Dot com party

A dot com party (often known as an internet party or more generally, a launch party) is a social and business networking party hosted by an Internet-related business, typically for promotional purposes or to celebrate a corporate event such as a product launch, venture funding round, or corporate acquisition.

Dot com parties were a notorious part of the culture of the American "dot com" business era of 1997 to 2001, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Dot com parties, compared to "scenes from The Great Gatsby", were markedly different from conventional corporate entertainment, which tends to be more private, and often fancier if less ostentatious. Among the common features of dot com parties were live bands, decorations, product demonstrations, gatecrashers, exotic or fancy venues, excessive alcohol consumption, and "schwag bag" giveaways. Some popular alternative musicians such as Elvis Costello, Beck, the B-52s, and Moby, were particularly active on the Internet circuit. Some Internet entrepreneurs such as Craig Newmark and Patty Beron were well known for hosting and attending the events. Others noted Internet partiers included Oliver Muoto and the founders of a public relations firm, Marino & Associates. Guest appearances by Internet meme celebrities such as Mahir were also popular.

During the height of the era there were 15-20 such events per week in San Francisco alone. The hosts were typically Internet start-up companies, although some events were held by service providers, magazine publishers, venture capital firms, and industry organizations. Trade shows such as siggraph, Macworld, and Comdex would have several parties per night, some open but mostly by invitation. Various gossip blogs, newspaper columns, and websites such as DrinkExchange, WorkIt, sfgirl.com, Fucked Company, and the A-List, regularly chronicled the exploits of the companies and their dot com party guests.

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