New York – May 2, 1997 (Full Issue)

Related Links:
Webgrrls Silicon Bowl
NetGravity’s pulling some ads
NetDay 2000 efforts
Pointcasts’ point
Gen Art grunge
Calendar of Events

May 2, 1997

Webgrrls Silicon Bowl
THE DRAMA, THE suspense, the rented shoes! It was the first “Silicon Bowl” at the luxurious BowlMor Lanes on April 14. The beer was cold, the pizza was hot and the lanes were smoking as some downtown new media companies mixed it up in an informal evening of bowling and conversation. Claiming lanes were folks from Agency.com, Cybergrrl, the Mining Co., SiteSpecific, T3 Media, Stir and more. Competition didn’t heat up until the final tally when Kyle Shannon whipped out his Palm Pilot to add up the scores as hostess Aliza Sherman from Cybergrrl, Inc. called out the numbers. The big winner? T3 Media with an average score of 119.6 followed by Cybergrrl with 97, Stir with 92.75 and Agency.com with 84.75. Interested in the next “Silicon Bowl?” Email to be on the list.

NetGravity’s pulling some ads
NETGRAVITY‘S launch party for its new AdServer 2.1 on April 17 at the @Cafe was sponsored by Net Perceptions and IChat. NetGravity has established itself as one of the industry’s premier ad management system. Among the attendees were Corey Podolsky of SonicNet and Mark Friedler of Vcast. The very dapper 20’s styled looking Dave Brown of CDNow filled me in on the scoop with Philly, PA: “It’s cheap!” So if the rent’s so cheap then that means there’s more $$ for cheesesteaks, right?

NetDay 2000 efforts
NEW YORKERS DO have a heart! (Who said we didn’t, huh?) To prove this, the turnout on April 19 for Netday2000 at Washington Irving High School was a CyberSocial Register’s dream come true. Nicholas Butterworth of SonicNet, Random-Man Geo Geller, Howard Greenstein of Microsoft, top people from Poppe Tyson, David Packman of N2K, Michael Dorf of the Knitting Factory, 70 students and 300 more devoted netnauts showed up to wire the school, set up hardware, install software, and map the network to propel this school into the future. One tenth grader, Aneudy Caba, and Greg Elin, (the Sun-sponsored-motorcycle-trip-across-the-US man) commented, “We did a way cool job with the 8th floor.” Everyone echoed Andrew Raisej and Cecilia Pagkalinawan‘s enthusiasm in doing something so worthwhile. This national initiative also rose local interest. Area business owners, government, community, and education figures showed up. And WIHS wasn’t the only local school wired: groovy cyberteacher Ted Nellen led a massive effort to upgrade the pipes at Murry Bergtraum HS.

Pointcasts’ point
OTHER SOCIETY NOTES: ANOTHER ADVERTISING soiree this past week was a Pointcast party. While they demoed their new model for advertising on the net, I got a chance to catch up with Damon Torres, president & creative director of The I-way Company, Thomas Hespos of K-2 Design, and Myles Weissleder and Scott Heiferman of i-Traffic. Although I was a bit distracted by the absolutely fabulous-smelling Fred Wyatt of Talent Enterprises, Inc. in his cloud of Guerlain’s Vetiver… . . . Seybold Last Saturday’s Party at NV in Soho on April 24 was a mixed bag. I was initially greeted by some guy (wish I got his name now!) as he yelled after me for my plate of hor d’oevres. Fortunately, Samir Arora, CEO of NetObjects, rescued me. Emily Davidow of BeHome bubbled as Kamini Ramani from NetObjects put a sunflower hairband in her hair: “NetObjects. They not only manage your website, they manage your hair!” I also got to chat with Matthew Smith, President of Oakleaf Interactive Multimedia. Oakleaf is a service company that creates presentations so all your tired and weary HTML producers and project managers can focus on just doing their job, and not pulling an all-nighter for a presentation the next morning.

Gen Art grunge
IF I SEE ONE MORE film where self-mutilation is cool, I’ll scream! I saw a screening of “Love God” at the GENArt Film Festival, April 24, co-hosted by ECHO and NY Black Book. PULEASEE don’t let this become a cult classic. The party afterwards in a gutted out Angel Orensanz Foundation Synagogue was a bit more manageable. The beautiful faded gilt gold altar was stage for the band “Family of God” which wasn’t too shabby. The crowd seemed almost sparse compared to the lofty high ceilings and I recalled the scene from “The English Patient” where Juliette Binoche is swung upwards via cabling to view the frescos. Free Absolute drinks, and Cotton Candy compliments of Krispy Kreme filled the tummies of the eclectic crowd ranging from good ol’ frat Jersey boys to black leather clad musician-types to grunge girls, and uber cool film folks (where I spotted Jonathan Sarno of Webcinema and Rick Siegel of OnLine TV). I spoke for a while with Steve Moore, the director of the Short “Redux Riding Hood”. Originally from New Jersey, this started as a video project, and was produced in New Zealand, where people go barefoot everywhere (even in the grocery store!). Voice over talent included a stellar cast of: Mia Farrow as the wolf’s wife, Kramer as the Wolf, legendary June Foray as the Grandmother, and Alan West as the geeky romantic first love of the wolf’s wife in high school. THE ZINE2000 Program by the Society of Publication Designers at the Cooper Union, Saturday, April 25, 1997 was quite good. Some sound-bytes:

— Matthew Butterick, Atomic Vision: “The future of the web is in information products, not shopping carts.”

— Rebecca Farwell of Discovery emphasized that online journalism is about having a conversation: “We look at it as a wholly different experience, and trying to recreate a TV metaphor would be an underwhelming experience.”

— Marisa Bowe of Word: “It is almost impossible to get a good environment on the web.”

— Roger Black, “When re-designing for the Internet, it must have usability.”

— Joey Anuff of Suck.com on 3D virtual environments: “Could I just have a gun? It’s like Doom without a gun. Where’s the fun in that?” CONGRATULATIONS were pealed out for the engagement of Jerry Michalski of EdVenture and Jennifer Weissman. The event was hosted by the gracious Emily Davidow at the lovely headquarters for Behome. Tery Spataro looked positively stunning in a black dress with big green flowers, Heather Champ graced the party with her cool sophisticated presence and Omar Wasow of New York Online led the men (including Alec Pollack, Samir Arora, Greg Elin, and David Blumenstein) in a debate over the 4 or 3 button suit coat.

ON THE CALENDAR:

Take in Jonathan Sarno’s “The New York Filmmakers and Webmasters Spring Ball” on May 3. The Ball is going to be on the “Frying Pan,” an old hull of a ship, moored on Pier 63, one block North of Chelsea Pier. Room for 400 people and next door is a pier with a tent for live bands, Samba dancers, and another 400 people! Views of the Statue of Liberty, the crystal waters of the Hudson and New Jersey! Admission is free with cash bar.

Echo’s May Topic for its series “Dinner Theatre of the Mind” is FANTASY. May 13th, 7pm, Hosted by HERE (147 Avenue of the Americas), Dinner Theatre of the Mind is FREE, so please arrive early to ensure seating.

Stephen King’s Virtual Growth Incorporated is having a party May 15! Email for more info: sking@vgrowth.com.