*** Seattle's Millennium Eve pyrotechnics played not to a sold-out but a locked-out Seattle Center crowd as Mayor Paul Schell cancelled the traditional crowd scene under the Space Needle. The precaution was taken in light of the recent WTO protests and the confiscation of an Algerian terrorist's undeclared bomb at U.S. Customs along the WA/B.C. border. But the biggest surprise of New Year's Eve was a spectacular show over Lake Washington put on by Bill and Melinda Gates for a private party being held at the Gates' Medina home. The impressive Gates show had locals wondering, 'Will Bill and Melinda take over Seattle's New Year's fireworks tradition?' Why not Times Square? Billy Joel could serenade Billy Gates with, "You had to be a big shot, dincha?!"
*** Saltmine® Creative, which is racking up the frequent flier miles between its Seattle and London offices, is moving its Seattle corporate headquarters to the heart of the Emerald City's downtown area, taking over the third floor of the former Nordstrom flagship store. The move will triple the space of Saltmine's current Lake Union digs to accommodate a swelling roster of local accounts that
includes longtime client Microsoft, Amazon.com and Muzak, as well as national and international accounts like BP Amoco, General Motors, the PGA TOUR and C-SPAN. Demonstrating its community spirit, Saltmine is contributing free Web design-and-build services to create a new Internet presence for Seattle's famous Pike Place Market overlooking Puget Sound.
*** 60-Foot Spider is the new name and "big idea" of the Seattle-Dallas Internet communications company owned by True North Communications. The jumbo arachnid is expanding its shop in dampville built around non-linear iTEAMs. iTeams are multi-disciplinary teams that move simultaneously (like hockey, not
baseball) to create compelling new media solutions. 60-Foot Spider is already serving over 20 clients, from American Airlines and The United States Air Force to Subaru of America.
*** Bad Animals of Seattle has wrapped radio work for locally-based freebie-king FreeShop.com and a national radio campaign for drugstore.com via Minneapolis Fallon-McElligott. Looking for a job in Seattle? Bowne Communications is scouring the region for a Creative Director, Designer, and Sr. Information Architect, among other posts.
*** What were the most popular gifts this holiday season dispensed by TIME magazine's "Man of the Year" Jeff Bezos, and company? Amazon.com's number one product by dollar sales across all product lines in December was the 3Com Palm V Connected Organizer. A total of six electronics products were included in Amazon.com's top 10 revenue-generating items for all its retail stores as shoppers said "Charge it" and wrapped up such gifts as the Garmin GPS III+
Personal Navigator, Panasonic DVD-L50 Palm Theater, Nikon Coolpix 950 Digital Camera and Olympus D-450 Zoom Digital Camera.
