So much for the dearly-held notion of the renegade Internet "professional". Hardly a (visible) body piercing or a green lock of hair was in sight as the youngish Net crowd met to (Inter)network at newly-launched schmoozing group, First Tuesday, in Dublin drinking establishment Zanzibar last week. Suits or "smart casual" and neat haircuts were the order of the day, perhaps an attempt to reassure the sprinkling of venture capitalists that they did indeed have a respectable business plan.

Disappointingly, men outnumbered women by perhaps 20 to one - come on, geek girls, the Margin knows you're out there. Youth was also almost de rigeur. Pity poor Ireland On-Line co-founder and guest speaker Colm Grealy, left to bemoan the fact that he was now termed a "grandfather of the industry" at the bone-creaking age of 30.