The Webutante Ball (World Wide Web + debutante) is an annual event that has been held in New York City since 2009. Richard Blakeley, then Editor-in-Chief of Gawker.TV, scheduled the social event for May, during Internet Week.
 
A nickname for the Webutante Ball is “prom for tech geeks/nerds” or “geek/nerd prom.” “Webutante Ball aka Prom for tech geeks” was cited on Twitter on May 17, 2010; “Webutante Ball ‘is like the nerd prom’” was cited on Twitter on June 8, 2010. The annual White House Correspondents’ dinner has also been called a “nerd prom.”
 
   
RichardBlakeley.com
Richard Blakeley is an award-winning internet innovator and entrepreneur. He currently serves as Head of Business Development for Rabbit.
 
He is the former head of Content & Strategy at Thrillist Media Group, where he spearheaded editorial products and doubled website traffic. Previously, he was Editor-in-Chief of Gawker.TV and was the head of the Gawker Media video department for five years. Richard is the founder of Internet’s biggest annual party, The Webutante Ball, co-founder of the hyperlocal blogger platform, Neighborhoodr, and the founder of the over the top food blog and book, This Is Why You’re Fat
 
The Webutante Ball
Dance the night away with three over-flowing open bars with specialty vodka cocktails, wine and beer. Pose for glamorous selfies on the red carpet, for the press, and inside an exclusive light-painting photo booth. Or, rest your feet and take it all in from the shadows of cozy private tables.
 
Join the New York web scene’s A-list tech founders, media elite, and startup stars. Past attendees included the best and brightest from Facebook, MTV, Saturday Night Live, Bravo, Gawker Media, Foursquare, New York Times, Thrillist, Spotify, Tumblr, and College Humor.
 
Twitter
new_yorkBNN
‏@new_yorkBNN
FishBowlNY: Webutante Ball Coming To Internet Week: Internet Week is going to have a prom for New York’s new.. http://tinyurl.com/rddb2m
2:45 PM - 20 May 2009
 
Twitter
Vanessa Pappas
‏@v_ness
NY Tech people @gawkertv just announced The 2010 Webutante Ball, June 8th http://tv.gawker.com/5539373/
1:27 PM - 17 May 2010
 
Twitter
janice momoko chow
‏@janicemomoko
the 2010 Webutante Ball aka Prom for tech geeks is sold out http://thewebutanteball.com/2010.html
9:54 PM - 17 May 2010
 
Twitter
NY Convergence
‏@NYConvergence
Internet Week NY: Webutante Ball “is like the nerd prom” http://bit.ly/bh23KG
8:22 AM - 8 Jun 2010
 
Twitter
Natalie Rodic Marsan
‏@rodicka
Just got tickets for the grown-up out and out geek prom: “The 2012 ‘Unruly’ Webutante Ball” http://webutanteball2012-estw.eventbrite.com  via @eventbrite
11:51 AM - 3 May 2012
     
Forbes.com
5/16/2013 @ 10:12AM 1,554 views
Webutante Ball Founder on the Tenets of a Great Internet Party
By Erica Swallow
(...)
The Webutante Ball, now in its fifth year, is a celebration of the New York tech scene, as (Richard—ed.) Blakeley tells it. For the rest of us, it’s an excuse to get dressed up, troll the best photobooth in town, and dance the night away. Oh, and to go to the prom for Internet geeks. No bigs — just livin’ large.
 
During his time at Gawker Media, Blakeley founded the first Webutante Ball as a way to up the ante on the networking events he was already organizing. In 2008, after the economy crashed, he decided to focus on throwing one great party once per year, instead of putting on networking events when there weren’t any jobs to network for, he says. Around that time, Blakeley heard about Internet Week, launched by Mayor Bloomberg to introduce New York City into the worldwide technology ecosystem — at that time it was in its second year. It looked like the perfect opportunity to introduce a springtime celebration, and so the Webutante Ball — complete with cocktails and coattails — was born.
 
The ball is arguably the best tech party in town, so I spoke with Blakeley to get the stitch on what makes an amazing Internet party.
 
Metro (New York, NY)
Published: May 18, 2014
Digital love: Webutante Ball draws New York’s tech singles
By Andrea Park
Internet Week‘s Webutante Ball is well-known for being one of New York’s biggest tech parties, but it also functions as the perfect pickup spot for Silicon Alley singles.
(...)
Graphic designer Nick McGlynn admitted to getting lucky at a Webutante Ball in the past. “It’s a prom for tech nerds, and I mean, what better place to hook up than at a prom?” he asked. “You see these people at networking mixers and other media events and panels, but you never actually get to hang out and flirt, so given the opportunity, those ides make other events finally come to fruition.”
   
Business Insider
PARTY SHOTS: Check Out The Scene At New York City’s ‘Prom For Tech Nerds’
MADELINE STONE
MAY 21, 2014, 5:01 PM
The Webutante Ball is one of Silicon Alley’s biggest social events, and Tuesday night’s edition didn’t disappoint.
 
The party was held as part of Internet Week, a series of panels and events that runs May 19-22.
 
The Webutante Ball is known as a kind of prom for the New York tech community, where nerds finally leave their computers and show up dressed to the nines.