MBAs Network at Tech. Conference

Over 1,200 business school students from across the globe joined technology industry leaders and academics at the Harvard Business School (HBS) this weekend to examine the future of e-commerce, new media and technology.

The three-day Cyberposium 2000 conference attracted participants from 20 partner MBA programs, including Boston College, London Business School, Stanford, MIT and Columbia, as well as HBS.

About 120 attending companies, over 60 high tech CEOs and company founders, as well as a volunteer team of over 125 students from around the world, led discussions and presentations on cutting-edge technology and launching and building successful technology companies.

Thousands of tech enthusiasts joined the conference virtually through the Cyberposium website, which broadcast Real Video clips of all keynote speeches and major panel discussions for those unable to attend the sold-out event.

The highlight of the conference, which was hosted by HBS' High Tech and New Media Club, was a speech Saturday morning by Time magazine man of the year Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com.

Bezos discussed the importance of the online customer relationship and commonly held myths of the Internet.

To succeed with an Internet business, Bezos said companies must "listen to customers, invent for customers and personalize for customers."

One myth Bezos tried to dismiss was that the "Internet changes everything." The Internet, said Bezos, "doesn't change people." With an explosion in online retailers, Bezos claimed that brand names are even more important online than in traditional brick and mortar businesses.

He said it's hard for new start-ups to succeed. But, he claimed, there remain many winning business opportunities for the Internet.

Demonstrating the advances of current technology, Bezos delivered his speech via satellite from Seattle, and answered questions from the Internet, from people as far away as Madrid, Spain. He was unable to attend the conference in person due to the birth of his first child.

The conference began Friday evening with a keynote address by David Wetherell, CEO of CMGI, an Internet holding company.

Wetherell, named last year an "Internet Evangelist" by Business Week, said the Internet is currently only in its beginning stages of development. With only 3 percent of the world's population currently using the Internet, he stressed that the Internet bubble "is only going to get a whole lot bigger."

Wetherell said access to the Internet should be an "inalienable right," and that government should ensure free access to all citizens.

He further argued that more online advertising targeted at specific users will be necessary to offset the costs of free Internet access.

In addition to the panels and speeches, MBA students were given the opportunity to network with fellow MBA colleagues during social events at the House of Blues and Club Avalon. The event also featured a career fair with recruiting start-up companies.

Students who have business plans in the works were able to meet with top venture capital firms in hopes of luring dollars to their ideas.

According to Peggy Fang and Laurent Burman, Cyberposium co-chairs and second-year HBS students, over 100 students had been planning for this year's conference since last February. The two said their vision for Cyberposium 2000 was both to provide networking opportunities and to demonstrate the potential of technology in the new economy.