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CompTel Honors Poster Boys For Competition
Recognized for their contributions to the telecommunications industry, Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-SC, and Rep. Tom Bliley, R-VA, came away from the Competitive Telecommunications Association's inaugural CEO Summit last week with the first "Champions of Competition" award. The two-day conference held at the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington, DC, attracted industry execs and politicos. "Sen. Hollings and Congressman Bliley are models of courage and commitment to a fundamental belief in fair competition," said H. Russell Frisby, CompTel's president. Speaking to executives from telecom firms and Internet service providers were Commerce Secretary William Daley, MCIWorldCom's John Sidgmore, Chamber of Commerce economist Stephan Thurman and Business Week magazine's associate economics editor, Peter Coy.
Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid, D-NV, came out in support of Microsoft's new political channel, MSN Political Pulse, launched last week on the software giant's MSN network. "I have no doubt the new political Web site will be an electronic finger on the pulse of America's voters," Reid said in the release. A spokesman for Reid said the senator wasn't specifically endorsing the Microsoft Web site, rather Reid was promoting the "concept" of using the Internet in politics. Reid also serves as chair of the Senate Democrat's High-Tech Working Group. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-IL, also was quoted in the company's press release saying the Internet is the future of politics. Microsoft's political service will provide original news and commentary on politics from MSNBC and Slate.
At the recent launch of her PAC for a Change Web site, California Sen. Barbara Boxer, D, took every opportunity to toy with her favorite feature on the site, where pictures of Republican leaders in Congress morph into the faces of Democrats. "I just love this part," she said gleefully, clicking on the Changing the Face of Congress Web page. Boxer navigated the press through the features of the site, which is designed to help Democrats claim the majority in Congress. Assisting Boxer with the presentation was Chris Casey of Casey Dorin Internet Productions, who had the task of following Boxer's directions on the site. But when the senator requested that Casey return to the home page, it took a few moments for the page to download, causing Boxer to mistake the unfinished graphics for a technical glitch, rather than a common case of the slow modem blues.
New York Gov. George Pataki, R, has named two "distinguished scholars" to the Advisory Board of the New York Office of Science and Technology. Drs. Roland W. Schmitt and Russell W. Bessette have been tapped to head NYSTAR's board as chairman and executive director, respectively. Schmitt and Bessette will lead the newly established office in its efforts to boost the state's investment in research colleges and universities.
John Simons and David Friedman are making their mark as the first two Markle fellows. The New America Foundation runs the fellowship program established by the Markle Foundation to research the impact of technology on society. Simons, who most recently was the technology policy reporter for The Wall Street Journal, officially entered the fellowship program Jan 3. Friedman, an economics writer, commentator and lawyer, who has contributed to The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio, joins March 1.
"They foster an attitude of professional development and cultivate an understanding of what clients really need," Robb Watters said of his new employer Jefferson Government Relations. The firm's recently appointed vice president for government relations attributes Jefferson's success with partnering clients with other businesses to the "good people" with whom he works. Watters represents a breadth of clients such as children's e-commerce site icanbuy.com, AllAdvantage.com and the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email. Watters joins Jefferson from public relations firm Ruder Finn.
James Jochum is the newest addition to Andersen Consulting's Government Relations team. As senior manager, Jochum will help form the firm's policy agenda on management and technology issues. Jochum comes to the firm with nearly six years of experience on the Hill, which includes his most recent position as counsel for the Senate Banking Committee.
Voter.com has struck a deal with the Democratic and Republican National Committees. The two committees will provide the Web site with official party information on candidates, key issues and the political process. In turn, the committees will promote Voter.com by placing links the site on their Web pages. Both Joe Andrew and Jim Nicholson, DNC and RNC chairs, respectively, gushed about their parties' superior Internet efforts and touted the benefits of the agreement.
Looking to tap the trade group market, several Web design firms are casting their attention to Washington. "You need a presence to make the contacts," said Aarron Mindel, who recently was hired to open a Washington office for eSociety, a six-month-old Web-design company based in Bellevue, WA. Mindel now courts trade groups that seek to increase traffic to their Web sites by offering industry-specific news updates, interactive forums, opportunities for long-distance learning and certification, and e-commerce marketplaces. While eSociety already had signed up several trade groups, company officials say that being in DC was a necessity. "The concept has emerged from the Internet world, so most companies like this have been coming from the West Coast," added Brad Stevens, eSociety's vice president of marketing. "I expect that will change very rapidly." For example, the Washington-based company Unibex recently helped such groups as the National Confectioners Association, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association enhance their sites.
 | - by Jessica Smith |
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