“The cocktail party has a simple function in modern society. Its basic purpose is to pay off social debts.” — Hal Boyle, A guy who spends an awful lot of time talking about cocktail parties, for someone who doesn’t like them. June 22, 1950
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party
The closest I’ve ever come to a cocktail party was when I attended the University of Georgia. On two separate occasions, I traveled to Jacksonville and attempted to join in on what is known as The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. It’s an annual football game played between the University of Georgia Bulldogs and the University of Florida Gators.
I use the word ‘attempted’ because on my first visit to the Party, I sold my ticket and watched the game at a place called The Landing. The second time I made the trip, I was smart enough to not even bother with buying a ticket. I just showed up for the Party. I can honestly say that I’ve never been inside the stadium to be a part of The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party but I truly enjoyed all the benefits from being in Jacksonville during that game weekend.
1950′s Cocktail Party
When we look back to the time of the original cocktail parties in the 50′s, it was really all about getting together with friends and people you knew from work. Most of the parties had more people than seats which caused everyone to start mingling and making new friends.
It was a new form of business entertainment brought into the home. A cocktail party turned into an opportunity to connect with employers, vendors and coworkers outside of the office.
The foundation of this site and my Social Media with a Strategy 12-week online course is based on how social media feels like the return of the 1950′s Neighborhood Store. It’s all about how social media creates a feeling of a neighborhood community with our customers (fans/followers).
The concept of the cocktail party takes it a step further for the small business owner. Our social networks aren’t just for staying in touch with family and high school friends. It’s an opportunity to network with other business owners and engage with potential new customers.
Most of us spend our time on social networks like we’re hanging out in a big party. We connect to influencers in our industry through commenting on their blogs. We meet people who can collaborate on a big project with us through one of our Linkedin groups. We’re laughing at the latest internet meme on Facebook. We’re sharing ideas and making connections with people we wouldn’t have met if not for social media.
Think about the image sharing social program Pinterest. Just like any decent cocktail party from the 1950′s, Pinterest was originally programed where you actually needed an invitation to get into the site. Not just the click of a mouse, but a true real live invitation. Now you can sign up immediately with just an email address so we can no longer use the excuse ‘my invitation got lost in mail.’
I really believe that the 1950’s cocktail party was the original version of social media. It was all about making new friends, entertaining and celebrating life. It certainly wouldn’t hurt every once and awhile if we all turned on a little lounge music, shut down the office early and brought back the cocktail party.
