Bits & Bytes

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08/03
Cue From The Mob?
This should make site managers a bit uneasy. 5B Technologies Group of Woodbury N.Y. is claiming that they can penetrate 99% of all companies sites within 90 seconds. The company can then "promulgate a program to keep this from happening again and be on guard for any further penetration and stop it immediately. Sounds like a little upfront "protection" for the next generation of businesses.

Love Shacks
The independent film community, indieWIRE, is taking up residence at CameraPlanet Centers. The facilities are commune-like setups for 21st century professionals. Owned by BNN, CameraPlanet Centers is a residence where producers, directors, editors and other professionals can live and work in the heart of New York's media district and in an environment that provides them all of the resources necessary to produce and distribute their individual projects.

Sweet Deal
Dimension Data/Proxicom announced a deal this week with International Dairy Queen, Inc, the parent of snack-food companies Dairy Queen, Orange Julius and Karmelkorn brands. The project involves the development and launch of three Internet sites targeted at consumers and an extranet that will connect the company's 6,0000 plus franchisees.

07/27
MSNBC's sex survey
Has one of your friends been MIA? Maybe he or she is at home getting busy with the computer. According to a recent MSNBC poll, almost one in ten online users are addicted to sex on the Internet. Dr. Alvin Cooper, clinical director of the San Jose Marital Services and Sexuality Centre in San Jose, Calif., conducted the online poll of 38,000 users, believed to be the largest Internet study of online sexuality to date. The survey found that people who get their jock rocked online spend nearly three hours each week devoted to cyber sex. The survey shows that when broken down by gender, 9.9 percent of men report an addiction to sex and the Internet, compared to 6 percent of women.

MSNBC had some other titillating news for us this week. Key personal data belonging to hundreds of individuals was passed on in an Internet chat room, in what one expert says could become one of the largest identity theft cases ever. The data included Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, date of birth and credit card information - everything a criminal would need to open an online bank account, apply for a credit card, even create the paperwork necessary to smuggle illegal immigrants. It is still unclear how the data ended up in the chat room, but an MSNBC.com investigation has revealed common threads among the victims - including the purchase of a cell phone online from VerizonWireless.com or an AT&T Wireless reseller.

Vilma Mare is BLU
What's the future of fashion? Don't think hemlines or fabrics. Try cell phones, modems, and check cards built into our everyday wear. At least that's the vision of Palo Alto, California-based Lunar Design, Inc. and Vilma Maré, a New York fashion designer, who collaborated on a project titled "BLU." Their futuristic threads are on featured in the current Kunstlerhaus Vienna "Global Tools" exhibition, running from July 11 to September 9, 2001.

Razorfish's new slogan
The network notorious for its reality shows and tween programs will be sporting a new tagline. "I am Fox," is the slogan that's part of a larger brand strategy campaign developed by Silicon Alley shop, Razorfish.

Port of Technology welcomes startups
As the dot.com tenants move out, the Philadelphia incubator, Port of Technology, is set to welcome the next generation of startups. The Market Street facility is in the process of building six wet-labs with attached office suites to help burgeoning biotech companies get off the ground. PlantGenix, a company that a researches plant health and aging, is the first tenant in the Market Street facility, which receives funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Scientist in the State Department
Talking about the increasing role of science, George Atkinson, a University of Arizona chemistry and optical sciences professor, is taking a leave of absence to offer advice to national policy-makers grappling with science-based issues. As foreign policy decisions grapple with topics like global warming, stem cell research and missile defense, the perspective of scientists is becoming more critical. Mr. Atkinson will spend a year at the U.S. State Department helping facilitate decisions in the science and technology realm.

ScreamingMedia's newest weapon
ScreamingMedia's announced its newest crucial weapon in its arsenal of content and technology offerings - Stockpoint, Inc. The acquisition is expected to significantly boost SM's position in the financial services industry by adding custom-tailored stock quote services; quick charts on price and performance issues of stocks and mutual funds; portfolio tracking services for U.S. equities, international equities and U.S. retail mutual funds; and news and commentary on domestic and world markets.

MovingStation offers services
Moving out of the city? MovingStation, is providing a variety of free services through the Bank One Web site to help consumers pack up and ship out. Users can access change of address services, home-marketing reports, and community information such as average home values and crime rates and school ratings.

Media Metrix gets inspiration
In these bear times, we all could use a little motivation. But who woulda thunk that handing out a little encouragement could boost a site into the Media Metrix Top 50 List? This month's top newcomers in the popular Web index were Reata.org and Quickinspirations.com, both inspirational Web sites, with 2.4 million and 1.8 million unique visitors, respectively.

AlleyCat's good news
Unlike some of its brethren in the publishing world, AlleyCat News had some good news to announce this week. The magazine recently secured financing from a consortium of seasoned media experts. The group will serve as AlleyCat's new Advisory Board. The magazine also said it already has advertising contracts in hand that are sufficient to cover operating expenses for the next year.

iPublish invites users
Are your creative juices flowing? Then log onto iPublish.com. The site is inviting users from its writing community to build chapters of a free, original eBook, The Wedding Dress. The premise: the story is about Madeline, a woman whose cynical perspective of marriage, love, and life is altered as she traces the history of a wedding dress. In an interactive twist, readers are invited to write the tales of the women who have worn the dress through history. iPublish.com will take the best submissions and publish them as part of a multi-author electronic anthology. The deadline for submissions is October 15, 2001. You can find the submission guidelines at: http://www.ipublish.com/iwrite/editors_desk_romance.asp.

07/06
Webby Awards Honors Lifetime Achievement
Vint Cerf knew way back when that the Internet would be big. That's why he co-designed the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet. And it's also why the Webby Awards will honor him on July 18th with their first Webby Lifetime Achievement Award. Cerf, known as one of the "fathers of the Internet," is now senior vice president of Internet Architecture and Technology for WorldCom. Cerf will receive his award from The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences during The Fifth Annual Webby Awards, which will be Webcast live from the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House on ABCNEWS.com . ABC News' Sam Donaldson will host The Webby Awards pre-show, which begins at 10 pm ET on Wednesday, July 18th. Tony Award-winning Actor Alan Cumming will host the ceremony. Congratulations, Vint!

IC3D Hits the Venture Trail
The 6th Annual NYC Venture Capital Conference will welcome IC3D as one of eight companies chosen to present at the event on July 10. As a presenting company, IC3D will discuss its business with a panel of VCs and the audience for 20 minutes, then answer questions from the VCs for 20 minutes and answer questions from the audience for 20 minutes. Members of the IC3D management team are calling this an "amazing opportunity" to reach the venture capital community and to recruit additional managers. They have invited Dupont, which has officially expressed interest in IC3D. Good luck, IC3D!

Razorfish Earns Kudos in Britain
Razorfish, Inc., and Eardrum, one of the United Kingdom's sound specialists, earned several awards from the British Interactive Media Awards (BIMA) held recently in London. The two companies collaborated on a project that won the Getty Images Award for best use of design and creativity and the prestigious 'Judge's Choice' award, chosen from all other entries combined. Established in 1985, BIMA is a national trade association representing the interactive media industry in Britain. Eardrum provides creative expertise in sound, commercial production, programming, and sound design for radio, television and all new media. The challenge for Razorfish was to create a business-to-business site that would showcase the impact that audio could play within an on-line user experience. The Razorfish-Eardrum project demonstrates sound's potential as an integrated design feature aimed at encouraging creative agencies to give sound design greater consideration in web based projects. Perhaps we'll be hearing a lot more over the Internet in years to come.

Medical Records Go Online
Imagine your doctor looking up your medical records online? That may not be as far-fetched as it sounds. EZMedicalOffice.com has unveiled a free, integrated Web-based Electronic Medical Record (EMR), ICD-9 Coding and Prescription application, offered exclusively to licensed physicians and other healthcare professionals. The company says the technology will improve patient care and reimbursement. Doctors will be able to spend less time with charts and more time with patients. Managed care and insurance companies will get more accurate information in a more timely manner. Let's hope so!

06/29
Creating an Icon
Looking for a job in marketing or advertising? Check out ICONOMATCH, a new service from ICONOCAST and Newmediary, Inc. The service features an online directory of marketing and advertising professionals, as well as a Request for Proposal (RFP) Service for Marketing Executives. The idea is to give businesses the ability to quickly identify qualified professionals who meet their marketing and advertising needs. Newmediary, Inc., is a provider of online directory solutions for content and community sites. ICONOCAST is a new media company specializing in insightful and provocative news and analysis for marketing professionals. Check out their new service at www.iconomatch.com.

Building the Second Dimension
Dimension Data Holdings plc has added a little more depth to its global connectivity and integration services offerings by acquiring Proxicom, Inc., an e-business consulting and development company. Dimensino completed the acquisition on June 19, 2001 by merging its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Putter Acquisition Corp. with and into Proxicom. Proxicom will continue as an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Dimension Data. The merger followed the cash tender offer by Putter Acquisition Corp. for all outstanding shares of Proxicom at $7.50 per share. Pursuant to the tender offer, Putter Acquisition Corp. purchased shares representing approximately 96.3% of outstanding common stock of Proxicom. In the merger, each outstanding share of common stock of Proxicom not previously purchased in the tender offer was converted into the right to receive the same $7.50 per share cash price paid in the tender offer. Dimension Data and Proxicom announced the terms of the tender offer and the merger on May 11, 2001.

06/22
Start Your Weekend
Nothing to do this weekend? Try logging onto the "Weekend Guide," a new weekly release from Newsweek and MSNBC. The two media dynamos have teamed up to offer the latest news in entertainment, living, shopping and more. You'll get reviews on new movies, music and television shows, as well as advice on shopping, home improvement, travel and family entertainment. The site will be updated every Thursday night at http://www.weekendguide.msnbc.com.

Globix Gets Sued
When Globix decided to get out of the programming business, the company left behind a few very angry clients. They're so angry, in fact, that they are suing Globix for $5 million for fraud, deceptive practices and breach of contract. CEO Global Resources Inc. (CGR), a small company in New York City, claims that Globix misrepresented its capabilities, missed deadlines and finally begged out a programming job that it was under contract to complete. Because of delays in the project's completion, CGR was not able to get additional funding for the software. As a result, CGR was not able to pay AMC Corporation, a company it hired to do complete the job that Globix started. CGR is named in a suit by AMC. If you can keep all that straight, you're probably well suited for a career in the Internet industry!

TV Shopping on the Rise
People who buy products through TV-based shopping are increasingly opting for the interactive television (iTV) option. A recent study by Jupiter Media Metrix shows that iTV will account for 44 percent of all TV-based shopping sprees in the United States by 2005. There won't be a lot of advertising dollars to support iTV ventures, however. The report shows that iTV advertising will comprise just 7 percent of U.S. TV advertising dollars in 2005. Of course, that does represent $4.5 billion. But Jupiter predicts that those dollars will be fragmented across networks, carriers and third-party response networks. ITV shopping revenues will come primarily from shopping programs, iTV malls and integrated iTV shopping.

SpireMedia Climbs the World Trade Center
Well, not exactly. The web site builder recently built a site for an electronic music duo called 'I am the World Trade Center.' The site made the finals at the Flash Film Festival at Flashforward2001. Now Spire execs have their hearts set on winning the event's People's Choice Award. Help them out by voting for 'I am the World Trade Center' at http://www.flashforward2001.com/ny/films/. The SpireMedia site is in the experimental flash caregory.

06/15
Razorfish Grabs a Coke
Razorfish, Inc., and Coca-Cola Company have launched "The Coca-Cola Web Magazine" in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The zine has current, interactive content for teenagers, everything from music to films and games. Razorfish came up with the concept, design and implementation of the four-language service. Check them out at www.coca-cola.fi, www.coca-cola.se, www.coca-cola.no, and www.coca-cola.dk. You'll find a community section where you can chat in real time. The site actually incorporates chat messaging with real-time web chat functions. Talk about staying connected!

Quantum Invests in Praxid
PRAXID is closing in on FINAL Series B financing with a commitment from Quantum Venture Partners. The software company recently closed on $5.1M. Investors include Sands Brothers Venture Capital; Pete Thomas of Institutional Venture Partners; Storm Venture, LLC; Angel Capital Network, Inc.; Thomas Stuart Family Trust; Sunbird Investments; Kris Chellam of Xilinx, Inc.; Mario Rosati of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati; and Sohaib Abbasi of Oracle. Praxid provides small businesses with a next generation business solution that combines eCommerce, Enterprise Resource Management, Supply Chain Management, Customer Relationship Management and Human Resources in a single, integrated application.

Postal Service Goes Green
The U.S. Postal Service is making sure that its products and services are environmentally friendly. The government agency has selected GreenOrder, a firm that facilitates procurement of resource-efficient products, to build a web-based system to assist the agency in meeting its environmental goals. GreenOrder is creating customized procurement tools for the Postal Service. The tools will make it easier and more economical for Postal Service employees to source and purchase products that are energy-efficient, made with recycled content, or otherwise environmentally preferable. GreenOrder will also explore the possibility of using network technology to facilitate reuse and recycling of personal computers and other electronic equipment.

Blue Wave Flowing Fast
Bluewave is working in a frenzy lately. The XX has created Volkswagen Asia Pacific's new improved website, placing choice and control in the hands of the consumer and giving Volkswagen owners and potential buyers the freedom and flexibility to visualize their dream car. Bluewave also created the Tigerchild website, which enables users to navigate intuitively through information on health, education, parenting, childcare, leisure and products, as well as guidance and advice. Other recent Bluewave creations include an encryption offering for Cryptomathic, a cryptography and e-security firm, and a web site for Hellmann's. The URL? www.mayo.com.

Livening up the Airspace
Tired of long, boring flights? They're about to liven up a bit. MSNBC.com has hired Creative Airspace Limited. Creative Airspace as the preferred global distributor of MSNBC.com's digital "in-flight" information and entertainment environment. Creative Airspace specializes in providing movie and entertainment solutions to the passenger aviation industry. Under the terms of this agreement, Creative Airspace will provide passengers, while in flight, access to the most recent MSNBC.com content available.

Razorfish and HBO Launch Site for Band of Brothers
Razorfish, Inc. and the Home Box Office have launched phase I of its Band of Brothers Web site at www.HBO.com. Built around HBO's highly anticipated 10-part miniseries about a World War II Army unit, the site has been created as a companion to the program. The Band of Brothers site will include original webisodes, deep historical content and first-hand stories and memories of the war years. The webisodes will provide historical overviews of the war, starting with the Battle of Britain in 1941 and ending with the D-Day invasion at Normandy in 1944, where the Band of Brothers miniseries begins. The site is also creating a living memorial in honor of those who served where veterans, friends and families can send in their own stories and recollections about World War II. The debut is set for Sunday, September 9 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Motorola Pauses
Motorola has licensed Gotuit Media Corporation's Pause technology, which allows users to pause live television programs. Gotuit Media holds numerous patents on systems that allow users to time-shift, pause, and replay content captured from radio and TV programming. Motorola has permission to use the Pause patent in its forthcoming PVR-enabled DCT5000 set-top family, which is expected to become available in Q4 '01

Webby Awards Rolls out the Red Carpet
Turning up the star power, The 5th Annual Webby Awards today unveiled a diverse list of celebrities, technology luminaries and cutting-edge talents taking part in this year's awards. For the second straight year, Tony Award-winning actor Alan Cumming (Cabaret) will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the award show, which will take place on July 18th at San Francisco's spectacular War Memorial Opera House. Cumming, currently starring in the acclaimed film The Anniversary Party, will also be responsible for holding winners to the Webbys' trademark five-word speech limit. Susan Sarandon and platinum-selling musician Beck who will both serve as judges for this year's awards.

06/08
Alternet.org Leads Internet Insurgence
Buoyed by readers reacting to a conservative political climate, the pioneering alternative news magazine AlterNet.org http://www.alternet.org today launched a major expansion, including five provocative topic sites and its first major redesign since its 1998 debut. In the months since George W. Bush took office, AlterNet's traffic has increased 500 percent and subscriber sign- ups have doubled as Internet users seek out provocative content, alternative points of view, and unorthodox opinions. "Reports of the Internet's demise have been greatly exaggerated, Hazen explained. "People are networking, sharing information, and debating the issues on sites like ours." The redesign of Alternet.org includes the new Content Files topic sites, which will focus on five hot-button issues: the drug war; globalization; health and the environment; the new MediaCulture section, which will keep a close watch on media conglomerates; and Human Rights/USA.

CATA Finds Its Voice
The GlobeTech conference being hosted by the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) got a boost recently with the email broadcast of a verbal invitation. On opening the email, the recipient immediately hears the voice of CATA President John Reid, inviting them to the conference. The technology behind the voice-as-email system comes from Ottawa-based Impatica.com. Impatica.com messages require no plug-ins -- they automatically play any media format supported by Powerpoint. The Impatica technology compresses files by as much as 95 per cent, and delivers the streaming presentations over the Internet or through e-mail at low bandwidth. It supports narration, animation and navigation.

06/01
StarCite Lands $10 Million
Yes, venture-capital seekers, there is financing available. StarCite, Inc. proved that recently by snagging a third round of financing, raising over $10 million from strategic investors American Express; Breakaway Solutions; Internet Capital Group; Maritz Travel Company; McGettigan Partners; Mellon Bank; Networld; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.; Strattech Partners; and VerticalNet. The company, which launched in January 1999, supports the $300 billion global meetings and events industry through its proprietary web-based technologies and services. Custom versions of the company's Internet site, StarCite.com, enable corporations to implement more effective buying and vendor management on a company-wide and global basis.

Widening the Learning Curve
Haven't a clue about investing? Pretty soon you'll be able to change that by logging onto a new online financial learning center. Wide Learning, the global learning specialists, has formed a partnership with AllWomenInvest Network, LLC to develop www.allwomeninvest.com, which will provide e-learning solutions to women investors. The learning center is powered by Wide Learning¹s QuicksightŒ products, which are three- to five-minute bursts of learning. The library of Quicksights covers a range of financial topics for all levels of investors. Topics include dollar-cost averaging, fundamental analysis, mutual funds, earnings per share, P/E ratios, 401(k)s, bonds and risk management. The AllWomenInvest site provides women with pertinent financial information for investment purposes or to aid in the organization of investment clubs.

Former MTV Networks Executive Launches PR Firm
Former MTV Networks and Middleberg Euro RSCG executive Mark Pasetsky has launched Mark Allen & Company, a New York-based public relations firm specializing in CEO and executive communications. In addition to providing executive communications counsel, the firm serves as a strategic counselor to CEOs and corporate communications teams on a variety of internal and external communications issues. Pasetsky offers a strong track record in counseling CEOs and executives. From 1999-2001, Pasetsky served as the vice president of corporate communications for Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks' Internet business units MTVi and Nickelodeon Online. Before MTV Networks, Pasetsky was director for Middleberg Euro RSCG formerly (Middleberg + Associates), a leading New York-based public relations firm.

05/25
Craig Helps Teachers
School budgets keep going up, but teachers never seem to get enough materials for the classroom - until now. The well-known Craigslist of choice web sites has launched a teacher's wish-list program in partnership with Cole Hardware. The pilot program has already attracted $17,000 from 130 donors. Approximately 100 cities in 24 states are represented in the program, with about 300 schools and nonprofits registered. Here's how it works: teachers sign up, asking the community to buy selected items for their classroom. The donor gets a 10% discount on the purchase of those items, as well as a tax deduction. Talk about coming together to make a difference! Check it out if you haven't yet - http://wishlist.craigslist.org

05/18
Razorfish Team with Sonera
Jupiter Media Metrix Names the Top 50
Bluewaveware Launches
Quantum Invests in NewMarkets International

05/11
Share, Share, That's Fair
Quantum Invests in Cellmania

05/04
AOL Time Warner Launches iPublish.com
Opening the door to publication for talented but overlooked authors, AOL Time Warner launched iPublish.com at Time Warner Books digital publishing venture. The purpose behind the site is to discover new writing talent. So, aspiring writers can go online to submit their work directly for consideration for publication. Selected titles will be published as eBooks, and many will be available in print through print-on-demand technology. The most successful works may also be given the opportunity for national print runs. Writers can take online writing courses and view published eBooks.

Bloomberg.com Launches 'Earnings Center'
Don't have a clue when it comes to investing - especially in a market like the one we've got now? Now you can. Bloomberg.com has launched an 'Earnings Center' to help investors gain a better understanding of profit, loss and performance. The site features easy-to-use, one-stop resource for insight into earnings news, profit warnings and analyst ratings. Accessible through the Bloomberg.com home page, Markets page and individual company quote pages, the Earnings Center lets users search for scheduled earnings announcements and related data by company or by date through an interactive calendar.

Razorfish Redesigns ADIG Investment Web Site
A strong web site can do a lot for your company. Take ADIG Investment, one of Germany's largest asset management firms. Razorfish, Inc., recently helped ADIG re-launch www.adig.de. Razorfish developed revamped site in order to help ADIG further strengthen its market position within the digital financial sector. ADIG selected Razorfish to address the growing demands of the company's online visitors ranging from existing clients to new customers. Razorfish developed a new and intuitive navigation system to facilitate access and usage of ADIG's online service and information. One of the key highlights of the new user experience is "Fonds Finder," a service that allows the client to enter his or her personal investment goals in detail and automatically receive a selection of tailored information from ADIG's product portfolio.

e-bitda opens Toronto Office
e-bitda headed north last month by opening an office on Toronto on April 15. The move came amidst efforts by the company to expand into the North American venture banking market. Nicolas Perkin, President and CEO of e-bitda explained: "The work we've done to date with clients in Canada has made clear the enormous potential of the Canadian markets both in terms of capital and technology. As the first venture bank in that arena we will be able to offer our clients both in the US and Canada a tremendous advantage in terms of identifying potential candidates for strategic alliances and acquisitions on both a national and international scale."

Razorfish First Quarter Results Down
Even Razorfish appears to be feeling the effects of our slowing economy. The digital solutions provider reported this week its financialresults for the quarter ended March 31, 2001. Revenues for that period were $42.7 million, down from $50.1 million in the fourth quarter 2000. Pro forma net loss (before amortization of intangibles and non-recurring expenses) for the first quarter 2001 was ($6.6 million) or ($0.07) per share, which compares to pro forma net loss of ($19.8 million) or ($.20) per share in the fourth quarter 2000 and pro forma net income of $6.5 million or $0.07 per share for the first quarter 2000.

04/20
Quantum Invests in Cellmania
Cellmania (www.corp.cellmania.com) has nailed down a commitment for financing from Quantum Venture Partners. Cellmania offers the full spectrum of enterprise technologies that help mobilize business. With Cellmania's technologies, any company can build and promote personalized, location-oriented, mobile applications, and equip mobile professionals with targeted products, services and information. Cellmania's current customers include Fidelity, Motorola, Office Depot, Circuit City, American Wireless, Excite@Home, Mobile One and Airtel. Revenues for 2000 were $3.6M. Previous investments brought in a total of $18 million in two rounds.

Physicians Get Connected
Medical doctors can now stay connected 24/7, thanks to Praxi Press Inc., which has made its AvantGo handheld device available to physicians. Doctors can now receive clinically relevant, up-to-the-minute medical news, including enhanced practice-altering news with point-of-care recommendations from the Praxis Press News Bureau. Praxis Press, Inc., publishes Praxis.MD www.praxis.md, a unique online source for practical answers for primary care practitioners and patients. The site showcases three closely integrated products: Praxis Post, the Webzine of medicine and culture featuring a medical news digest; and Best Practice of MedicineT and Best Health GuideT, medical references for physicians and patients. Anyone registered for a free AvantGo account can access Praxis Post on his or her handheld device. Users can log onto www.praxispost.com/post/shared/avantgo.htm for more information and registration instructions.

Celebrate Mom
For everyone who thinks they have a cool mom, there's now a place to find Mother's Day gifts that express it. Muji, the Japanese retailer with the global cult following, has unveiled a range of new products that make perfect gifts for hip moms - just in time for Mother's Day. All products are available only at Mujionline.com http://www.mujionline.com, Muji's exclusive home in North America. Muji's emphasis on high quality but inexpensive raw materials, including remnants, scraps, and otherwise disposable materials, results in products that are streamlined, economical, and environmentally harmonious. Even the packaging stresses restraint, uniformity and a commitment to reducing waste. An exclusive new selection of home accessories and beauty products, some of which have never been available before online,

04/13
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

04/06
Eagle Email Aligns with Ifinder
E-mail newsletters may be getting better. Eagle Email, the rapidly growing e-mail marketing division of direct mail and e-marketing agency NetworkDirect, has teamed up with Ifinder, Inc., to provide dynamic, database-driven content for e-mail newsletters. NetworkDirect is integrating traditional direct-mail expertise with a full range of e-mail marketing services, including Eagle Response, a customer relationship management (CRM) product from Eagle Email. Eagle Response enables businesses to efficiently answer inquiries received over the Internet. The system is offered through an application service provider (ASP) model.

Get the Inside Scoop
Get inside the WB. Launched by Gizmoz, Inc., and The WB Television Network, the site features exclusive, behind-the-scenes news and information updated daily. The WB Insider Gizmo also features the Everyday Giveaway, a daily sweepstakes with a wide variety of must-have prizes, including electronics, fashion and accessory items, CDs, home videos, and exclusive items autographed by The WB's stars. If you collect The WB Insider Gizmo you'll receive notification of every update directly via the unique Gizmoz Collector desktop application. Users can then send the Gizmo to their friends and copy it to personal Web sites or chat rooms that they frequent. And you'll get exclusive daily news and sweepstakes.

Tolerance Online
Razorfish, Inc. and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) have launched www.tolerance.org. SPLC, a non-profit organization that combats hate, intolerance and discrimination through education and litigation, will collaborate with Razorfish to deliver a web presence that utilizes digital technology to bring issues of hate and tolerance in America to parents, teachers, children and communities. In addition to developing the site, Razorfish implemented and created the content management system that includes innovative features such as current events, activities for all ages and knowledge sharing resources. Sponsors include Cisco, Yahoo!, MTV and HBO.

Off to the Ball
The technology community in Atlanta will come together on Saturday, April 28th, to raise money for TechBridge (www.techbridge.com), an organization that helps non-profits utilize technology. Scott Geller, executive director of TechBridge; Internet Security Systems' Chris Klaus; and Silicon Valley Bank's Tom Vertin created the Digital Ball after realizing how much new technology helped their own businesses. Community Network is a recent TechBridge project. It speeds up the process of finding shelter for the homeless through a backoffice system that tracks shelter availability and through a community-wide intranet used by social service agencies.

BeyondWork Moves On
BeyondWork is offering free location assistance to its 4,000 member businesses and nearly 4 million users, including employees and their immediate families. A provider of Outsourced, Internet-delivered work/life benefits and employee retention programs, BeyondWork will team with MovingStation, (www.movingstation.com), a full-service relocation coordination company. MovingStation combines personal service with on-line tools and resources to simplify every aspect of moving, including the sale and purchase of homes, acquiring mortgages and the transportation of household property.

ScreamingMedia and iPlanet Team Up
ScreamingMedia, Inc., is going to bring us even more content. Through a strategic Relationship with iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions, ScreamingMedia will offer portal users a content syndication and portal solution. This collaboration will provide enterprises and service providers with fresh and relevant ScreamingMedia content -- news, photos, weather, stock quotes and more - streamed seamlessly into the iPlanet Portal Server platform, giving customers a cost-effective solution and competitive edge in the market.

MasterCard selects btldesign
Let MasterCard take you out to the ballgame. The credit provider has selected btldesign, a branding and interactive agency, to develop the strategy and creative direction for the company's Major League Baseball Grand Slam Ticket Pack promotional program. As part of its partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the MLB.com website, MasterCard will offer fans a series of Grand Slam Ticket Packs to see MLB games during the 2001 season. Each pack will contain four tickets plus a concession coupon. Btldesign will develop a special Grand Slam Ticket Pack promotion page on the MLB.com site.

Nurun Creates Evian.com 'L'Originals'
Evian.com is looking for a few good men and women. "L'originals," the company's talent campaign, has selected singer/ songwriter Lisa Shaw and accessories designer Rafe to showcase their talents after the second round of talent searches. E-services agency Nurun Inc., created the campaign to recognize up-and-coming talents in entertainment and style. nurun created Evian.com and L'originals to integrate the Evian brand within the lives and interests of Gen Y consumers, the beverage company's target market.

I-Traffic Travels Overseas
I-traffic.com, Agency.com's interactive marketing division, has opened an office in London. The i-traffic European launch represents a re-branding of Agency.com's existing Digital Marketing Group (DMG), which employs 30 interactive marketing and advertising professionals. The group has been building interactive marketing solutions for British Airways, Reuters, Heineken and other well-known clients for two years. I-traffic, founded in New York in 1995, was acquired by Agency.com in October 1999.

Proxicom Redesigns HBO.com
HBO.com is getting a new look. Proxicom, Inc., an e-business consulting and development company, has completed an initial creative redesign for Home Box Office's (HBO) official entertainment web site which highlights the network's original programming. Following an eight-week work phase, Proxicom has delivered a creative redesign of HBO.com's programming schedule section, one of the site's most important sources of information for HBO subscribers. The redesign is supposed to simplify access to information and provide users with a quick and easy tool to create customized schedules and highlight favorites from HBO's on-air programming.

Razorfish and ZDF Rebrand
Razorfish, Inc., the global digital solutions provider, is teaming up with ZDF, Germany's leading public broadcast network, to develop the company's first-ever cross platform re-branding campaign. Launch is scheduled for June 2001. Razorfish's creative team, led by Executive Producer and Client Partner Maribeth Phillips, Executive Creative Director Bob English and Senior Strategist Karl Cluck, have been working with the creative team at ZDF to design a new corporate identity for the network. They've also been developing a unique brand presence for the network's various platforms and delivery systems, including on-air, off-air and online.

03/30
Luxcore Partners Expand Service Offerings
Luxcore, Ltd., is expanding its marketing communications capabilities by partnering with a few three world-class, best-of-breed firms. BGA New Media's advanced digital production technology will help Luxcore publicize its client base. E-rainmaker, a leading Midwest media relations firm, will expand Luxcore's geographic reach, while i-Latina will give Luxcore an edge in marketing to Hispanics. Together these three firms will make up Luxcore Alliance Partners.

CXOs May Be Key
New economy survivors (and survivor wannabe's) are returning to business fundamentals as they weather the tech declineThe call to "focus on the customer" has been a management theme for over a decade. Chicago-based HannaHodge has come up with another tactic: unify a diverse team of anthropologists, social scientists, designers, business strategists and technologists around a common goal: go out into the world of customers, observe them first-hand, then create ways for HannaHodge clients to make customers very, very happy. So, HannaHodge created the position of Chief Experience Officer and hired Marc Rettig to fill the role over a year ago. In Chicago, Sapient, Scient, and the American Institute of Graphic Arts also have officer-level Chief Experience leaders. Other companies are considering the position, recognizing that titles like "VP of Customer Experience" move the position too far from the executive heart of the business.

Quantum Invests in FirstRain
You know what they say about pouring rain. Well, FirstRain has secured funding from Quantum Ventures. The company was founded by software industry veterans and eminent faculty and research scientists at Princeton and Yale Universities. It is headquartered in New York City, with development centers in New York and New Delhi, India. The Company develops, markets and supports a software platform that helps enterprises and carriers deliver mobile-enabled content, mission-critical applications and innovative services to their employees, customers, vendors and partners. FirstRain is targeting Enterprises (JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft), and is running betas at Lehman Brothers, Sun Microsystems, KPMG and Princeton University. Quantum is providing bandwidth, industry expertise and capital.

Honoring the Women of Beauty
There's nothing like a little color to brighten your beauty. You could say that women everywhere owe a bit of gratitude to the winners of the 2001 Cosmetic Executive Women Beauty Awards. Estee Lauder's Idealist Skin Refinisher took away the prize for Best New Facial Skincare product, while Lancôme-Photôgenic Skin-Illuminating Makeup SPF 15 was named Best New Makeup Product. The Best New Women's Scent was Michael Kors Fragrances' Michael - A Modern Perfume, and the Best New Men's Scent was Intercosmetics-Gucci Rush for Men. The Best New Hair Product is the Bumble and Bumble-Bumble South Surf Spray, while the Best New Bath or Body Treatment Product went to Clinique-Stop Signs Hand Repair Want to protect your skin this summer? Get the Best New Sun Product, Estée Lauder-Go Bronze Tinted Self-Tanner for Body. The Best New Home/Environment Scent is Kiehl's Since 1851-Deluxe Scented Candle. Other winners include Olay-Olay Daily Facials, L'Oreal Feather Lash Softly Sweeing Mascara, and Coty Beauty US-Healing Garden ZZZ Therapy Serene Dreams Pillow and Room Spray. (Say that 10 times fast!)

Gizmoz Launches Solution Provider Program
Gizmoz, Inc., developer of a leading rich-media messaging platform, has launched the Gizmoz Solution Provider Program. This program will allow interactive agencies, systems integrators and other third parties to resell Gizmoz's "Smart Envelope" technology. The Gizmoz Solution Provider Program enables partners to develop creative, marketing and technical competencies around the Gizmoz offering, as well as generate additional billable services. Other benefits include volume-based discounts off of Gizmoz's standard rate card and the ability to use the Gizmoz Maker, the company's proprietary Java-based authoring tool. Members of the Gizmoz Solution Provider Program will receive sales and marketing training and support, as well as training in how to use the Gizmoz Maker. The three-tiered Program allows agencies to participate at different levels.

Agency.com Links Boyds to Customers
Looking for a unique gift? You may find it at The Boyds Collection's new B2B e-commerce site. The domestic designer, importer and distributor of branded collectibles and other specialty giftware launched the site with help from Agency.com. The e-business builder helped Boyds build an end-to-end e-commerce solution focusing on the creation of a customer-oriented experience, while maximizing Boyds' existing legacy sales and inventory systems. The site provides a personalized sales and customer service experience for each retailer - from a custom catalog to detailed invoice histories and package tracking.

Silicon Alleyites Tell Their Stories
Want to hear a few good stories? Then get yourself down to the Clearview Cinema (59th Street between 2nd and 3rd) on April 6 to view Silicon Alley Stories, formerly StartupNYC.com' during the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. There is an after-party the night of the screening, which is free with your ticket stub. Emmy Award-winning Thurston Smith wrote and directed the film, which depicts life in Silicon Alley since the market shakeout. The documentary follows two Alley companies whose stories are representative of the fortunes and misfortunes of many others. One company, TheSquare.com, secured its financing days before the market crash, while the other, Incogniti, missed the financing window, as investors started shying away from nascent dot coms. The film also features commentary and interviews with prominent Alley figures such as Courtney Pulitzer and J.J. Rosen, the Co-Founder of N2K (CDNow/MusicBoulevard.com). Explore the documentary's web site at www.siliconalleystories.com, and reserve your tickets to the screening by calling 212-777-7100.

03/23
Premedia Teams up with ScreamingMedia
Publishers can now transform print content into electronic content, thanks to a partnership between the Premedia Technologies unit of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, and ScreamingMedia Inc., a leading global provider of content solutions. The partnership will also enable publishers to distribute content through private or general Syndication channels, according to subscribers' specific needs. Using Premedia Technologies Services, publishers can convert content from application files such as Quark into formats like XML or HTML. Publishers can then utilize ScreamingMedia's Syndication!Connect services and its technology platform to parse, normalize, categorize and integrate it directly into the platforms of their subscribers. Or they can syndicate their content through ScreamingMedia's vast global digital content network.

Screaming Along
ScreamingMedia is roaring along with a slew of partnership deals. The global provider of content and content processing and integration technology recently teamed up with Lucent Technologies, a global leader in mobile Internet, today announced an alliance that brings ScreamingMedia into Lucent's Mobile Internet Cooperative InnovationsSM program. ScreamingMedia will integrate its cutting-edge technology and content services with Lucent's MiLife(tm) Media Platform, a new product that enables mobile operators to quickly launch revenue-generating media applications and services. ScreamingMedia will provide technology that enables the development of fully customized content. This technology will allow mobile operators to offer customers highly personalized media services and applications on current and third-generation (3G) wireless networks.

03/16
Gotuit and Motorola Team Up
Gotuit Media Corporation has caught the eye - and the financial support - of Motorola's Broadband Communications Sector. The two companies have signed a deal under which Motorola will integrate Gotuit's personalized video product, Gotuit TV, into the Motorola DCT 5000 advanced digital set-top terminal. Gotuit makes systems that allow users to capture and customize radio and TV content. The agreement also includes something that's getting pretty hard to come by these days: money. Motorola has made a strategic equity investment in Gotuit. In addition, Gotuit Media has joined Motorola Broadband's Horizon Developers Program, which provides technical, marketing and sales support to help third-party developers create new services and applications.

Disinformation: You Are Being Lied To
Wouldn't you like to give the media a lie-detector test? The Disinformation Company (http://www.disinfo.com) is giving us the next best thing: its first guide book, entitled, You Are Being Lied To: The Disinformation Guide to Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes and Cultural Myths. It includes articles by over 60 well-known authors, including Noam Chomsky, Howard Bloom, Riane Eisler, Douglas Rushkoff, Howard Zinn, R.U. Sirius, and Pulitzer-Prize-winning reporter Sydney Schanberg. Each essay taps into the deep distrust and discontent in the US, and proves this distrust is well founded. Wild speculation is not found in this title, only hard facts. You Are Being Lied To will hit retail bookshelves the first week of April and the 400 page collection will sell for a mere $19.95. It is also available for download in e-book form at The Disinformation Store.

Razorfish and Telenor Media Create Info Service
Razorfish Inc., and Telenor Media, have teamed up to launch www.inoa.fi, a real-time business information service targeted at commercial users. In addition to providing the user with contact information, the inoa.fi site supplies credit information, financial statements and pertinent news about relevant companies operating in Finland. Telenor Media will initially test the services in the Finland laboratory for the new real-time business information service offering. In the future, the service will be available on mobile devices. Telenor is currently exploring other distribution channels as well as developing systems to utilize the service in other countries.

The "Digital French Touch"
@rt Outsiders represents a new artistic trend, a different state of mind and point of view. It deals with virtual expression and how it becomes as important as the real thing. And now it's going to introduce French digital artists to the world. After the publication of the Web Trends statistics at the beginning of January 2001, which recorded that art-outsiders.com had received one million "hits," Henry Chapier and Jean-Luc Soret, both creators of the site and organizers of the @rt Outsiders International Festival (2nd edition due to begin on September 12th 2001 ) have decided to introduce French digital artists to the United States and the rest of the world. This large-scale operation, called "the Digital French Touch" gathers together unusual artists from the digital planet, the virtual universe, the world of photography, cinema, theatre and dance, as well as all components of modern art, and will take place in 2 periods in Los Angeles

Eyada.com Hits Times Square
Settling in to enjoy a long stay at the top of Arbitron's rating charts as the number-one talk radio network online, eYada.com has officially opened the doors to its new state-of-the-art streaming media studios in the heart of Times Square. Launched in summer of 1999, eYada.com showcases more than 140 hours live, original talk programming each week and boasts a dynamic lineup of entertainment, gossip, sports & fitness, sex and comedy shows. The new 17,500 square feet space, which puts eYada's corporate offices and studio under the same roof, will enable the network to broadcast up to six live programs simultaneously. The fully networked facility boasts state-of-the-art digital 24-track studios, a master control room which houses the centralized production environment and Internet connectivity, multi-media audio/video production and streaming capability, an advanced call-routing system and a green area for special guests.

02/23
Italian Company Purchases NetCreations
NetCreations has been adopted. The Opt-in e-mail marketing company has been acquired by an affiliate of SEAT Pagine Gialle SpA (Milan: SPG), Italy's leading new economy company and largest Internet Service Provider. The transaction, accomplished through a merger with Sogerim, S.A., an affiliate of SEAT Pagine Gialle, was approved today at a special meeting of NetCreations' shareholders. The merger, coupled with SEAT's recent acquisition of a minority stake in France's Consodata B2B marketing information company, creates a transatlantic database and information-marketing powerhouse. The combined companies can now offer a broad range of online and offline marketing information services on both sides of the Atlantic.

Agency.com Reports Encouraging Results
The industry may be faltering, but Agency.com managed to increase its fourth quarter revenues 75 percent over the same period last year. Revenues for the period this year were $56 million, while gross margin was 51.5 percent, up from 45.9 percent in the same quarter last year. Cash net income for the fourth quarter was $2.7 million, or $0.06 per share, versus $3.1 million, or $0.07 per share, in the third quarter of 2000, on a fully taxed basis. For the twelve months ending December 31, 2000, Agency.com recorded revenue of $202.1 million, compared to revenues of $109.2 million for 1999, an increase of 85 percent.

MSNBC.com and RedHerring.com Join Forces
MSNBC.com and RedHerring.com have entered into a content distribution agreement. MSNBC.com will increase the scope of its technology coverage by incorporating daily RedHerring.com content into the technology business area of MSNBC.com's business section. RedHerring.com will be MSNBc.com's premier provider of news and analysis for the technology news category. But it isn't the only content provider on MSNBC.com. Current content providers include The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Newsweek, The Motley Fool, Inside.com, Inc.com and ZDNet.

Data Security Isn't a Game -- Or Is It?
Want to find out if you've got what it takes to ward off attacks on your computer system? Play Verado, the IT Security Game. It'll bring you through a scenario so chilling that you'll go running to the nearest IT security vendor to shore up your defenses. Imagine it: Everything's going fine until your network gets cracked with a spam attack. The assailant is only a kid, but he has the computing power to clog your data pipes, putting your network in severe jeopardy. Fortunately, this scenario is not real -- not this time, anyway. Check it out at http://www.verado.com/forms/get_verado_game_1.shtml. You - and our network - will be glad you did.

Ads Won't Click on Post-PC Platforms
Bracing for the advertising onslaught on wireless devices, interactive television and Internet kiosks? Relax. Jupiter Media Metrix predicts that small and fragmented wireless and interactive television audiences in the U.S. will limit advertising opportunities on post-PC platforms. So, they will become secondary, rather than primary, digital marketing vehicles. According to a new Jupiter Research report, the post-PC audience will reach critical mass by 2005. However, the PC will continue to dominate with a 74 percent Internet household penetration and 68 percent Internet individual penetration. Jupiter analysts expect advertisers will be slow to allocate dollars for campaigns on post- PC platforms as they struggle to gain and control the key benefits of advertising on these devices.

ASPs Go Vertical
Industry specific Application Service Providers (ASPs) are poised to dominate the $3 trillion global service provider industry over the next five years. These vertical ASPs are quickly gaining ground on established horizontal applications with their in-depth understanding and insight of a given industry for both the customer and the enterprise. Experts predict that ASPs will start providing the same benefits and commoditized applications as horizontal competitors. They specialize in enterprise-level applications and services only. That's why CMP Media is predicting a major shake out in the ASP industry. Those that go vertical will have a much better chance of surviving. An exhibition of these blossoming ASP market players will be featured at CMP Media's CT Expo 2001 at the Los Angeles Convention Center March 6-8.

02/16
SJI Relaunches Bridal Web Site
Businesses Need Help with Lost Carts
Get Ready to Pay
Yack Tires Licensing/Syndication
Passlogix Gets Secure
Ubi Soft Acquires Blue Byte
ClicVU Launches Anonymous Email Service, Spamex
Net Technologies and Voquette Partner
iSyndicate to Acquire Kurion

02/09
A World of Media Visits the Classroom
SPIREknowledge, Inc. Settles in San Francisco.
Consumer Solutions Site Launched by Bestfoods
Uproar Lands on the Flipside
Staying Informed En Route
ORB to Provide Online Ad Tracking for Budget Rent a Car
Banish Spam
What a Scream!
Razorfish Meets Revised Expectations
Aesiq Announces Enhanced Service Offering
UBI Soft ACquires Blue Byte

02/02
Profits and Growth Continue
Take NYU Courses Online
Controversial Documentary Film Debuts at Film Festival
iVillage Hits the Airwaves
New GMV Network Web Site Enables Online Purchases

01/26
Womensforum.com Falls in Love
The Uproar Network Soars
Designerlines.com Partners with Global Interactive Direct
No Credit Info Stolen from Egghead.com
Agency.com Working for DirectTV, Inc.
Soliloquy, Inc. Gets Funded

01/19
Out of the Icebox and Onto the Desktop
Desktops may be getting colder. Gizmoz, Inc., developer of a leading Internet-based, rich media messaging platform, and Icebox.com, one of the Web's most popular entertainment content sites, have announced a distribution deal to make Icebox.com's content available right on users' desktops. The initial deal includes five Icebox Gizmoz, the first of which is called "Out of the Icebox." The Out of the Icebox Gizmo will feature coming attractions and sneak peeks at Icebox programming, including not-yet-released episodes of "Zombie College" and "Poker Night," two of the site's most popular series. Gizmoz's unique viral functionality will allow users to collect the Gizmo to their desktops, send it to friends, and copy it to sites that they maintain themselves. Each week, the Out of the Icebox Gizmo will be updated with fresh content, which users will automatically receive, delivered right to their desktop.

GMV Lands on Opposite Coasts
GMV Network, a leading developer of standards-based streaming media software and technologies, has opened new offices in Annapolis, Md., and San Diego, Calif. The Annapolis office will be the base for GMV Network’s business development activities. Led by Brad Pumphrey, recently hired vice president of business development, the Annapolis office will target the growing number of high-tech companies in the area and leverage the area’s talent pool as the company grows. The San Diego office will act as the base for GMV Network’s worldwide marketing and branding activities and will be led by Stephen Condon, recently hired vice president of marketing. The office will also reinforce GMV Network’s presence in the entertainment and technology industries, especially wireless, and serve as a base for representation in the high-growth Asian markets.

Bloomberg Expands Tech Center
Beefing up one of its most heavily trafficked features, Bloomberg.com has unveiled an expanded Tech Center whose pages will focus on specific types of tech stocks as well as the tech stock universe in general. Making it even easier for investors to get what they need quickly, Bloomberg.com will now offer data and information on five specific categories of tech stocks. The new Tech Center pages give Bloomberg.com more advantages over other financial-news sites, Wachtel said. Visitors can jump directly to the main tech stocks page. Features of the expanded Tech Center can be accessed by buttons at the top of the main "Tech Stocks" page. Each new tech sector page contains information from a proprietary Bloomberg tech sector index, along with a graph of the index's performance and a list of the best and worst performing stocks in that index throughout the day.

Two-Day Tech Expo
Infinity Broadcasting/New York and Opus360 will team up to produce the Opus360 Byte of the Big Apple, a two-day interactive high tech Expo at Madison Square Garden’s Expo Center on January 20 and 21. The Expo will showcase Internet based companies that are on the cutting edge of groundbreaking technology, of which, will effect New Yorkers in their business, as well as, personal lives. Attendees of the Opus360 Byte of the Big Apple will have the opportunity to get a hands on introduction to over 50 current and future Internet based services. Additionally, there will be seminars and discussions by some of the top New Media leaders of the 21st century. Infinity Broadcasting/New York is producing and promoting this Expo as an innovative way for their radio station’s clients and listeners to gain exposure to the new E-business economy. Infinity Broadcasting/New York owns and operates over 150 radio stations across the country. Locally they reach a combined audience of over 6 million New Yorkers a week and 4 million Internet users. Local Infinity Broadcasting stations includes WINS, WFAN, WXRK, WNEW, WCBS-AM, and WCBS-FM.

Big Apple Showcases Technology
Microsoft is the presenting sponsor of the Opus360 Byte of the Big Apple. Microsoft’s vision is to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device. As the worldwide leader in software of personal and business computing, Microsoft strives to produce innovative products, and services that meet their customers evolving needs. They will showcase their many products as well as highlight the many job opportunities they have available here in the New York area. In addition to OPUS360 and Microsoft, Audiovox, IBM, Pitney Works.com, Apple Computers, and UPS are just some of the companies participating in this high tech Expo. The Byte will also feature seminars on informative topics such as “ Music on the Internet,” “Wireless…What’s in Store for Us Now”, “Sports and Games”,” E.Business 101” and “Internet Safety Issues”. Top radio personalities from WINS, WXRK, WCBS-FM, WFAN, WCBS-AM, and WNEW-FM will moderate the seminars throughout the weekend. Opus360 Byte of the Big Apple will be held on January 20th and 21st at the Madison Square Garden Expo Center.

Essential Benefits Go Online
Benefits Essentials, the comprehensive online employee benefits resource from vSimplify, is now available to organizations of all sizes. Benefits Essentials is an online reference and research tool comprising employee benefits, employment law, and personal financial planning information. Originally available only to company HR and benefits managers as a component of vSimplify’s Hosted Intranet service, Benefits Essentials is now available to the general public at http://www.BenefitsEssentials.com. The free library at http://www.BenefitsEssentials.com provides voluminous employee benefits, labor & employment, and personal financial planning information. For HR managers, attorneys, accountants and others who require more detailed information, a more robust online library is available via annual subscription. Benefits Essentials can also be licensed for syndication on a company Intranet or public Portal site.

Garden.com Flowers Again
Just weeks after Garden.com closed up shop, W. Atlee Burpee has decided to continue serving Garden.com customers. Burpee, one of America's oldest and most trusted names in gardening, plans to keep online gardening alive and well! To visit the Burpee website please click on http://www.burpee.com. To help celebrate this momentous event, Burpee is giving customers $10 off their first order, plus exciting and exclusive free gifts. The original staff at Garden.com, though sorry to miss another spring online, is thrilled that one of the founders of American home gardening, and a trendsetter for 125 years, is taking over the helm and partnering with you to help make your 2001 garden the best ever. Garden.com will transfer to Burpee the customer information used by Garden.com to communicate with its members/customers and to enhance their website and buying experience. This information includes customer and/or member names, e-mail addresses, addresses, and order history. Garden.com will not, however, transfer any personal financial information.

MSNBC and Motley Fool Team Up
MSNBC.com and The Motley Fool have joined forces in a content distribution agreement. The agreement allows MSNBC.com to increase the scope of its financial news reporting by incorporating daily Fool features into its business section. The Motley Fool joins The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Inside.com, and ZDnet as specialty news suppliers for MSNBC.com. The Motley Fool will provide MSNBC.com with original reports targeted to individual investors wanting to learn more about in-depth market trends and specific companies

01/12
Black Expands into Latin
America Launching an aggressive expansion into the world's fastest-growing media market, media design guru Roger Black is creating a new company focused on content design and strategy for Latin America. The company, Danilo Black, Inc., will leverage Black's 10-year partnership in Mexico with the well-known designer Eduardo Danilo. Danilo Black, Inc. will provide content, design and technology strategy for converged media companies on the Internet, broadcast and print. The focus will be on the Latin American market. Black will move to the new venture from Circle.com, the renowned end-to-end web solutions provider where he has been chief creative officer.

StarCite Meets Online
StarCite, Inc., innovators of the Internet's global business-to-business E-Commerce meetings and events marketplace, has formed a strategic alliance with Cardinal Communications (Berkeley, CA). StarCite will enhance their web site, www.StarCite.com, through integration of Cardinal Communications' RegWeb product, an on-line registration and attendee management system. Integration and rollout of RegWeb is scheduled to continue throughout the first quarter of 2001. StarCite will also implement RegWeb to complement StarCite.com's corporate solutions platform by allowing corporate meeting and event planners online registration and attendee management for their staff, attendees and suppliers.

The New V-Day
Most philanthropic organizations have an office of building. V-Day has a web site. And it's now better than ever. V-Day and Plumb Design recently redesigned and launched www.vday.org, dedicated to the eradication of violence against women and girls. V-Day, the movement sparked by Eve Ensler’s Obie-award-winning play, “The Vagina Monologues,” partnered with Plumb Design, an interactive services and software firm, to re-brand and reinvigorate its site. They made it a true virtual headquarters for the worldwide V-Day movement. The launch is timed to herald V-Day 2001, which comprises two major events occurring at Madison Square Garden on February 10th 2001: the V-Day Gathering to End Violence (daytime workshops) and the V-Day Event (evening rallies and performances by leaders in entertainment such as Glenn Close, Oprah Winfrey, Calista Flockhart and Winona Ryder). The web site provides a place to "meet," exchange stories and develop strategies for overcoming violence against women.

Is Image Everything?
Let’s face it: Sometimes image IS everything. Venture Vortex partners with Mike Hoffman Design, Inc. to offer unique and creative ideas, angles, suggestions and notions to start ups, SME’s and VentureBuilders! Mike Hoffman Design, Inc. is a graphic design studio with 15 years of experience in corporate and public imaging. The people with Mike Hoffman Design pride themselves in offering a diverse array of services that extend far beyond design. The studio is fully equipped to handle all levels of print production, new media and fulfillment options. With an army of vendors and printers at the ready, there is literally no request too intimidating for them to tackle. Based in Boston, they have worked for companies, large and small, in markets across the nation, including; New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington D.C. Check them out!

The ‘Oneline’ Brand Experience
David Polinchock is one of the true pioneers. In 1991, he used virtual reality to create Experiential Advertising programs for clients. In 1994 he created a promotional experience for the American Hotel & Motel Association that showed guests checking into the hotel of the future via their wireless PDA, without having to go to the front desk at all -- two years before Palm introduced their first product. Together with partner Mark Romeo he has created Location Based Branding, Inc. Romeo has had a prolific career of his own. He served as Director of Strategic Planning for Nabisco, coordinated the Beach Boys' 1994 tour and They've got  to continue their ahead-of-the-curve work to bridge the online, and helped found and expand the strategic services department of Agency.com. Romeo and Polinchock plan to continue bridging the online and offline worlds by creating ‘Oneline’ Creative Strategies for Brand Experiences. Good luck, guys!

MLX.com and New York Observer Team Up
The New York Observer, the Manhattan weekly known for its sharp and witty coverage of the city’s power elite, announced today that it has paired up with MLX.com, New York City's online residential real estate marketplace, to power its online real estate section and provide additional real estate listings and content for Observer.com. The co-branded residential real estate site will be linked to The New York Observer home page. Through the co-branded real estate site, users can search all New York Observer print classifieds as well as create and update an online profile and do customized searches of over 4,500 apartments through MLX.com’s database.  Consumers also receive instant email notifications whenever a new apartment enters the market that meets their profile.

Get Your Vertical Market
The weekly email newsletter, Web Digest For Marketers (WDFM) now publishes vertical issues every other week, targeted at specific industries and job functions, called "Focus Issues." Upcoming Focus Issues will drill deeply into such disciplines as Media Buying, Internet Marketing Stats, Search Engine Optimization, Building Site Traffic, Email Marketing, Competitive Recon, as well as a issue exclusively devoted to Internet Marketing Consultants. Each week WDFM features 12 mercifully short site reviews of marketing-oriented websites. Reviews run less than 120 words. Each issue is sent free to the 34,000 subscribers of WDFM. Visitors to http://wdfm.com can read the latest issue, search the archives, and subscribe to the free email edition. Also available at the site are useful CPM (cost per thousand) calculators which help media buyers compare the value of one ad buy over another.

01/05
LawyerAccess.com Launches
LawyerAccess.com, an online legal services marketplace, launched recently in Rochester, New York. The launch was featured on all four network affiliates – ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC – and in the daily Gannett newspaper. In the first 10 days of operation, with more than 100 cases posted to the site, and with more than 20% of the attorneys in Rochester having signed up for the service, the company's results have far exceeded management's expectations. Management plans to expand the service to other cities, contingent on future rounds of investments. Until that time, the company will continue to define its presence in the Rochester market by capitalizing on local strategic relationships – such as the one established with the Rochester Chamber of Commerce – and by maximizing its position as the only online legal services marketplace to have formal approval from the American Bar Association.

NYU Awards Scholarship
Alexis Bonnell is one fortunate marketer. She has been named the first recipient of New York University's Richard V. Benson Memorial Scholarship, named for the noted entrepreneur, consultant and author. NYU's Master of Science in Direct Marketing Communications, the first such program in the United States, endowed the scholarship program to honor one of the world's great practitioners of direct marketing strategy, Richard V. Benson. Bonnell is currently the director of marketing for the Association for Interactive Media (AIM) in New York. She will use the scholarship to earn her master's degree in direct marketing.

Cone Signs on Be Free, Inc.
Cone Inc.'s Interactive practice has added one of Boston's leading Internet companies, Be Free, Inc., to its client roster. Be Free is a leading provider of a marketing platform that allows businesses to acquire, convert and retain customers easily and cost-effectively online. Be Free works with a diverse customer-base, including some of the Internet's premier merchants, online services and portals such as Barnes&Noble.com, IBM, Motorola, AOL & Yahoo!.

Singling Out Women
SeekingCapital, a uniquely interactive, global entrepreneur and investor funding community, has launched the SeekingCapital website, www.seekingcapital.com. The online and offline community, which provides pre-screened investment opportunities to qualified investors globally and provides entrepreneurs, has a section just for women. That section gives women entrepreneurs much needed exposure to investors -- exposure that typically goes to men. The entire section has been dedicated to addressing the needs and challenges facing women business owners in their search for capital.

TV-like Advertising Comes to the Internet
Foote, Cone & Belding Chicago, part of the largest ad agency in the U.S., has announced a strategic alliance with AdNetware, a next-generation Internet advertising solutions company. AdNetware's breakthrough technology lets advertisers and content providers communicate with users anytime they are on-line, anywhere they surf. The technology targets advertising and sends out relevant interstitial ads during the gap time between web page downloads. FCB will use these capabilities to provide precise targeting, increase ad 'stickiness' and build one-on-one relationships between advertisers and consumers.