Business 2.0 Unveils Plans for Its First Conference Slated for the Fall; ``Business 2.0 Live!'' Kicks Off With '10 Driving Principles of the New Economy' as Series Theme.

Business Editors and High Tech Writers

BRISBANE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2000

Imagine Media's Business Division today unveiled plans to host its first-ever conference under the Business 2.0 brand - a brand with the mission of serving a dynamic audience of "Transformers" anytime, any place, anywhere and in any form. The new conference, which will be branded "Business 2.0 Live!" - moves Business 2.0 magazine content into a live, interactive, face-to-face forum. The "Business 2.0 Live!" conference theme will center around the brand's hallmark "10 Driving Principles of The New Economy" with a new 11th principle to be unveiled at the conclusion of the conference. The event will be held on October 22-24, at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, Calif.

"We are moving aggressively to not only deliver the in-depth content our 'Transformer' audience demands in new forums and formats, but to create a conference that is truly different and unmatched in quality and execution," said Michela O'Connor Abrams, president of Imagine Media's Business Division. "The 'Business 2.0 Live!' conference offers a unique, face-to-face medium for Business 2.0 and catalyst for Transformers to interact and exchange ideas."

The first conference will seek to bring Business 2.0 magazine's content to life in an interactive setting - an actual issue made three-dimensional. More than a theme, the event will encompass the founding principles that Business 2.0 coined and used as the basis for its mission and content and take the 10 Driving Principles to an interactive level - five Principles delivered and discussed over the course of two days. Many of the ten innovative individuals who collaborated with Business 2.0 in authoring the 10 Principles will lead the seminars and discussions dedicated to each Principle theme.

"As you can see from the approach we have chosen, Business 2.0 Live! is meant to stand out from the plethora of Internet conferences that have discussed and re-discussed 'dot com mania,'" continued O'Connor Abrams.

Additional facets of the October Business 2.0 Live! event include an ongoing, interactive Transformer poll - conducted at the event and through the Business 2.0 website - that will invite event attendees and site visitors to select what will become "the 11th Driving Principle of the New Economy." The new principle will be announced and unveiled at the end of the conference with a special editorial feature in Business 2.0 magazine following the event.

The "10 Driving Principles" guiding the event and the Business 2.0 publication are represented by the following snapshot of the principles (which have additional language and rationale in their full length):

1. Matter: Physical products of a company matter less than

the assets represented by key intangibles.

2. Space: Physical distance has vanished as a limitation to

doing business.

3. Time: Is collapsing into the need for instantaneous

interactivity.

4. People: Are the prime factor driving the New Economy.

5. Growth: Is accelerated by the network or Internet.

6. Value: Rises exponentially with market share.

7. Efficiency: The importance of a new business middleman 

that is more efficient - the "infomediary" replaces the

"intermediary."

8. Markets: Buyers are gaining dramatic new power - and

sellers new opportunity.

9. Transactions: Business is now a one-on-one game with the

need for customization.

10. Impulse: Artificial constraints on product purchase choice

are replaced by the ability to purchase the precise

product you desire.

Sponsorships for "The 10 Driving Principles of the New Economy" conference are now available. For further information, please call Mark Furrer, Business 2.0 conference manager, by phone [phone] x463) or email ([e-mail]).

About Business 2.0

Business 2.0 was launched in July 1998 by Imagine Media, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of The Future Network. Since its inception, circulation at Business 2.0 has grown from 125,000 to a rate base of 210,000 as of January 2000. With the creation of the new operating unit, Imagine Media now has three publishing divisions: Business, Computing and Entertainment. All three enjoyed significant growth in 1999 and are forecasting further strong growth for 2000. Within its first year, Business 2.0 won seven top magazine awards: three 1999 Maggie Awards from Western Publications Association, including Best Overall and new Consumer Publication, and Best Special Interest Consumer Publication. Business 2.0 was also honored as the Best Newcomer by the Computer Press Association and has recently won the Folio: Editorial Excellence Award and two Silver Ozzies for magazine design. This year, the publication has already been named a 2000 National Magazine Awards finalist by the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) in the category of General Excellence, and a 2000 Maggie Award finalist in the categories of Best Series of Articles and Best Table of Contents.

About Imagine Media, Inc.

Imagine Media (www.imaginemedia.com) is one of America's fastest-growing publishers of magazines and Websites. Its success is based on the "passion" strategy: creating products that excite tech-savvy consumers. It recently merged into The Future Network plc (www.futurenet.com) the media company founded by Imagine's CEO Chris Anderson in 1985. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Imagine Media's publications sell in excess of 1.8 million copies per month. Its market-leading titles include: Business 2.0, Games Business, MacAddict, Maximum PC, Next Generation, Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine, PC Accelerator, PC Gamer, PSM: 100% Independent PlayStation Magazine, and on the Web: the DailyRadar.com, MacDaily Network, the MaximumPC Network. The Future Network (London:FNET), parent of Imagine Media, Inc., has over 1400 employees, 100 monthly magazines, and operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy.