READ: Texts from Last Night
(textsfromlastnight.com)
‘Can you please check on Jay? He just called and left a Backstreet Boys song on my voicemail. Either it’s 1998, or someone needs to go back to rehab.’ Admit it, there’s a part of you that loves going out simply to mock less graceful revellers. On the Internet, this is practically a cottage industry, with a terrifying added dimension: other people like being mocked. Don’t believe us? See Texts From Last Night, a site where people send in messages that they’ve sent to their friends in post-party stupor. It says something very important about our society today. It’s also screamingly funny.

TRY: Webcam partying
The webcam has been called a better social lubricant than alcohol, and it could become your best friend at a house party if the people you want to celebrate with happen to be miles away from home. And instead of waiting for someone to take pictures, get home, sober up and then post them on Facebook, you could just get your webcam to do the recording instead. (Look for Microsoft’s ‘Webcam Timershot’ on their website, or Gawker (at gawker.sourceforge.net) for Mac, to help you create something really unusual for your next album.

ADMIRE: The Emergency Party Button (plasma2002.com/epb)
A geek phenomenon on the Internet, the Emergency Party Button was created by designer Brian Gaut. It’s a device – a giant red button – that creates a party the instant it is pressed. And it really works. In the free-love-and-knowledge spirit of the Internet, Gaut shares how it’s done, step-by-step, on his website. But it’s the demo video that shows you what happens when the Emergency Party Button is pressed that really grips you with its sheer, nerdy joy and effectiveness. A love for cheesy 80s music is perhaps a necessity.

USE: Evite (evite.com) and Event Wax (eventwax.com)
Party planning toolboxes are genuine proof of how the Internet has enabled spontaneous, fun and above all, convenient planning for those ad hoc bashes everyone needs in their lives. From drink calculators to budget estimators, party checklists to venue finders, polls (‘what should we eat?’) and date finders, these are lifesavers for anything less than the odd presidential banquet. Other great planning aid sites include Renkoo (renkoo.com), Fasterplan (fasterplan.com) and Meet With Approval (meetwithapproval.com).

AVOID: Facebook (facebook.com)
Oh sure, it’s a cinch to schedule, invite and update your invitees on party news if you happen to be the host. But what happens once the day dawns and everyone on your network has seen the pictures of you in a Tinkerbell outfit three sizes too small? Exactly.

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