Friday, April 27, 2001

ADV ~ BusinessWeeks e.biz in Europe

Europe's foremost e.biz strategists and decision makers will convene at BusinessWeek's 2nd Annual e.biz Live: Europe, 7-8 June at the London Hilton on Park Lane. "Web Smart? Better Ideas, Measurable Results" will present the smart companies honored by BusinessWeek as the Web Smart 50. These are the companies that continue to be a step ahead - who have the technology and the imagination to exploit that technology. BusinessWeek's e.biz Live: Europe will focus on the strategies, products, and services that are yielding measurable results - profits, reduced cycle times, lower operating costs, and more efficient systems. Exciting speakers include executives from London Business School, Oracle Corporation, Siemens AG, Paybox.net, Cisco Systems, Autonomy Corporation plc, Tesco.com, International, Lands' End, Inc. and more!

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Suzanne Lainson

The Conference on World Affairs (http://www.colorado.edu/cwa) has come and gone. It's a wonderful resource for Boulder and the University of Colorado. Attendance for the week-long event was pegged at 50,000, made up of both students and community members. My time was mostly spent making sure my panels ran smoothly, but I did have the opportunity to take a few notes. One such panel, "Are You There, Hal? Interaction Between Humans and Machines," featured human-machine interface expert Paul Andres, web pioneer and open source expert Paul Jones, and tech journalist Andy Ihnatko.

Paul Andres said that intelligence is going to be built into all devices and they will be able to talk to each other. It will be more accurate to talk about machine competence than machine intelligence. It won't be Hal the computer, but rather Sue the alarm clock and Joe the coffeepot. And as for smart machines giving us the paperless office, that will occur after the paperless bathroom.

Paul Jones said that while 50-year-olds view implantable machines as invasive, 70-year-olds (who may already have artificial hips, pacemakers, and hearing aids) are excited about the health possibilities of such technology. In addition, devices developed to help the disabled will benefit us all. Speech recognition, for example, has many practical applications.

Andy Ihnatko said that we could have better computer systems right now if only we would demand them. And implantable devices are not the best way to go because they are hard to upgrade.

Once the conference was over, it was back to covering the Colorado high tech scene. 

On April 18 I attended the "State of Colorado's High Tech Economy (presented by Izodia (http://www.izodia.com) at the Omni Interlocken Hotel. Izodia is the new name of Infobank, an international leader of B2B commerce software and services. (Turns out that having the word "bank" in your name presents legal complications in some countries.) The company was founded in 1993 in the United Kingdom; its North American headquarters are in Broomfield.

The panel brought together Brian Savage, COO of Izodia, David Wolf, managing partner of Wolf Ventures (http://www.wolfventures.com), Mike Neal, CTO of Requisite Technology (http://www.requisite.com), Monty Sooter, VP and CIO of Corporate Express (http://www.corporateexpress.com), David Alshuler, VP of e-business and enterprise applications, Aberdeen Group (http://www.aberdeen.com), and Donald McCubbrey, director of the University of Denver's  Center for the Study of Electronic Commerce (http://www.dcb.du.edu/eccenter/center.htm). Both Brian and Mike noted that the downturn is making a number of experienced, talented professionals available for hire. Other comments included:

Mike Neal
*Last year was insane. People were competing basis on Power Point presentations. (Or, as David Wolf says, "big hat, no cattle.") People are still making purchases, they are still buying software, but they are taking longer to make decisions. We're hoping for a good 

It's good to be global right now. Europe keeps chugging along.

David Wolf: 
    *During 1999-2000 the public was willing to invest in pre-revenue IPOs, but that window has closed. Making the venture capital funding bottleneck even worse is the fact that portfolio managers don't have time to monitor new companies. Traditionally each manager oversees six companies. At the height of the dot-com boom, they were juggling ten to twelve. In good times, a company only takes 10% of a portfolio manager's time. In tough times, each company may require 30% of his time. 
    *Historically Colorado has been a vast importer of capital, with more than 70% of venture capital coming from out-of-state. We are also in need of more angel investors. We could use CAPCOs, which allow write-offs for investments. 
    *In 1992 when we would recruit a CEO from California, the response would be, "If I leave the game in the Valley and it doesn't work out, then I'm out of the loop." From 1996 on, that objection was no longer evident. 
    *The Internet is the enabler -- the means, not the end of the business process.

Brian Savage:
    *Initially early adopters drove e-procurement -- technology for technology's sake. Now companies are looking to derive ROI in twelve months or less. On the plus side, e-procurement systems are now easier to integrate.
    *There has been a fundamental shift in the attitude of employees. In the past they thought, "We're so dedicated to our jobs that it doesn't matter where we live." Now people are living where they want to live and then securing employment. This works in Colorado's favor. The quality of life is good, the cost of living is good, the infrastructure is as good as any in the country. We have the right mix.

Later that day I went over to the Izodia open house. Great food, catered by A Spice of Life. My favorites were the artichoke hearts stuffed with pesto. Music was provided by a jazz combo from the University of Colorado. Among those at the party were John Lundeen, managing director/partner, and Buddy Ketchner, managing partner of branding agency Sterling-Rice Group (http://www.srg.com), and several from PR firm The Weber Group (http://www.webergroup.com), including VP Sheila O'Neill and Carrie Schafer. I talked to Fernando Franco, president/CEO, and Benjamin Gochman, COO, of the Latin American Trade and Technology Group (http://www.LATGO.com) about an upcoming event of theirs featuring an important delegation from Mexico. And I talked classic cars with Leonard Johnson, of CPA firm Johnson, Cahill & O'Kelly, and Robert Heidler, project manager with Izodia.

>> SHAKERS & STIRRERS -and- >> BITS & BYTES ~ 4/27/01

>> SHAKERS & STIRRERS
"Check out the site for the latest in who's movin' and shakin'!
For the whole scoop, go to:
http://www.thecyberscene.com/newyork/index.shtml"

McDermott Lands CEO Spot at Philadelphia Brokerage

>> BITS & BYTES
Send your news to: news@TheCyberScene.com
For the whole story, go to http://www.thecyberscene.com

Quantum Invests in Cellmania
Physicians Get Connected
Celebrate Mom

CYBER SCENE SOCIAL NOTES ~ 4/27/01


In an attempt to help facilitate better networking for new media professionals and "Scenesters," here are some points that will be added during the weeks. They will be archived here.

** We're all in a rush, but when inquiring as to a caller's identification on the telephone, "yah, who's this?" isn't really appropriate. Try something like, "Who's calling please?" or "Could I please take your name and company?"

TCS Intro ~ 4/27/01


Courtney Pulitzer's Cyber Scene ~ April 27, 2001

>> THIS WEEK
The WONderful world of Webby
Guns for Hire
Motley Happy Crew
World Music Hits Chelsea

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Suzanne Lainson

>> REGULAR FEATURES
Cyber Scene Social Notes
Shakers and Stirrers
Bits & Bytes

>> SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
"The Cyber Scene" is published weekly. Subscriptions are free. To
subscribe or unsubscribe: http://www.pulitzer.com/subunsub.html

http://www.ewomp.com/CustomSolutions/cgi-bin/imgclk2.pl?id=P1N1H5R1&sid=161

>> CORPORATE PARTNERS
SPARKLIST -- Mailing list services
http://SparkLIST.com/

Aperian -- Connectivity/Hosting
http://www.aperian.com

>> UPCOMING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
GARAGE.COM'S BOOTCAMP FOR STARTUPS NEW YORK. May 8, 2001, Chelsea Piers, New York City. 1:00 PM "Let's Do Launch" http://www.garage.com/bootcamp

>> UPCOMING EVENTS
www.cocktailswithcourtney.com

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

A hearty Congratulations to Chip Lewis of Continuous Media for his outstanding producer/editor work with MSG Metro for the NY Chapter 44th Annual Emmy Awards 
in the outstanding health/science programming documentary category! Little Miracle:  The Kayci Campbell Story.   May 13, 2000.  (Metro Channels). K. Wise Whitehead, Senior Producer; Chip Lewis, Editor. For more info: http://www.nynatas.org/archives/awards/2001EmmyNom.htm

Thursday, April 26, 2001

Shakers & Stirrers and Bits & Bytes

Quantum Invests in Cellmania
Physicians Get Connected
Celebrate Mom

ADV ~ eWOMP

eWOMP offers a comprehensive suite of referral programs that provide the tools, incentives, and measuring metrics to help your business grow while you get to know your audiences.

World Music Hits Chelsea ~ by Gina Larson

Music-lovers got quite an earful on Thursday night, April 26, as D.J. Ravin spun at a private warehouse in the back of Chelsea Markets. The event was a celebration for the DJ's new album, Buddha Bar III, named for the infamous Parisian club that is sponsoring the two-CD collection.

Skinny models, music big-wigs and their fans jammed the space, which was decked out in the kind of red regalia found in the Chinatown markets of Grand Street. Raymond Vison, the owner of Buddha Bar and its sister Restaurant, The Barfly in Los Angeles, told me that he is planning on opening his third destination club here in New York City. While he did divulge that the new club would open in June, he politely refused to reveal the exact location of the soon-to-be scene spot. Our conversation was interrupted by friends of Raymond, who barraged the restaurateur with kisses on both cheeks. I made my way to the bar, which was serving free glasses of Moet champagne, and found Mark Jarzabek, vice president of Musicrama, and his boys taking in the dancers who were gyrating on stage to the Arabic beats. Musicrama is importing Ravin's disc from France to U.S. record stores. According to the album's press kit, Buddha Bar is already the number-one seller at Tower Records ... no wonder Jarzabek was having such a good time.

Motley Happy Crew ~ by Gina Larson

Phebe's on Bowery was the watering hole this Thursday, April 26, for Jim Sosnicky's weekly Happy Hour event. The party, which bounces to a different bar each week, draws a motley crowd of entrepreneurs, architects, cops and fashion types. Jim greeted me as I walked through the door of the newly revamped lounge and guided me over to the bar, where $3 specials on Brooklyn beers were the preferred brew of the evening. Jim told me about his new job at the Silicon Alley Reporter (he just left the Village Voice online), and his new book, which he is still scouting out. Brian F. Parker, known dubiously as one of Jim's first friend's in the Big Apple, was there to do some arm lifts of his own. He talked with me a bit about his company Restaurantmusic.com. Druce Vertes, the president of Street Eye, also showed up to check out the revolving group of revelers who attend Jim's event. The scoop: next week's Happy Hour is being held at the Marriott Marquee.

Guns for Hire ~ by Gina Larson

The Flatiron's dinner/dance club, Hush, was jam-packed again for The Hired Guns monthly Pink Slip Party. Besides the normal networking to be done at this growing event, the planners also lined up some dot-comedy. Comics from Conan O'Brien, Chris Rock and The Daily Show took the stage in the back room of the club to lift the spirits of those who've seen their ship go down with the dive in dot.com hype.

Not that there were a lot of tears in the beers of these fearless twenty-somethings, though. In fact, there were a lot more people who had jobs at Wednesday's event than in the past. Thanks to the neon bracelets that serve as a color-coded classification system, attendees could tell who was still searching for a job and who was just there schmoozing.

The WONderful world of Webby

It used to come but just once a year. However, 2001 is the year in which Webby afficionadoes, amoureux and advocates can celebrate the Webby experience at least three times: Thursday, April 26th, at the Emporio Armani store in New York City; Thursday, May 3rd, at the Armani store in San Francisco; and the full-fledged delightful event itself on Wednesday, July 18th.

Walking into the Emporio, it's not easy to contain a sense of excitement. And when you're greeted by a row of models in Armani finery, atop five platforms, the cool factor in the air is thick.

On the 5th and 6th floors, more blue lighting, blue votives and Webby Awards iconography lit the areas, creating a cool, calming effect. I was greeted by a tray of blue-colored, martini-like drinks and the stunning International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) Director Maya Draisin (in a gorgeous pink ensemble, with long, flowing, curly locks) and IADAS Creative Director and Founder of the Webby Awards Tiffany Shlain (in a hip black Outfit, with long blond locks put up in artful pigtails). And just a bit further into the area was a strong sampling of the who's who of the SF scene - and a bit of the NY scene too. Arriving at about the same time was American Museum of the Moving Image Curator of Digital Media Carl Goodman and his wife attorney Jennifer Weiner. They were happy to report that their lovely daughter, Olivia, is the nicest New Yorker around! i-traffic Account Director Michael Domican and EON Company Marketing VP Melissa Grossman were enjoying some champagne. NYNMA's Director of Educational Programs Ellen Auwarter, ravishing in her red suit, stopped for a picture with Maya, Tiffany, Saturn Network's Samantha Saturn and NYNMA Consultant Steve Eisnenberg.

I popped downstairs to check out the floor where the DJ was stationed along with another bar and a large white room lined with hip, white-leather ottomans. While sampling some tasty, sugar-coated nuts and sipping champagne, I chatted with IADAS Academy Coordinator David-Michel Davies, who was as tall and dashing as ever in his Slate blue-grey suit and charming accent! Rachel Lehman-Haupt (a media type) in a slinky maroon cocktail dress was flanked by Business Week's Spencer Ante in a nice taupe suit jacket and StarMedia's Erin McCarthy, who wore a class black cocktail dress. ChickClick's Jennifer Eno, in a wildly bright pink, zebra-like dress, came over to give them a hug and to say "hello."

Back upstairs, the crowd kept flowing in like bees to honey and many were taking advantage of the fine spring night air to step out on the patio. Surrounded by blue-glass torcheres, sipping blue cocktails in torchere-like Glasses, and nibbling on a vegetable samosas or a fried plantain chips the size of a whole plantain, more uber trendies caught up with old friends and made new ones. F*cked Company BMOC Philip Kaplan was a shining star under the Manhattan stars in his gleaming-white, three-piece Versace suit. I chatted with him, Jennifer Romolini (formerly of Inside.com) and The Post's Joseph Gallivan for a bit before turning my attentions back inside and catching Mark Stahlman and Debbie Newman enjoying the evening's festivities. Jordan Shlain (brother of Tiffany) was also sporting a fine, cream-colored suit and keeping himself as busy as the ever-appropos host chatting with guests.

SiliconSalley.com president and CEO Emily Hofstetter was looking divine in a fur-like wrap. Seth Price introduced me to Jack Welde; GoCard President Alan Wolan introduced me to PointStaff Founder and CFO Leonard Linsker, and The Sabatier Group's Michael Covitt introduced me to MAK Communications LLC's Mal Kahn. Digerati Ed Bennett arrived and told us about his upcoming album, as well as other musical ventures. Stay tuned for more info on this new must-have CD!

Vivid Studios Co-founder and Author ("Experience Design 1") Nathan Shedroff and I spoke at length about the sociology of the Internet industry and culture, and the similarities and differences between the SF and NY scenes. His book is out now, and if you have even an inkling of interest in design and today's new aesthetic, you should check it out. The unofficial after-party was in his W Hotel suite (1015), rumored to be complete with a Jacuzzi and live mariachi band! Off in the corner F*cked Company's Philip and Nerve.com's Rufus Griscom were ceremoniously "married" after crushing glass underfoot. Just when things were heating up, more amazing antics arrived in the devilish Alan Cumming, last year's emcee for the award show. Joined by his "handler" Carmine Lucariello, they did the kiss-kiss with Tiffany while I chatted with "Mr. Tiffany"-the extremely talented and successful artist Ken Goldberg.

More blue drinks and lovely plantains kept guests buzzing as the excitement of the night carried on - of course, the real excitement was the announcements of the nominees for the actual awards. They can all be viewed online.

Wednesday, April 25, 2001

IBF's "Venture Capital Investing in Emerging Technology"

International Business Forum (IBF) has quite a reputation producing well-organized and valuable investor conferences for the past 12 years. The "Venture Capital Investing in Emerging Technology" conference held at The Fifth Club on April 24-25 was no exception. The topics of panels were extremely pertinent in their scope, and the list of moderators and panelists was, as always, impressive.

The conference kicked off with an insightful talk by Lockwood Carlson, former corporate scientist of 3M, regarding the convergence of emerging technologies and business opportunities, and their particular points of intersection. Lockwood is now putting his know-how to work as a consultant and is actively involved with HtO Ventures (www.htoventures.com), a new early stage venture capital firm headquartered in the Twin Cities called. I got a chance to hang out with the team from Minnesota at the pre-conference cocktail party sponsored by Allegis Capital www.allegiscapital.com. One of the fund's three partners is the one and only Jerry Okerman, the "dean of corporate venture capital;" head of 3M's Corporate VC department; and easily the most down-to-earth I've ever met. I believe that HtO is destined to fill a large void in the Twin Cities area. Other investors that I chatted with included David Blumberg of Blumberg Capital (www.blumbergcapital.com), Jaime Robertson Lavelle of Intel Capital and Ann Watson of Brightspark (www.brightspark.com), a VC-funded company based in Toronto.

I was psyched to run into some old friends and to make a few new friends on the scene. Andy Sernovitz and Brian Cooke from GasPedal were there, reporting that GasPedal (www.GasPedal.net) is thriving in these tough times by acting as a QuickFix pit stop for broken companies. That's a pretty good business to be in these days! I also hung with high-energy, high-impact Donna Pilch of Desktop News (www.desktopnews.com) and ran into my friend and probably the smoothest character in the room: Manuj Shah of Options Group (www.optionsgroup.com), a Global Executive Recruitment firm. Also got a chance to catch up with Amanda Briggs, who was covering the event for Venture Wire. I hung out quite a bit with Scott Bowling, who was representing WWWAC (www.WWWAC.com) and ThingsWeb (www.thingsweb.com), a website design and marketing agency. I was delighted to run into Rich Shanley and Barry Schrieber, whom I used to work with as a client over at the Eisner New Media Group, and who are now thriving in their new positions at Deloitte Touche (www.deloitte.com).

Of course, doubling at these events as a reporter for the Cyber Scene and as CEO of a Web3D company called VirtuWorlds (www.virtuworlds.com), I'm always on the hunt for companies that are either involved with Web3D or are in need of 3D on their site. I had the pleasure of running into Dare Brandenberg of Lift-Off (www.liftoff.com), a company based in The Netherlands that designs and accelerates market introductions and expansion programs for Internet businesses, including some Web3D businesses. Also chatted it up with Bill Ponton of Princeton Venture Advisory (www.princetonventure.com), a group that specializes in venture-management consulting in the digital media and cable industries, with a specialization in Web3D. I met Timur Zakouski of KoolConnect (www.koolconnect.com), which provides total online solutions for the hospitality industry - I'm thinking 3D Hotel walk-throughs! I met a couple of good candidates for 3D content, including two representatives from biotech companies - Josef Bodor of Virimmune and Patricia Killian of Pharmacia (www.pharmacia.com). 3D DNA anyone?

Finally, I had a great time hanging with the sponsors of the vent. As always, the Pillsbury Winthrop (www.pillsburywinthrop.com) gang was fun and engaging - Lori Hoberman, Emily Campbell, Tracy Tune and Peter Ferenz, among others. I had a productive talk with Dennis Powers of Executive Interim Management (www.EIMUS.com) and Burt Alimansky (www.nybf.com) of the NY Business Forum's InfoTech Forum. And of course, the IBF gang was great to work with. Many thanks to IBF's Alexandra Scott, Craig, Stephanie, Cheryl, Cathy and Christina for producing yet another great event!

~ T.Martin

Tuesday, April 24, 2001

Investments and opportunities abound in Sweden!

Leading in design, leading in wireless, leading in IT and beautiful people, Sweden has the appearance of being one of the best countries in the world for many reasons. Its virtues were extolled to a select group of people who attended the Capital Market Sweden Institutional Investor Seminar/Bluetooth on Tuesday, April 24th, at the Swedish Consul General residence on Park Avenue. White curtains wafted in the gentle April breezes, and cool white tulips atop marble tables calmed the senses in the updated, classically serene interior. Starting off the day with a reception, Consul General of Sweden in New York Olle Wastberg welcomed guests with a positive overview of the state of Sweden. Keynotes by Ericsson Technology Licensing Global Area Manager Skip Bryan and Deutsche Bank Scandinavia Senior Wireless Analyst Johan Strandberg filled the afternoon hours as new opportunities, disruptive applications and investment trends for Bluetooth companies were outlined.

Skip pointed out the positive and negative aspects of Bluetooth realities, which revealed key elements of their properties. Below is a chart indicating these elements:

Bad Good
Slow rollout Lots of testing before products
Hype Most of it will come true.
The press They will keep us on our toes.
Demo devils Need to test before we fly
Lack of products They are now launching access points
and networking using short-range
connections.

Some time was spent defining personal area networking (PON) and the Bluetooth product hierarchy. Johan talked about investment opportunities and when the market will take off.

After a short break, Axis Communications and C-Technologies presented information on their companies. Of course, no seminar is complete without a closing cocktail reception, which was well received and ended the informative day on a beautifully elegant and successful note. Because it would take reams of digital pages to extol all the virtues of Sweden, check out these sites for more information: www.isa.com; www.virtualsweden.com; www.itsweden.com and www.capitalmarketsweden.com.

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Susanne Lainson

On April 24 I trekked down to Denver for the Colorado Software and Internet Association (CSIA) breakfast (http://www.coloradosoftware.org). The view at Top of the Rockies was particularly impressive that morning. Absolutely no smog, which meant a clear look at the mountains to the west and halfway to Colorado Springs to the south.

The featured speaker was Chris Pirie, VP of Oracle Learning Network (http://www.oracle.com/education), which handles over 50,000 learners online. During his seven years at Oracle, Chris has been responsible for all classroom-based curriculum and for launching a global DBA education program, the Oracle Certified Professional program, and a $60M computer-based education product line.

Chris made the following points:

*E-learning has been trying to create offline learning models and this isn’t going to work. People often ask, “Is online learning better than classroom learning?” But how effective, really, is classroom learning? What needs to be asked is how the Internet is going to change the way people create content, teach, and learn. One discovery: people are not interested in live online classes. They prefer to log on when it is convenient for them.

*Oracle’s e-learning is an important part of its e-commerce because it supports the company’s products. When customers aren’t equipped to handle those products, they hire consultants who then customize them to such an extent that future upgrades are difficult, thus requiring more consultants. Still, Oracle is not guaranteed to get customers’ educational dollars. They will go elsewhere for training if they find what they perceive to be cheaper, better and/or easier programs. They also expect Internet courses to be up-to-date all the time.

*Support calls can drive online education because they indicate what people don’t know.

*Oracle’s goal is to have all training 100% online and generate 50% margins. Courses are designed to operate using a 56K modem. So far Oracle has been able to reduce its in-house training budget 40% by doing it online.

* There are two potential areas of innovation for online training: curriculum development and chunking of information, which allows some content to be reused in multiple courses.

With that, Chris wrapped up his presentation. Most of us headed off to our jobs, but a group of e-learning entrepreneurs stayed to around to network with him.

The next day the Mile High Tech Council had its “State of the State of Technology” event at the Westminster Westin Hotel. Among those I spotted there were Louise Atkinson, senior advisor to the Governor’s Science & Technology Commission, Dave DuPont, VP of marketing and business development for LeftHand Networks (http://www.lefthandnetworks.com), Andre Pettigrew, VP of marketing for FastIdeas, attorneys Suzy Thevenet and Mark Weakley with HRO (http://www.hro.com), Larry and Pat Nelson, hosts of the World Wide Web radio show (http://www.w3w3.com), and Cathy Ewing, executive director of the CSIA.

During lunch Utah economist Jeff Thredgold (http://www.thredgold.com) gave a state of the economy speech with some pro tax cut and pro Alaska drilling comments tossed in. He said that there is not another state which has a better economic mix than Colorado.

The keynote speech was given by Level 3 (http://www.level3.com) CEO Jim Crowe, who was great, as always. He encouraged us all to buy Level 3 stock: “We’re running a special.” Among his other comments:

*Betting on events is like gambling, but betting on trends is a good long-term strategy.

*Technologists are generally the worst predictors of the long-term implications of technology. They have trouble understanding the impact of technology on society.

*The information revolution has involved processing information, storing it, and moving it. Computing and storage, both driven by market economics, have followed different paths than moving information, which, priced like a utility, hasn’t declined in price. As a result, it has been cheaper to have data processing and storage on-site than to move information to central locations where it can be expertly managed. But this means there have been no economies of scale for information services and data storage.

This began to change in 1995 with Internet protocol, optical technology, and dense wave multiplexing. Communication can finally improve at rates comparable to computing and storage. And as networking becomes cheaper, it will begin to substitute for other forms of distribution, such as trucking (e.g., it will be cheaper to send digital information through broadband networks than to ship it in hard copy format). Outsourcing will also increase. Further, driving down the cost of moving information will allow energy-consuming Internet data centers to be located where the power is, perhaps in the middle of Montana next to a coal mine.

*Level 3 relocated to Denver because surveys indicated that Colorado was the place college graduates would most like to live.

There were more programs through out the afternoon. David Wolf, managing partner of Wolf Ventures (http://www.wolfventures.com), talked about “The Venture Capitalist Method of Valuing a Business,” and Bill Ernstrom, CEO of Voyant Technology (http://www.voyanttech.com), talked about “Enterprise, Entrepreneurs & Technology."

This was followed by a cocktail party sponsored by Sequel Venture Partners (http://www.sequelvc.com/) and the Internet Chamber Of Commerce (http://www.icc.org). Among those in attendance were Mike Gellman, CEO of SpireMedia (http://www.spiremedia.com) and Deborah Arhelger, managing partner of DuoVoce Group (http://www.duovoce.com/). I had a chance to talk to Jon Otsuki, CEO of GVLabs, about several projects he is working on. The one that intrigued me the most is a brainstorming/creativity program, metaphorming, (http://www.metaphorming.com/) which has been presented to world leaders at the Davos World Economic Forum (http://www.weforum.org) for the last several years.

Then came the ICC networking event and presentations. More than 900 people registered to attend. Among the presenters was Gary Burke, VP of the Nasdaq Stock Market. Unfortunately I missed what he had to say because I had a Denver meeting with a wind power exec. While he and I were having dinner at The Palm, I spotted Denver Mayor Webb, his wife, and a group of their friends at the restaurant, no doubt fortifying themselves for Boeing’s visit the following week. Now that Krispy Kreme has come to Colorado, surely Boeing will be next. (An update: it was announced on May 10 that Boeing is going to Chicago.)

On May 1, I was at Denver’s DoubleTree Hotel for the TiE-Rockies meeting. This one was about venture capital and was attended by approximately 150 people. Suzy Thevenet and Linda Wackwitz, attorneys with HRO (http://www.hro.com/), were there. So were Sueann Ambron, dean of the University of Colorado-Denver business school (http://www.cudenver.edu/business), Maya Iyengar, CTO of TamTam (http://www.tamtam.com), Derrin Smith, chairman/CEO of GETGO (http://www.getgocorp.com), and Deborah Arhelger, managing partner of DuoVoce Group (http://www.duovoce.com).

The panel represented $2 billion available to invest. They all agreed that now that times are tougher, they set aside more money in reserve. Some other comments:

Arjun Gupta, founder of TeleSoft Partners (http://www.telesoftvc.com), talked about the challenges of taking a company public and how difficult it can be to keep it trading above its offering price.

Ravi Mohan, a general partner at Battery Ventures (http://www.battery.com), said that this is the toughest environment ever to raise second round funding. But if you are starting a new company, it is a good time to raise capital. Be prepared, however, to do more with less. He also noted that VC limited partners are no longer worried about return rates; they are worried about return of capital

Brad Feld, a principal managing director of Softbank’s venture capital fund (http://www.sbvc.com), said that when they raised their first fund, they called it SBVC Fund 4 so “we would look like we knew what we were doing.”

“We knew the [dot-com] party would end, but we were hoping we would die first. Now it’s back to business. The crack that we were all smoking for the past three years has been used up. We figured out it was over six months after it was over.”

He set up the SBVC incubator, Hotbank, so that he can be physically close to his portfolio companies. Hotbank also offers an entrepreneur-in-residence program (one EIR, Srikant Viran, founder of KBToys, was the panel moderator), and an entrepreneur affiliate program, which allows entrepreneurs to have a place to hang their hats between companies.

Speaking as the only SBVC partner out of nine who doesn’t live in California, Brad noted that “the difference between Colorado and California is that California is a demonic and toxic place.” He also noted that Colorado is extremely business friendly. Plus it is big enough to be interesting and small enough to allow you to have an impact. (But, it was pointed out by the two California panelists, that Colorado universities need more international students, Coloradoans are too laid back and need to feel the pressure to get the job done, and Colorado companies need better sales and marketing efforts.)

Next up for TiE-Rockies, a social networking event. By a show of hands, whitewater rafting seemed to be the most popular choice

On May 4, ad/design/PR firm Sonant Communications (http://www.sonant.net) had its Quarto de Mayo party at its downtown Boulder offices. Although rainy weather kept us inside, the margaritas were great and a mariachi band serenaded us. President Brian Smith, creative director John Farmer, and PR director John Caprio were there, playing host. Mark Weakley, from Holmes, Roberts, & Owens, stopped by to enjoy the FAC. Joe Pezzillo and filmmaker Joel Haertling (http://vr.dv8.net/hellfire/archo/bio.html) said hello before they had to head off to a film festival. Joel was telling me about his favorite restaurants to hold a party, particularly Sacre Blue in Denver. Andre Pettigrew, now a consultant about town, Larry Nelson, from the World Wide Web radio show (http://www.w3w3.com), and I had an interesting discussion about lessons learned concerning the Internet bubble. Andre maintained that it was all worth it since the industry moved along much faster than it might have done without the lure of great wealth.

The party was still going strong when I left to pack for an early morning flight to Houston.

Monday, April 23, 2001

The Cyber Scene in San Diego ~ by Lilia Phleger Benjamin

It finally happened. San Diego had its very own Pink Slip Party. Taking place at the Karl Strauss Brewery in Sorrento Valley on April 23rd, this first of its kind event for San Diego attracted hundreds of people in the high-tech industry. This incredibly crowded event was presented by CONNECT, a University of California San Diego (UCSD)-based provider of accelerated support services for high technology entrepreneurs in the San Diego area, the AeA http://www.aeanet.org/, and the San Diego Tech Force http://www.sandiego-hightech.com/. The party was underwritten by Lee Hecht Harrison and Drake Beam Morin, both San Diego outplacement firms.

The path to the beautiful beer garden was marked by pink balloons, ensuring that no one lost their way to the event (or was it to help them find their way out afterwards?). At the door, those who had pre-registered were given a special name tag with a blank space following either "I am hiring ______," or "I am looking for a job as _________." By filling in the blanks, the mingling masses were able to beeline straight for their targets without wasting time or words. That focus was apparent as I walked around, listening in on impromptu interviews and quick question-and-answer sessions. This was an opportunity to meet with tech company HR representatives, employment outplacement firms and recruiters. Not one job seeker seemed prepared to let that opportunity go.

I spoke to Larry Rossi of Lee Hecht Harrison (http://www.lhh.com/) about the event and what it indicated for San Diego. While he agreed that things have slowed, he said that he feels strongly that the media has blown the trend out of proportion. "It makes a good story," he said, "but here in San Diego I don't think that it is as bad as it may seem."

Kevin Carroll, executive director of the San Diego division of the AeA, agreed. "Because we are a diverse economy with biotech, high-tech, telecom...I am optimistic that San Diego will continue to do well." Let's hope so!

Weaving my way to the delicious spread of appetizers, I rubbed shoulders (literally) with a handsome young man heading the other way. I asked him how he was faring, and he excitedly told me that he had arrived less than an hour ago with 15 copies of his resume, and they were all gone. A mechanical engineer by trade, he was very pleased with the companies and recruiters represented, and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, he was so good-looking that I forgot to ask his name, and once my attention strayed to the stuffed mushrooms there was no turning back.

At the buffet, I noshed with Leta Amick of The Search Network (http://www.engineerrecruiters.com/). She had come looking for a person to fill an exciting audio-visual engineering job, and after an hour still had not found a qualified individual. But that didn't stop her from rating the event worthwhile, a comment I also heard from Sylvia Honeycutt of Qualtech Search (http://www.qualtechsearch.com/). Their search is for high-end software engineers who want a full-time position rather than contract work.

While many recruiters and outplacement firms were satisfied with taking resumes and a brief chat, Mark Murphy, president of Team ASA (http://www.TeamASA.com/), had arrived with the goal of filling two jobs that night. When I caught up with him he seemed pleased with the skill level of those he had interviewed, and judging by the amount of paperwork he was shuffling, he had a good selection of candidates.

After spending over an hour at San Diego's first Pink Slip Party, I decided it was time to head out to my next event of the evening, but not before saying hello to James Brody of Bexel Technologies. They, too, have seen business slow down. Nevertheless, Brody echoed the theme of the evening: San Diego, despite economic downturns, gas price hikes and rolling blackouts, is a pretty good place to be!

Until next time!

Friday, April 20, 2001

Shakers & Stirrers and Bits & Bytes

Passlogix Appoints Kestenbaum
Gotuit Snags iCAST Team
Gardner Joins Multex.com
Agency.com Turns on the TV
Proxicom Brings Interactivity to Paddy Power
Respond2 / Cmedia Post Record Growth
Agency.com Makes a Wish
Razorfish to Develop Band of Brothers Project
Agency.com Snags Citgo Petroleum

ADV ~ Endress Bikes in Vancouver

Erik Endress (of Xpedite Network, LLC) is biking 400 miles from Canada to Portland, Maine in September help raise money for an AIDS Vaccine. Visit www.eriksride.com click on the ebay banner and register (you don't even have to buy anything). Each registration will go directly to the Pallotta TeamWorks Canada-US AIDS Vaccine Ride. Make sure you register! Or-click the Make A Donation link on his site. erik@eriksride.com

ADV ~ Interactive Media Tour Pennsylvania

* Interactive Media Invited to Tour Pennsylvania June 10-16, 2001 * Uncover a side of Pennsylvania that you may not have seen or heard about. See some of the region's hottest, cutting-edge biotech and high-tech firms and learn why Pennsylvania is one of the nation's fastest-growing technology hubs. Immerse yourself into two diverse urban cultures in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and discover a "quality of life" that only Pennsylvania can offer. Find out more at http://www.paroadrules.com.

SHAKERS & STIRRERS -and- BITS & BYTES ~ 4/20/01

SHAKERS & STIRRERS
"Check out the site for the latest in who's movin' and shakin'!
For the whole scoop, go to:
http://www.thecyberscene.com/newyork/index.shtml"

>> BITS & BYTES
Send your news to: news@TheCyberScene.com
For the whole story, go to http://www.thecyberscene.com

Agency.com Turns on the TV
Proxicom Brings Interactivity to Paddy Power
Respond2 / Cmedia Post Record Growth
Agency.com Makes a Wish
Razorfish to Develop Band of Brothers Project
Agency.com Snags Citgo Petroleum

CYBER SCENE SOCIAL NOTES ~ 4/20/01

** Despite the comfort, gentlemen, wearing baseball caps with your business clothes is not necessarily "stylish."

TCS Intro ~ 4/20/01

Courtney Pulitzer's Cyber Scene ~ April 20, 2001

>> THIS WEEK
Fourscore and Seven Years Ago
Untethered, Unplugged and Undone
Thundergulch-code and creativity

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Suzanne Lainson

>> REGULAR FEATURES
Cyber Scene Social Notes
Shakers and Stirrers
Bits & Bytes

>> SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
"The Cyber Scene" is published weekly. Subscriptions are free. To
subscribe or unsubscribe: http://www.pulitzer.com/subunsub.html

>> CORPORATE PARTNERS
SPARKLIST -- Mailing list services
http://SparkLIST.com/

Aperian -- Connectivity/Hosting
http://www.aperian.com

>> UPCOMING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
GARAGE.COM'S BOOTCAMP FOR STARTUPS NEW YORK. May 8, 2001, Chelsea Piers, New York City. 1:00 PM "Let's Do Launch" http://www.garage.com/bootcamp

>> UPCOMING EVENTS
www.cocktailswithcourtney.com

Thursday, April 19, 2001

Thundergulch-code and creativity

The worlds of art and binary code may seem light-years apart, but last Thursday, April 19, Thundergulch, in connection with the Whitney Museum, brought artists who meld code and creativity to produce interactive masterpieces. The theaters of the Sony Wonder Technology Labs, on Madison, served as the studio backdrop for Thundergulch's (the new media arts initiative of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council) ongoing panel discussions with new media artists. Thursday's event, which will be streamed on the Web, featured seven different artists whose work is currently being shown at the Whitney. Christiane Paul, the curator of the exhibit, hosted the event calling the show a "redefinition of the way we view data." Each of the artists work exists both in the physical location at the museum and in the virtual space of the World Wide Web. Adrianne Wortzel's robot Kiru, for example, can interact with museum-goers through a control panel on her Web site (www.camouflagetown.tv). Mark Napier's installation, Point to Point (www.potatoland.org/point), features a projection screen that captures movement not only from users scrolling along the screen with their mouse, but also by visitors passing by the large projection screen in the Whitney. Maciej Wisniewski, another exhibiting artist, whose work is titled Netomat (www.netomat.net), described the medium as having a subversive quality to it. "You don't know what is going to be put up," he says. "The content is not censored. The work is a process - it is not static. It evolves through the exhibit."
After the presentation, the artists and their admirers nibbled on cheese in a small reception room overlooking the arboretum in the Sony building. Kathy Burke, the director of Thundergulch, encouraged the guests to not only view the work at the museum, but also visit the Web sites of the art pieces to gain the full interactive experience of this exciting medium. The exhibit will show at the Whitney through June 10, 2001.

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Suzanne Lainson

On April 19 I had to choose between attending a United Kingdom Tech Forum Series (http://www.invest.uk.com/) at the Denver Convention Center (featuring Don Gips, group VP global strategy for Level 3) and attending Cooley Godward’s (http://www.cooley.com/trademark) Powerful Brands seminar in Westiminster. Both sounded appealing, but location won out. Westminster is closer to Boulder. The seminar was a very good overview of the issues involved in trademarks.

That evening I attended an open house at ad/design firm ProMotif (http://www.promotif.com). One of their projects was to design the multimedia promo for the Metro Denver Network’s Convergence Corridor campaign. When we registered online for the event, we had the opportunity to create our own personae to be printed on our name tags. We could select from a variety of options including gender, hair color and style, clothing color and type, etc. It was a cute touch.

The office is in the World Trade Center, near the Brown Palace. John Robinson, director of business development, makes the commute each day down from Boulder, where the company had been located. Over wine and cheese, I had a chance to catch up with Jon Hurd, a friend from the Conference on World Affairs. In 1994 the first website ProMotif produced was for Jon's company, Granville-Phillips, which was bought by Helix Technology (http://helixtechnology.com) in 1998. I also talked to John Caprio and Brian Smith of Sonant Communications (http://www.sonant.com), Rebecca Shanks, talent manager for Creative Assets (http://wwwcreativeassets.com), and Jae Binder of Simple Communication.

Then, as the sun was going down, I headed back up to Boulder.

One final note: I’ve been hitting lots of parties in brand new buildings lately and I think the lighting in women’s bathrooms has gone from bad to worse. Between being too dim to allow you to use the mirrors and so unflattering as to leave you wondering why you bothered to get up that morning, the lighting is enough to trigger a revolt (and I am encouraging women to do so).

Wednesday, April 18, 2001

Untethered, Unplugged and Undone

NYNMA packed another house full at the Cooper Union auditorium for its latest evening panel series: "Internet Unplugged: The World Wide Web Goes Wireless" on Wednesday, April 18. Despite the inconvenient placement of many columns within the auditorium, there was sufficient turnout and the panelists were bombarded, as usual, with questions from eager attendees. Many of the questions, however, were simply requests for definitions for all the jargon thrown out over the course of the evening. One panelist even confessed that it would've been better if the conversation was a bit more balanced with more information about business models and less about technology.
After the discussion, heavy hors d'oeuvres filled the empty tummies of many a guest as their minds absorbed all they'd just heard. Waltzing past the aromatic Swedish meatballs (Thank you cocktail-party-sponsor Ericsson!), I chanced upon the beaming Sorceron Howard Greenstein, who proceeded to show me, WirelessAdWatch.com Managing Editor Pamela Parker and Arbitron Internet Information Services Marketing Consultant Jodie Kahn pictures of his newborn boy. We oohed and ahhed, for he was almost as cute as his papa! The dance of networking was not over for this girl though, and I spun around to bid "bonjour" to consultants Debbie Newman (in a fine suede and sherling vest) and Richard Glosser. JP Morgan eInvestment group-ers Scott McDonald and Piers Connell were coolly investigating the scene from their corner, and nearby I said "hellos" to IXL's Diana Butler, Sorceron's bizdev EVP Catherine Billon. Regina Downey and Tom Boytinck came to hear about the future of wireless. He said that the "unexciting" panelists weren't persuasive and "haven't figured out how consumers will pay for all this." Ah, yes -- consumers. They're the ones that can determine the success of a company, right?

The hard-working team at NYNMA -- Executive Director Alice O'Rourke, Evening Panel Series Director Dawn Barber, Educational Programs Director Ellen Auwarter and the scores of volunteers -- were on hand to ensure that the evening went on without a hitch! AOL's Talent Coordinator Joy Dargent and Marketing Consultant Heidi Cohen were a bit of relief from the dark sea of schmoozers in their purple and orange, respectively, spring garments. Joy also told me that it was my class at The Learning Annex that helped her land her first job in the Internet industry. Pretty nifty, huh? Brand Illumination PR Consultant Ed Gyurko, Bob Goodale, Spamex's Justin Greene and Seth Price were also out and about this night of wireless-wisdom-networking.

>> KORRECTIONS
NYNMA's wireless panel was incorrectly identified as "Internet Unplugged: The WWW Goes Wireless." The correct title is: "Making Money from Thin Air: Turning the Wireless Internet Into a Business."

Tuesday, April 17, 2001

Fourscore and Seven Years Ago

Seven years ago, I was still trying to figure out how many
's I needed to make a tab space in an HTML document. Meanwhile Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner was starting their annual "New Media and Emerging Technologies" seminar, grappling with "larger" issues. Well, seven years later -- on April 17th -- they held their annual seminar with a focus on "Staying Interactive in the High Tech Environment." Outsourcing, E-Commerce, B2B, Privacy, Digital Rights Management, Intellectual Property, Domain Names and other issues were discussed and examined by noted attorneys with the firm. After the talks, I chatted with one of the speakers, Brown Raysman Attorney Jeffrey Neuburger. Brown Raysman Attorney Stuart Bressman and Goldman Sachs VP and Assistant General Counsel, Principal Investment Area Jake Brown and I spoke about the seminar. Brown Raysman Attorney Kristen Matthews introduced me to one of the firm's alumn-turned-client Cendant Senior Counselor Susan Loring Crane. A lively discussion was going on in one part of the room, as Bookspan SVP Legal, Postal and Government Affairs Robert Posch told me about the company's successes. As he doled out facts, such as 2.5 million of the 10 million customers from this 77-year-old firm are re-enrollments, and that the company is the result of a merger between Bertelsmann, Inc. (at which point he produced VP Legal Affairs Jacqueline Chasey) and AOL/Time Warner. Robert also pointed out that the Book of the Month Club and many other clubs have been absorbed by Bookspan. Administrator of Regulatory Affairs Maxine Claire Moss and Staff Counsel Neil McTeigue agreed with Robert's comment that this unsexy business is the one that's making the money. Amen!

Friday, April 13, 2001

Shakers & Stirrers and Bits & Bytes

Passlogix Appoints Kestenbaum
Gotuit Snags iCAST Team
Gardner Joins Multex.com
Work of Media A's President Lands in Amsterdam
Agency.com and Cigna Honored
Quantum Invests in FoodConnex
New Leaders for New Schools Fellowships Available
The Shattan Group/Baird Close $27.4 MM Private Equity Financing for Kenexa, an HCM Company
Aperian Merges with Fourthstage
ForMyWorld Provides Environmental Info
Razorfish and Mocal Launch Expanded Museum Site
KPE Gets an A
Firms Form Consortium

The Cyber Scene in Chicago ~ by Kelly Markham

McCormick Place for COMDEX 2001. COMDEX 2001, a three-day expo at Chicago's McCormick Place,attracted 70,000 people. For those of us that were looking for creative displays, high-tech gadgets or new industry innovations, Comdex was NOT the place to be. The biggest players were missing: Microsoft, Palm and Apple. So, Xerox, EDS and Sun did their best to entertain our tech-hungry minds. Xerox had a colorful canopy, EDS had palm trees and Sun had web-enabled kiosks. Local companies and organizations focused on getting their names out: DigitalEve.org, AIP and Go2Call, for instance, offered little goodies or glamour.

A corner of COMDEX was designed to attract job seekers. About 20 companies met with candidates and collected resumes. The traffic to this area was low because most of the companies were hiring for out-of-state positions.

COMDEX did attract some high-profile speakers and seminars. I managed to visit two.

The first, Women in IT, was hosted by Girlgeeks and designed to promote women in high-tech careers. I listened to two panel discussions: "Taking your career to the Next Level," and "Being a Team player." The first featured top female executives from: Intel, ABC.com, IBM and Unisys speaking about glass ceilings, stereotypes, geekiness and more. The forum was positive and enthusiastic about establishing a female presence in the new economy.

The second event was a one-hour presentation lead by Larry Kramer, CEO of CBS Marketwatch. He discussed online content, financial reporting and advertising revenue streams. "Don't try to change people's habits" when offering up online content and services and "don't assume people will pay for information they don't desperately need or desire," said Kramer.

Although Microsoft was absent from the expo, the software powerhouse did sponsor a big party at the House of Blues. The after-hours bash was all about high-tech fun. Free food, drinks and music energized the crowd, and Dennis Miller gave the crowd attitude. Networking was soon replaced by singing and dancing, and Microsoft became the hero of the nights.

Overall, COMDEX 2001 was a disappointment. But I did manage to test drive a Mercedes and see a dancing alien sing "I will survive."

Kelly Markham is the founder of LaunchChicago.com, a portal for Chicago's internet community. LaunchChicago.com indexes local high-tech resources like: networking organizations, non-profits, tech districts, education, jobs and more.

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Susanne Lainson

Internet Chamber of Commerce.
On March 28, I headed down to the Denver Design Center for the ICC meeting. It was a sellout, as usual; 700 people signed up. At each tech gathering I attend, I try to gauge the mood: do we have recession fever yet? This was a somewhat less energized crowd than the ICC event I attended in January, and people were more dressed up (indicating either a trend toward more formality or more job hunting). But the atmosphere was by no means somber. One reason, I think, is that Denver has not been a live-by-the-Internet, die-by-the-Internet town. The skiing has been great, Boeing is interested in moving to the area, and the real estate market is holding up. Overall the state is going strong.
I saw a fair amount of familiar faces, including SpireMedia's CEO Mike Gellman and Brandon Shevin. They've given their website a new look and are now emphasizing not just online services, but offline design and creative as well. Erich Stein, president of Erich Stein Communications, was there. So were Larry and Pat Nelson, hosts of the World Wide Web Radio Show (http://www.w3w3.com). They told me that they are now broadcasting from Boulder, rather than Denver, and at a more reasonable hour. They were originally on at 8 AM on Saturday mornings, when many of us do not adequately function. Brad Spirrison, managing editor of eMileHigh (http://www.emilehigh.com), was showing around business partner Rick Stratton, who was in from Chicago to check out the publication's planned expansion and to squeeze in some skiing at A-Basin and Vail.

I grabbed some food and joined Scott Zimmerman, a manager at Accenture; Karen Zimmerman of MarketQuest International; and Charlie Oriez, a consultant with Ciber. Since everyone had ties to consulting companies, we talked about where consulting in Colorado is headed. Can't say we came up any projections, though.

I caught up with Natalie Pyle, a technical recruiter at the Hall Kinion table. She told me about a project, eProfessionals, started by a co-worker. The site helps entrepreneurs find the necessary support services. I also had a chance to talk to Bob Howey, principal with Employer Services Group, and Jim Kloberdanz, VP of sales and marketing with Absolute Performance .

First Tuesday
On April 3, I attended First Tuesday. This time the event took place in a new location - Bash, near Coors Field in LoDo. Welcome to 1968. Bash is a dance club fully equipped with light shows and a catwalk. (Luckily we saw no go-go dancers and were spared any ear-piercing, psychedelic rock music. But there was still plenty of atmosphere to resurrect Jim Morrison and Janice Joplin.) It was dark inside, in contrast to the still-light sky outside. That made it a challenge to read people's name tags. At least the green tag holders glowed under the black lights, making the entrepreneurs easy to spot. (Red, however, did not glow, so it was particularly difficult to zero in on the money people.) Given today's investment environment, I honestly don't believe most attendees were expecting to do any deals that night. But I hope the First Tuesday events remain a regular fixture on the Denver scene. After all, they're great fun!

One of the first people I ran into was Alex Teitz, editor-in-chief of FEMMUSIC. A few days earlier, I heard Boulder songwriter/singer/musician/record producer Wendy Woo (http://www.WendyWoo.com) at a local coffeehouse and was totally blown away by her. I was telling Alex all about it. If you like folk/blues and have a chance to see her perform, do it.

I saw Dilpreet Jammu, senior manager of business and service integration for Nortel Networks. He has recently visited San Francisco, Atlanta and Seattle to explore companies for various deals and strategic alliances. I asked him about how Nortel is faring, given the recent downturn in the market. He said that his area, business development, continues to be strong.

I sat down with Don Lubar, a partner with dataDistributions Corporation, to eat all the great Chinese food provided for us. Later I ran into Safa Alai, COO of Consumer Advantage News Network, who told me that the site is now live and webcasting. Among the others I met up with were Doug Smooke, senior program marketing manager at Avaya (http://www.avaya.com); Charlie Bruce of law firm Holme Roberts & Owen; and Dick Pankoski, president/CEO of COSA Technologies.

Finally, I spoke with Steve Swoboda, CFO of Ereo, the image search-engine company. They've done a soft launch, which you all should check out. We talked about snowboarding, Denver real estate, and what VCs plan to do with their money. Then John Czingula, marketing director for Duke Solar, came over to say hello. Steve and John have experience living and working in Hungary, so they compared notes. Then John and I talked about alternative energy technology, an area which has piqued my interest.

Sometime around 9 p.m. I realized that I was among just a handful of people left in the place. So, I headed back to Boulder.

The Conference on World Affairs
Next week (April 9-13) I won't be doing this column because I will be heavily involved with the University of Colorado's Conference on World Affairs, which has been going on for 53 years. Courtney Pulitzer will be one of over 100 participants to speak. Others include film critic Roger Ebert, political columnist Molly Ivins, BEA chairman/CEO Bill Coleman, Liberty Media Founder/Former CEO Peter Barton, Oscar and Grammy-winning musicians/producers Dave and Don Grusin, "Earth Girls Are Easy" screenwriter Terry McNally, Mother Jones Publisher Jay Harris, and sixties radical Bernadine Dohrn.

Panels on technology and the Internet will include: The Internet Sucks, Palm Pilot Society: Information as Umbilical Cord, Techno-Morality, Big Brother: Privacy and Consumerism, and Techie Takeover: When Geeks Inherit the Earth. The conference will also explore such topics as: Hairy Palms Make You Go Blind, If You're Menstruating, You're Not Thin Enough, The Cult of Oprah, and more serious panels on politics, globalization and disabilities. All panels are free and open to the public. The only downside is that parking is quite limited on campus. You might want to park your car at Crossroads Mall and take the local bus. But please join this continuing social/educational experiment.

Thursday, April 12, 2001

Shakers & Stirrers and Bits & Bytes

RHIZOME.ORG ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF INAUGURAL NET ART COMMISSIONING PROGRAM NEW YORK,

NY-Rhizome.org is pleased to announce that five artists/groups have been awarded commissions to assist them in creating original works of net art through its new Commissioning Program. Rhizome.org is an online platform for the global new media art community. Their programs support the creation, presentation, discussion and preservation of contemporary art that engages new technologies in significant ways. Rhizome.org is a not-for-profit organization.

Quantum Venture Partners Unveils Commitment to Fusion Telecom International, Inc.
.Fusion Telecom International (FTI) Inc. is near a Series B closing with a commitment from Quantum Venture Partners.

Fusion Telecommunications International, Inc. ("FTI") whose Board of Directors Includes: Joseph Kennedy II, Kenneth Starr, and John Sununu, is an international communications specialist. FTI offers a single point of contact for companies, telecommunications carriers and ISPs needing international voice, Internet access and private line point-to-point services between the USA and developing countries in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. FTI has operations in over ten countries.

The Cyber Scene in Atlanta ~ by Frank Wrenn

Social Cyber-Life in Atlanta Heats Up

While the last several months have lacked the "irrational exuberance" Atlanta netizens enjoyed last year, things may be beginning to heat up again.

Good times returned in an unlikely manner on Thursday, April 12, as displaced Atlanta technology folk enjoyed the town's first official "Pink Slip Party " at Innovox. Billed as "the ultimate networking event for employers, recruiters and job seekers," the Official Pink Slip Party featured food, "Pink Slip Punch," door prizes and "lots of job leads for the jobless." The event was hosted by Amber Moore of web site development firm GenerationX. Sponsors included Headhunter.net, Innovox, Crunch Fitness, Stress Recess, Agnes & Muriel's, Print Time, Intregal, and i-HRMS.com.

I've also recently gotten word of a few other "technology socials." As Gay Bob of 99X says, "Mark it on your calendars:"

Xcelerate is hosting a reception on April 19 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in support of City Council Member Cathy Woolard's campaign for Atlanta City Council President. Members of Atlanta's technology community are invited to attend the reception to be held at 200 Tower Place, 3348 Peachtree Road, Suite 500 in Atlanta. (Located off Peachtree St. or the Georgia 400 Buckhead Loop entrance). Please RSVP to 404-278-3728 or campaign@cathywoolard.com. In addition to Xcelerate, other corporate sponsors include Hewlett-Packard, NavisionDamgaard, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., and Stephen & Alexandra Fleming. Hosts include Bob & Kathy Cunha, Andrew Feiler, John Flippen & Alester Spears, Jaimie Hardin, Trish Jones & Lynn Collins, Randy Keith, Scott Geller & Jennifer Levy, Jerry L. Glover II, and Colin Wright.

Scott Geller, executive director of TechBridge, is also planning the Digital Ball on April 28 with Chris Klaus of Internet Security Systems and Tom Vertin of Silicon Valley Bank. A first-time event, the Digital will unite Atlanta's technology and philanthropy communities on April 28th. The proceeds from this event will go to TechBridge, an organization that helps to extend the "digital advantage," by analyzing the needs of non-profits and implementing much-needed technology-oriented solutions. The model for the Digital Ball is the Silicon Valley Charity Ball, which raised over $1 million last year for charity. With a host/sponsor listing that reads like a technology "Who's Who of Atlanta," this will be huge event. For more information, see www.digitalball.org.

If you have information on Atlanta news and events, send it to me at frank@thecyberscene.com.

The Conference on World Affairs

Silicon Alley may have the beautiful historic Flatiron Building, but Boulder, Colorado has the Flatirons--an entire mountain range with this name and featuring dramatic flat fronts resembling irons. With the Flatirons and the Rocky Mountain Range as the stunning backdrop, the University of Colorado, in Boulder is idyllically situated. Boulder's quaintness comes from a few sources-it's a classic college town and a classic skiing town.

And fifty-three years ago, just two years after the United Nations was founded, Howard Higman began this conference to bring together intellectually stimulating people from diverse backgrounds to convene, converse and get out-of-the-box with their contributions for panels equally as diverse. From April 8th to the 13th, for one luxurious week, the University invites about 100 amazing people from around the world to speak on panels as diverse as the world we come from. All participants come to Boulder on their own dime, but enjoy the added benefit of getting to stay with a local resident involved with the conference, and it's usually in one of the more impressive homes in town.

Some of the topics ranged from Arts and Literature ("Mesoamerican Literature of Resistance: Then and Now" and "Science and Technology Go to the Movies") to Business ("Palm Pilot Society: Information as Umbilical Cord" and "The Race to Incarcerate: The Business of Prisons") to Health and Medicine ("AIDS in Africa" and From Aspirin to Zoloft: The Highs and Lows of Self-Medication") to International Affairs ("Leaders in Lederhosen: Germany's Growing Influence" and Child Warriors: Kids on the Front Lines") to Popular Culture ("KidNapster" and "The Cult of Oprah: Spirituality on TV" to Super Bowl: The Bawdy Centerpiece of American Sports").

Many times, participants are placed on panels out of their realm of expertise or perhaps know nothing about. This strategy ensures a lively dialogue for the speaker, other participants and audience alike since the topic will be discussed from a very fresh perspective. Oftentimes debates start up. Sometimes there are even fireworks. What a relief from the years of industry introspection and shill-keynotes so many of us have encountered in the dot-com conference route.

It takes a special kind of person who can talk outside-the-box and extemporaneously for 10-12 minutes on a minimum of two different panels a day. Some of the more noted and long-time attendees are Roger Ebert, who's entertained attendees with his panels on "Dark Days for Documentaries in America," "West Wing: Civics for the Masses," "How to Tell a Joke" and the "Happy Fun Sex Panel." David and Don Grusin, academy award-winning musical soundtrack and world-renowned musicians also hosted plenary panels on "Song Writing 101: Song Making and Remaking," "The Sociological Phenomenon: Music and Behavior" and "Culture War: Sound-Bite Society Versus Classical Arts." As UC graduates, their loyalty to Boulder, the school and this conference is great. The music hall is even named after them, for a significant donation they made to the school.

Noted actor, writer, radio host, speaker and consultant Terrance McNally participated on a number of panels ranging from Choose and Lose: "Voter Apathy in the MTV Generation" to "Blaming Hollywood" to "Hardball or Fluff: Political Talk Shows." His co-author on the book "Kava: Nature's Answer to Stress, Anxiety, and Insomnia" who was also at the Conference.

I was honored to share the stage with Chemonics Global Division manager Joanne A. Adams, Advisory Council on Children's Rights to the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Gloucestershire, England Chairman Joan Higman Davies and NASA Astrophysicist Barbara Thompson on the "When Women Rule the World" panel and then later in the day with futurist, author, and Global Business Network consultant Nancy Ramsey and writer, performer and co-owner of a corporate entertainment firm Sally Fay. Sally also performed later on Tuesday, April 10th along with the Grusin brothers, David Amram, Nelson Rangell, Ricardo Silveira and Claudio Slon. Independent scholar, writer and atomic bomb expert Mary Palevsky, Math/Science Integrated Curricula teacher and consultant Vic Selby and founder and director of the University of North Carolina's MetaLab (among other titles) Paul Jones discussed Techno-Morality to a class of engineering students and other attendees. I got to spend many enjoyable panels with Paul--including one on the Palm Pilot Society with geek columnist for The Chicago Sun-Times and Macworld Magazine Andy Inatko and professor of Surfing, Yahoo! and Stanford University philosophy and cognitive science, Paul Skokowski.

Suzanne Lainson - our Denver correspondent organized many an impressive panel in the business track. Dr. Leonard Shlain, Laparoscopic surgery-invention fame and author of "Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light" and "The Alphabet Versus The Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image " spoke on a range of panels like "If You're Menstruating, You're Too Thin," "Techie Takeover: When Geeks Inherit the Earth" and "Criminal Minds." Noted Freelance journalist (The Trenton Times and Village Voice) David Finkle, Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel, Sports Illustrated senior writer Bill Nack and Andres Investments president and founder of The Andres Art Institute Paul Andres were also among the thought-provoking speakers. Noted book author and Fort Worth Star-Telegram nationally syndicated columnist Molly Ivins spoke to SRO auditoriums-filled with interested students, town residents and other participants.

Local residents who I got to get to know over time were Bob McClendon, director of the Conference and the World Affairs Athenaeum Jim Palmer and the impressive co-chairs of the Jane Butcher and Juli Steinhaur. Student volunteers like Ramsey Thurber, Trey Lyons and Natalie Baker helped with organization and transporting participants between the conference, their homes and the parties.

Ah yes! The parties! No report would be complete without party-reportage! Each night the participants enjoyed a fabulous party at one of the amazing homes of the local residents. Sunday, April 8th we began at University of Colorado president Elizabeth Hoffman home where it was a grand reunion and meeting for all the guests. It was also on this night when Ms. Hoffman presented Bill and Claudia Coleman with plaque upon plaque of distinction from the Senate, the House and other government officials for their $250 million donation to the university. This is the largest donation ever made to a private institution and will be going towards developing a four-campus Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities. Monday night, April 9th, we were all treated to a lovely reception at the Koenig Alumni Center, hosted by Chancellor Richard Byyny, M.D. Normally the parties are reserved fro just the participants, but Tuesday night Dean Peter Spear hosted a party at the University Club for the housers, participants and committee members. The "free night" on Wednesday filled up with various dinners and after parties and I took the opportunity to have one of my Cocktails with Courtney events in town.

As the week wore on, the parties became increasingly more extravagant. Thursday night's soiree, on April 12th was in the spectacular, sprawling home of Jane and Charlie Butcher, hosted by them, Edie Morris and Joyce and Rigomar. The final night, and the biggest party, hosted by James Palmer and Marsha and John Moritz, at their home.

With all these parties, fascinating panels and illustrious people circling around I felt a part of a special circle and circumstance. Sometimes it felt like camp and parting was with sweet sorrow as I bid adieu to the other participants and Boulder residents who I met over the week. Of course, a conference like this lives on in everyone who attended as we each bring our enriching experience back into our worlds with a fresh perspective.

Wednesday, April 11, 2001

Cocktails with Courtney ~ Boulder

Never mind that Boulder was in the 70's on Monday and then survived a blizzard on Tuesday, our Cocktails with Courtney event on Wednesday still drew about 150 High-Tech Corridor professionals out for networking and cocktails. Sponsored by noteworthy law firm Cooley Godward, Gartner Solista and eBusiness Strategies, many of Boulder's high-tech notables showed up to check out the soiree. Held at the new and trendy Triana's, which is partially owned by Exodus Communications' Vice President Research Niel Robertson, this tapas bar served up delicious oysters on the half shell, calamari and other eclectic Spanish fare as guests enjoyed the complimentary Bombay. Local venture capitalist big-wigs like iBelay's Andre Pettigrew, Boulder Ventures' Kyle Lefkoff, Korn/Ferry's Brad Gray, PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Matt Kosmicki, Vista Ventures' Catharine Merigold, Deloitte & Touche's Jennifer Mackessy and Softbank Venture Capital's Chris Wand came early on. Cooley Godward's Steve Conley and Steven Segal were eloquent hosts, as were Gartner Solista's George Deriso and Sheri Marks. EBusiness Strategies' Ty Bohannan also made a short and sweet speech to guests, encouraging them to get back to the cocktailing.

And as the guests filtered in I saw some regulars like Joe Pezzillo, Giggle with the Girls Inc. VP Denise Soler and 24/7's Mike Rosol who attended last year's event in Denver. ProMotif's John Robinson, Excite@Home's Rob Berman, Global Commerce's Robert Planchard and Creative Assets' Colette Crawford were among the guests who came. Ecrix president Kelly Beavers brought some friends, as did Mark Haeg. And Recess Entertainment founder Kari Nelson, ArtSparks Nancy Noonan-Morrissey and Peak Achievement president Bernice German stopped by to mingle with other high-tech professionals. KWAB radio hosts Larry and Pat Nelson, Boulder County Business Report co-publishers Jerry Lewis and Jeff Schott and eMileHigh's Brad Spirrison were covering the party. TriDigital's Susan Walanski and Courtney Elmendorf, Equus Group's Geoffrey Rugg and NGT's Martin Gitlin were among the other attendees enjoying the evening. Conference attendees like international advisor, adventurer and Havsuden Foundation board member Jean-Jacques de Masterston and Paul Jones stopped by for a quick hello to show their support. Later on I got to hang out and chat with SignalSoft Chip Cathey and DISC VP, Corporate Solutions Tim Klooster chatted it up with lingerers. As the night wore on, it was obvious, we need to do more of these in the hip and happening and beautiful town of Boulder, Colorado!

Monday, April 09, 2001

ADV ~ NYNMA Making Money from Thin Air

NYNMA presents: "Making Money from Thin Air: Turning the Wireless Internet Into a Business", Wed., April 18, The Great Hall @ Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th St. Registration: 5:30 PM, Panel: 6:30 PM, Reception: 8 PM Moderator: Andrew M. Seybold, Andrew Seybold Group & Andrew Seybold's Outlook, Inc. Panelists from Verizon Wireless, AOL, NTT DoCoMo, Ericsson, Vaultus & Upoc. If you aspire to make money in the wireless Internet, don't miss NYNMA discuss how it's done. A bargain at $20-$40, pre-register now at http://www.nynma.org.

Friday, April 06, 2001

Shakers & Stirrers and Bits & Bytes

Razorfish Appoints Larsen
SmartMoney Taps Ari Brandt
Mirksy Getting Out
Rowan Moves to Seattle
Dunn 'Up & Coming'
Schwartz PR Interactive Taps Murrow
Eagle Email Aligns with Ifinder
Get the Inside Scoop
Tolerance Online
Off to the Ball
BeyondWork Moves On
ScreamingMedia and iPlanet Team Up
MasterCard selects btldesign
Nurun Creates Evian.com 'L'Originals'
I-Traffic Travels Overseas
Proxicom Redesigns HBO.com
Razorfish and ZDF Rebrand

TCS Intro ~ 4/6/01

Courtney Pulitzer's Cyber Scene ~ April 6, 2001
               
                  This Week
                  10 Years and Running
                  Heady Discussions and Groovy Reunions
                  Serious Party Series
                  What Sort of Career Should I Have Now?
                  Where Should You be Investing Now?
                  The Olde New Shoppe
                  An Audible Celebration in Nochilita
                  Madge.Web Makes a Splashy Start

                  The Cyber Scene in Chicago
                  The Cyber Scene in Denver
                  The Cyber Scene in San Diego



                  Regular Features:
                  Cyber Scene Social Notes
                  Shakers & Stirrers
                  Bits & Bytes
                  Join our wireless event list.
           * Recent Press
            New York Daily News. "Cocktail hour is Net work for them" (April 2, 2001)
            The New York Times. "Last Call for Silicon Alley's Famous Wingdings" (April 1, 2001)

            * Upcoming Speaking Engagements
            ABC News Sunday "Money Talks" 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM Sunday Apr 08
            University of Colorado's Conference on World Affairs "Borders and Beyond" Boulder, CO. Daily panels. April 9-13.


            * Upcoming Events
            Cocktails with Courtney ~ Boulder
            Wednesday, April 11th
            Sponsored by Cooley Godward LLP, eBusiness Strategies, Gartner Solista
            Triana. 1039 Pearl Street. Boulder, CO. 303-449-1022
            Rsvp Now!

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            Our calendar of select industry events is a must-have companion to the weekly newsletter that covers them after the fact. Subscribe or Unsubscribe

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Shakers & Stirrers -AND- Bits And Bytes

 Shakers & Stirrers
            Send us your announcements

            Razorfish Appoints Larsen
            SmartMoney Taps Ari Brandt
            Mirksy Getting Out
            Rowan Moves to Seattle
            Dunn 'Up & Coming'
            Schwartz PR Interactive Taps Murrow


            ========================================================== ==========================================================



             Bits And Bytes
            Send us your announcements

            Eagle Email Aligns with Ifinder
            Get the Inside Scoop
            Tolerance Online
            Off to the Ball
            BeyondWork Moves On
            ScreamingMedia and iPlanet Team Up
            MasterCard selects btldesign
            Nurun Creates Evian.com 'L'Originals'
            I-Traffic Travels Overseas
            Proxicom Redesigns HBO.com
            Razorfish and ZDF Rebrand

Cyber Scene Social Notes ~ 4/6/01


            ** After a horrifying view of four businessmen at lunch with one in gross violation, it still needs to be said: "Mabel, Mabel, keep your elbows off the table -- WHEN DINING!"

Thursday, April 05, 2001

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Susanne Lainson

On April 5 I attended the Cooley Godward open house to celebrate its new offices in Interlocken, where 61 lawyers and 57 staffers work. (Nationally, Cooley employs approximately 700 attorneys, including 15 in Denver.) Almost 500 people attended, making for a good party.

The real star of the event, however, was the facility: coffee bars throughout and a very open, centrally located lunch area with sleek aluminum stools. If the law business ever takes a dive, this place can open as an upscale club. The party was obviously designed to show off the space. There were drinks and food on two levels, and to sample everything you had to wander from top to bottom and from one end to the other. For example, I spotted a bar when I first came in and asked if they could give me a whiskey sour or margarita. No, this bar only had beer, wine and martinis. But if I went upstairs, I could find what I needed. So I tried the bar at the top of the stairs. They were mostly doing beer. But if I continued down the hall, I would find a bar with fruit drinks. I wandered past several other refreshment stands until finally, at the very end of the floor, I found a guy mixing up strawberry margaritas and Mai Tais at the "exotic blender bar." Mai Tais? I haven't had one of those in years, so of course, I had to try both.

Various attorneys were put to work hosting different refreshment stands. Jim Linfield, managing partner who opened the Boulder office in 1993 with four attorneys, had an in-office tasting featuring hand-selected wines and cheeses. Amy Hartman, head of the Colorado employment practice, hosted the sushi and sake event in her office. Andy Hartman, head of the Central States trademark, advertising, and copyright practice, served up caviar and vodka in his office (this food spot had the longest lines). Jim Brogan, head of the Colorado patent practice, offered chocolate fondue at the ninth-floor West Bar. Bernard Hatcher, Virginia Briggs and Dan Meehan sautéed veggies at the 10th-floor East Bar. Also available were a pasta and veggie bar, a seafood bar, hot poppers and munchies, a traditional buffet, and a dessert bar.

Another pleasant surprise came with the band. Singing along with the group was Wendy Woo. Being a big fan, I went over and chatted with her awhile. She's been playing ski areas recently and at the end of May will be appearing out in Santa Monica and San Francisco. She told me that her home base is now Denver, rather than Boulder.

As for party attendees, the VC community was well represented. Among those I spotted were Brad and Dan Feld of SoftBank Venture Capital, Catharine Merigold of Vista Ventures, André Pettigrew of iBelay, Rick Patch of Sequel Venture Partners, and Sara Gutterman of Boulder Ventures. Also there was Frank Amoroso, VP of Silicon Valley Bank.

Among those representing local companies were David Hieb, CEO of Namewise, Aloke Guha, president of DataVail, Gretchen Jahn, president/CEO of Aegis Analytical, Steve Swoboda, CFO of Ereo, Robert Welch, VP of business development for Tango Technologies, Tim Hoogheem, CFO of ChannelPoint, and Alan Kaplan, CEO of clickPLAY. One of the few non-food conversations I had was with Pete Simpson, head of the Boulder offfice for international industrial design firm IDEO. He said Boulder was a great place for his company because the lifestyle enhanced creativity.

Last, but not least, were those from various local professional organizations: Susan Osborne and Cynthia Ryan, co-presidents of the Front Range Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, and Cathy Ewing, executive director of the Colorado Software and Internet Association attended.

Some of us partied until the band packed up and left. Seems to me it was about eleven by the time I headed to my car. (Steve Swoboda has good dog stories, by the way.) Definitely one of the more creative parties I have been to. And as a souvenir, I have a Cooley Godward Swiss army knife.

An Audible Celebration in Nochilita

While putting Nochilita (North of Chinatown/Little Italy) on the map, Audium is also making its mark on the Silicon Alley and dot-com landscape. With a name change (formerly Phone2Networks), a $4.5 million investment led by Fonix (and supported by Chelsea Capital and Blue Hill Capital), and new office space (they were on 18th between 5th - 6th Avenues), the company has a lot to celebrate. And celebrate Audium employees did on Thursday, April 5th in their new offices on Lafayette and Grand Streets. The name change was prompted by a few elements - the obvious confusion with Net2Phone and the fact that they were really moving away from wireless development and into voice applications. In fact, partnering with Mobilocity and Aether Systems allows Audium to focus on developing an application server and core infrastructure using voice XML. The good news doesn't stop there. Audium President and CEO Michael Bergelson told me that they'll be announcing major new clients in the coming weeks. Their spin-off, Flashspot, sells ads for voice-prompted services like MovieFone and Dialpad. As Michael explained all this interesting information, Redwood Partners' Marcelo Wainberg and Kailah Rovin stopped over to share in the celebration. We admired the decorating mix of Chinese lanterns with Italian fare on red-checkered picnic tablecloths, ala "The Sopranos." The company even brought in some Port-O-Potties so guests didn't have a long wait for the restroom! Nate Brochin, formerly of RareMedium, came over to say hello. As of three-weeks ago, Nate is at Savos, which was just sold to Giant Bear. Audium's BizDev VP Mark Matyas introduced me around to COO Cory Wright and Akamai's Phillip Stalnaker. I chatted with marketing consultant Jason Gardner for a bit, while Audium employees had fun Xeroxing their faces, looking at vacation pics on a Web site and noshing on the good, hearty Italian fare.

Wednesday, April 04, 2001

Madge.Web makes a splashy start ~ by Gina Larson

It was fittingly a superlative bash that Madge.Web threw to celebrate their new "First Class to the Web" content distribution network. The UK-based company, which moved over to this side of the pond last January, spared no expense to unveil their next-generation network to partners and peers at Float Wednesday night, April 4th. Attendees sipped on free flowing champagne from flutes etched with the company's emblem, as servers tried to keep the buzz in-check by swirling trays of sushi, skewered chicken and other tasty tidbits around the candle lit club. The highlight of the evening was the official presentation, MCed by stand-up comic Wayne Cotter. The comedian, a former engineer, kept the crowd entertained as he slipped in jokes alluding to VPNs and load balance between presenters. David Greenberg, national sales manager outlined, the company's strategy, while VP of Product Marketing Nick Stacey, who flew in from London for the event, bore the onus of explaining the technology to the revelers. Lawrence Bud from Inktomi also took the mic- to announce Inktomi and Madge.Web would be participating in Content Bridge, a new alliance of ISPs and tech companies dedicated to enabling faster connectivity. After the speeches, the party got back to the main attractions - the open bar and DJ. Wayne Cotter, who was more accustomed to his showbiz cronies than the dot.com crowd, kept a low profile in the back of the club, while Madge.Web employees and their partners took to the lighted dance floor.

The Olde New Shoppe

Not to be outdone by Sony, Panasonic or other brands on Madison Avenue, E*TRADE Group, Inc. opened its first E*TRADE Center at 540 Madison Avenue on Wednesday, April 4. Their "financial services super-store" is meant to help consumers maximize their brokerage, banking, insurance and wealth management needs. This new strategy is part of the company's physical expansion. This four-level, 30,000 square-foot, high-tech, high-touch experience has over 200 Presario 1400, Armada M300 and iPAQ desktop computers provided by Compaq. Each PC features a 20" LCD flat screen. Keeping up with Yahoo! Finance Vision and the other tech-stock shows, E*TRADE On Air will broadcast daily from its full production studio! The bottom floor features a professional trading services area for E*TRADE's active investors. The mezzanine level offers a forum where high-net-worth customers can conduct financial transactions and receive personalized attention from financial service associates. Educational seminars will be offered to consumers on the top level, adjacent to the E*TRADE gift shop, bookstore and Mangia Café. Ole! Partnering with Aether allows wireless demonstration stations for investors interested in learning about wireless financial services. And the fun doesn't stop there! In partnership with Lexus, visitors can also view the Lexus IS 300 on the top level, which is the E*TRADE Game grand prize awarded to each quarterly winner.

Where Should You be Investing Now?

Like Philip Eastman's popular children's book "Are you my Mother?" Gruntal & Co. answered one of the more adult perplexing questions on Wednesday, April 4th, at the Hotel Intercontinental. Chairman of Investment Policy Joseph Battipaglia buoyed the hopes of a ballroom full of investors, professional and personal. He pointed out that now is the best time to invest, when stocks are at such a low price and so devalued. Grunthal & Co.'s First VP, Investments, spoke with me during the reception and reinforced Battipaglia's comments by pointing out that the valuations are now within reason. Technology is now poised to come back in a major way, now that all the "bull" is out of the way. Financial Solutions Group VP Bruce Haber added that the key is to be disciplined now, not emotional, and to know when to buy and when to sell. Just like the song Kenny Rogers sang - you've got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em!

What Sort of Career Should I Have Now?

There were about four panel discussions going on in the Syracuse University Lubin House on 61st Street on Wednesday, April 4th. WWWAC Writers SIG and the Wharton School were among them. Wharton and Syracuse got together for a panel on "Working in the Internet World" for their Career Development program, which featured Primedia Internet Group president (About.com) Bill Day, EB Match president (and president of the Wharton Club of NY) Nigel Edelshain and moi. Bill had many salient points about the silver lining in the current economic status of our industry and the opportunities present. Now is the time to make a mark-when there's not as much competition clouding the view. Nigel was also positive and pointed out several times that almost as many companies need sales and marketing professionals as they do programmers (NYNMA.org). I always like to focus on the positives and told the job-seekers and career-builders present that they should "never give up." "Go for it!" I said.