Open House?

When I crossed the 10,000 visits threshold a while back I made passing mention of throwing a party and wondered if anyone would actually come.

Some of you indicated that you would.

But as I thought more about it, I decided that an actual "party" was just way too much pressure. It requires a commitment of time and energy from the host and the attendees. You have to carve out time on your calendar. You have to make a Committment.

And, let's cut to the chase here, what if after meeting face to face, we just don't like each other? We all take advantage of the anonymity that the web provides and are able to craft an online persona that maybe, just maybe, is more who we want to be than who we actually are.

Reality can be a harsh mistress. Some of us (me) may be far less interesting in person than we are in cyberspace, where we can carefully choose our words and edit our phrases before clicking "publish".

So, I'm not sure. On the other hand, it's weird thinking that I may have potential friends that I have never met. Maybe I'm missing an opportunity to expand my social horizons.

I got to thinking yesterday that rather than a full blown party with a bunch of people who don't know each other, maybe I should just have an Open House. Pick a night and a span of 2-3 hours, and just be home. Lay out some cheese and crackers, open a bottle of wine, if anybody wants to stop by and say hello, they are welcome. Stay and chat for a while, or leave your car running in the driveway and make a drive-by introduction. No pressure, no expectations.

So, what do you think? Would you be more likely to attend a full blown party with a bunch of people you've never met? Or would you rather swing by an open house where you could possibly be the only one there, but aren't obligated to stay past saying hello?

Or would you prefer to keep your distance and maintain the fantasy?