This week started off with a transcontinental flight to San Francisco for
a kickoff party to BusinessWeek's Digital Economy conference. The event
was held on Monday night, December 4, at Le Colonial, the lush, elegant
and exotic upstairs veranda and dining area. Some of San Francisco's
bizerati showed up for hearty hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. Guests were
entertained by the resounding sounds of the fabulous Kitty Margolis,
whose sparkling rhinestones paled in comparison to her Broadway belt-er
voice. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences' Webby
Awards Director Maya Draisin and Academy Coordinator David-Michel Davies
stopped by after a whirlwind trip to Stockholm and Paris. Blueprint
Ventures' John Balbach and Fritz Designs' Amy Fritz (who also worked on
the Webby Awards webcast) popped in for some power networking. Craig's
List's Craig Newmark and Phil Knowlton chatted with me for a bit with
TechNation's reporter Moira Gunn and executive producer Jacques Verdier.
Blue Martini Software's Chris Cook and I met, and Technanogy's EVP Scott
Mize told me about his company's new developments. Scale Eight's Pamela
Heisey and Dave Donohue were enjoying the night's entertainment, as were
Nightly Business Report's James Roldan and AlwaysI's Rick Hack and Mat
Baker. BusinessWeek Marketing and Promotion Manager Amy Morse did a fine
job coordinating the event and introducing me to event producers David
Wilson and Dan Ripley of Wilson West. She also made sure I got to meet
some BusinessWeek honchos like President and Publisher William Kupper, Jr
and VP Strategic and Executive Programs Jim Richardson. With this as the
kick-off event for their Digital Economy conference, scheduled for the
next two days at the elegant Fairmont Hotel atop Nob Hill, BusinessWeek
looked like it's on top of the cyber conference game too!
A chronicle of the people and events in technology, internet and media since 1997, mixed in with snapshots of musings and observations.
