Veteran Web Developer Announces Strategic Alliances to Create New Level of Interaction for the World Wide Web; Silicon Reef Inc. Showcases Alliances with @Home Network, Live Picture Inc., and ichat during Web Simulcast for Webby Awards

Business Wire, Feb 20, 1997

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 1997--Silicon Reef Inc. announced today that the company has formed strategic alliances with @Home Network, Live Picture Inc., and ichat, to serve as an impetus for shaping the new frontier for online interactivity in entertainment.

These high-profile technology companies have been brought together by Silicon Reef to bring the interactive multimedia experience to multiple communication platforms for the Webby Awards. To further the strategic alliances between these companies at the forefront of innovation, Silicon Reef will be showcasing the application of their partners' products and services on March 6, during the first annual Webby Awards, hosted by THE WEB Magazine.

The Webby Award Show will be covered live on NBC television affiliate KRON-TV Channel 4, the Discovery Channel, PBS, and CNET; radio broadcast by CBS affiliate Alice 97.3 FM; and a full-length live Web simulcast hosted on a site developed by Silicon Reef.

For the first time, people will be able to receive a major online event on television because Silicon Reef is optimizing aspects of the Web site production for viewing on both the WebTV Network, and the Home Network platforms.

San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown will kick off the festivities, along with Web visionaries Howard Rheingold, creator of Electric Minds; Tony Perkins, Editor-in-Chief of the Red Herring; Amy Johns, Editor of Wired Magazine; and editors and writers from numerous publications including the New York Times, Wired, Salon, Rolling Stone, and Spin.

The Webby Awards, at www.webbyawards.com, will showcase technologies that will dazzle the online sensory experience. Live Picture Inc. has allied with Silicon Reef to create a photo-spatial, interactive, online entertainment environment. Silicon Reef has also partnered with MediaCast to capture the live content during the show, and John Lund of Team Digital to capture high quality images. Combining RealMedia (audio/video), chat, photo-spatial Web environments, and specialized delivery development (@Home Network, WebTV Network), Silicon Reef has brought together the best and most promising technologies for online entertainment.

These alliances exemplify Silicon Reef's role as a leading online communications company, bringing new Internet products and technologies together with an expertise in user interaction and community building to create branded online assets.

"It is critical to the success of our company, and for the pursuit of our visions, that we create strong developer relationships with other technology companies in the forefront of innovation. If you look at each of these companies, each has created or started a new product or service that is revolutionary, and different. That changes the way we interact on the Internet," said John Barnhill, CEO of Silicon Reef.

Silicon Reef, www.reef.com, is a premier online communications company, providing strategic planning, education, creative development, production, technical integration, and hosting services to create branded online environments for businesses and entertainment companies worldwide.

Founded in 1993, Silicon Reef has expertise in the latest Internet standards-based technologies and content delivery systems, including the World Wide Web, emerging "push" technologies, WebTV, high-speed cable networks, and handheld PCs. Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Chicago, Dallas, and Sydney, the company's client list includes Pacific Bell, Pacific Telesis, K-Swiss, Motorola (Australia), Philips Mobile Computing Group, General Motors (Holden), Activision, The Spot, and Applied Materials.

CONTACT: Silicon Reef Inc., San Francisco

Chad M. Nuss, 415/241-2800, ext. 248

chad@reef.com