Politics

'Nerd Prom' Will Actually Be Nerdy This Year

The White House Correspondents Dinner, which has been affectionately referred to as "Nerd Prom" for the past six years, is not actually that nerdy. As The Wire noted last year, the ratio of celebrities to normal people makes it just another Hollywood party (that the President attends).

By Allie Jones
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The White House Correspondents Dinner, which has been affectionately referred to as "Nerd Prom" for the past six years, is not actually that nerdy. As The Wire noted last year, the ratio of celebrities to normal people makes it just another Hollywood party (that the president attends). But this year, tech companies will aid in the re-nerding process.

Tony Romm at Politico reports that Google, Facebook, and Yahoo are all preparing to throw down in D.C. this weekend, Silicon-Valley-style. Here are all the events they have planned, which will almost certainly be filled with nerds:

  • Google is partnering with Netflix for a Friday night party at the Institute of Peace
  • Google is also hosting a "getting ready" party on Saturday during the day, where attendees can get their hair and nails done and learn beauty tips from YouTube celebs*
  • Facebook is having an after party Saturday night at Jack Rose, which will be all nerds. Celebrity nerds Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg aren't even showing up
  • Yahoo is hosting a brunch where CEO Marissa Mayer and Tumblr founder Dave Karp will speak

  • Twitter has created a "Twitter Mirror" for the Washington Post's party, so attendees can take and share selfies

In addition, Google and Yahoo have invited actual engineers and executives to the big dinner on Saturday. If you attend, we can guarantee you will see someone who's paired Google Glass with their tux/gown. While tech nerds are cooler than political nerds, they're still nerds. And they're taking back WHCD weekend from Sofia Vergara.

*YouTube celebs definitely count as nerds 

Update, 4:59 pm: BuzzFeed publicist Augusta Mellon emails in to "point out that the Facebook party is actually a BuzzFeed and Facebook party." (Emphasis hers.)

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.