FOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- SOFTBANK Expos, the leading
producer of educational technology events, today announced the appointment of
Michela O'Connor Abrams to President of Seybold Seminars, Web Nation and
WebSource.  This appointment is an extension of her responsibility as
President of WebSource, a position she has held since June of this year.
O'Connor Abrams' charter is to leverage the expertise within each of these
groups to extend SOFTBANK Expos', ability to support the publishing and
Internet communities year round.
   "Our appointment of Michela O'Connor Abrams to oversee Seybold Seminars,
Web Nation and WebSource signifies our commitment to being the premier global
Internet conference and trade show company for the 21st century," said William
Lohse, CEO of SOFTBANK Expos.  "Her expertise in Internet publishing, coupled
with her traditional publishing background, gives her the unique perspective
needed to lead these three groups into the future."
    Seybold Seminars produces conferences, web sites and publications that
focus on the most innovative issues and technologies in the publishing
industry.  WebSource, a subsidiary of SOFTBANK Expos responsible for the
company's Internet activities and partnerships, is a web service organization
whose mission is to build, brand, market and sell information-based web sites
for companies who have products and services aimed at IT professionals.  Web
Nation is an extension of Seybold Seminars created specifically to serve the
web developer community.
    "The traditional and Internet publishing industries are growing and
changing at an exponential rate," said O'Connor Abrams.  "Combining the
resources and knowledge of each of these SOFTBANK groups and capitalizing on
the synergy between them will create the best, most comprehensive information
forum for the Internet/publishing community in the world."
    Michela O'Connor Abrams' 16 years of experience in the publishing industry
includes management positions at Ziff-Davis Publishing, International Data
Group (IDG) and, most recently, she was Vice President/Group Publisher at
McGraw-Hill, responsible for LAN Times and other computer trade publications.
She joined SOFTBANK Expos in April 1996 as VP of Online Development and was
named President of WebSource in June.  O'Connor Abrams holds a BS in
Journalism from UCLA.
    O'Connor Abrams' first challenge as President will be to define the most
effective ways to serve the growing web developer community.  She is working
with the Web Nation advisory board, including Ken Locker, MGM Interactive's
producer of original programming and Web Nation advisory board chair, Peter
Karnig, President of Infomatix and Web Innovator conference chair, Roger Black
of @Home, Michael Tchong, creator of Cyberatlas and Mark Pesce, author of vrml
1.0, to determine what information, forums and events should be planned.
    Web Nation: The Summit, a unique event made up of three conferences -- Web
Innovator, World Movers and The Searcher -- specifically for World Wide Web
authors, developers and designers, originally scheduled December 2-5, 1996 in
San Francisco, will be postponed until 1997.  New dates and venues for Web
Nation events will be announced as soon as they are available.  For more
information on Web Nation, access the Web site at http://www.webnation.org.
    SOFTBANK Expos, the world's largest Internet conference & trade show
company, presents 21st century technology events.  The events include premier
educational conferences that attract the brightest technology professionals as
advisors, speakers and participants.  SOFTBANK Expos extends the conference
experience into year-round online communities through a variety of forums,
including content-rich web sites, newsletters and consulting services.
    SOFTBANK Expos, 303 Vintage Park Drive, Foster City, CA 94404
1-800-4-SBEXPOS, 415-578-6900, http://www.sbexpos.com

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