BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : APRIL 3, 2000 ISSUE
PEOPLE An Evening with Courtney Pulitzer It's not easy chronicling a busy work-night with the chronicler of the Net Set Parties come easily to Courtney J. Pulitzer. On any given night, this social chronicler of the Net Set has almost a dozen invitations to mull over as fodder for her e-column, The Cyber Scene. On this particular Thursday, she has narrowed the list to five and hired a car to chauffeur her around town. After all, a girl can't rely on taxis when she has only three hours to eat and talk her way around the cocktail circuit. "It's exciting, but I really just have time to dash in and out," says Pulitzer, pouring over her schedule as the car roars its way from her Soho apartment to the Milk Studios in Chelsea. First stop is Audio Bash, hosted by a company called Audio Base. Pulitzer walks in, orders a seltzer, and grabs a wild-rice pancake with ginger compote. "I sometimes say the dim sum was to die for or mention the food if it's any good," she says, looking slightly uncomfortable in this sea of strangers. Suddenly, a familiar face jumps out. Pulitzer approaches a tanned blonde -- "the darling Collette Ballou," as she's later called in the column -- who is here to promote the event. Ballou introduces her to Rhys Ryan, the site's chief technology officer and co-founder. RADIO-POP. But Pulitzer looks more enamored with the displays, which promote the Web sites of different companies that use Audio Base technology. At British Airways' booth, a man hands Pulitzer a radio with a lollipop attached and tells her to bite on it while plugging one ear. Nothing happens. We're disappointed. After scribbling a few more notes as co-founder David Haynes admits to being a "lousy musician," Pulitzer moves to leave. In the elevator, she bites on the lollipop again and the strains of a commercial come out through her mouth. It reminds her of a Partridge Family episode, where Danny's filling becomes a radio transmitter. This will definitely make it into her report. Next stop is The Industry Standard party, which Pulitzer predicts could be the highlight of the night. They've been promoting it for ages, and all the heavy hitters should be there. But her driver is nowhere to be found. We stare at some balloons left outside for another loft party until he comes running up 10th Avenue five minutes later. "Toilet!" he gasps. We're on our way. There's a definite buzz at the Tribeca Rooftop, and Pulitzer is happy to be recognized as she enters. We both grab a champagne on the way in and almost spit out our drinks. It's sake. Pulitzer goes up to the bar, plunks down the drinks and orders up two champagnes. Now this is a place where she knows who's who. There's Lisa Napoli of MSNBC, all the folks from Mom.com, David Friedensohn of BigStar.com. I spot a friend from Powerful Media and introduce him to Pulitzer, suddenly cringing at the thought that we might end up in her column. We do. MEET AND MARRY? After 20 minutes, it's clear that Pulitzer doesn't really want to drag herself away. Among other things, there are other fledgling socialites in attendance -- the woman who started CyberSuds, another who holds Internet MFG (meeting for grown-ups), and others who cobble together networking affairs similar to Pulitzer's monthly Cocktails with Courtney. "We actually started doing these things before she did," sniffs one. Another woman confides that Pulitzer is really just trying to meet and marry a dot-com billionaire, even though she has a steady boyfriend. And what about her? She's here to network, she stresses, "but I'm also single." Pulitzer has to leave. It's already nearing 8:00 p.m., and there are other parties to attend. Pulitzer invites a friend, Seth Price of USLaw.com, to come along for the car ride. Next up is Dash.com on West 25th Street. The party is in the promotion company's offices, and the staff of its public-relations firm is manning the front door. Pulitzer gets a little ticket, and Price suddenly looks irate. "Is this a bar ticket?" he asks. "They can't drag us to their office and not give us a drink." Luckily, the ticket is for the press kit and Price decides to stay. Pulitzer is now in full chronicling mode: snapping photos of "strapping freres" David and Jason Tardio, noting the "rosy cheeks" of SmartRay's Troy Tyler and Vernon Steward, and finding ways to use the word "dash" four times in her paragraph about the event. After munching on tuna rice crackers and exchanging cards with Dash.com CEO Daniel Kaufman, she bids what she later calls "a kiss-kiss adieu" to her friends and heads for the door. Cyber Scene rating? She shrugs. Pulitzer's policy is to say positive things about every event that she covers. OUT OF SYNC. She has to stop at the Siegelgale party at Float. Among other things, the invitation came on a cute little blow-up cushion. And she gets her most enthusiastic reception yet from a man positioned behind the velvet rope. But the party itself is less of a networking opportunity than a pick-up affair. As Pulitzer later notes: "Women in leopard skirts shimmied with men in cords atop blue-lit plexiglass banquettes." Pulitzer's prim beige suit and silk scarf look particularly out of sync with this crowd. Even her New York Times pal Joelle Klein is, as Pulitzer puts it, "looking pretty and glittery with purple-glittery eyeshadow to offset her look." Time to report. Pulitzer approaches two women sitting on a couch. They look up at her and shake their heads. They're not interested in being quoted in The Cyber Scene. "I always try to go up to women, but they sometimes have a funny reaction," she yells, to be heard over the throbbing music. The tiny marzipan cakes and little dishes of ice cream are great, but Pulitzer is already feeling nostalgic about The Industry Standard soiree. Now, that was a place to exchange cards! "People aren't really here to network." Maybe the nonstop trays of sweets are starting to get to her. As she later writes, the "marzipan-coated little yummies took on a characteristic of nightmare elements." Besides, time is ticking, and there's a dinner party yet to attend. After unwrapping her Siegelgale grab bag in the car -- "Look, it's a little calculator!" -- she instructs the driver to head to the Upper West Side. This one is a more intimate affair, hosted by Renee Edelman of PR21 in her two-floor apartment. For some reason, the discussions here are off-the-record, but Pulitzer is at least able to note the rose-colored flowers and print sofas that "offset other elegant and pretty appointments." And more Net types here, from Geoff Lewis of TheStreet.Com to Robert Levitan of Flooz.com. Perched on Edelman's bed upstairs, Pulitzer finally puts her little notebook away and settles back to munch on some lamb. "It was a delightfully quiet way to end a night that began with a frenzy," she writes. And she'll do the whole thing again tomorrow. By Diane Brady in New York _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Six Parties a Night? It's a Living RESUME: Courtney Jane Pulitzer ONLINE ORIGINAL: An Evening with Courtney Pulitzer INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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