Friday, May 28, 2004

Courtney Pulitzer's Cyber Scene ~ 5/28/04


            A new trend in marketing is what I would call All-Encompassing Marketing.  It surrounds you and transports you all while promoting a brand. Let’s take a look at, for example, Target. A few years ago they teamed up with sister-store Marshall Fields and took over a lovely home for sale in Tribeca. Furnishing it from top to toe, they showcased how one could do so too with ease and all from their stores. Then there was the Ebay apartment, on Sutton Place no less, where each designer transformed a room with everything bought on Ebay and within a budget I’m sure they weren’t used to. Target is at it again with it’s Bullseye Inn in Bridgehampton, Long Island. And you can’t get more trendy than the Hamptons can you?

            The lovely, friendly and very knowledgeable ladies from Kaplow Communications escorted journalists from Manhattan via charter buses. During our leisure-trip we watched an Indie show and enjoyed snacks, water and games from our goody bags. As we approached the historical home, circa 1811, and former antique store, the Bullseye Inn was the quintessential picture of Quaint, complete with flashing red spotlights and white Target logos projected on its exterior.

            Walking up the driveway we could check out one of the two new Mercedes-Benz “smart cars” (also covered in Target logos). When these hit the Target stores in 2006, they’ll be scootin’ off the assembly line for sure!  Next to the cars was the famous Target dog, also with the trademarked red logo around his eye, welcoming guests.

            After checking-in we were escorted to the front porch, which led out to the tent-covered front lawn where guests dined at a raw bar, a gourmet “soup-shot” station and ice-cream cart. Delicious-looking male waiters whisked white platters of delectable savories--mini burgers, oyster ‘po-boys’ and “a log of ants” (raisins in peanut butter on celery!)--to tempt you too.

            The lawns were sprinkled with beds, tables and chairs decorated with panache that created perfectly pleasing places to plop down.

            Kaplow PR senior vice president Tina Haskins, in a lovely aqua trench coat with blue-hued dress and shell earrings that echoed the night’s theme, gave several of us a tour. All the rooms were created by design partners Cynthia Rowley and Ilene Rosenzweig, Rachel Ashwell, Isaac Mizrahi, Sean Conway, Amy Coe and Liz Lange.

            To quote Emeril Lagasse, all I can say is, “Bam!” The walls were bold! Bam! The merchandising was slick! Bam! It was all so bam fun! Brightly colored flower-and-dots wallpaper cascaded along the hallway walls, and to the left was a bold black and white Victorian-inspired garden room selling tureens, topiaries and other garden accoutrements.

            Upstairs Cynthia Rowley and Shabby Chic’s Rachell Ashwell mixed an intoxicating concoction of patterns and pieces. The dining room was a study in Floral. The sitting room – a study in Floral and Bullseye.

            Of course, the ladies (and men!) loved stepping into the bathroom where a most divine modern David lounged in an old-fashioned claw-footed porcelain bathtub filled with ping-pong balls. Upon questioning, he said, “they’re actually a bit massaging!”

            Our Princess-and-a-Pea snuck away from her eight-tiered Shabby Chic bed when we sauntered into the bedroom—perchance to catch some real winks?

            Even the pictures adorning the walls didn’t escape a Target bullseye.  Strategically placed, of course, was the “check-out” room, at the exit of the tour. What you couldn’t carry home could be delivered and the more “precious” non-Target items like chandeliers will be for sale on the last day of the Bullseye Inn’s existence, July 4th, in a tag sale.

            What you could carry home was an original Issac Mizrahi-designed bold yellow and pink polka-dotted canvas bag, filled with more goodies including a disposable camera and Target playing cards! Even guests like football star Boomer Esiason wasn’t cautious of the fashionable carry-all.


With a hot Presidential race ahead of us this year, here are two sites that can not only provide information, but fantastic tidbits to toss out as cocktail conversation at serious dinner parties!

Jim Harper of PolicyCounsel.Com, Privacilla.org and WashingtonWatch.com writes in that this site tracks federal legislation with a new angle: you get to find out how much new federal laws will cost you.  It’s been said that laws are like sausages: you’re better off if you don’t see them made — but at least you should be able to learn the price! Get all the gory details at: http://www.washingtonwatch.com

Curious about who gives what to whom? Check out FundRace.org where names, addresses and occupations of contributors and their amounts to presidential candidates are listed:
http://www.fundrace.org/moneymap.php


We all know networking is a key to generating business. Kate Hartnick Elliot of Hartnick Consulting commented in the recent “Crains NY” May 24, 2004 article, “Office suite talk pleases business” that “people tend to congregate” in those incubator-office-suites that cater as a stepping stone for professionals before having their own NYC-high-priced-rent-office. See all the benefits of these suites, and more of Kate’s comments at: http://www.crainsny.com/

Friday, May 21, 2004

Courtney Pulitzer' Cyber Scene ~ 5/21/04

*** It’s been eight years, but the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences hosted their 8th Annual Webby Awards online. From the personal, Best Personal Web Site: www.raku-gaki.com, to the professional Best Television: PBS.org, judges like David Bowie, Vint Cerf, Larry Ellison and yours truly voted on 30 categories. See them all at: http://www.webbyawards.com.

*** Charles Altschul, another judge in the Webbys, and whose stepsister is the former MTV v-jay Serena Altschul, was in town and on Saturday, May 15th over some sangria and paella I got a preview of his new series of panoramic photographs. If you're in New York this fall, you will be one of the lucky ones to view his Nature and Nudes. www.altschul.com

*** Prolific Paul Jones (http://www.ibiblio.org/pjones/Vitae.html) ventured forth with some inspiring news of innovations stemming from North Carolina. If you haven’t heard about Bo and Sita Lozoff from their The Human Kindness Foundation efforts, then you will now. First they started the Prison-Ashram Project in 1973 (http://www.humankindness.org/project.html), which has been bringing the concept of inspiring and encouraging prisoners and prison staff to recognize their depth as human beings, and to behave accordingly.  Their most recent campaign is to create a small biodiesel plant, which will be staffed by the ex-cons who have been released to the ashram. This old age, new age, local, international, small but direct organization has had some dramatic results that goes to show if you think global but act local, you can get things done! http://www.humankindness.org/

*** He went from a musical club to a musical club network but he always had his hands in politics. And now, our debonair Andrew Raisej is producing a conference examining the implications of internet technology on politics.  On Monday, May 24, 2004, netizens and politizens alike will converge at the New School for the Personal Democracy Forum (www.personaldemocracy.com). Sociate.com’s Jerry Michalski is programming this bi-partisan forum, which Rasiej (founder and executive producer of the Personal Democracy Forum) says, “will highlight how new interactive, highly motivated, and personal voter-to-voter relationships are remaking the rules of the electoral process, political action, and communication." www.personaldemocracy.com

*** Yee-haw! My favorite city, Austin, TX was voted the Best City for Relocating Families! See if your town made it on the list compiled by Worldwide ERC (also known as the Employee Relocation Council), Primacy Relocation and Sperling's BestPlaces.  http://www.erc.org/. PS. It's also the hottest town for WiFi! *note: I’ll still always love NYC though! (http://www.iloveny.com/)

*** Okay guys, you wanna know how to impress the ladies? You gotta be tough. As tough as nails! As tough as iron! The newest extreme sport? Extreme Ironing. That’s right. No more excuses that ironing is “women’s work.” Get out your ironing boards fellas and start rock-climbing, kayaking, bicycling and obstacle-coursing with your trusty Sears-special. It’s soon to be an Olympic sport and if you’re looking to try out, check it out on Memorial Day at 44th and Broadway in Times Square where the sport’s originator Phil Shaw will be ironing in a cherry picker. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/21/national/21iron.html

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Danielle Cyr is now Associate Counsel to Intralinks, a technology ASP to the financial community (www.intralinks.com).  And in her “downtime” for the past 15 months she has been Managing Director of KerryCore (young professionals) for John Kerry for President.

Some of you may remember my first (and best!) employee was an industrious young man on his way to medical school. Well, as of Friday, May 14th it’s now Ankur Shah, M.D.! Ankur is the brother of Sachin Shan, who’s project manager for Information Planning &
Management Systems, a consulting company in Sterling, VA. Ankur will begin his residency in Pediatrics at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando, Fla. And ladies, he's still single ;)

Congratulations to Vikktoria Velasquez who went from Ms. Velasquez, consultant, to Mrs. Vikktoria Velasquez Cooper, Director of The Center for Workforce Development at the YWCA.

Felicitations to Judy Hernandez, a newly minted 3rd party recruiter at Adelantus, Inc.
judy.hernandez@adelantus.com

It’s Deee-Liteful, it’s deee-lovely, it’s D Magazine in Dallas! And this is where the deee-groovy Julie Blacklidge  is now working at dsceneonline.com, which just launched a few months ago. And she’s happy to report that the Web business is starting to pick up! They’re starting to get advertising dollars in and it just keeps getting better!

Not only is Yvette DeBow president of Women in New Media.org but, she’s also recently taken a new job as Director of Marketing for the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp. Go Yvette!

CORRECTION
Emily Nuss is the new culture editor at New York Magazine, not the editor at the New Yorker.

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

ADV ~ WITI NY

WITI New York, Regional Network Event. Wednesday, May 19, 2004. 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm. Keynote speakers: Mary Lou Quinlan, former CEO of DDB ad agency and author will discuss her book "Where are the Women". Commentary by Linda Tischler, senior writer at Fast Company magazine who wrote a feature cover story in the February 2004 edition. Meeting sponsored by SONY and Northwestern Mutual.

Friday, May 07, 2004

Shakers & Stirrers -and- Bits & Bytes ~ 5/7/04


Conspiracy and collaboration are the themes for Alt Pick Magazine, published by Storm Editions, Inc. I got clued into this hip new pick from co-publisher and co-founder Juliette Wolf Robin. If this doesn’t whet your appetite, then check out their Second Annual AltPick Awards show, “Submit + Control.” If the meat-packing districts have gotten too bland for you too, then go to: altpick.com/awards for some titillating visuals!

Tristan Louis has informed us that TNL.net took a slashdot hit:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/02/171243&mode=nested&tid=126&tid=137&tid=95 ... and survived! The story is here: http://www.tnl.net/blog/entry/How_many_Google_machines

Gigex has acquired two independent content companies, GameDAILY, a daily newsletter for interactive entertainment professionals and Gamerfeed.com, a destination site that provides news and resources for the (ahem) “hardcore” gaming community.  The new destination site is GameDAILY.com, and it’s all 100% FREE!

Congratulations are sent out to our fair and lovely Colette Ballou, who is a cette moment a Paris. Pourquoi? Parce que elle is engaged! (pardon my tres horrible francaise!) Ms. Ballou is the CEO/founder of Ballou Outsourced Public Relations, a company that helps high-tech companies that are entering new markets in Europe and the US with their PR. Living in Paris, formerly of SF & NYC, she had graced the offices of Edelman PR as a Veep and Audiobase as the director of PR. Her beau, the charmant M. Mathieu Lamotte is French, lives in Paris and is the co-founder of the competitive intelligence firm Insiders—and a very lucky man indeed!

Kevin Werbach  is gearing up for the next Supernova, which is June 24-25 in Santa Clara, CA. http://www.supernova2004.com/

Correction: Mary Lou Quinlan wasn't CEO of DDBNeedham, she was CEO of NW Ayer.

Back in Baghdad


Some people have no fear. Or if they do, they shrug it off in the face of adventure and a purpose. And our dear Christopher Allbritton is back in Baghdad! The farewell affair was at the v-e-r-y swanky Dylan Prime in Tribeca on Friday, May 7th and he was surrounded the entire night by friends, fans and well-wishers. Among those were the charming “Tim,” a New Zealander correspondent with a rockin’ Kiss shirt. His friend Ann, who also studies Arabic with Chris’s teacher Amed, brought him along. Clive Thompson (writer for the New Yorker, New York Times et al) was especially dapper in his suit and tie and tres gentile as he ordered beverages for “Emily,” who was at the nervey mag Nerver and is now Editor at the New Yorker. Slate writer and Lulu Brooks-look-alike Michelle Goldberg and her prolific and generous husband Matthew Ipcar amazed me with stories of their trips (yes, plural) to Iraq. It was a lovely evening and we all wish Chris safe passages and much success with his writing endeavors. (http://www.back-to-iraq.com)

TCS Intro ~ 5/7/04


Greetings dear readers! I am happy to report that I am blissfully, giddily happy today. In fact, it started yesterday! Now isn’t that a lovely turn of events. It speaks to the value of going through a process, no matter how ugly and messy in order to get to the other side. Sometimes you doubt there’s sunshine and peace at the other side, but I can tell you – it’s true!

A LOT has been going on and I have a lot to say, but I will try to say it as briefly as possible.

For all those who can’t seem to get past a girl’s pretty face, take note. Gorgeous women DO have brains too! (At least the ones I admire.) Among which is the gloriously seductive Hedy Lamarr. Not only has this woman graced the silver screen, but she also invented technology that is one of the cornerstones of wireless communication! Facts like this, other technological inventions and her wily way of escaping from her abusive husband are all featured in an upcoming film about her titled “Face Value.” Now there’s a woman who was before her time!

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Swedish Consulate IT Leadership Forum


The next day, May 5th, the ever-elegant-and-yet-cutting-edge Swedish Consulate was host to the 6th IT Leadership Forum on Communication Convergence. Consulate General Olle Wästberg rounded up the afternoon discussion on convergence of media, telecom and information technology before segue-ing into the refreshments hour.

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

MIT Sloan Club of NYC panel


The MIT Enterprise Forum of NY and MIT Sloan Club of NY gathered a panel to discuss the outlook for technology investing on Tuesday, May 4th at Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner’s offices. (www.mitef-nyc.org)