Mathis Winkler
CORONA DEL MAR -- Movie set scouts would have a field day in Lisa
Rubenstein's live-in office. The cozy apartment off Coast Highway
perfectly fits the bill of an Internet pioneer's abode.
Visitors to Rubenstein's place virtually fall into her working area --
a desk arrangement outfitted with computer, printer, fax and phone. A few
feet over begins the living room area and a kitchen stands on the room's
opposite wall. Files and office material spill around the corner to the
bedroom.
But Rubenstein, who keeps her apartment meticulously clean, resembles
anything but a stereotypical computer nerd. The tanned and stylishly
dressed 31-year-old pretty much stumbled into cyberspace herself.
"I didn't even own a computer at the time," she said, adding that she
now takes her laptop on vacations. "I just sort of lived it out."
After about four or five years in the business, she's determined to
put Orange County on the virtual map.
A few months ago, she founded WebEvents, an organization for Orange
County Internet professionals that meets for networking parties.
WebEvents' mailing list includes about 900 people, said Rubenstein,
adding that the county's Web community didn't have to hide behind
Internet capitals such as San Francisco or Los Angeles.
"We're every bit as cutting-edge and on top of it as everyone else,"
she said.
To prove it, Rubenstein's organizing the inaugural Orange County
eWards, a sort of Internet Oscars honoring the best Web sites around.
Categories range from sites related to arts and entertainment to those
designed for kids or travelers.
A selection of the county's Web professionals will judge the entries
and announce the winners at a gala Oct. 19.
This type of event could help strengthen the Internet community in
Orange County, which has become a hub of successful dot-coms, said Liz
Marek, director of business development for SYNGE.com -- a heavily
visited pop culture site based in Costa Mesa.
"Anything that recognizes other players in the industry, it's good for
all of us," Marek said.
Goodwill Industries of Orange County and AnotheR BytE -- two charities
that recycle old computers and give them to the needy -- will receive a
portion of the proceeds from the event.
Rubenstein said she would not nominate her own Web site for the
awards.
"I thought that would be a conflict of interest," she said with a
smile.
Together with Fullerton-based designer Tina McKean, Rubenstein runs a
Web-based advertising agency. The two women constantly communicate by
