In Memoriam: Gillian Davis

Sometimes it's just a fleeting encounter. Sometimes you develop a bond over a few short weeks. Sometimes it's sporadic over the course of the year. And then, business-life-changes occur and you don't see the person you were once developing a rapport with. That was my experience with the warm, caring and giving person of Gillian Davis. Ms. Davis was the makeup artist at the Metro Learning Channels and she made me beautiful for all my guest appearances on the computer shows "Metro Bytes" and "Plugged In."

She created a soothing, calming, relaxing and fun environment in her makeup room. Scented aromatherapy candles flickered and wafted light perfume into the air. A candle statue of Michelangelo's David was still untouched and unburned. Gorgeous, glittered, jewel-like glass jars held the magic wands of which she artfully applied either neutral or exotic colors to the complexions of guests and hosts. Pots and jars of varying sizes were stacked or scattered (depending on the crush of people coming in and out of her room) across a clean white towel on the vanity.

She'd blow my hair straight, tease it, deepen my eyebrows to a Joan Crawford-like look, rouge my cheeks, accentuate my eyes and lips and make me feel like a movie star.

She always had some Pepperidge Farm cookies or a treat or two to give her a little chocolate or sugar boost if she didn't get out for a snack or meal. And she would often pad around the makeup and green rooms wearing furry leopard slippers (my favorite accessory).

Not only did Gillian make everyone look great, she made everyone feel great with her warm, caring, inquisitive and ambitious personality. Her tenure at Metro was after a whirlwind life of touring the world as the makeup artist for Janet Jackson. Tired of life on the road, she settled back down in New York City.

Just in her early 30s she wasn't done yet just doing makeup for TV shows. She had set up her own makeup line-Gillian Davis-and was in the process of marketing and selling her products to beauty salons around the city and to grateful guests like me.

And then she died. Last week the slightly elusive but widespread chronic inflammatory disease called Lupus took her short-but-full and yet so-far-from-complete life. There was a memorial service for family, friends and coworkers this week. She will be fondly remembered for her bubbly, giving, warm, intelligent life-spirit.

For more information: http://www.gilliandavis.com/ ~*~*~ http://www.lupus.org ~*~*~ http://www.metro.tv

Publisher's Note ~ CPC events

Well, well. The overbearingly hot, lazy days of August have come to an end. And while all you cyber-netizens were relaxing and slacking off, we've been busy bees here at CPC Headquarters! Busy planning a plethora of events to quench your curiosity, thirst and desires.

We've got an exciting lineup of panels starting with our next Morning Circle on the influence the fashion, design and technology industries have on each other. With celebrity designer Anand Jon who represents a "transcendental yet technological" lifestyle; Sherrie Krantz, the brainchild behind the popular cyber chick, VivianLives.com; Victor Chu, a faculty member at Parsons who owns patent rights to "digital labeling" and Jeff Wolf, CEO of Sensatex, the company developing the "Smart Shirt" we have a great lineup that promises to make the morning discussion tantalizing.

Not far after is our double-headed Cocktails with Courtney. On September 20th I'll be hosting the Inner Circle Only Members soiree at one if NYC's newest and hippest clubs with the most "wow" factor that I've seen in a long time! Sponsored by Microsoft we'll have an exclusive preview of some exciting software and of course the classic Bombay Sapphire martinis you've all come to know and love.

Then-on the same day, September 20th-we'll have our special designated point person, Miranda Berner, as hostess for the Cocktails with Courtney in Austin, TX. Sponsored by Exodus there will be several informative presentations and again-more thirst-quenching cocktails at our reception at the cool Cool River restaurant.

Without waiting too long, we will next present our first evening panel-the Stardust Circle-on October 3rd at TechSpace in New York City. The first of a series in a new industry for us, we're partnering with F. Mark Modzelewski and his NanoBusiness Alliance to produce the Small Talks panel series. We've got great momentum already. Did you read Stephan Herrara's August 31, 2001 article in Red Herring on the topic and our panel? And Mark has been accumulating a stellar Board of Directors for his organization that will make your jaws drop. His site launches on September 3rd (stay tuned for more info!)

The very next day, on October 4th, the Consul General of Sweden will be hosting our next Stardust Circle on the burgeoning topic of "What's getting funded in Wireless" in his private residence. This very swank event (closed to 40 guests) has been planned in conjunction with Elastic Agency. The private panel with star speakers like VantagePoint Venture Partners' partner Ken Kharbanda and Brainheart Capital's CEO Ulf Jonströmer will lead into a Cocktails with Courtney (closed to 100 guests).

And that's not all! More cocktail parties across the US are planned for later in the Fall and we're not giving up on our annual Black Tie holiday benefit. So don't touch that dial! Keep tuned into Pulitzer.com for all the latest updates!

Don't forget to send over your news, career changes, updates and harmless gossip discussed for my next segment for TechTV! I'll be bringing the same compelling content that you read here, but now shorter, pithier and in a different format-TV! Email me!

MUMBOing around the neighborhood

DUMBO, shmumbo! MUMBO is the hot new acronym for (Manhattan Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). Rhizome's OpenMouse--a collaboration between Rhizome.org and SoundLab/Cultural Alchemy-has always been fun at FUN, which is in MUMBO. Hey, ya gotta call the neighborhood *something* right?

The concept? It's open mic for new media artists. So when you walk into the former garage (chop shop?), you see web sites, art software, live video mixing, ascii video and other forms of visual creativity projected on the expansive walls. Combined with super cool DJ sounds, and super cool (read "aloof") bartenders serving up cocktails, it wont be long before you find yourself too-cool-for-school and too-sexy-for-your-shirt in this immersive experience and location. This month, on Thursday, August 30th, the FUN place was graced with the artistic Marcello Mazzella, Robert Kachroo, Kurt Bauman, Giles Hendrix, Yevgeniy Fiks and Barbara Confino. Check out their future dates so you can broaden your horizon and step into New York's newest branded neighborhood. www.rhizome.org/events.

Jim Sosnicky's Swan Song

Lights were twinkling throughout the lush trees towering over the scattered cocktail tables in the pretty garden at the Tavern on the Green on Thursday, August 30th. The different colored Chinese lanterns swayed gently with the slightest breeze on the hot, humid summer evening. Dinner guests-New Yorkers and tourists--sat around white iron chairs. The parquet dance floor was soon to be the focus for a few brave souls who threw all caution to the wind and broke out in even deeper sweats as they grooved and grinded to DJ tunes when evening turned into night.

There were lots of reasons to celebrate after all. It was Jim Sosnicky's final party in his historic tavern tour and it was the beginning of a new phase for him as he soon heads off to merry ol' London to study. As the invite stated: "We have the outdoor garden all night. We have drink discounts all night. There will be dancing and laughing all night…. Bring your friends. Bring your husband. Bring your girlfriend. Bring your husband's girlfriend." And probably some did!

As he also so wittily stated, "Start your Labor Day weekend off right by shaking a leg (and soaking a liver)," which undoubtedly more than a few folks did. Jim has a knack of bringing together people from several New York worlds: artistic, journalistic, technology, finance and a few other random ones for good measure. Case in point: I enjoyed a glass of wine while chatting with Forbes global deputy editor Nigel Holloway, RAW Communications US president Simon Haque and Synapse Productions artistic director Geneve Boll. Vindigo co-founder David Joerg and I had a charming conversation-how could you not when you're chatting with an eloquent chap all dressed in a suit and tie? He even gallantly ordered hors d'oeuvres for his guests to keep them happy. When they arrived I headed uptown for a quaint private soiree already in progress for dessert.

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Suzanne Lainson

The last two weeks in August were slow ones for tech networking events so other than music there hasn't been much to cover. On August 29 some of us were catching Chris Daniels & the Kings (http://www.chrisdaniels.com) at downtown Boulder's last outdoor concert of the season. Listening to the brass-loaded mixture of jive, blues, and rock and watching some women doing a mean jitterbug, were myself, Yvonne Lynott of Lynott & Associates (http://www.lynottpr.com), serial entrepreneurs Deborah Arhelger and Wayne Citrin, and Dan Murray, marketing director of Persona (http://www.persona.com).

On August 30, advertising and design firm ProMotif (http://www.promotif.com) held an open house in Denver to find ways to spend George W.'s rebate checks. Alas, article deadlines kept me from attending.

From August 10 to 13, Telluride had its second annual Tech Festival (http://www.telluridetechfestival.com)...

Read how the tech/music connection is alive and well in Colorado online!

Feeding Hungry Entrepreneurs Dinner And A Chance

Andy Sernovitz and GasPedal hosted their second Feast for Entrepreneurs August 28th for hungry young entrepreneurs on Tuesday, August 28th. Filling food, beer and opportunities were being served up in plenty for over 75 eager entrepreneurs in their offices on 26th Street. Not only did they get to fill up on grub, but they got to show the world that Internet entrepreneurship is alive and well in New York. Fancy that! GasPedal smartly invited a select group of sophisticated investors (who else?!) who were touted as being able to see past the hype and value what these young whippersnappers are doing. Yeehaw! Entrepreneurship is alive and well and thriving at GasPedal's offices!

An off-the-record evening ~ by Gina M. Larson

Andy Wong and James Morrow had nothing to feel sorry for on Tuesday as they laid to rest their online publication, Ironminds. While the event at Scharmanns marked the end of their literary site, it was also a celebration of their new print publication, NY Metropolis. The paper, which is on newsstands currently, is Brooklyn's answer to the Village Voice. According to James, the outer borough has never had a paper that addressed them as a community. "They were always told that if they wanted to party, they had to do it in Manhattan," he said. In keeping with the tradition of past Ironmind celebrations, writers who contributed to the magazines took to a literal stage and shared their stories with the audience. Larry Getlen read a commentary piece on the MTV Video Awards Show, a la Charles Bukowski. And Christina Valhouli read a hilarious essay on the delicate subject of having the courage to do number two when your number one man is around. The night seemed like a smashing success, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that the duo, Andy and John, will have similar luck in their next endeavor.

The Cyber Scene in San Diego ~ by Lilia Phleger Benjamin

A couple of weeks ago I was at the Silver Gate Yacht Club, sipping wine and watching the sunset with the members of Techniquelle http://www.techniquelle.com and the San Diego Chapter of WITI http://www.witi.org/.

The occasion was an evening with Elizabeth Carlassare, author of "DotCom Divas: E-Business Insights from the Visionary Women Founders of 20 Net Ventures" (McGraw Hill) and founder of Dotcom Divas.

Around sixty women (and one man!) showed up for the hour-long presentation entitled Success Strategies for Women in Business. Elizabeth is an internet strategist, author, and coach for women in technology and women entrepreneurs, helping them reach their goals and craft the lives they want. She was named one of the "Net's 25 Movers and Shakers" in February 2001 by Interactive Week magazine.

As much as things have changed in the technology sector, Elizabeth says that becoming a technology entrepreneur can still be a viable choice…especially now that more women are infiltrating the informal VC referral network. According to Elizabeth, when she first starting looking for books on the shelf about technology entrepreneurs, they did not reflect what she was seeing in the industry. Long associated with Adobe Systems, as well as other companies such as Intuit, SGI, and MyWebtivity, Elizabeth said that in her experience, women left their jobs not to move into a new job, but to start their own internet initiatives.

She also talked about the twenty case studies that are included in her book, and the necessity for collaboration, strategic business partnerships, and a strong support system. An active member of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs http://www.fwe.org/, Elizabeth said that finding a good support network could make or break your success.

Next on the list for Elizabeth? A book on work/life/family balance, as well as a possible collaboration with Aliza Sherman, author of the Cybergrrl series of books.

Speaking of internet entrepreneurs, a few days ago I was invited to speak to a group of teenagers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). They were part of the Millennium Entrepreneurs Summer Camp run by Tonja McKoy, who has presented her work to former First Lady Hilary Clinton at the White House Convening on Hispanic Children and Youth (August 1999) and been written up in Business Week for her efforts. The program's mission is to provide inner-city youth with the business skills and practical knowledge to encourage an entrepreneurial spirit, as well as motivate them to attend college.

The first speaker of the evening was Nepi Ilgaz, director of entrepreneurial services at the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance http://www.sdrta.org/. Nepi spoke about the many resources that are available for people interested in starting their own technology related business, as well as the importance of a good business plan. Then it was my turn.

It was a bit daunting to talk to kids who were born about the same time I first got on a computer (1983), but I enjoyed sharing my story and telling them how fun it was to create my own job description in a field that was brand new and changing every day. These young people are light years ahead of me in terms of their potential, and it is exciting to see programs such as Tonja's, which allow them to glimpse their possibilities. If you are interested in learning more about her Millennium Entrepreneurs camp, you may call their offices at 619-476-7655.

And finally, the buzz right now is the Big eSchmooze, taking place on August 23rd at the Torrey Pines Glider Port on the cliffs of La Jolla. Definitely a dramatic and scenic location! The SDRTA is looking forward to another great event, which currently has registrations for almost 1500 people. I'll be there, and will let you know who I saw and what I heard!

Until next time!

The Cyber Scene in Denver ~ by Suzanne Lainson

After two weeks of nonstop conferences (first oil and gas and then music), I am getting back into the Cyber Scene swing of things.

On July 31 I attended Carl Fischer's Pink Slip with a Twist party. He was going to have it on the terrace of his loft in Writer's Square, but the weather looked threatening so he relocated it for Josephina's in Larimer Square. I had planned to go anyway, but knowing that Wendy Woo (http://www.wendywoo.com) was playing the event a nice plus. Carl provided us with food, margaritas, and music -- not a bad way to contemplate a declining economy and to brainstorm ways to overcome it. While there I had a chance to catch up with Curtis Hart of 2c1h.com (http://www.2c1h.com). You can read more about Carl and his projects.

On August 1, I attended the first CIK Apres Work (http://www.cik.org) in Boulder. It was held in a private room at Triana. There were probably twenty to thirty of us there including Cate Lawrence of Warrior Solutions (http://www.WarriorSolutions.com/warrior/html/index.html) and Erich Stein of Erich Stein Communications (http://www.erichstein.com). Erich's partner Nina and I had a long talk about the tango, which she teaches. Emanuela Panebianco, CEO of EC-Way (http://www.ecway.com), and I talked music and also the European tech show she is involved with. As she told me, "The show will be held in Milan, Italy, Oct. 18-22.Our exhibit, endorsed, among others, by the Mayor's Office for Economic Development, will be part of by the US Pavilion organized by the US Chamber of Commerce." She encourages Colorado companies to become sponsors.

On August 7, I attended First Tuesday (http://www.ftdenver.com), which this month was held at the brand new Mile High Station, a renovated turn of the century industrial building that is now available as a party location. Among the people I saw were Yvonne Lynott of Lynott PR, Jeff Finkelstein of Persona (http://www.persona.com), Suzy Thevenet and Mark Weakley of Holme Roberts & Owen (http://www.hro.com), Dilpreet Jammu of Nortel Networks, Dan Lubar of dataDistributions (http://www.datadistributions.com), and Greg Berry of Think Tank West (http://www.thinktankwest.com). The Spire team was there, most notably Pamela Bergeson, the new VP of sales and marketing (http://www.spiremedia.com). And PR divas Donna Crafton, Jen Hofmeister, and Marissa Peede were there. Donna's starting up PrimaDonna PR. You can read more about the event.

And then on August 9, I attended the CIK meeting at the Chop House in LoDo. I had never been there before, but was glad to check out the place that has hosted various Avalanche parties. We had a back room to ourselves, which was nice. Among those making the rounds were Mike Gellman and Brandon Shevin of Spire, Cate Lawrence, Erich Stein, Curtis Hart, Scott Price of CustomerCentrix (http://www.CustomerCentrix.com), Alex Teitz of FEMMUSIC (http://www.femmusic.com), Jon Fetzer of TamTam (http://www.tamtam.com), Kari Nelson of Recess Active Entertainment (http://www.YourRecess.com/index.html), Larry and Pat Nelson of ICR Web (http://www.icrweb.com), Mark Weakley and Linda Wackwitz from Holme Roberts & Owen, and Sara Yelton and Terri Douglas of Catapult PR (http://www.catapultpr-ir.com).

On August 10 I was down in Colorado Springs for the Colorado Technology Summit 2001 at the Pikes Peak Center, a great venue. Lots of Boulder/Denver folks made it there. I saw Mark Weakley, Larry and Pat Nelson, and Julie Jacobs of PHD Management Group (http://www.juliejacobs.com).

Governor Owens looked particularly spiffy at this event. And he obviously felt comfortable in this Republican stronghold. I arrived in time to hear him speak, followed by a panel of mostly telecom CEOs, and then the keynote speech by Craig Barrett, president/CEO of Intel. The three most noteworthy comments of the day were John Sie, founder/chairman/CEO of StazEncore, saying that entertainment would drive broadband usage, Larissa Herda, chairman/president/CEO of Time Warner Telecom saying that her company knew better than to get into the DSL business, and Craig Barrett saying that on Intel's website, $60 million in orders are placed each day.

As always I have been hitting the clubs and running into familiar faces. Mark Weakley and his wife were at the Boulder Theater for an eTown performance featuring blues guitar legend Buddy Guy and blues/folk singer Odetta. Alex Teitz was at the Gavin Summit enjoying all the live music that comes to Boulder every year in conjunction with that event. Kari Nelson dropped into Soma, the techno club in Boulder. Erich Stein and Curtis Hart were among those who joined me to catch Wendy at Denver coffee house Stella's. Then later than evening those of us who were still around headed over the Herman's Hideaway to hear Opie Gone Bad do their final set, capped off with Wendy and Jake Schroeder doing a full bore duet to the Bill Withers classic, "Use Me."

The Cyber Scene in San Diego ~ by Lilia Phleger Benjamin

San Diego's largest networking event, the Big eSchmooze, kicked off our meet-n-greet season after a rather quiet summer. Held August 23rd at the Torrey Pines glider port on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, attendees early enough were treated to the sight of paragliders surfing the air currents.

The mood going in to this much anticipated event was similar to that of a rave or house party…long lines of cars with people ready to party! Those who came without sensible shoes were dismayed to find themselves dusty and a bit winded after the long trek in from the dirt parking lot that seemed to go on for acres. Luckily I had a walking partner, Nicole Cramer of EyeTracking, Inc. http://www.eyetracking.com/, a San Diego based company that provides eyetracking services for website usability and market research studies.

We parted ways once we reached the entry gate, and I checked in with Joanne Gavalec, the marketing director at the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance http://www.sdrta.org/. The Big eSchmooze is the SDRTA's baby, and they put it on twice a year with solid support from the sponsors, media, and patrons. In fact, if you want to see some fun pictures of the event and get an idea of the turnout, check out the over a hundred pictures on the Fresh News site http://www.freshnews.com/ taken by editor Larry St. John.

It's raining sales and marketers ~ by Gina Larson

The rain didn't stop the crowds from coming out to the NYSIA Sales and Marketing party on Thursday, August 23rd. About 100 people pushed into the reception lounge on the 24th floor of MediaServ's offices to practice the art of meet and greet. Paul Kontonis of BTL Design, played host and bartender for the night, serving up wine to the masses and bottles of Presidente beer from his private stash to people in the know. Andrea Kallies, CEO of MediaServ, showed me around the company's new offices, which are bedecked in industrial chic while Bruce Bernstein, the president of NYSIA, gushed that the company is one of the best success stories in the Alley.

Emmanuel Savioz, co-founder of PGuardian Technologies was in New York by way of California and stopped in to chat and mingle. His security software is still in development, but he said that no matter what phase a product is in, it's important to get out and market it. That's exactly what Ralph Rizzuto, the VP of MTC Industries was up to. His CD-Rom on Chinese Medicine was just completed this month after five years of development and he was eager to share the news. Ben Weintraub, CEO of Merit Software also had cause to celebrate. His software geared for the education market just garnered an award from Smart Computing Magazine. Justin Zimmerman, who works for the City of Yokohama to bring companies across the Pacific, was also mingling among the crowd, which preferred to stay inside and nibble on the free plates of cheese and pizza rather than venture out for dinner.

An off-the-record evening

Some times in the summer times you just want to kick off your shoes, relax and goof off. Well, in spite of some mediocre events this week, cyber-columnist extraordinaire Gina Larson and I decided to forgo the schmooze fest and just carouse around ourselves. Our adventure started at Bryant Park Grill, which always has a major scene. Of course it doesn't take long before we run into someone we know and we began sipping our summery cocktails with Flooz.com founder Robert Levitan.

Now many of you may know Mr. Levitan for his impressive roster of companies he's co-founded and grown (iVillage, Flooz). But not many of you may know that this man's sincere charm and wit has an incredibly useful humorous trivia streak within as well. For instance, Gina and I learned and can now also wow cocktail partiers with the origins of such standard words like: "Dixieland," "Okay," "hooker," "limey" and "India Pale Ale." We did learn a bit more news too, but respecting the request, our lips are sealed--and you'll be reading about it in another major publication soon anyway.

Cyber Scene Spotlight: Primedia's Phillips Perfectly Poised

Larry Phillips leaned back in his chair and paused as he recollected the milestones of his professional career track. His recent rise to his current position as managing director of Primedia Ventures didn't happen overnight, but it did occur during the fast-paced timeline of Internet-time.

While his spacious corner office is twenty-three stories above Fifth Avenue, his feet are firmly on the ground and on Monday, August 20th we chatted about his ever-evolving role. Having been at Primedia since 1995 and Primedia Ventures since 1998--both divisions he started-he admitted he's had the best of both worlds.

Primedia is the $1.7 billion media company with print, video and Internet businesses that is focused on niche consumer and business-to-business audiences. Some of their more well known brands include Seventeen, New York magazine, Fly Fisherman, Modern Bride and American Baby. They also own Channel One Network and 16 other specialty satellite television and TV distribution services. Their most recent Internet purchase is the popular About.com site, but they own and operate more than an astounding 1000 Web sites and other Internet properties as well.

Larry came to Primedia six years ago from C.E. Unterberg Towbin where he was honing his technology investment prowess. As a junior venture capitalist Larry knew there was a lot to learn about managing a business. Not missing a beat, he began to opportunistically look for an operating role where he could round out his vitae. He spoke honestly and candidly, "there was nothing particular about media that was interesting" to him, but the opportunity to start an online product in a major media company was more than compelling.

When he learned of the new online products division that was being formed at Primedia in 1995, he jumped. During a time when the Internet was in its nascency, Larry was responsible for creating all non-print products and alternative revenue streams for the media company. The opportunity was exhilarating and being an "intrapreneur" was the best of both worlds: He could enjoy the triumphs and travails of an entrepreneur in a typical startup, yet he had the comfort and support of a large corporation behind him. Utilizing both, he built up a team, created new products and made money.

The phrase "you can take a man out of the country but you can't take the country out of a man" comes to mind after you get to know Larry even briefly. Although he was making the most of his time at Primedia's Internet division, his heart was set on venture capital and funding companies, not running them. After three short but productive years, he approached the Primedia board and with majority backing from board-member company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts &.Co., he and Andy Thompson raised $22 million and launched Primedia Ventures. Financially driven, as opposed to entertaining strategic investments, the focus straddles the worlds of media and finance.

Since 1998 they have invested in opportunities with a sound financial plan that take advantage of the unique aspects the Internet can offer. He says that they have looked for plans that opened new markets, offered new services or built new technology products. Of course, based on their unique position of being an investment division in a media business, they focused on products and services that explored and supported new business models for media and communications. Some of their early investments were N2K, mypoints.com, socialnet.com and CD-Rom companies. Today, their focus has expanded to include ASP-based software applications, cable and TV network infrastructure, mobile applications and next-generation digital video businesses.

Larry is quick to point out that while technology is important, a strong management team who can execute their plan quickly and decisively is even more vital in today's competitive market. This is when he launches into his buzz-word packed monologue using terms like: "affinity," "endemic advancements," "erosion," "financial categories" (i.e. niches) with "financial characteristics" (i.e. profitability) and "utilize its resources to increase its profit."

Buzz-words aside, Larry is refreshingly down to earth with his all-American good looks and matter-of-fact, thoughtful business approach to the wily world of media and investments. If anything, he represents a natural approach to VC, in contrast to the usual over-hyped and glossed over presentation of typical VCs. You can see it in his crisp checked shirt and pressed casual pants and his relaxed, unpretentious disposition. It's apparent in his pictures of his son and wife in informal play-time activities from his organized book-shelves.

Don't get the wrong impression, though, this seemingly docile gentleman is as sharp as the next shark and has the schooling and professional pedigree to put the most ferocious VC in his place. This Cornell graduate can program in Fortran and was studying to be a physicist. He worked in engineering for a while, but when those theoretical high-end physics projects were getting canned, he zeroed in on technology and investment. He then took the next step and went back to school for his MBA, graduating Harvard in 1992.

Today, with a proven track record and expanse of experiences, Larry and Primedia Ventures are in a powerful position to help seasoned entrepreneurs with potential to become number one in this volatile market. Their involvement doesn't stop at signing the check, either. They consider themselves a resource of ideas and management support for their companies and take advantage of their connections to other PRIMEDIA companies to leverage business relationships. With mergers like AOL and Time Warner happening, the value of a media business that's in the Internet space, and has been for quite some time, puts Primedia Ventures and Larry Phillips perfectly poised to stratospheric growth.

Top of the World

Where did they go? Many of the attendees from the eComm party headed downtown to a more modern venue at the World Trade Towers. Jim Sosnicky, the host of the Great American Bar Tour, held his usual Thursday night happy hour on Wednesday at the Greatest Bar on Earth. About 100+ people popped up to the 107th floor to get cool and enjoy the views of the Hudson. The usual suspects were all in attendance, as well as a few newcomers. David Joerg, co-founder of Vindigo, was nestled up near the bar. He told me that his days at the company are now numbered. Despite his departure, however, he assured me that the palm-based navigation tool, which is considered a must-have amongst the digital set, will still go on to bigger and better things. Many musical folks were also in attendance. Members from the band Trew Ghetto, Don Kronex and The Nigress Princess, were trying to network their way into a new gig. And Adam Headrick was on the scene looking for a singer for his group, 38 Sh*tkickers. The air-conditioners were in overtime, and the place was even getting a bit too cool, but things soon heated up again when the music picked up and the lights kicked out over the dance floor, enticing many to kick up their heels above the rest of a roasting Manhattan. The night was another success for Jim, whose party returns to Thursday night next week at Caffe Adulis.

StarNYC starry night ~ by Gina Larson

Back on the other side, StarNYC was having their bi-weekly party at Spa. I had never checked out the event, but heard of its popularity. 'Why not,' I figured, and grabbed two friends from out of town to accompany me. Due to a private party in the back room, guests were forced to squeeze together and rub a little more than elbows with fellow and former dot.comers. The open bar was five people deep, and while I'm sure the bartender was being bullied all night, he crossed the line when he scolded my guest who had her hand in her purse, "Hey no tip?" he said. Bringing up a fistful of Washingtons, she shot back, "Not anymore, buster." Another attendee tried to have a tete-a-tete by asking my other friend, "So what the f*&%$ are you doing here from Rhode Island?" While more urbane conversation was to be found, this event is good choice for the club set who doesn't make it past 10.

Broadband Brooklyn Bar night ~ by Gina Larson

Trekking over to Brooklyn always seemed like an elaborate ordeal, but Wednesday I found that my apprehension is more mental than anything else. A quick trip over the Williamsborough Bridge, and plop, you find yourself in cozy factory-lined streets and laid-back chic. I owe this altered awareness to the Broadband Brooklyn Bar night on Wednesday. Supported by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and Digital NYC, the event was a full-house affair. Guests gathered at the not-yet opened restaurant Rice, a twin to the restaurant of the same name on Mott and sibling of N in SoHo. A delicious sangria starred at the event, and guest were treated to a few of the eclectic concoctions that Rice is renowned for such as eggplant maki rolls and paella served from Chinese take-out containers. Joe Chan, president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce said that he is thrilled by the number of new businesses moving into the borough. He also got up to tell attendees to make the most of the night, meet people and network. The crowd took his cue. Ty Kalinski, director of business services at Brooklyn Development Corp., Jeffrey Hearon, of Global Broadband Strategies, and Jen Flanagan, an EMT, were all swirling around, smiling, passing out business cards - mixing business with pleasure.

My Birthday

Wednesday, August 16th

My birthday! I took the day off from new media (at least after work), since I arrived from LA this morning and indulged in a quiet celebration with Dad (who many of you have met at past Cocktails with Courtney events). Other notables who also celebrated this day are: Madonna, Kathy Lee Gifford, Frank Gifford and Charles Bukowski. Elvis passed away on this day in 1977 and many people were probably conceived this day in 1969 during Woodstock.

? Deliveries for large gifts can be arranged by emailing me at: big-birthday-wishes@pulitzer.com. Other gift ideas can be had from here, here, here, here, or here to start. :) Just kidding!

A VICtorious Return to Networking

Brad Nye and VIC (Virtual Interactive Community) are synonymous with successful networking and the interactive community in Los Angeles. And while the organization suffered low attendance in recent months like every networking group, their event on Wednesday, August 15th was a return to the heady big party days of years gone by. In fact, among the 500 attendees, all professionals in the new media, advertising and Internet industry, I overheard many conversations exclaiming how they felt like it was "back in the day" and "felt like old times." They were good times, weren't they?

Brad glided throughout the large hall in the Academy of Motion Picture and Sciences keeping a close watch on all the guests, making appropriate introductions and making sure the event ran smoothly. I enjoyed some of the delicious brie while chatting with Golenberg Schmitz Capital Partners Lindsay Connor and Heidrick & Struggles Angela Klemantaski about other cultures and living in LA. American Anvil Entertainment CEO Barry Collin and ValueClick account executive Victoria Mondet and I spoke briefly and Mysize Systems president James Gentry told me about his firm that takes 3D measurements based on 2D images and selects the most appropriate size for garments. They have a big business with uniform companies. Flipside.com Stephanie Jackson and Molly Hunter were bubbly as they networked around and Goto.com account exec Karyn Dobbie and I met over a glass of refreshing white wine. ABC.com account manager Anthony Behar and I chatted about his site and ABC's presence at the Webby Awards a few weeks ago in San Francisco.

Among the sponsors for the evening I spoke to Grier Ross of MonsterMoving.com and some folks from the Ad Club of LA, the co-host for the event. Before heading into the panel discussion I saw Bizrate.com's Tim Hand, who was formerly at Salon but looks like he's well off for his new gig. The topic of the night was the exhilarating discussion of "Entertainment Marketing - Ad Fusion: The Integration of On & Offline Campaigns." Woowoo! Moderated by Hollywood Reporter publisher Bob Dowling, the discussion revolved around the expertise of Universal Pictures VP of New Media Marketing Kevin Campbell, Soap City VP/General Manager Mary Coller, eUniverse president Shawn Gold and ABC Cable Networks/Disney Channel Marketing SVP Adam Sanderson. Afterwards I met Love Mondo (helpllc.com) and The Knitting Factory Hollywood's biz affairs veep Matthew Neco. The big crowd and energy in the room was sufficient to keep me going for a while, which was good since I had to head from the there to the airport for my red-eye flight home.

Casting light on the (talent) machine

When in LA, do as the Los Angeleans do. And for me that meant despite a late Monday and Tuesday nights I was to be called out and go attend an early breakfast seminar. And that means when you're in the entertainment capital of the world (or one of them), you attend the Women in Film breakfast on Wednesday, August 15th. Management consultant and producer Stephen Graham, who attended the Cocktails with Courtney event the night before told me about a few networking cocktail parties going on in town and this early event.

Taking Sunset to the Wyndham BelAir Hotel I attended this breakfast networking session where members introduced themselves and new guests were introduced by the hostess of the event Ryan Larson. Member Lisa Davis, a photographer, mentioned a great goals workshop called FlashForwardInstitute.com, where they guarantee results! TheStoryCoach.com Patrick Horton and StressMastery.com director Joyce Kenyon were also at our table as were three young actresses. Normally the audience isn't always so actor-heavy, but the speaker was Viacom Productions and Showtime Talent and Casting SVP Beth Klein. Beth provided background on what she does and how casting at Viacom and Showtime work and then offered helpful hints and tips for actors trying to get bigger in the biz. Peggy Hernandez, an advocate for Latino actors, asked the question about diversity in casting.

Afterwards I chatted with Showtime casting assistant Alexa Leskyn about the alt.sho.com awards show I hosted and if they had any plans for more technology shows...Stay tuned because you never know!

Casting light on the (talent) machine

When in LA, do as the Los Angeleans do. And for me that meant despite a late Monday and Tuesday nights I was to be called out and go attend an early breakfast seminar. And that means when you're in the entertainment capital of the world (or one of them), you attend the Women in Film breakfast on Wednesday, August 15th. Management consultant and producer Stephen Graham, who attended the Cocktails with Courtney event the night before told me about a few networking cocktail parties going on in town and this early event.

Taking Sunset to the Wyndham BelAir Hotel I attended this breakfast networking session where members introduced themselves and new guests were introduced by the hostess of the event Ryan Larson. Member Lisa Davis, a photographer, mentioned a great goals workshop called FlashForwardInstitute.com, where they guarantee results! TheStoryCoach.com Patrick Horton and StressMastery.com director Joyce Kenyon were also at our table as were three young actresses. Normally the audience isn't always so actor-heavy, but the speaker was Viacom Productions and Showtime Talent and Casting SVP Beth Klein. Beth provided background on what she does and how casting at Viacom and Showtime work and then offered helpful hints and tips for actors trying to get bigger in the biz. Peggy Hernandez, an advocate for Latino actors, asked the question about diversity in casting.

Afterwards I chatted with Showtime casting assistant Alexa Leskyn about the alt.sho.com awards show I hosted and if they had any plans for more technology shows...Stay tuned because you never know!

Artists benefit from Digital Kind

Red and white streamers fluttered in the cooling summer evening breeze at the 18th Street Arts Complex in Santa Monica, California. The tents were set for the drinks and the gourmet tamales and all the volunteers were busy helping with final details for the Cocktails with Courtney/Digital Commerce Lab benefit for the Electronic Cafe International Tuesday, August 14th. Trying to raise money for the cafés video archives was the goal, and the goal was met with tremendous response!

The party started out with seeing good friends like Larry Aronson (of Webscape, NYSIA board member and former WWWAC board member) who is setting up shop in LA as well (and looking for work!). He and Lynn Thigpen were off to a screening of a new Steve Martin film, which promises to be something different than usual. Kirsten Johnson, Joanna Minneci and Keren Taylor, the LA contingent of Cyber Scene writers also showed up creating a little buzzing posse. Keren introduced me to fabulous designer and web producer Pug LaHart of CyberHag. Janice Norton Sterling of TheCoolHunters.com and Special Venue Entertainment consultant Diane Duncan were among some of the other sorts who came to support the café. David Wettenstein, ATT's high-speed packet services guru and Interactive Agency's Tony Winders came to enjoy the sunset cocktails and network a bit.

Walt Disney Digital lndustry Relations and New Technology Vice President Philip B. Lelyveld showed up with an adorable peach tie and with the "Hello Kitty" competition pattern on it. There's a man who takes his research seriously. Voidmstr extraordinaire Dennis Wilen mentioned to me his memoirs that he wanted to put up for photographer and early web-head Keri Advocat, who passed away at an early age in just a few years ago.

InternetWire's Michael Terpin, one of the sponsors, introduced me around to some of his friends like Traffic411.com's founder Lisa Osborn and her NY friend. InternetWire's Peter Daily, Chris Brown and Linda Jaffe were all looking sharp as they balanced their Bombay Sapphire Martinis and tamales.

Advanstar's Shirley Sax and Gina Cohen, one of the sponsors, enjoyed themselves. American Film Institute's Anna Marie Piersimoni, Universal Studios' Monica Stein and The Content Project's Suzanne Hornwood (who also wrote for TCS and volunteered this night) all mixed and mingled with the best of them like LINGUAE Translation & Web Localization's Miguel Fiallos, SeaChange International's Honey Berman and Tom Lincoln.

NY-based American Museum of the Moving Image Curator of Digital Media Carl Goodman stopped by to hang out for the night and talk with other notable digital artists and programmers. He raved about SIGGRAPH, which was going on the prior and upcoming week telling me it was the best place to go and hear about great innovations in the artistic endeavor for electronic media. His recommendation was to just walk around the show and absorb all the invention and sit in a panel I know nothing about to learn something new. Good advice!

The tamales were going fast and the drinks were quenching the thirst of the many more guests who filtered in to celebrate in the influence and steadfastness of the Electronic Café International in the digital arts scene. Find out all about them at: www.ecafe.org

Artists benefit from Digital Kind

Red and white streamers fluttered in the cooling summer evening breeze at the 18th Street Arts Complex in Santa Monica, California. The tents were set for the drinks and the gourmet tamales and all the volunteers were busy helping with final details for the Cocktails with Courtney/Digital Commerce Lab benefit for the Electronic Cafe International Tuesday, August 14th. Trying to raise money for the cafés video archives was the goal, and the goal was met with tremendous response!

The party started out with seeing good friends like Larry Aronson (of Webscape, NYSIA board member and former WWWAC board member) who is setting up shop in LA as well (and looking for work!). He and Lynn Thigpen were off to a screening of a new Steve Martin film, which promises to be something different than usual. Kirsten Johnson, Joanna Minneci and Keren Taylor, the LA contingent of Cyber Scene writers also showed up creating a little buzzing posse. Keren introduced me to fabulous designer and web producer Pug LaHart of CyberHag. Janice Norton Sterling of TheCoolHunters.com and Special Venue Entertainment consultant Diane Duncan were among some of the other sorts who came to support the café. David Wettenstein, ATT's high-speed packet services guru and Interactive Agency's Tony Winders came to enjoy the sunset cocktails and network a bit.

Walt Disney Digital lndustry Relations and New Technology Vice President Philip B. Lelyveld showed up with an adorable peach tie and with the "Hello Kitty" competition pattern on it. There's a man who takes his research seriously. Voidmstr extraordinaire Dennis Wilen mentioned to me his memoirs that he wanted to put up for photographer and early web-head Keri Advocat, who passed away at an early age in just a few years ago.

InternetWire's Michael Terpin, one of the sponsors, introduced me around to some of his friends like Traffic411.com's founder Lisa Osborn and her NY friend. InternetWire's Peter Daily, Chris Brown and Linda Jaffe were all looking sharp as they balanced their Bombay Sapphire Martinis and tamales.

Advanstar's Shirley Sax and Gina Cohen, one of the sponsors, enjoyed themselves. American Film Institute's Anna Marie Piersimoni, Universal Studios' Monica Stein and The Content Project's Suzanne Hornwood (who also wrote for TCS and volunteered this night) all mixed and mingled with the best of them like LINGUAE Translation & Web Localization's Miguel Fiallos, SeaChange International's Honey Berman and Tom Lincoln.

NY-based American Museum of the Moving Image Curator of Digital Media Carl Goodman stopped by to hang out for the night and talk with other notable digital artists and programmers. He raved about SIGGRAPH, which was going on the prior and upcoming week telling me it was the best place to go and hear about great innovations in the artistic endeavor for electronic media. His recommendation was to just walk around the show and absorb all the invention and sit in a panel I know nothing about to learn something new. Good advice!

The tamales were going fast and the drinks were quenching the thirst of the many more guests who filtered in to celebrate in the influence and steadfastness of the Electronic Café International in the digital arts scene. Find out all about them at: www.ecafe.org

StarNYC starry night ~ by Gina Larson

Back on the other side, StarNYC was having their bi-weekly party at Spa. I had never checked out the event, but heard of its popularity. 'Why not,' I figured, and grabbed two friends from out of town to accompany me. Due to a private party in the back room, guests were forced to squeeze together and rub a little more than elbows with fellow and former dot.comers. The open bar was five people deep, and while I'm sure the bartender was being bullied all night, he crossed the line when he scolded my guest who had her hand in her purse, "Hey no tip?" he said. Bringing up a fistful of Washingtons, she shot back, "Not anymore, buster." Another attendee tried to have a tete-a-tete by asking my other friend, "So what the f*&%$ are you doing here from Rhode Island?" While more urbane conversation was to be found, this event is good choice for the club set who doesn't make it past 10.

Broadband Brooklyn Bar night ~ by Gina Larson

Trekking over to Brooklyn always seemed like an elaborate ordeal, but Wednesday I found that my apprehension is more mental than anything else. A quick trip over the Williamsborough Bridge, and plop, you find yourself in cozy factory-lined streets and laid-back chic. I owe this altered awareness to the Broadband Brooklyn Bar night on Wednesday. Supported by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and Digital NYC, the event was a full-house affair. Guests gathered at the not-yet opened restaurant Rice, a twin to the restaurant of the same name on Mott and sibling of N in SoHo. A delicious sangria starred at the event, and guest were treated to a few of the eclectic concoctions that Rice is renowned for such as eggplant maki rolls and paella served from Chinese take-out containers. Joe Chan, president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce said that he is thrilled by the number of new businesses moving into the borough. He also got up to tell attendees to make the most of the night, meet people and network. The crowd took his cue. Ty Kalinski, director of business services at Brooklyn Development Corp., Jeffrey Hearon, of Global Broadband Strategies, and Jen Flanagan, an EMT, were all swirling around, smiling, passing out business cards - mixing business with pleasure.

A VICtorious Return to Networking

Brad Nye and VIC (Virtual Interactive Community) are synonymous with successful networking and the interactive community in Los Angeles. And while the organization suffered low attendance in recent months like every networking group, their event on Wednesday, August 15th was a return to the heady big party days of years gone by. In fact, among the 500 attendees, all professionals in the new media, advertising and Internet industry, I overheard many conversations exclaiming how they felt like it was "back in the day" and "felt like old times." They were good times, weren't they?

Brad glided throughout the large hall in the Academy of Motion Picture and Sciences keeping a close watch on all the guests, making appropriate introductions and making sure the event ran smoothly. I enjoyed some of the delicious brie while chatting with Golenberg Schmitz Capital Partners Lindsay Connor and Heidrick & Struggles Angela Klemantaski about other cultures and living in LA. American Anvil Entertainment CEO Barry Collin and ValueClick account executive Victoria Mondet and I spoke briefly and Mysize Systems president James Gentry told me about his firm that takes 3D measurements based on 2D images and selects the most appropriate size for garments. They have a big business with uniform companies. Flipside.com Stephanie Jackson and Molly Hunter were bubbly as they networked around and Goto.com account exec Karyn Dobbie and I met over a glass of refreshing white wine. ABC.com account manager Anthony Behar and I chatted about his site and ABC's presence at the Webby Awards a few weeks ago in San Francisco.

Among the sponsors for the evening I spoke to Grier Ross of MonsterMoving.com and some folks from the Ad Club of LA, the co-host for the event. Before heading into the panel discussion I saw Bizrate.com's Tim Hand, who was formerly at Salon but looks like he's well off for his new gig. The topic of the night was the exhilarating discussion of "Entertainment Marketing - Ad Fusion: The Integration of On & Offline Campaigns." Woowoo! Moderated by Hollywood Reporter publisher Bob Dowling, the discussion revolved around the expertise of Universal Pictures VP of New Media Marketing Kevin Campbell, Soap City VP/General Manager Mary Coller, eUniverse president Shawn Gold and ABC Cable Networks/Disney Channel Marketing SVP Adam Sanderson. Afterwards I met Love Mondo (helpllc.com) and The Knitting Factory Hollywood's biz affairs veep Matthew Neco. The big crowd and energy in the room was sufficient to keep me going for a while, which was good since I had to head from the there to the airport for my red-eye flight home.

ADV ~ NYNMA 7th Annual Super CyberSuds

NYNMA's 7th Annual Super CyberSuds(TM) is being true to its roots! No hype, no insanity - just quality and community. The exhibitors ARE the show, and we're highlighting the best of New York's high tech and new media stars. If your company is driving tomorrow's trends and you want to market your brand to over 4000 professionals, meet potential clients, recruit top talent, and gain media exposure, get involved in Super CyberSuds now! Attendees: Join www.nynma.org today and save on registration! To exhibit, - contact Brian. To sponsor, - contact Rich For more information: http://www.supercybersuds.org

ADV ~ German Chancellor Scholarship Program

Spend a year in Germany for professional development!
German Chancellor Scholarship Program 2002-'03: This program supports prospective leaders with the potential to strengthen ties between Germany and the United States through their profession or studies. Applicants design individual projects tailored to their goals and decide where to pursue them. Applicants must be U.S. citizens under 35 years of age and hold a B.A. No German skills needed in order to apply! Applications due October 31, 2001. Web: www.humboldt-foundation.de. Email: avh@bellatlantic.net.

Publisher's Note ~ Send your news

Don't forget to send over your news, career changes, updates and harmless gossip discussed for my next segment for TechTV! I'll be bringing the same compelling content that you read here, but now shorter, pithier and in a different format-TV! Email me!

Shakers & Stirrers and Bits & Bytes

Skip Garvin
Lawrence E. Phillips
Cue From The Mob?
Love Shacks
Sweet Deal

Korecktions ~ Hipguide, Ponce, WWWAC

Hipguide's Syl Tang's name was misspelled
Bob Ponce is the co-founder of SiliconAlleyStation.com
WWWAC was not a co-producer of the NYNMA Town Hall but was a Platinum Industry Partner

Publisher's Note ~ TV and Gina

Summertime, and the living is easy...especially in August when the pace all around slows to an even more molasses-in-January rate. But don't mistake the lack of activity, or any lackadaisical attitude as added indication of the end of things.
We here at CPC Worldwide Headquarters are planning an all-out attack of wildly amusing and informative events and literary endeavors for you. So don't give up hope and don't touch that dial!

Speaking of dials, tune into TechTV this Tuesday, August 7th (7:00 PM - 8:30 PM) to see yours truly appear on the "Screen Savers" show. I'll be talking about what's going on in the Alley and Valley, who's an 'up and comer' and other juicy tidbits. Have some newsworthy gossip? Send me a note!

As you will see from this week's publication, we now have on board the extremely talented and vivacious writer Gina Larson contributing on a regular basis. She and our staff and alliance network are hard at work planning scintillating panels for the fall. Our lineup includes another panel on the theme of Fashion-during Fashion Week and as a precursor to our Holiday Black Tie benefit we'll explore Non-Profits and Philanthropy in November.

Understanding all too well that not everyone is a morning person, we're expanding our lineup to include our spine-tingling Stardust Circle! Launching this series will be our "Small Talks" series on Nanotechnology, co-produced with Mark Modzelewski, founder of the recently formed US NanoBusiness Alliance. The first of the series will be in New York in October, after which we plan on bringing the series to Philadelphia, Houston and Chicago.

Even though New York City is an international town, we've never been one to just stay in town and absorb the world. Hence, we'll be heading off to sunny Stockholm (in November!) after our October panel on the world of wireless.

Of course, we'll also be bringing our bag of tricks and good cheer to other cities too! So check out our calendar of events at: www.pulitzer.com/calendar/index.html to see when we'll be in your neck of the woods.

And with that...I now present, the talented Gina Larson...

Harlem Nights ~ by Gina Larson

I quickly popped uptown - way uptown - to Harlem's most famous nightclub, The Lenox Lounge. Jim Sosnicky's roving gang of revelers took over the Zebra Room and most of the upfront bar area to celebrate one of his last installments in his, "Great American Bar Tour." I was able to catch up with Jim and a bunch of the other regulars while sipping a dirty martini in the booth where jazz-crooner Billy Holiday slumped, er, sat. The live band nearly blocked off the front entrance, but was keeping the crowd inside by pumping them up with a steady supply of deftly executed R&B classics. There was a great vibe pulsating through the art-deco bar as the mixed crowd of Harlem locales, sleek-suited professionals and artisans started mingling and mixing.

Alas, my departure was too soon. Mr. Sosnicky reports, "Even the snap-snap-snap waitresses started having fun with us. They gave me their emails so that they could come out next week. And these pretty French girls were swing dancing with these handsome young black guys...which made the band work even harder to keep them all entertained. At the end, the band switched suddenly from swing to rock and brought down the house with an awesome version of Purple Rain...ending with the shirtless guitar player arching his back off the floor, while the last chords screamed out of the Stratocaster, resting on his sweaty belly. Girls collapsed into guys arms, numbers were exchanged, lips were locked. It was just smooth and carefree and fun. You can't go wrong with the Lenox Lounge." More info. http://www.broadwayjim.com/

Brand Combat ~ by Gina Larson

When competing in a crowded marketspace, having a strong brand is essential. And protecting a strong brand through hard times is just as essential. These points and more were addressed at the Professionals in Media and Entertainment (PRIME) panel on Thursday, August 2nd. Founded by David Krell of Blue Stripe Media to media and entertainment professional educational and networking opportunities while having some fun.

The suit and tie crowd at PRIME's panel were able to let loose and have fun with a topic that can make even the most even-tempered marketer grumble - branding. The star-studded panel included Andrew Schmertz, anchor of Money Talks, Jim Brandt, vice president of MP3.com, Ronald Coleman, a trademark lawyer and partner at Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty, and Kenny Nova, director of sales and marketing for the NHL. The panel volleyed questions about when to fight trademark infringements and when to shift branding strategies. For instance, Nova pointed out that the NHL modified its tagline from "The Coolest Game on Earth," to a more demure "The Coolest Game," which takes the onus of going head-to-head with other leagues and just targets the sport's core fans.

Things got heated as the conversation started to move towards when a brand or trademark becomes larger than the company itself. For instance, does Nike have ultimate rights over the tiny three-word phrase "Just do it."? Can a children's hospital be sued for painting a mural of Mickey in its lobby? Coleman, who showed good-humor despite having to dole out his professional advice for free, definitively stated, "Regardless of how small the infraction, you owe it to the brand to protect it. The point of a brand is to tell the consumer where it comes from." More info.
http://www.bluestripe.com/