• by Kelly Samardak , June 10, 2010

IDGTechNetwork Rooftop Party, 230 Fifth, New York
June 9, 2010

Rain, rain go away, especially when I lose my favorite umbrella.  Last night I had three parties on deck: One on the 230 Fifth rooftop, one at a slide-centric joint, and another at an artsy-fartsy loft (though I kind of envisioned lofts as... raised areas, not ground level).  One event had to do the weather scramble; the other had me thigh to thigh with a Real Housewife, and the other? Well the other was the crapshoot I expected it to be...

My victim for the night's events was none other than the weather-smart human map, Gail Hilton of Thought Equity Motion.  She met me at MediaPost with an umbrella so my stupid head wouldn't get wet on the way to the IDGTechNetwork rooftop party at 230 Fifth.  Obviously they moved their situation inside because the rain was vigilant.  Man we got spoiled by the sun and warmth recently, didn't we?  This rain was just a slap in the face.

While I cleaned my lens and told Gail about the after-party invitation debacle of 2010, Mike Romoff, GM of IDGTechNetwork approached.  He was having trouble getting his temporary tattoo to stick to his hand.  Across the room I could see everyone sporting orange-paper-bracelet things and realized I hadn't checked in yet.  I quickly skittered over to Kira Kewley, Marketing Coordinator at IDGTechNetwork.  She was hanging out with Maytal Fligelman of IDGTechNetwork, who remembers some weird encounter at the Tremor Media "Mad Men" party that I have no recollection of.  And it was in the bathroom!

Anyway, I got my wrist band, which granted guests access to all bars in the ballroom.  Pretty sweet deal, since pockets of other parties were clumped throughout the room, opening up the networking opportunity even further if that's your thing.  Or, potential love matches, if that's your other thing.

Enjoying the shelter of their beverages were Brian Gleason, CRO of IDGTechNetwork; crutches-balancing Matt McKinnon of Neo-Olgilvy; Sean Buckley of IDGTechNetwork; Taylor Murphy of USNews; and of course, Pete Longo, CEO of IDGTechNetwork, sombrero supporter, and father to IDGTechNetwork intern, Pete Longo, Jr.

I recognized Izzet Agoren of Ad Pepper, but couldn't figure out from where.  As he sipped his orange juice and I inhaled the sweet nectar of Red Bull and vodka life, we discovered it was from the Shorty Awards where his wife lost to "Sesame Street" in the "brand" category and I took a dive down the auditorium stairs face-first! Oh, memories!

Rounding out the hour or so of schmooze before heading off to destination: PopBurger, I met Mike "Miquelito" Evans in his rounded biznerd glasses, Keith Lindnen, and Travis Higgins of MediaCom.

Just a little note about the venue: I'm not so sure about hosting events at 230 Fifth.  I mean, yes, when the weather is great, you sort of forget how awful the food is (those mini burgers are like the heels of old slippers with hairy lettuce dangling off the side) and how rude the one bartender was last night (Shrugging? Really? That's how you answer a guest's question?).  But when you're inside, even the view can't wipe the slate clean.  I wasn't around for the heyday if there was one, but there is very little shine to it anymore.

OH! Huge, warm dry thank-yous to the IDGTechNetwork crew for sending me on my way with a big, bright orange umbrella.  Unfortunately, I had to use it for the rest of the evening.

Stay tuned for the next Just An Online Minute, where you will find out how I lost a brain game to one of the Real Housewives of New York.  Don't judge!

Send invitations to kelly@mediapost.com for party coverage

Larger photos are up on Flickr!