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cyberspace -by Gloria Loree Mecca or Black Hole for the Arts A l l the buzz about the Internet has made some people feel anxious they are missing the boat. Others are skeptical. Are there huge opportunities for artists and arts consumers on the Internet? Or is it time to cry out, "The emperor has no clothes!" and challenge the net-heads of the world? F r o b l e m : it's hard to say w h o , e x a c t l y , is n a k e d w h e n y o u ' r e t a l k i n g about v i r t u a l reality. In time w e w i l l see i f the Internet b e c o m e s the m a i n s t a y o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , or. w i l l it be as b i g a f l o p as V a n c o u v e r ' s first french-fry m a c h i n e franchise. In the m e a n t i m e , there is a constant amount o f i n f o r m a t i o n about the arts a n d for artists b e i n g put up on the Internet. V a n c o u v e r is the base for m o r e than 4 0 w e b sites f o r bands, eight sites f o r i n d i v i d u a l performers and a host o f g r o u p e d sites f o r r e c o r d labels, venues, g a l l e r i e s a n d net m a g a z i n e s . A r t s A l i v e l o o k s at s o m e o f these sites i n an attempt to see w h a t is useful for artists a n d w h a t is j u s t unseen i n s t a l l a t i o n art about to c o m e d o w n . MAGAZINES T h e r e are a g r o w i n g n u m b e r o f m a g a z i n e s , o r " z i n e s , " a v a i l a b l e f o r N e t users. U s i n g N e t s c a p e software to b r o w s e the W o r l d W i d e W e b ( W W W ) is one g o o d w a y to s u r f a r o u n d and find what appeals to y o u . V a n c o u v e r ' s first Internet server, W i m s e y I n f o r m a t i o n S e r v i c e s Inc. has a M a g a z i n e S h o p H o m e Page ( h t t p : / / A v w w . w i s . n e t / M a g a z i n e _ s h o p / ) w h i c h lists T h e A r t s ; G e n e r a l P u b l i c a t i o n s , r a n g i n g f r o m travel p u b l i c a tions to articles f o r v a m p i r e s ; a n d o n - l i n e n e w s p a p e r s , i n c l u d i n g the K a m l o o p s D a i l y N e w s a n d the B r i t i s h Daily Telegraph. N i n e sites are l i s t e d under T h e A r t s s e c t i o n . H e r e are s o m e h i g h l i g h t s . E u p h o n y M a g a z i n e , w h i c h lists itself as the gateway to arts and entertainment i n the P a c i f i c N o r t h W e s t , has a r a p i d l y g r o w i n g readership. R O C K 104 F M in F l o r i d a d e s c r i b e d E u p h o n y as "setting the standards o f o n - l i n e e n t e r t a i n m e n t . . . a must see i f y o u are interested i n the future o f m e d i a . " T h e m a g a z i n e does not exist i n print. It launches a n e w issue e a c h w e e k ( F r i d a y m o r n i n g a r o u n d 9 a m ) . Interactive feature articles i n c l u d e p r o f i l e s o f s u c h c u l t u r a l figures as A r t B e r g m a n n , D i a n n a A t k i n s o n , b i l l bissett, the B a r e n a k e d L a d i e s , M a t t h e w S w e e t and Joe J a c k s o n . T h e r e is a l s o p h o t o g r a p h y a n d v i s u a l art essays, s p o k e n w o r d , poetry and prose and hard news; artists p r o m o t i o n s featuring g r a p h i c s , v i d e o and text a n d a u d i o i n s t a l l a t i o n s ; and an extensive database o f event and nightclub listings. O n e c o o l feature o n their site is the free (honest) real-time interactive classified ads (they a l s o have p a i d ads that are m u c h sexier). E u p h o n y is b e c o m i n g l i n k e d e l e c t r o n i c a l l y to the A r t s C o m m u n i t y . T h e y were a m e d i a s p o n s o r for the J a z z and C o m e d y F e s t i v a l s d e s i g n i n g w e b pages for both events.