• by Kelly Samardak , June 18, 2010

House Party Brings Social To Main Street, XV Motorsports Showroom, Irvington, NY
June 17, 2010

After my delicious lunch at Felidia yesterday, all I wanted to do was take a nap. But naps are for the weak! And the strong suck it up and head to Westchester. Irvington, NY to be exact, where Westchester140 and House Party were gathering the social media intrigued business owners small and large to discover how this still new to some communication channel and community activator can enhance their money makers. Oh yeah, and to have a little absinthe.

I gotta tell you, Manhattan, the 'burbs know how to throw a networking event. True, true we do have penthouses and lofts and underground speakeasies, but nothing compares to the wind whipping off the Hudson as you stand at the water's edge with your back to a huge quiet parking lot and a restaurant tinkling with forks and ice cubes to your right, while witnessing the sun dissolve behind rolling hills lighting the clouds on fire. When that water's edge isn't part of a floating dock soaked in over-priced beer and fratitude (cough cough, Frying Pan), everybody wins.

The event was held at the XV Motorsports Showroom, so a toad green Charger and an electric baby blue Plymouth greeted attendees as they shuffled over a red carpet into the showroom. Sol Yaged and his Jazz All Stars were already in full swing, kicking out the clarinet jams. No Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, or Passion Pit here, pals, just a stand up bass, a keyboard, a trombone, a trumpet, a clarinet, and sometimes a sassy voice. The music weaved through the crowd munching on veggies, cupcakes, and YES mussels.

I spotted Van Shea Sedita of House Party (also an adjunct professor, which I've discovered is the "contributing blogger" of the academic world), who is taller than his Twitter avatar would lead you to believe. He seemed to be the Queen Bee of the place, known by all. I was pleased as a hippo in a mud hole to finally meet Rommel Wood, Community Manager at House Party, Inc. (@blergisphere on Twitter) in person. She was one of the first people I interacted with on Twitter. Her avatar is Tina Fey with an accordion and there was one point when I thought maybe it was the real Tina Fey. I think I like Rommel Wood just fine. 

I poked around, eavesdropping. I mean, here I was - out in the wild suburban tundra. They look just like us city folk, but do they talk like us, too? I overheard, "I just joined Twitter today!" and almost passed out. It's good to take a step back and out of the insular NYC bubble and realize that not everyone lives and breathes this stuff. The reaction shouldn't be "OMG LUDITE HOW CAN YOU NOT GET/LOVE/EAT/SLEEP THIS STUFF!!!" It should be understanding of late adoption and the opportunities that lie within that sector as well. So Zen, I know.

As I peered through the crowd I saw a familiar red head. Whitney Hess?! What the what? I asked her what the heck she was doing outside of Manhattan. I know, it sounds weird, but when you see NYC tech people out of their natural habitat it's like seeing a cat driving a Caterpillar. Turns out Whitney is using her keen brain power and expert grasp on user experience at House Party - and they're lucky to have her.

One constant in Westchester and Manhattan panel action is that of keeping the crowd contained during the business part of the evening when everyone can smell the open bottles of wine behind them. The panel of Matthew Bromberg, CEO of Davidson Media Holdings; Harper Collins' Debbie Stier (@debbiestier); Ryan Saghir (@orbitcast); Joe Territo (@jterrito), Executive Director of Content for Advance Internet; and Katie Ryan O'Connor (@westchestrpatch), the Hudson Valley Regional Editor for Patch.com held their own, though, getting more than a few nods of agreement with the tale of "Crap, I let everyone follow/friend me on foursquare/facebook, not just my friends and it just got weird." Social media and privacy concerns are also similar, but the way the tools are used is less in an aggressive obsessive way, more in a nurturing, problem solving, no I'm not going to cram my message down your throat way.

Staying true to my "Soak in every moment you can" family creedo, I had to step outside for a moment during the panel to catch the sunset. It was disgustingly beautiful and I hope I did it justice with my photos.

I met a ton of great people and here are just a few (and their Twitter handles!): Anthony Colasacco (@pourmtkisco), Proprietor at Pour, a Mt. Kisco cafe and wine bar; Jamie O'Grady(@redwhitebrewed); Toby Zacks of Zagwear; Merideth Mergel; Chris Cornell of Cornell140; Jon Kiehnau (@explore360); Betsy Frank of House Party; Paul Thau (@PaulThau); Steve Miller (@stevemband); Stacy Hirsh; and Nick Farrell (@FlyingPigonLex).

I had to catch my train, so I missed the raffle, but I'd be a big jerk for not pointing out that $1000.00 was raised for Abbott House, a local Irvington Charity, through raffle ticket sales. Great job done by everyone involved - the venue was unique and spacious, the party was kick-ass, the panel was lively, and I had a blast coming back out Westchester way. As long as they're a quick walk from the Metro-North, I plan to return to the 'burbs for more.

Photos are up on Flickr!

Send those invitations to kelly@mediapost.com!

*edited at 4PM to reflect the real Twitter handle of Steve Miller