"DIGITAL BE-IN 12" CELEBRATES THE MEDIA REVOLUTION
Luminaries explore possibilities for global change through new media tools at annual cyberculture gathering

January 7, 2002 (San Francisco) -- With a theme of "Media rEvolution," the 12th Digital Be-In will open its doors at 7 pm on January 12, 2002, at StudioZ.tv, 314 11th Street in San Francisco, during the MacWorld Expo. Considered the original "cyberculture" event, the Digital Be-In is a party, a forum for new ideas, an exhibition, a concert, and a live netcast. Although the event morphs with the times and assumes a different theme each year, it consistently serves as a bellwether for creative and humanistic applications of digital media.

Experts in independent media, education, and communities will share their views on the state of new media and explore possibilities for global social evolution through technology during a roundtable discussion starting at 8 pm. Audience participation is encouraged with exhibits in the Media Frontier exhibition and networking salon. A broad range of speakers will be addressing the theme with examples of alternative media resources and new developments toward a decentralized, "many to many" media system that began to emerge with the early Internet in the late 1990s.

Jobs Panel, Media Revolution Roundtable Discussion, and Visionary Speakers
Addressing the needs of the unemployed, this year’s event features a hands-on Jobs Panel at 7 pm, with Craig Newmark of Craigslist.org; Sylvia Paull of Gracenet; Kenya Briggs and Andreas Ramos of the National Writers’ Union and Sean Ahern of the Center for Electronic Art. Ahearn plans to offer job interviews for openings at the Center for Electronic Art, and other panelists will provide practical advice for getting jobs in high-tech and related fields.

The roundtable discussion at 8 pm features Jeff Perlstein, Director of Media Alliance; Joan Blades of MoveOn.org; Rose Aguilar, CNET Radio broadcaster and founder of News We Can Use; Danny Sheehan, social justice attorney, and Malcolm CasSelle, co-founder of NetNoir.

The event is emceed by Galen Brandt. The roster of distinguished speakers includes Shari Steele, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation; Lawrence Hagerty, author of Spirit of the Internet, R.U. Sirius of The Thresher magazine, and Bruce Brugman, founder and publisher of the SF Bay Guardian.

Live Music, Kesey Tribute, Peace Dance
Live music will be performed by Medicine Drum, L.I.F.E., and Kode IV. Human Be-In organizer/San Francisco Oracle publisher and poet Allen Cohen will perform spoken word pieces accompanied by pianist George Michalski followed by dance troupe EarthTroupe. A special tribute to Ken Kesey, including a recent video of Kesey titled "Down by the River" will be presented by Gerald Nicosia, Roseanna Lourdeaux and Allen Cohen. Daniela Haskara and the Dancers of the Wings will provide a theatric segue into the evening’s Peace Dance, featuring some of the Bay Area’s top DJs including Ms. E, Khaled elSayed, Dov, Goz, Cybervixen, ChiKa and Tom. As in the past, the Be-In will also showcase immersive projections by leading "VJs", including Arcane, Dr. Spook, TinaZ, VJ Luna and Technoir, with laser show by Patrick Flanagan’s LaseRave.

Exhibition
Exhibits include sponsor tables, an Avatar Theater produced by Virtual World Studios combining live action with virtual characters using Adobe Atmospheres virtual world software and other advanced applications, and a Video Screening Theater presented by Video Activism Network (a project of Whispered Media and SF Independent Media Center). 

Sponsors
Digital Be-In 12 is sponsored by MacWorld Expo, Higher Octave Music, A&R Partners, Center for Electronic Art, Sharp Electronics, Imaja Software, and Bay Area Business Woman, with support from Anon Salon, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Zama Online Designs, Transcendigital, V.T.P., Gracenet, Craigs List, Media Alliance, National Writers Union, Whispered Media, SF Independent Media Center, and a host of volunteers.

History of the Digital Be-In
Produced by Verbum -- new media publishers based in San Francisco -- the Digital Be-In began in the late 1980s as a party for the former Verbum magazine held during Macworld Expo. The celebrated event became a magnet for artists and programmers pioneering in desktop publishing and multimedia in the early 1990s. Named for the Human Be-In -- the original counterculture event held in 1967 in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park -- the Digital Be-In’s connection to its namesake became more tangible with the involvement of Human Be-In organizers Allen Cohen, Chet Helms, and Timothy Leary as well as early proponents for democratic new-media systems, such as John Perry Barlow, Brenda Laurel, Paul Brainerd, and Ted Nelson. The 11th Digital Be-In hosted Ken Kesey’s last visit to San Francisco, featuring the day-glo bus and a band of Merry Pranksters -- on the road, and online.

Netcast
A live netcast of the event will be provided by online music and culture channel Radio-V.com. Streaming video, as well as ongoing reports from a team of netcast reporters, will be posted to the Be-In site throughout the evening.

Admission
Admission is $15 in advance or $20 at the door, available online at Acteva.com/go/verbum or from Ceiba Records at 463 Haight Street (415-437-9598). A variety of food and beverages will be available. For more information on this year's event and previous Digital Be-Ins, see www.be-in.com. Send inquiries via email to be-in@verbum.com.

Contact

Sylvia Paull, Director of Publicity email: whoisylvia@aol.com telephone: (510) 547-1116

Michael Gosney, Executive Producer email: mg@verbum.com telephone: (415) 865-0481