYC, LA, Chicago, Atlanta, and London next year, US Creative seems primed for the entry into orbit as a permanent fixture above the madding dot.crowd. And with an estimate of 2.5 million creative industry people in the U.S. alone - things look very good for US Creative. "I tell my staff every Monday AM that we're interacting with tens of thousands of people we can't see," says Steiger. "But they're real and they're incredibly important."

Well, that's all from Austin - where both the people and the weather are always warm, sometimes hot, but never cold!

The Cyber Scene in Los Angeles ~ by Suzanne Hornwood


VIC Breakfast With Jake Winebaum
The pre-event crowd hummed and packed into the small plaza outside the hall.
New faces and old, I chatted with the competition, Adam Halpern (strategy
and technology) and Clive Pinder (Client Partner) from Viant. This year's
holiday buzz includes their Della and James project (http://www.della.com)
which they built at Viant and then helped migrate the operations in-house to
DJ.

Fran Pomerantz from the Pomerantz Group (http://www.pomerantzgroup.com/), a VIC board member since '94, never has an open dance card at these events.
Fran is consistently surrounded by, and deep in conversation with, the
industry's top hiring managers, friends, and key executive talent.

Seductive Technologies, more than just a great company name, has Claudine
Wolas and Judi Laing, owners, busy focusing on content creation in the
health and fitness specialty. Allison Corson from MapQuest
(http://www.mapquest.com) mentioned an upcoming redesign to more
specifically cater to business users, leisure users and commuters.

Phil Lelyveld, looming a good foot and a half over my head, has a tall order
to fill at Disney. Responsible for the transition of analog to digital, Phil
has been uniting all of the business units and upgrading the technologies.
Other familiar faces included Michelle Kleinert from Shop2Give.com, Jennifer
Happillon from cFour Partners (http://www.cfour.com/), and Heather Kienzle
and Matt Sheriff from Internet Wire. We were soon shuffled into the hall and
seated. Breakfast was nibbled during table conversations and business cards
were a'flyin.

While Jake Winebaum unfolded plans for eCompanies
(http://www.ecompanies.com)- the move to the new offices that morning, plans
to roll out one company a month, the separate operation of the venture
group, the most impressive news was a show stopper.

Winebaum's PowerPoint slide and his very serious voice unfolded that
eCompanies had just paid 7.5 million dollars for the business.com domain
name. He compared the purchase to buying property in Beverly Hills many
years ago and assessing the current worth. I'm sure we could all see the
value proposition, but the initial shock was still worn on neighboring
faces.

eCompanies operates under the assumption that there are ten people out
there, possibly smarter, possibly quicker, developing the same idea. This
assumption of a competitive landscape will propel them farther and faster
and, most importantly, encourage them to do it better. eCompanies is in the
business of ideas. Taking a suggestion from his young daughter to create a
party planning Web site, the impetus for eParties, Winebaum chimed in that,
"Ideas can come from anywhere."

The Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills has never seen such a crowd for this
monthly breakfast. In fact, if you tried to get in and couldn't, you weren't
the only one. VIC leaders were pleased that every seat in the house was
full, with some people standing, but regretted having to notify people
earlier in the week that it was sold out. In total there were some 330
people crowding around Jake Winebaum and the ideas that have formed into Los
Angeles' newest (for now) incubator.

TCS Intro: 12/10/99


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Courtney Pulitzer's Cyber Scene (tm) ~ December 10, 1999
--------------------------------------------------------------------

WELCOME


This week:
It's always an Edventure with Esther Dyson
Bits & Bytes literally
Beer, waffles and good cheer
"All I want for Christmas…"

From the "Real World" to "Real Abs"

"Holly berries and Hybridmusical"

Naughty Angels and Webgrrls
(link)Sharing Ingredients
Tree Trimming Underlings at Underline

The Cyber Scene in Los Angeles ~ by Suzanne Horwood
The Cyber Scene in Austin ~ by Will Kreth

Regular Features: (full write-ups on the site)
Cyber Scene Social Notes
Shakers and Stirrers
Bits and Bytes

Welcome


* Try and catch one of the re-runs of me on Cablevision's "Schools Out" online shopping segment. Companies highlighted include: Flooz.com, Beenz.com, Dealpilot.com, Dealtime.com, Pricescan.com, Bizrate.com, BBB online, Verisign, TrustE, Icanbuy.com and Rocketcash.com.

* "Cocktails with Courtney"
Tuesday, December 14. Sponsored by Real Media, UniversityVentures, eWonders

* The choice is yours: Please send me this in HTML


* The Cyber Scene is seeking submissions for its Special "Last Cyber Scene issue of the Millennium" for thoughts on trends on the party scene, clothing, drinks, clubs, gadgets, hardware, software, programs, "buzzwords" and whatever else you'd like to include. No submission too silly! :)

Ze partee was hoppin'

Candlelight flickered as wax dripped down the cast iron candelabras, illuminating murals of Botticelli-like angels. Golden walls sparked blue and purple in these same-colored spotlights and smoke got in your eyes as you walked through the hot sultry room at Studio Ze. This gothic-like loft was the setting for Redwood Partner's holiday party on Friday, December 10th. I came with Jeff Tyler, a reporter at Marketing News radio show. We were first greeted by the lovely Kailah Rowan and Marcelo Wainberg of Redwood.

A little further in the room, the ever trendy Dara Tyson of Pencom, with a cute leopard purse, was easing into the tightly packed room with Peter Shankman (Geek Factory), fruity cocktails in hand. Charles Millard (Prudential Securities) and Anne Gardner Kayman and Jon Gilbert (NYC Economic Development Corp.) were there schmoozin' and bein' schmoozed. Justin Model introduced me to his uncle visiting from the West Coast and boasted about his new position at PredictIt.com.

Back out in the front room, kids danced hard as the networking continued. Me? I had my fill, donned my feather hat and left the dancing to those who hadn't already had a week of it.

Thursday, December 09, 1999

CYBER SCENE SOCIAL NOTES ~ 12/9/99

* Overheard in the elevator after leaving the Underline party. One gentleman explained to his long raven-haired companion that he "never says 'Goodbye' to the host or hostess because if everyone did, the host would endure a long line of Good-byes. This way the flow and harmony of the party are uninterrupted."
[Editor's note: It can work, but make sure you follow up with a "Thank you" email or note.]

Tree Trimming Underlings at Underline


Antique wooden marionettes danced above and a 15' tall Pinocchio-like wooden soldier doll stood guard in the corner as the DJ spun disco tunes. A large bayleaf wreath hung on a Plexiglas partition with a lovely Christmas tree in the corner, waiting to be dressed with ornaments from guests. The artfully designed invitation said, "please bring nothing but yourself and something to hang from the hook," which was taped inside the card. Underline's tree-trimming party on December 9 at their offices was indeed a festive affair. The offices are a veritable feast for the eyes with a sailfish suspended on one wall, an original Coca-Cola sign hung on another and desks decorated with the usual unusual arrangements of creative folk in the web design building business.

The dark room with a big "HUMBLE" sign had mussels, fruit and cheese sticks and many Underline friends and officemates inside snacking on the treats. DJ Edgerton, founder and CEO of Underline had the most interesting office I've seen since a tour of Hearst's Castle. Rich, brown walls were a sumptuous background to a wall of original memorabilia, including fancy guitars, a 4' taxidermic bass, a baseball bat and a velvet plaque to the astrological sign Leo. The alligator head on the desk was just another notable knick-knack in the office where a few gathered for a demo of their site. Here I met DJ, William McGinty (pres. Americana Financial Services), Michael Iuzzolino (Cendant Corporation) and Nina Biornstad (Mastercard), who was Underline's first client. An impressive list of clients soon followed Nina's lead, including Nickelodeon, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, SixDegrees and most recently Media Metrix.

DJ's enthusiasm and the friendly creative space left guests with a sense of warmth and hospitality. The party was still in full swing as I took a few final snapshots with my digital camera and headed out into the night.

(link)Sharing Ingredients


In a classic leopard headband, pinstriped powersuit skirt and with a fashionable attachƃĖ† case, Heidi Messer slipped out of her office as many other beautiful people still mingled in the Linkshare lobby. Still enjoying a glass of Chardonnay and one of those tough-to-daintily-eat-but-oh-so-yummy spicy vegetable dumplings, the guests were participating in the Ingredients.com and Linkshare.com's partnership launch party.

In a beautiful cerulean sweater and matching blue-crystal choker, Kathy Reilly, VP of Customer Loyalty at Flooz.com and I managed one of those dumplings as we chatted about my black-tie benefit last Thursday, which she, Josh Grotstein (Citibank) and his wife enjoyed very much. She also told me of a hot new spot due to open in March, where we might just have that month's "Cocktails with Courtney." Erika Faust (director of mrktg, iVillage) and Beth Strobel (VP, mrktg/GM, ingredients.com) joined in for a picture before I turned to meet other guests.

Speaking of other guests, Hani Elnaggar (VP of People) introduced me to PJ Stafford, CEO, Co-founder of Expression Engines, a plug-in that allows users to personalize emails with banners, images and notes. Just settling in from their move East from San Francisco and excited to be a part of the Linkshare partnership. Jennifer Gilbert (Advertising Age) and Sharon Klahr (Creativity) joined me in sampling some of the fine treats, and Joelle Klein came over to say hello and let me know how she's enjoying her relatively new post as Head Writer over at iVillage. Pamela Ellman (Fairchild Publications) was chatting with her friend and former colleague Maura Curtin, who's now dir. marcom at ingredients.com.

Fine dressing obviously runs in the Messer household because Heidi's brother Stephen was also at the party, in a splendidly crisp blue shirt. He introduced me to three lads from ebrick.com. Their Zagat's-like guide, distributed with online orders, helps online shoppers pick the best vendors from others. And with that, this discerning party-er gathered her things and headed on to the next venue.

Naughty Angels and Webgrrls


Elvis Sinatra crooned "Where do naughty angels come from? I don't have a clue. Do they come from deep dark secrets, or out of the blue?" as Webgrrls sat around tall tables and mused at this veritable virtual Romeo. Their holiday party was set at Detour on East 13th Street and offered the soothing and melodic tunes of this famed lounge act who sings with a virtual band (if you've never seen a singer completely synchronized with their band -- projected on a screen, this is something to see!). Webgrrls, Good Angels through and through also benefited the Make a Wish Foundation at their party with a $10 donation to help buy a computer for a terminally ill girl. I met Shelagh Montgomery and Jen Larsen, both of PSINet and 1st timers at a Webgrrls event. Jennifer McCarthy and Sal Petronella of The Creative Group stopped by for some refreshments from their whirlwind tour and freelancer-placement jobs. "Schmoozmeister" and publicist for Elvis Sinatra, Patty Garcia promptly put silver sticker stars on guests as name badges. Mary Katherine Rafferty, who does image consulting, was there for the festivities and Webgrrls-cornerstone-doyenne Eileen Shulock was calmly assisting at the door, relaxing amidst our busy holiday season.

"Holly berries and Hybridmusical"


Multimedia artist Ken Butler gave guests at Ericsson's CyberLab Holiday party a performance featuring some of his hybridmusical instruments on Thursday, December 9th at their offices in 55BroadStreet.com. As platters of rare filet mignon and lamb chops passed us, Gordon Gould, Alex LeVine, John Costello and I chatted about office spaces and the wireless discoveries at a recent conference in Denver. Ellen Cooper of Edelman was telling us a bit later about the results of a Microsoft-Eriksson press release leak and the resulting stories and stock changes. (Microsoft fell, Eriksson and Psion rose). Troy Tyler of SmartRay.com was looking especially spiffy in his purple silk tie and dark blue suit, and just as I was heading out I said quick "hellos" to Lori Schwab of SohoNet and Matt Straznitskas of BrainBug.