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Here's are a few stories grabbing our attention this week:

Financial Forecast Calls for Subdued Davos: The World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, is taking an unsurprisingly somber tone this year. C.E.O.s of corporations like Citigroup and Sony have opted not to attend; the celebrity contingent is all but nonexistent; and the opulent parties of the past seem to be long gone. Goldman Sachs is among the biggest names ditching their perennially hot ticket parties, and although Brit bank Barclays is said to be going ahead with theirs, company president Bob Diamond just canceled his trip yesterday. [FT]

HuffPo and Meetup Help Obama Fans Network: By using street teams to hand out branded name tags in Washington, the Huffington Post and community organizing Web site Meetup attempted to introduce half a million strangers to each other at last week's inauguration. Creative agency Interference Inc. enlisted about 180 people to pass out the tags, and trucks had to deliver the 500,000 stickers two days in advance because of closed street traffic. [BrandFreak] MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Davos, Huffington Post, Meetup, Condé Nast, Goldman Sachs, Barclays Capital, Citigroup

EVENT REPORT 01.20.09 10:33 AM

As Readers Watch Online, Huffington Post Leads New Year's Eve-Style Countdown to Inauguration Day

The scene at the Newseum
Photo: Paul Morigi

FROM WASHINGTON One of the weekend’s most talked about events, the Huffington Post’s pre-inaugural bash at the Newseum last night, was akin to a New Year’s Eve celebration—with party hats and noisemakers to boot. Arianna Huffington herself led a countdown to the big day amid a crowd of more than 2,000 guests, a size that was stretched to its limits in the days leading up to the event. (On Friday, New York-based producer David Stark said he was looking for ways to make the venue bigger).

Held in the museum’s first balcony, main lobby, and lower concourse, the party was a techie’s dream. Guests as well as the hosts live-blogged, Twittered, and posted video and images to a special party page accessible from the Huffington Post’s home page. Devotees of the site were invited to attend the party virtually by posting images and videos of themselves to the party page. Their contributions were ultimately projected onto plasma TVs and the Newseum’s famous 40-foot LED screen. “My inspiration was the Huffington Post and their community, so we weren’t really thinking about props and decor, but more about how to use new technology,” said Stark, who produced the event with Huffington's Mario Ruiz. “As Arianna always says, Obama wouldn’t have been president if not for the Internet. The Internet is the thinking that brought this all together.” MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, Sting, Will.i.am

NEWS 01.13.09 10:40 AM

Huffington Post Reels in Sting, Will.i.am to Perform at Inauguration Party

One of the most talked about events around the inauguration is about to get even more hype. The Huffington Post's party for 2,000 people is at the Newseum January 19, and New York-based producer David Stark (who's producing the fete) told us that both Sting and Will.i.am are confirmed to perform, along with the promise of a few more entertainment "surprises" to be revealed that night.

Taking over the museum's first balcony, main lobby, and lower concourse, the event's focus will hover around technology and connectivity, two themes embodied by the host. "Because the Post is such a democratic, inclusive format for dialogue and conversation, we expect this party will be bringing that to life in three dimensions. " MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Huffington Post, Sting, Will.i.am

NEWS 12.09.08 3:06 PM

Media Outlets See Obstacles to Hosting Inauguration Events

With six weeks to go before President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office, many media outlets are still tentative about hosting inaugural events. Faced with a flock of challenges—a poor economy, competition for venues, guests, and attention—some potential hosts who once considered throwing their brands into the mix have either opted out or are still unsure, though MTV, CNN, and the Huffington Post continue to move forward with party plans.

"There are two factors making corporations leery to do a big name-in-lights program, one being the economy," said Elizabeth Baker Keffer, vice president of The Atlantic and president of events division Atlantic Live. "Even if you have the money to host a big event, the optics of doing something lavish are not good. The second factor is the many congressional guidelines to hosting events in town. Non-Washington companies need to make sure they are compliant with the congressional guidelines."

During the past couple weeks, event and PR staffers at several publications reported ongoing discussions about whether or not to host something. Some are still mulling: "We're undecided," Vanity Fair public relations director Beth Kseniak said yesterday. Meanwhile, at Condé Nast sibling The New Yorker, special events director Melissa Meyer said the business side is currently discussing plans to entertain clients in some way. As of now, the editorial side of the magazine is not planning anything. MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Condé Nast, CNN, MTV, Huffington Post, Niche Media, The Atlantic, OK Magazine

NEWS 11.25.08 2:33 PM

More Inauguration Plans Fall Into Place, Alma Powell Declares "Times Too Serious" for Parties

Washington socialites Buffy Cafritz and Ann Jordan will once again be co-hosting an inaugural party at the recently renamed Fairfax at Embassy Row (formerly the Westin Embassy Row), WWD.com reported yesterday. The Cafritz-Jordan fete is expected to reel in some 250 guests and will be produced by Carolyn Peachey of Campell Peachey and Associates. The duo announced their plans at a reopening reception for the hotel's Jockey Club restaurant last week, where guests like Colin Powell's wife, Alma, and former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein speculated on how the inaugural festivities would unfold.

"You’ll see a renaissance of people coming back to the White House, even with a difficult economy, because people want our president to shine,” said Duberstein. But Powell countered, saying, “I don’t expect there to be more parties. The times are too serious to have parties. That would be frivolous.” MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Election '08, Buffy Cafritz, Ann Jordan, Huffington Post, Oprah, Google, Embassy of Kuwait

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