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Extra, Extra! Get Your High-tech Packet
The chairman of the House Republican Committee has big plans for members in November, including the distribution of a high-tech how-to manual. Speaking before the board of directors at the Information Technology Industry Council last week J.C. Watts, OK, announced that he would be handing out a high-tech packet to members to brief them on the latest developments in the industry. The kit will be distributed to assist members in engaging in dialogue with the tech industry and the public, an HRC spokesman said. Watts also said at the forum that he will be taking a delegation to Austin, TX, on November 15, in addition to other locations yet to be determined later in the month.
When faced with comparing the Internet and entertainment industries, Senior Vice President of Global Strategic Policy at America Online George Vradenburg pledged his allegiance to the world of high-tech. "This community is a lot more creative," he said. "Everything is changing. People are trying to do things that have never been done before." Sitting in his office before a poster featuring his former employer 20th Century Fox, Vradenburg added that there were only so many "boy-meets-girl" scenarios and plot lines in Hollywood compared to the endless possibilities the Internet offers. Vradenburg also noted the synthesis of the two industries, with the trend of entertainment executives starting their own "dot-com" companies. "The Internet will be a part of everything. It will deliver," he said. "If it reaches its full potential this is where it’s going to be. It will be like electricity, something we don’t even think about."
America Online is on the prowl for a new president to head its international division now that Jack Davies has given his notice. The search has been underway for several months after Davies, who has been with the company for six years, told executives over a year ago that he would like to hand over his daily responsibilities. Handling the search is Heidrick & Struggles International, which is considering candidates internationally. The company has launched a few joint ventures while under Davies' leadership, including AOL Europe and AOL Japan.
In addition to running her own government affairs firm, former Rep. Susan Molinari, R-NY, will be joining Fleishman-Hillard’s Washington office as a senior public affairs consultant. The firm’s clients include a number of high-tech companies, including America Online. At her own firm, Molinari will stay on as chairwoman for iAdvance, a Baby-Bell backed coalition that seeks regulatory relief for the RBOCs that would allow them to offer high-speed data services. Molinari’s husband, former Rep. Bill Paxon, R-NY, is working for the local law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld lobbying for the opposition in the battle of the Bells.
Jack Krumholtz, director of Microsoft's federal government affairs office in Washington, has started bi-coastal commuting while he fills in for Kimberly Ellwanger, who left Microsoft's policy office in Redmond, WA, to pursue other interests. Krumholtz will keep on commuting between the East Coast Washington and the West Coast Washington until a replacement for Ellwanger can be found.
At a fundraiser held for Democrat presidential candidate Vice President Al Gore, host Marc Andreessen thanked Gore for his early support of the Internet. Andreessen said when he was a student at the University of Illinois, he was able to access a federal grant program that was funded through the efforts of then-Sen. Gore, D-TN. Because of that program, Andreessen was able to work on the technology that led to the creation of Netscape's Web browser. The fundraiser, held at Andreessen's Northern Virginia home, was attended by approximately 200 local high-tech Gore friends, who helped rustle up about $200,000, according to the Gore campaign.
The public relations manager at the Business Software Alliance has left to run the DC office of Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci, R. As of November 1, Anne Gavin will work on a number of issues for the governor, including information technology as the ".commonwealth" state pushes its high-tech presence. In the meantime, Diane Smiroldo, currently BSA's vice president of public affairs, will manage press affairs until a permanent replacement is found.
Gary Chapman, director of the University of Texas at Austin's 21st Century Project, asked an audience gathered at a Commerce Department's conference on information technology to consider something that is rarely discussed with the excitement over the growth of the Internet — that there are cons to a growing computerized world. First, there is a growing inequality between those with skills and those without, and the median income, adjusted for inflation, isn't rising. Second, the Internet is creating a vapid and commercialized new media culture. Lastly, the excitement of using technology for education is glossing over the fact that learning problems are not technologically-based. He also said public policy advocates tend to look at solving the digital divide as solely a worker training problem, when that is only part of the problem. He said that although there have been worker training programs for decades, poverty persists, making it clear that better worker training on computers will not fully solve the problem of the digital divide. "Getting computers into poor neighborhoods is only part of the answer," Chapman said. The 21st Century Project is dedicated to expanding public participation in the changing high-tech worlds.
"There needs to be governmental action in order for e-commerce to happen," said Elliot Maxwell, special adviser to Secretary of Commerce William Daley. Maxwell joined Beryl Howell, general counsel for Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, and Robert Aiken, Cisco Systems University research director, to discuss the importance of building consumer trust in e-commerce at a two-day conference in Washington hosted by the Cross Industry Working Team and the Electronic Payments Forum last week. Stressing the need for government to work in tandem with the high-tech industry to ensure a healthy future for e-commerce, the panelists offered a variety of suggestions. Howell warned that legislation involving encryption and digital signatures not become "messy," bipartisan battles that eventually turn into "political footballs." Referring to Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-MI's, Millennium Digital Commerce Act, S. 761, of which versions have been "bouncing back and forth in the House and Senate," Howell called the bill a prime example of bipartisan interest in creating standards, despite the apparent struggle. But it wasn’t all criticism of the system. Maxwell noted that the National Advisory Committee chartered by President Clinton would advise the administration on the ways to improve the Internet’s reliability and security. The plans for the committee should be finalized within the next two months, Maxwell said.
Former Rep. Lynn Schenk, D, made history in the Golden State when she was named chief of staff to Gov. Gray Davis, D-CA, becoming the first woman in the state to fill the post. At the beginning of his term in January, Davis named Schenk his chief aide and senior counsel, and Vince Hall was named staff director. Now, less than a year later, Hall is leaving the governor’s office to head a start-up high-tech firm that will market computer software to enable the public to communicate with government agencies.
"There is no group or organization whose sole purpose is to represent Internet users," said Edward Seigal president of Internetlobby.org. "That’s our mission. That’s why we believe we are the first and the only." Internetlobby.org hit the Web last Monday and is offering users the opportunity to voice their concerns about Internet policy. When asked why he saw the need for such a forum, Seigal said, "Because we saw Microsoft and AOL and other giants of the technology industry waking up to the fact that it is important to have a Washington presence. Corporate America has known that for years, but it has only been recently they have woken up and smelled the coffee." Seigal continued: "There is the very real danger that shortly it will be the high-tech industry that has the presence in Washington, but not the Internet users." Seigal plans to tackle such issues as spamming, taxation and privacy on a bill-by-bill basis. Seigal served as press secretary and legislative assistant to former Rep. Mickey Edwards, R-OK.
After nine years as a top Microsoft executive, Brad Silverberg has left the company to pursue other paths. Silverberg, who was a senior vice president, is most often credited with playing key roles in the development of two major Microsoft successes: Windows 3.1 and the Internet Explorer browser. After taking personal leave in 1997, Silverberg returned last year as a part time consultant. While on leave, Silverberg invested in Tellme Networks, mentoring and funding the company, but now is looking to direct his energies to a start-up in the Seattle area in a similar capacity.
The Information Technology Industry Council has added America Online and Corning to its membership roster, bringing its total to 29 companies. Most of ITI's members are computer and equipment makers, but with newcomer AOL and recent addition Microsoft, the trade association plans to expand its list of lobbying issues, which now includes broadband and export controls. The new members will also help ITI launch its "Understanding the Digital World" — an education initiative aimed at helping policymakers better understand high-tech issues. Clarification
In last week's column Mary Hanley was referred to as leaving the private sector to work in the public arena. However, in her move from government agency National Telecommunications and Information Administration to nascent high-tech firm Infotech Strategies, she is moving from public to private.
Send comments and contributions to Jessica Smith.
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