Parties are indeed where a lot of the most interesting conversations happen, where the connections are made, and perhaps, indeed, where a few deals are done. Which parties you can get into is, needless to say, a measure of your status. The more influential people wear passels of VIP badges for various events and corporate lounges around their necks, like clutches of Olympic medals. The truly influential, of course, don’t need to. I have also ascertained that one can get into almost any party by waving one’s name-badge and saying, in a firm voice and with a clear British accent, “I’m from the press”, or even better, “I’m from the Economist”.
— Babbage: “SXSW Blog, Day Four: What Makes a Good Party?”
