My friend, Clare, is having her annual pre-Thanksgiving dinner today. This tradition began four years ago when she first moved into town. I wasn’t there for the first Poplar Thanksgiving (she used to live on Poplar street), so I don’t know how large this event was at its inception. This year, over 50 of us will be coming for dinner.
Here’s what has me thinking: the realization that this entire event has been carefully coordinated online. First, Clare sent an Evite to 109 people. By checking the Evite this morning, I know that 53 of us are attending, 40 never responded, 7 can’t sort myself out, and 9 are pretending that they have something better to do. Searching through the responses, you can then see the many of us then offered to bring something. To keep track of it all, Clare started a Google spreadsheet that she shared with all of us. The initial invitation went out on Tuesday, the 17th, at 8:35 am. By 2:00 pm on Friday, every item was accounted for by the 21 of us who contributed to the document. Anyone who didn’t respond is expected to contribute to the beverage category.
Looking back through the Revision History on the spreadsheet, I know that the organizers of the event actually started the planing on November 13th. They tracked what needed to happen and then invited more contributors as they needed more help. By 3:00 this afternoon, there will be 2 Turkeys, 7 appetizers, 6 pies, and side dishes ranging from sweet potatoes to parsnips.
The demographics of the guest list are close to 50/50 male/female. 94.3% of us have college degrees, and our ages range from 25-43. The organizers are three, college educated women in their late 20’s. None of us fit into the category of Digital Natives; however, I think we have evolved fairly well.