Esther Dyson and Release 1.0 to Host First Personal Health Information Workshop on Sept. 30.

NEW YORK -- Event to Bring Together Policymakers, IT Vendors, Health-Care Providers, Entrepreneurs, and Investors to Develop Market for User-Controlled Personal Health Information

Release 1.0, a property of CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET), today announced the Personal Health Information Workshop, to be held September 30 in New York City. Hosted by Release 1.0 editor Esther Dyson, an influential IT analyst who also runs PC Forum (a yearly gathering of IT-industry leaders), the workshop will bring together influential policymakers, IT vendors, health-care providers, entrepreneurs and investors who plan to foster and serve the growing market of consumers who control their own health information. The workshop will take place at The New School in New York City, and will provide attendees a unique chance to get comprehensive exposure to the people and opportunities in this emerging, unformed market.

Newly enabled both by law and by increasing awareness of the importance of health information, this market still desperately needs better tools and services from a business community that until now has focused primarily on institutional customers. Dyson's goal is to help define this new market and to help the players develop services and tools to collect, use and share personal health information in a way that will serve the needs of the ultimate customers -- individuals.

Personal health information includes everything about an individual's health and health care, ranging from self-reported information about diet and exercise, to clinical records and administrative/financial information from hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and labs. Over the next decade, capital and revenues will be pouring into this sector. To make effective use of this money, the market first needs to see itself more clearly: Investors need to see models of success, and start-ups need to understand what both competitors and potential partners are doing. Most importantly, users need to see products and services whose benefits they can understand.

At Release 1.0's Personal Health Information Workshop, attendees will learn about progress in the field so far, get access to some of the first people and companies to address the challenges, and participate in discussions about what could and should happen next in the use of personal health information to improve health care for all individuals in the United States.

"There's lots of personal health information around," said Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1.0 and editor at large, CNET Networks. "But very little of it is 'liquid' -- able to be used for the benefit of those individuals it concerns. Much of it is in paper form, and even electronic records are kept under virtual mattresses, held by institutions with no incentive to share it with the individual's other health-care providers. The way to solve this problem is not primarily with money, but by giving individuals the means as well as the right to control the disposition of their own information. They may not need to hold it personally, but they need the tools and services to determine how it is used and shared on their behalf."

A complete agenda with details on each session, plus information on how to register, is available at http://www.release1-0.com/events/. Featured speakers at the workshop include:

--Larry Augustin, CEO, Medsphere Systems/Vista

--Rich Benci, President, RealAge

--George Church, Professor of Genetics, and Director, Lipper Center for Computational Genetics, Harvard Medical School 

--Giovanni Colella, President & CEO, RelayHealth

--Carol Diamond, Managing Director, Health Program, Markle Foundation 

--Ed Fotsch, CEO, Medem

--Beverly Kennedy, President, Health, First Data Corp.

--Mark Liponis, Corporate Medical Director, Canyon Ranch Health Resorts

--Carol McCall, VP, Center for Health Metrics, Humana

--Ryan Phelan, Founder & CEO, DNA Direct

--Paul Sheils, CEO, Aetna Health Information Solutions

--Earl Steinberg, President & CEO, Resolution Health

--Greg Tullman, Chairman & CEO, Allscripts

--Jonathan White, VP, Human Health Information Technology and Planning, Pfizer

--William Yasnoff, Founder & Managing Partner, NHII Advisors/eHealthTrust

Companies that will present demos of their products include: CapMed, Body Journal (Berkeley Medical) and SimoHealth.

About Release 1.0

Release 1.0, formerly EDventure Holdings and a property of CNET Networks, Inc. since 2004, is led by Esther Dyson, CNET Networks' Editor at large and an influential thought leader on emerging technologies and markets. Release 1.0 serves IT-industry executives, investors, entrepreneurs, thinkers and policymakers by providing insight into emerging business and policy trends as they affect and are affected by IT. Release 1.0's products include the thought-provoking Release 1.0 quarterly newsletter, the www.release1-0.com website, the annual PC Forum executive conference, and an ongoing series of topical events, such as Flight School, the upcoming Personal Health Information Workshop, and When 2.0, which will be held in early December 2005. Other topics recently covered by Release 1.0 include real-time markets, social networks, digital identity management, the accountable Net (fighting spam and fraud), attention management, and IT and health care.

About CNET Networks, Inc.

CNET Networks, Inc. is a worldwide media company and creator of content environments for the interactive age. CNET Networks takes pride in being "a different kind of media company," creating richer, deeper interactive experiences by combining the wisdom and passion of users, marketers, and its own expert editors. CNET Networks' leading brands -- such as CNET, GameSpot, MP3.com, Webshots, and ZDNet -- focus on the personal technology, entertainment, and business technology categories. The company has a strong presence in the US, Asia, and Europe.