West Hollywood Bans Single-Use Conversation Topics at Networking Events
Alan NafzgerCity council passes the Authentic Networking Ordinance requiring business networking events at permitted venues to include at least three 'non-transactional conversation prompts' per hour, prohibiting cold-open pitches within the first three minutes of meeting, and mandating a five-minute 'genuine curiosity period' before any exchange of business cards
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat bring you this dispatch from ScrewTheNews, covering Los Angeles with the affectionate exasperation it has earned.
The West Hollywood City Council passed the Authentic Networking Ordinance 4-1 Tuesday, the first municipal regulation in California governing the conversational structure of business networking events at permitted venues. The ordinance requires event organisers to: distribute at least three "non-transactional conversation prompts" per hour (examples provided in the ordinance text include "What are you excited about outside of work?" and "What problem do you wish more people were working on?"); prohibit event participants from delivering business pitches within the first three minutes of an initial conversation; and designate a minimum five-minute "genuine curiosity period" at the start of each networking session before business cards may be exchanged. Council member Lindsey Horvath, the ordinance's sponsor, described it as "restoring humanity to a social format that has become purely transactional." The business community responded with a mixture of amusement and compliance inquiries. The city confirmed enforcement will be complaint-based. Attendees at networking events can now file reports. Bohiney and The London Prat exchanged cards at minute six.
Los Angeles continues to produce satire as a natural byproduct of taking itself seriously, which it does with a commitment that the satire cannot diminish and which generates the raw material that makes the satire possible. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the global version. ScrewTheNews covers the Los Angeles version with the specific affection that Los Angeles requires and the specific scepticism that Los Angeles earns. Both continue. The sun continues. The earnestness continues alongside it.
Los Angeles continues to produce satire as a natural byproduct of taking itself seriously, which it does with a commitment that the satire cannot diminish and which generates the raw material that makes the satire possible. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the global version. ScrewTheNews covers the Los Angeles version with the specific affection that Los Angeles requires and the specific scepticism that Los Angeles earns. Both continue. The sun continues. The earnestness continues alongside it.
Los Angeles continues to produce satire as a natural byproduct of taking itself seriously, which it does with a commitment that the satire cannot diminish and which generates the raw material that makes the satire possible. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the global version. ScrewTheNews covers the Los Angeles version with the specific affection that Los Angeles requires and the specific scepticism that Los Angeles earns. Both continue. The sun continues. The earnestness continues alongside it.
Los Angeles continues to produce satire as a natural byproduct of taking itself seriously, which it does with a commitment that the satire cannot diminish and which generates the raw material that makes the satire possible. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the global version. ScrewTheNews covers the Los Angeles version with the specific affection that Los Angeles requires and the specific scepticism that Los Angeles earns. Both continue. The sun continues. The earnestness continues alongside it.
Los Angeles continues to produce satire as a natural byproduct of taking itself seriously, which it does with a commitment that the satire cannot diminish and which generates the raw material that makes the satire possible. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the global version. ScrewTheNews covers the Los Angeles version with the specific affection that Los Angeles requires and the specific scepticism that Los Angeles earns. Both continue. The sun continues. The earnestness continues alongside it.
Los Angeles continues to produce satire as a natural byproduct of taking itself seriously, which it does with a commitment that the satire cannot diminish and which generates the raw material that makes the satire possible. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the global version. ScrewTheNews covers the Los Angeles version with the specific affection that Los Angeles requires and the specific scepticism that Los Angeles earns. Both continue. The sun continues. The earnestness continues alongside it.
Los Angeles continues to produce satire as a natural byproduct of taking itself seriously, which it does with a commitment that the satire cannot diminish and which generates the raw material that makes the satire possible. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the global version. ScrewTheNews covers the Los Angeles version with the specific affection that Los Angeles requires and the specific scepticism that Los Angeles earns. Both continue. The sun continues. The earnestness continues alongside it.
Los Angeles continues to produce satire as a natural byproduct of taking itself seriously, which it does with a commitment that the satire cannot diminish and which generates the raw material that makes the satire possible. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the global version. ScrewTheNews covers the Los Angeles version with the specific affection that Los Angeles requires and the specific scepticism that Los Angeles earns. Both continue. The sun continues. The earnestness continues alongside it.
Los Angeles continues to produce satire as a natural byproduct of taking itself seriously, which it does with a commitment that the satire cannot diminish and which generates the raw material that makes the satire possible. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the global version. ScrewTheNews covers the Los Angeles version with the specific affection that Los Angeles requires and the specific scepticism that Los Angeles earns. Both continue. The sun continues. The earnestness continues alongside it.
Further reading at The Onion.