Web Lab | Silicon Alley Talent Show

The First Annual Silicon Alley Talent Show

The Lineup

Lyrics

Comments

Video

Coverage

10/30/98 je trouve que votre music est très bonne continuer votre bon travail - olivier caron

04/15/98 Did the babies shave their legs for the act, or what? - Karen Sideman

04/13/98 To correct courtney pulitzers flattery, I was wearing hot pants, not a short miniskirt. - rebecca odes

04/08/98 The Baby Bits were the Negroponte family surprising and embarrasssing their brother, father and Talent Show judge, Nicholas. They talked him into participating and then made sure he got his comeuppance. Until that night, he knew nothing about their act and neither did we. We loved them adding more looniness and absurdity to the event, even though they almost got chopped by Jason's Tae Kwon Do demo. Their baby bottles filled with straight vodka might have played some role in their overall performance and popularity. - Suzanne Seggerman, Web Lab

04/08/98 While in Silicon Valley the nerds might be considered cool, here in Silicon Alley we're still the geeks. People are either afraid of us or, more likely, disregard us completely. I think the race for the Holy Grail of "Venture Capital" has also tended to make this crowd a bit more fractured and competitive than we'd be otherwise. The Silicon Alley Talent Show gave New York's online development community a chance to experience a delightful evening of mutual embarrassment. What better way to bond? It was like an orgy of disfunctional sex. I had a blast. - Douglas Rushkoff, author, Ecstasy Club, Media Virus

04/08/98 What the hell was up with the babies anyway? - Austin Bunn

4/7/98 I thought it was terrific and hysterically fun to see members from our community showcasing their hidden talents and interests. - Courtney J. Pulitzer, The Scene, @NY

4/7/98 I enjoyed the talent show immensely; it rekindled some of the "community" Silicon Alley had lost. Never mind some of the brickbats -- the folks who got up and tried to please should be congratulated, and it did raise awareness and money for the cause. - Tom Watson, Editor & Publisher, @NY

4/7/98 I stayed in town for the talent show -- it was great! A fine time was had by all. I cross-posted the announcement for it to the LA-based 'goodtimes' list -- and immediately the local scene here in LA started discussing having one here, envious of such a great idea.

Those who trashed it have no sense of humor at all. It was supposed to be kind of gong-show -- that's what made it great. - Mark Jeffrey, The Palace Inc., Co-Founder & VP

4/6/98 I think it is great to be in an environment where both work and schmoozing about work isn't the point of the evening. It was about having fun, connecting and joking, and for certain people showing off their non-computer talents while at the same time trying to show each other how we are connected b/c of what we do, not b/c we have business with each other but because this job effects our lives intimately from work to pleasure and the kinds of pleasures we do. The good points were that it brought new media (computer) workers together for FUN. So it really interrupted their overworking pattern, and their isolation. I think that Omar did the best job of that even though his delivery wasn't as good as can be. I loved his spirit, but mainly that is b/c I know him well. I liked the judges thing too. It was a nice "Gong Show" Effect. I liked the variety of acts. It all wasn't singing which was good. OH! Fred was great!!!! Here's where it just didn't work for me. I liked what you were trying w/ the judges, but they just weren't that entertaining. The price was WAY too high for most people in the SA to come unless theyreally wanted to see someone they knew. It was also preventatively high forpeople to bring friends that weren't in the industry at all.

I think it would have been fun to make it more interactive w/ the crowd. Make it a contest, or have some acts need the crowd more. I think that is another reason I liked Omar's act, is that he "needed" the crowd for it to work. - David Heller, HTM(hell)

4/6/98 Had a blast on Saturday night. Did not get home until 5 AM thanks to daylight savings time. But I am slowly recovering. - Steve Willet