New York – October 17, 1997 (Full Issue)
In this issue:
A Brother reaches out
Wine and PC World
Basketball @ SonicNet
October 17, 1997
AMIDST THE LATEST technology hype, there are personal stories in the Silicon Alley that rarely get told. Here is one. Brett Leveridge publishes the well-known BrettNews online zine and works as features editor for Barnes & Noble’s new Web site. Brett has a sister who is getting out of an troubled marriage and needs support.
When confronted with the realities of his desire to help out his sister financially, he went to the first place he thought of for support — ECHO, the New York digital community. Brett privately contacted about 125 people there about a Benefit he is having to raise money for his sister’s legal and medical bills, slated for next Friday, Oct. 24. He has not told his sister he is doing this yet, but she’s not a wired person and isn’t likely to know until he presents her with a big check and lots of cards.
The initial response was overwhelming and highly gratifying. Stacy Horn, founder of ECHO, has been especially supportive and has offered a door prize of six months free on this virtual community. Branching out from ECHO, Brett also sent an e-mail out to the Silicon Alley mailing list, created to support the need for community, non-technical, and design issues that came up on the WWWAC list. People he didn’t even know sent e-mails saying they would come and bring friends. He has received lots of encouraging notes from women, for whom he feels this issue must resonate. Many more people who cannot attend but want to make a contribution sent supportive e-mails. The first check (for $50) arrived this Wednesday, from someone who can’t attend.
Horn’s ECHO mantra goes like this: “the online connection isn’t complete until you meet someone off-line.” Leveridge is seeing the power of the medium to bring people together in the real space. He believes the fundraiser will bring together many people who actually know each other from prior events. All the money from the benefit will go directly to Leveridge’s sister and he is personally handling all expenses, mailing of flyers, transportation, and other incidentals. He has also arranged for three friends that are New York musicians to perform and a second door prize of a massage therapy session.
The contribution suggestion is $10 for the benefit. For more information, check out http://www.brettnews.com/benefit and see if you can help.
“Oh you simply MUST try the truffles,” cooed the English-accented voice near me. I turned and it was Jan Biggs with her husband Jeremy Biggs of Helix Software. Standing nearby, Pat Altman of RDA International agreed. How could I resist such temptation, especially when paired with such a fine Port? The PC World Annual Wine Tasting at Merlot’s Bar & Grill on October 14 was an exquisitely civil event. Held mostly for advertisers and prospective clients, the gathering featured newly-appointed publisher Jeff Edman and VP-associate publisher Bob Carrigan as gracious hosts. While I enjoyed sampling wines from around the world, Jeff confessed he still preferred Californian wines.
Meanwhile Francis Fisher (McCann-Erikson) held a group of other PC World reps captive with anecdotes on his experiences at this agency. Susan Corke and Amy Cerrone of Ogilvy & Mather’s IBM account were indulging in the very rare roast beef, sliced thickly by a white beret-capped Frenchman. And a good bunch of other ad world people looked to be enjoying the fine wines and hors d’oeuvres.
Pictures coming later today!
No fine wines and hors d’oeuvres at the SonicNet party, though. No Thank You, Ma’am. Just Rolling Rocks and a small plate of crumbled crackers and dry cheese. Well, what do you expect when there’s a half-sized basketball court in the office, and the Chat Diva, Marti Zimlin is holding her own court at the other end of the office? While young programmers and designers shot hoops, Marti shot witty comments for the chat with rapper Mic Geronimo. “Yo! It’s mad. It’s an original, cool way to bring people together … I had a good time.” It all came trippingly off his tongue, and why not? Today’s rappers are the Billy Shakes-peer of this generation — at least online.
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