Twitter is pretty neat, huh? One minute, you can let the world know it's toenail-cutting time, and in the next you can point your followers to the launch of your glossy reflective-button-decorated drop-shadowed wonder of a Web site. Business tangos with pleasure quite nicely and with tweetups (that's a social gathering or "meetup" birthed from twitter) pop up like a bad run of Hep C. One such rash was orchestrated from the tweeting mind of Joe Marchese, President of SocialVibe. The destination was Thom Bar, the goal was to party with social media nerds, and the drink was… whatever Joe was buying.

If Twitter actually retained an archive of tweet action, I could give you some direct quotes as to how it all went down, but now I must paraphrase. Joe Marchese, since we're now friends, you're not allowed to sue me. Agreed? Agreed. So, here's how it sorta went down:

Joe Marchese: looking for a midtown location for a social media happy hour
Me: Ag!! No midtown! Ag! Blech! [insert other "booo Midtown" honks]
Joe Marchese: [if I could have heard him, it would have been a good "ball's in your court then" tone] any suggestions?

Of course I didn't have any suggestions! I like to judge others' location ideas and then offer no alternatives, der. I was armed with a decent excuse for being less than helpful — I was in Boston and Baltimore hanging out with bankers and rockstars respectively.

Thom Bar was the final decision, a velvety 2nd floor bar in a chichi SoHo boutique hotel. I followed the glow cascading from a circle of baldies perched on silly seats around square tables that really are too low for comfort. You have to sort of squat over on your elbows so your well-cultivated beer belly gently bloops over your (OK, fine, my) waist. That's why I wear dresses.

Anyway, I approached the media nerd circle and even though I've never met Joe Marchese in person, I got that instant friend feeling. He's a special character, jetting back and forth and around the country via LA and New York, managing to keep his life and business in order and still make it to the gym (especially after a night of overimbibing). To the right of the circle was the always-ready-with-a-quote-from-the-last-time-I-presented Adam Broitman, who I keep running into on rooftops.

As if social media hasn't made my social and professional circle even smaller than I ever intended (though I haven't decided if I haven't wanted this to happen), I also have the IBM history closing my circle, which I discovered with the vivacious and huggable Jane Quigley, "The brains of the operation" — Greg Verdino, at crayon. Speaking of Greg Verdino, he was chilling out to Joan's right and I heard him chuckle out "lifecasting." I sat there, contemplating whether or not to pretend I knew this horrid word, or be honest, as usual and say "Yeah, I don't know what the heck you're talking about."

Broitman and crew repeated this phrase and I cringed every time. He launched into a story about how his woman used to lifecast to promote her craft (singer) - leaving a web cam on constantly. I'm all "open book" and all, but I won't be letting people into my life quite that much. To which Quigley quickly corrected "if you're Twittering, you're lifecasting." Noooo!! Note to the reader: If you catch me uttering this scrambling to be an iconic phrase phrase, hit me in the face with a pink SocialVibe squeezy ball.

Moving on! Katie Bessiere, Director, Client Services and Strategy, Ripple6, arrived on the heels of Matthew Caldecutt, Account Director at Trylon SMR (sounds more boring than he is) and Nichelle, cupcake enthusiast and maker of stars.

Oh gosh, I almost forgot about Jennifer Kelly, wise-cracking research analyst with Dyanmic Logic. She was so impressed that a social gathering offline barfed out of a few Twitter exchanges that we're meeting for a liquid lunch 'n' learn session about it.

Oh — sooo, Thom Bar. A little too ritzy in my book, but then, my book is a little shabby, it wears jeans, and it prefers cows to Cadillacs. Drinks were expensive, I didn't even look at the food menu, and the crowd was a little hedge-fund-looking (oh yes, hooray for snap judgments). Next time, I vote for wings and beer!

Are you getting your buyers, sellers, and big time big cheese together? Send invitations to kelly@mediapost.com and consider it covered in Just An Online Minute.

Relive the magic in the online photo set!

Want to know when the next social media happy hour might be? Follow me on Twitter.

Leading up to the party, er conference, I kept getting confused. And I kept seeing a scene from "The West Wing" where the dude is at the podium and the reporters all snap snap snap away with their honkin' cameras and wave their hands in the air while hooting "Mr. President! Mr. President! Were you in the library with Mr. Peanut last night?" Is that what they meant by press conference? And then… I don't think everyone leaves the Oval Office and drinks exquisite drinks with their exquisite food while tapping their investigative feet to the exquisite music. Want to know what it was really all about?

When I was invited to the Key Digital Product Release Press Party, I regarded the shiny gold and black invitation design with people waving their hands in the air, and promises of exquisite food, music, and drinks as a potentially rip-roaring night of debauchery, but when I walked into the room and came face to face with a single violinist (very talented - and soothing!) and 12 people total in the, um, more advanced age bracket sitting quietly, I said, "Well, this isn't at all what I was expecting."

I was so confused by the cavern of disparity between the tone of the invitation and the vibe at the "party" that I couldn't figure out what to do first. I looked at my +1 apologetically, having invited him to possibly balance my Champagne and keep me in line should things get out of hand. We were greeted at the bar, while I balanced my camera bag, my bag bag, and my notepad, where I was scratching down my first weirded-out impressions by Ivelisse Cordero, National Marketing Manager at Key Digital. She swept her arm around the room explaining the layout. She handed me the media kit and I thought, "See, now this is how people should run all their parties," still remembering how completely unwelcoming the Russia! Magazine people were.

Outside I could smell the exposed wood trellis. Maybe it was just some incomplete wood concoction, but either way it smelled divine - and set against the backdrop of the evil midnight-blue ,threatening thunderheads, the location was a touch surreal. I approached David Silverman, Editor, and John Carr, Associate Publisher at Sound & Communications to get the scoop on what exactly was happening here.

I was about to experience a formal product announcement and press briefing on Key Digital's latest and greatest residential installation cable situations. Huh?

After eating about 8 blintzes filled with sour cream and shiny bulbs of salty caviar, I found myself sitting in the dark, watching a slide presentation. Add two glasses of wine and a belly full of beet salad and I wrestled heartily with insta nap. What I gathered from the DVD and subsequent slide show is that the major breakthrough is Smart Baluns (pronounced like "balance," not "balloons"). The audience of…10?…was interested in the quality of transmission relative to the length of cable. 750ft impressed them.

A couple of fun tidbits: Mike Tsinberg, President of Key Digital Systems, worked with the Samsung team to create, yes create, the DVD format and accepted an Emmy for his work. Last year they threw a party at the Russian Embassy (or Consulate, depending on whom you talked to) and it wasn't one to miss in all its ornate opulence and Russian razzamatazz.

And finally, it should also be noted that Masha Lakhter, VP of Marketing, Key Digital, was a wonderful host, open and friendly, and a great Russian food educator. Her crew wiped away the bad taste the Russia! Mag mopes left in my mouth. Also, 15 Central Park West is marbled and echo-y, and if you're looking to dump over $20 million on your homestead, give 'em a call. And hey, meat swirled into a loaf of bread is tasty.

Send invitations to kelly@mediapost.com if you want your party covered in Just An Online Minute!

Focus on some caviar in the online photo set!