Over 1,200 business school students from across the globe joined technology industry leaders and academics at the Harvard Business School (HBS) this weekend to examine the future of e-commerce, new media and technology.

The three-day Cyberposium 2000 conference attracted participants from 20 partner MBA programs, including Boston College, London Business School, Stanford, MIT and Columbia, as well as HBS.

About 120 attending companies, over 60 high tech CEOs and company founders, as well as a volunteer team of over 125 students from around the world, led discussions and presentations on cutting-edge technology and launching and building successful technology companies.

Thousands of tech enthusiasts joined the conference virtually through the Cyberposium website, which broadcast Real Video clips of all keynote speeches and major panel discussions for those unable to attend the sold-out event.

The highlight of the conference, which was hosted by HBS' High Tech and New Media Club, was a speech Saturday morning by Time magazine man of the year Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com.

Bezos discussed the importance of the online customer relationship and commonly held myths of the Internet.

To succeed with an Internet business, Bezos said companies must "listen to customers, invent for customers and personalize for customers."

One myth Bezos tried to dismiss was that the "Internet changes everything." The Internet, said Bezos, "doesn't change people." With an explosion in online retailers, Bezos claimed that brand names are even more important online than in traditional brick and mortar businesses.