It's funny you should ask this, because I just started playing again after a long layoff. I was never a good guitar player and I'm even a worse singer, but I have played at parties, around the campfire and with friends and it was always well received.
I'm self taught and am going to work harder at my picking on blues and bluegrass stuff this time.
A few words of advice:
1. Get a decent guitar. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it does need to play well. A guitar with a crappy fret board can really ruin the experience. I recommend Applause guitars. They are the Korean made version of Ovation and play quite well for a very reasonable amount of money.
2. Find a good buddy that plays that can show you some chords. Get a guitar chord poster for reference.
3. Learn the basic chords and practice several times a week. First on making the chords correctly and later transitioning between various chords that go together. G-C-F or E-A-B or D, etc...
4. Next go to one of the Tabs sites on the web and print out simple songs that you like and you can play. Practice on a few songs until you learn them and then add songs to your playlist. There are many guys who can pick up a guitar and play "stuff" like rifts and junk like that, but not a whole lot that can play entire songs. If you want anyone to listen to you play, you need to be able to play some real songs and play them well.
5. You need to pick the guitar up on a regular basis and at least play a few things before you put it down so you will continue to get better. Challenge yourself.
6. Download a guitar tuner app for your smart phone, it will make keeping your guitar in tune easier.
7. Take some lessons. Tell your teacher what you want to accomplish and get him to help you to those goals. But do all the other stuff first and then get some instruction once you are a little familiar with the instrument.
I have this guitar and I love it. It is a fret board more like an electric guitar than an acoustic one and the sound is very bright. Just a joy to play...
Applause Guitar