Making Friends Now Comes With a SponsorThe Rise of the IRL Influencer

Americans socialize less than before, so organizers now earn a living hosting parties, and brands like Tinder are paying to sponsor them.

A $30 rooftop party in New York promises guests a chance to form 'genuine connections.' Its sponsors include the tequila brand Patrón and the dating app Tinder. The organizer, Tionne Barmer, put it bluntly: people pay for the entertainment, and community comes along on the side.

Dinner plans have become a business

Americans are badly short of social life. Over the past three decades, dinner parties, picnics and volunteering have all fallen by double digits, and the gap has opened up.

Where there is demand, someone will organize it. Umama Kibria, a co-founder of Play Social Club, watched her father host picnics for their community and keep losing money on them. She priced tickets to turn a profit, then lined up brand sponsorships of about $10,000 each, turning his hobby into a full-time job.

Socializing has become something you can buy

This IRL economy is partly a backlash against screens and partly an extension of influencer culture. Pie's pitch is simple: a video buys three to five seconds of attention, while an hour in a room with a brand's logo buys far more.

Pie currently pays organizers an average of $445 a month, up to $3,500, funded by venture capital. Its bet is that brands will eventually pay for access to these guests, the way they pay online influencers. Tinder also plans to feature events in 75 cities by year's end.

The author argues that real community runs on friction: showing up when it is inconvenient, staying kind when someone is being a pain, and none of that can be optimized. Paid gatherings currently sell a reason to get together. Friendship still takes trouble and time to grow.