Members of the Digital Coast Community:

Enclosed is another installment of "The Industry Briefing," updating you on the activities of the 23 local organizations who comprise the Digital Coast Roundtable's Industry Relations Committee.

Despite a year of great change for all of us in the Internet industry, our local networking organizations and professional associations continue to thrive as a forum for information sharing, recruiting and professional development among the members of our community.

While many companies downsized or closed their doors, the industry still appears to be growing, as talented people move toward proven business models, and only the most viable new businesses receive funding and validation from a highly competitive and skeptical marketplace.

In the new year we will announce new initiatives of the Industry Relations Committee designed to keep the Digital Coast community more informed about events and the many resources offered by our respective Industry Relations Committee organizations.

Until then, we hope you will join us on December 14, when we present the second annual Digital Coast Holiday Reception bringing together the members of our organizations for a huge industry celebration at the California Science Center.

As always, we welcome your feedback about this newsletter, the Digital Coast Roundtable and your opinions and ideas about the Digital Coast economy.

Best regards,

Tony Winders
Co-Chair, Industry Relations Committee
President, iAgency
tony@iagency.com

Our host, the Digital Coast Roundtable (DCR), was founded in 1998 and brings together industry, academic and government leaders to promote the success of the new media industry and meet the needs of a wide range of market interests in the Southern California area. The mission of the DCR is to define, map and brand Southern California's emerging technology and digital media industry; to participate in focused public/private partnerships to upgrade the infrastructure and connectivity of the new media industry; and to support efforts to improve LA's educational infrastructure in order to develop a first class technical and creative workforce. The DCR will support favorable tax and zoning environment for the new media industry in Southern California. The Digital Coast Roundtable has also partnered with several community organizations that promote educational programs, training, employment and advocacy initiatives throughout the region.

The Industry Relations Committee is a service of the Digital Coast Roundtable and brings together on a quarterly basis the presidents of Los Angeles' technology and media professional associations to discuss timely issues and events facing the companies and individuals in our local digital media industries.

The Industry Relations Committee provides a forum for the Digital Coast Roundtable to communicate with the community, and vice versa, through its leadership. The Industry Relations Committee publishes a quarterly newsletter, "The Digital Coast Industry Briefing," to communicate the news, events and information affecting Los Angeles digital media industry.

Associations currently participating in the Industry Relations Committee include:

Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences
http://www.interactive.org

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS)
http://www.emmys.org

Association of Internet Professionals - AIP
http://la.association.org

The Association of Internet Professionals, Los Angeles Chapter, has been busy working with the FBI to keep our cyberspace safe. AIP-LA has assisted the FBI in the development of "InfraGuard," the agency's "Cyber-Neighborhood Watch" Program. The program is designed to assist Internet companies in protecting their sites from hacking and other cybercrimes. This program addresses such issues as industrial espionage, intellectual property theft, online securities fraud, and consumer privacy.

On Tuesday, November 21, AIP-LA will present at its monthly meeting the FBI Computer Crimes Squad and the Assistant United States Attorney in a panel discussing threats to the industry, information disclosure and the InfraGuard program. For more information, please go to http://la.association.org, or e-mail vduff@association.org.

Directors Guild of America
http://www.dga.org

First Tuesday
http://www.firsttuesday.com

Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE) Southern California
http://www.fwe.org

Internet Society Los Angeles Chapter - ISOC-LA
http://www.ISOC-LosAngeles.org

Public Service Education Series: To Bridge the Digital Divide

It is estimated that there are over three hundred million Internet users worldwide this year. 5% of the World's population is now using the Internet. One of the largest barriers to the goal of worldwide access is what we refer to as the Digital Divide.

The Myth: The Digital Divide is somewhere else. It is in Third World Nations. The fact is, the Digital Divide is here and now. Our Federal, State, and City Governments; PBS; Cisco; and a lot of other organizations and businesses have recognized the Digital Divide, have invested some money, and are taking some steps to get their members and citizens connected.

Sadly, the answer is more like, "Bridging the Digital Divide is a monumental task and will take a lot more than marginal investment and effort to build!" It will also take a long time. Our objective is to get together Internet professionals and other interested members of the various Internet related groups and organizations in our area along with professionals in organizations and projects that are working on bridging the Digital Divide. The goal of this program is to develop a plan to get our organizations, people, and the resources we need to get our communities working on building the bridge. The first organizational meeting, hosted by Earthlink, was held in their Pasadena facility on Tuesday, September 26, 2000.

Task Groups in Formation:

1. Metrics: gathering, tracking, and reporting Digital Divide information (How do we know we're having a positive impact?)
2. Marketing and Communications: media, promo, PR, political, and community relations.
3. Accessibility: resources, recipients
4. Research: collection, assessment
5. Management: group coordination, liaison

Please send an email message to mtodd@isoc-la.org to make your commitment to join one or more of the Task Groups.

L.A. ACM/SIGGRAPH
http://www.siggraph.org

LAWNMOWER Media
http://www.lawnmoweronline.com

larta - the technology alliance for southern california
http://www.larta.org

larta University Boot Camps

It is a time of change for the technology entrepreneur. Volatile markets. Valuations are down, yet investments are strong. You need to know what is going on to keep your company on the fast track to growth and investment. larta University is the leading in-depth interactive boot camp that brings together venture capitalists, industry experts, and successful businesses to assist you in the growth of your company in today's marketplace. Each workshop is $125, or you can attend the whole series for $500 (the fifth workshop is free if you attend the whole series)

Series Topics

November: Building Barriers to Competition.
The entrepreneur often has two assets - the small financial asset that seeded the venture and the intellectual property that will propel its growth. This workshop will discuss the corporate governance issues necessary to protect and grow the financial seed.

December: Building the Team.
Ultimately, a successful venture is really about people. This workshop will discuss techniques to attract top talent, discussing such issues as stock options, independent contractors, offer letters and payment of outside directors.

January: Attacking the Market and Creating Market Share.
A product needs to be more than good - it needs to sell. This workshop will discuss methods to create that market share by discussing particular public relations and marketing techniques, such as building a sales force, distribution methods, advertising and strategic selling.

February: Attracting the Capital.
With a firm strategy in place, the company can seriously consider courting outside investment. This workshop will discuss the techniques to draw in angel investors and venture capitalists, as well as discussing such issues as valuation and exit strategies.

PROMAX
http://www.promax.org

San Diego Regional Technology Alliance (SDRTA)
http://www.sdrta.org

Society for Internet Advancement (SIA)
http://www.siala.org

Software Council of Southern California
http:www.SCSC.org

Tier One Network
http:www.tieronenetwork.org

Tier One Network has started its "Doing Business Internationally" series. For the month of November we have scheduled, "Doing Business in Asia" for Irvine November 8th, and Pasadena on the 14th. West Los Angeles location will have " International Business" on November 28th and San Diego will host "Doing Business in Latin America" on November 30th. More information at www.tieronenetwork.org.

Virtual International Community (VIC)
http://www.thevic.org

Web Grrls - LA
http://www.webgrrls-la.com

Wednesday Nights
http://www.wednights.org

Women In Film
http://www.wif.org

Women In New Technologies (WINT)

WINT recently had a very successful evening with journalists from four major newspapers, The Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, The Standard and The Los Angeles Times, joining for a question and answer session with one hundred women from our group. It was eye-opening and inspiring for those who attended the event. Our November event is in the works. The focus will be on Business To Business technologies. We are also coordinating our December Holiday Party at which time we annually adopt a Charity and donate items and dollars.

Women's New Media Alliance (WNMA)
http://www.wnma.org

Women In Technology International (WITI)
http://www.witi.org

Women In Technology International (WITI) Holiday Event. A spectacular dinner at the Friar's Club in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, December 6, from 6:00 - 9:30 pm. Music, networking and hors-d'oeurves followed by a three-course sit-down dinner.

Keynote speaker: Dr. Tessa Warschaw, Ph.D
Sponsors: Idealab! Katten Muchin Zavis and Microsoft
Registration information: www.witi.org

Writers Guild of America
http://www.wga.org