Some familiar faces and lots of new smiles packed the room and showcased a new Chicago tech community just out to have a good time and not worry about growth charts or that deadline for a CMS implementation. My question, though: Where have all these techies been hiding?

I guess I should remember what my mom says and just have a good time without fussing about the small stuff. People came, had fun and will be back for the next TECH Cocktail.

Though the same questions were heard and answered (“What’s your role?” or “What does your company provide?” or “Two olives or three?”), I was very surprised that many techies did not have business cards. That didn’t matter to many people, though, because the comments that were floating around were more like: “This is a cool neighborhood for an after-work party” or “I prefer a twist to my drink.”

To summarize, the evening a very different tech crowd that appealed to a fun atmosphere where friends of friends from different industry sectors can show up and blend in.

The organizers of TECH Cocktail: Eric Olson of FeedBurner and Frank Gruber of SomeWhatFrank. Eric and Frank promised me TECH Cocktail would be a quarterly event.
Fresh from work: Michael Simanoff of DoubleClick, David Dalka and Michael Moyer.
Hanging out with her buddy Brian Beatty of Deloitte is Sarah Gray of Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York.
Helping to make sure everyone’s wine glass is full is Brian and Melissa Sturtecky pictured with John and Paulette Vrett. Brian kept everyone’s wine glass full but kept filling mine with whiskey. I know you’re supposed to keep the camera guy buzzed but that was ridiculous (and thank you!).
Testing out the diverse selection of wine: Shawn Williams (center), Evan Petrie and Eric Kirsner.