Contact:

Sarah Ray

802-443-5794

sray@middlebury.edu

Posted: January 18, 2002

MIDDLEBURY,

VT -Middlebury

College will provide students and the public with a current

snapshot of the technology industry when it hosts a

conference on Jan. 26-27 titled “DigitalBridges2002: What

Worked? What Didn’t? Why?” Dot-com presidents, venture

capitalists, journalists and others will participate in a

series of seven panels on topics ranging from the future of

the industry and funding to entrepreneurship and

marketing.

Panelists

will include Rich Tarrant, Jr., founder and chief executive

officer of MyWebGrocer.com, a New York-based online grocery

service, and the son of the IDX co-founder by the same name;

Bill Bishop, executive vice president of CBS

MarketWatch.com, a San Francisco-based online financial news

service; and Frank Sesno, former CNN Washington bureau

chief. Local business and media figures, such as Vermont

Teddy Bear President Liz Robert and WCAX-TV News Director

Marcelis Parsons, will also participate.

All

events will take place in Room 216 of Bicentennial Hall on

Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125), and are

free and open to the public.

The

two-day conference was organized by Michael Claudon,

Middlebury College David K. Smith Professor of Economics, in

conjunction with the course he is currently teaching during

January term, “DigitalBridges2002.” Claudon, who wants to

encourage participation by the students and the public,

said, “At all of these panels, we will welcome questions

from the audience and encourage everyone to engage in the

discussion.”

The

keynote event of the conference is a “town meeting” that

will take place from 6-7:15 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, and

is titled “Dot.future-New Technologies, Tomorrow’s Internet

and Us.” Moderated by Sesno, it will include Jeffrey Schutz,

managing director of the Denver-based Centennial Ventures;

Sean Durkin, founder of Burlington-based MassMobile, a

wireless software company; and Carol Moore, executive

consultant of marketing and new technologies in the strategy

and change consulting division of IBM’s Amsterdam

office.

Dot-com

conference to examine technology industry Jan. 26-27/Page

2

The first panel of the conference on Saturday morning, “Pure

Online Plays Dropped the Dot.Bomb-Who’s Left in the

Rubble?,” will begin at 8:45 a.m. and will include Pieter

Schiller, a general partner in the Boston office of Advanced

Technology Ventures, which handled Petstore.com’s initial

public offering. Ted Adler, founder and chief executive

officer of collegeXTRA.com, a Burlington-based creator of

Web sites for small businesses and college towns, Rich

Tarrant, Jr., of MyWebGrocer.com, and Neil Johnson, founder

of Mass.-based Cadent.com, an Internet company that offers

Web sites, data systems and other services, will also

participate.

From

10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., a panel titled “To Dot.com or Not to

Dot.com-Redefining the Rules for Adding Clicks to Bricks?”

will discuss what takes place when traditional companies

expand sales opportunities by adding an Internet presence.

Taking part in this panel will be Liz Robert of Vermont

Teddy Bear; Wing Pepper, vice president of marketing

strategy at Modem Media, a Norwalk, Conn.-based marketing

firm with clients such as General Motors; Kate Welch,

business development specialist at Colorado-based mWired, an

information technology service; and Carole Moore of

IBM.

“After

the Bust-Have the Fundamentals of Early-Stage

Entrepreneurship Changed?” will be the topic of the next

panel from 1:30-2:45 p.m. Don Spero, director of the Dingman

Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland,

will join in a discussion with Rory Riggs, president of

Biomatrix until it was bought by Genzyme Biosurgery in

December 2000; John Bohan, president and chief executive

officer of L90, which provides online advertising and direct

marketing for advertisers and Web publishers; and Cairn

Cross, a partner in FreshTracks Capital, a Middlebury-based

venture capital firm.

Several

partners in venture capital firms will discuss “Venture

Capital Winners and Losers-Post-Dot.bomb, Fundamentals

Reign” from 3-4:30 p.m. Peter Campbell of New York-based

Generation Partners, Jeffrey Schutz of Centennial Ventures,

and Lindsay Jones of Boston-based Advent International will

serve as panelists.

After

the keynote event on Saturday evening, the conference will

continue on Sunday, Jan. 27 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. with a

discussion about “Online Campaigning: Assessing Strategies,

Models and Techniques.” J.J. Gilmartin, consulting director

of circle.com, an online marketing firm based in Wilton,

Conn., Wing Pepper of ModemMedia, John Bohan of L90, and

Sean Durkin of MassMobile will serve as

panelists.

The

conference will conclude with a panel titled “Special

Report: News Goes Digital” from 10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sesno

will join Marselis Parsons of WCAX-TV, Bill Bishop of CBS

MarketWatch.com, and Tim Clemens, state editor of the

Rutland Herald, for this event.

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conference to examine technology industry Jan. 26-27/Page

3

For more information, contact Serena Peck of Middlebury

College at 802-443-5435 or visit the Web site maintained by

Claudon’s class, http://www.digitalbridges20.net/,

where the full conference proceedings and student-authored

reports on each of the panel topics will be available for

viewing following the conference.

To follow are events calendar listings:

“DigitalBridges2002-What worked? What Didn’t? Why?”

A Technology Conference Featuring Seven Panels

January 26-27

Saturday,

Jan. 26

8:45-10:30 a.m.

“Pure Online Plays Dropped the Dot.Bomb-Who’s Left in the

Rubble?”

Pieter Schiller, Partner, Advanced Technology Capital

Ted Adler, Founder and CEO, CollegeXTRA.com

Rich Tarrant, Jr., Founder and CEO, MyWebGrocer.com

Neil Johnson, Founder, Cadent.com

10:45

a.m.-12:30 p.m.

“To Dot.com or Not to Dot.com-Redefining the Rules for

Adding Clicks to Bricks?”

Elisabeth Robert, President, The Vermont Teddy Bear

Company

Wing Pepper, Vice President of Marketing Strategy, Modem

Media

Kate Welch, Business Development Specialist, mWired

Carol Moore, Executive Consultant, Marketing and New

Technologies, IBM

Global Services

1:30-2:45

p.m.

“After the Bust-Have the Fundamentals of Early-Stage

Entrepreneurship Changed?”

Don Spero, Director, Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship,

University of

Maryland

Rory Riggs, Former President, Biomatrix

John Bohan, President and CEO, L90

Cairn Cross, Partner, FreshTracks Capital

3-4:30

p.m.

“Venture Capital Winners and Losers-Post-Dot.bomb,

Fundamentals Reign”

Peter Campbell, Partner, Generation Partners

Jeffrey Schutz, Partner, Centennial Ventures

Lindsay Jones, Partner, Advent International.

6-7:15

p.m.

“Dot.future-New Technologies, Tomorrow’s Internet and

Us”

Frank Sesno, Former Washington Bureau Chief, CNN

Jeffrey Schutz, Managing Director, Centennial Ventures

Sean Durkin, Founder, MassMobile

Carol Moore, Executive Consultant, Marketing and New

Technologies, IBM

Global Services

Sunday,

Jan. 27

8:30-10:30

a.m.

“Online Campaigning: Assessing Strategies, Models and

Techniques”

J.J. Gilmartin, Consulting Director, circle.com

Wing Pepper, Vice President of Marketing Strategy,

ModemMedia

John Bohan, President and CEO, L90

Sean Durkin, Founder, MassMobile

10:45

a.m.-12:30 p.m.

“Special Report: News Goes Digital”

Frank Sesno, Former Washington Bureau Chief, CNN

Marselis Parsons, News Director, WCAX-TV

Bill Bishop, Executive Vice President, CBS

Marketwatch.com

Tim Clemens, State Editor, Rutland Herald

All

events will take place in Room 216 of Bicentennial Hall on

Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125), and are

free and open to the public. For more information, contact

Serena Peck of Middlebury College at 802-443-5435 or visit

the Web site maintained by Claudon’s class,

http://www.digitalbridges20.net/, where the full conference

proceedings and student-authored reports on each of the

panel topics will be available for viewing following the

conference.