Here’s what happens when 250+ come together for a Triangle Tweetup
Last night was the biggest Triangle Tweetup yet. At least 250 tweeps walked through the blow-up Bronto-lined hallway into Bronto Software in downtown Durham to meet the avatars they’ve been chatting with on Twitter.
From the moment I arrived, I was overwhelmed. First with shooting a live shot for the 6 p.m. news with Donald Jones for his forward-thinking Live@MyNC news show. Then it was time for an organizers meeting with @waynesutton, @kbodnar32, @therab and @dgtlpapercuts. All the details for the event were typed out on Wayne’s mac, which he synced with his iPhone so he could address the audience.
After introductions, I thanked everyone for bringing toiletries to help the Urban Ministries shelter in downtown Durham. I’ll be putting together toiletry kits in the coming days to drop off to the shelter. I love how generous everyone was. All the donations filled the entire trunk of the car.
Then it was time for the panel, which featured the exclusive premiere of the Twitterific 2.0 an iPhone app that makes keeping up with your tweets on the go easier. You can watch the demo here. There was also a panel discussion about brands using Twitter. You can watch the full panel discussion here.
Other exciting highlights include the launch of pici.me a fun, well-designed site created by @covati (the genius who also created my beloved idek.net). He’ll have more news about pici.me soon, for now you can see some of the fun photos we snapped using his Mac last night. Also in recent Mac news, @mike9er released Beak, a cool Twitter client especially for the Mac. It too is very clean and well-designed. So you Mac users, be sure to check out the work of these talented Triangle developers (who both work at Bronto).
Some Tweeps played Twitter Twister, which @ToastySnacks organized to bring a little spice to the Tweetup. Watch a match here:
And then there were the connections. The thing about Triangle Tweetups is they are getting to be so big that it’s becoming difficult to meet all your new tweeps and catch up with your old ones. I had an awesome conversation about love, journalism and blogging with @ilinap, but missed most of the panel discussion because of it.
I got to catch up with two dear friends and tweeps who haven’t seen in several months (@ashleysue and @ldbaldwin) but didn’t really get to go as in-depth as I would have liked. I got to have a refreshing conversation about social media jobs with a newly-employed @JasonPeck. I enjoyed sampling some delicious IPA from @FullSteam and the Shotgun Betty Hefeweizen from @loneriderbeer.
I met quite a few of my tweeps for the first time, including the very funny couple @sonofalink and @dottyus.
And then, as the night progressed, it was time for me and my beloved @mammalpants to turn over our Triangle Tweetup Queen & King titles. We were bestowed the honor at the last Tweetup by @ToastySnacks (who made the way cool sashes) and @InstantTaylor (who is crazy funny if you’re looking for someone new to follow).
I chose @lruettimann who some of you may know for her candid blog PunkRockHR and the mom (and voice) behind the cat Twitter account for her feline @MrScrubby.
@mammalpants turned his King title over to @JazzyChad, the talented developer behind TweetGrid.
There were so many more introductions. I hope everyone who went was as impressed with this event as I was. We’ve come a long way from the first Triangle Tweetup in winter 2006, when only 5 people were there.
It was a great time, I thought it all went very well.
SO MUCH FUN!
Great to see @bronto and catch up with @cammicam and @GinnySkal – curious who took home the @DSIcomedy door prizes? PRIZE BRIGADE!
@zachward
Ginny, thanks for wrapping up such an awesome tweetup. I had so much fun last night, and am definitely looking forward to the next one!
We had a great time outselves. Look forward to meeting more Triangle Twitters!
@DanWilson
Wish I could have been there! Hope to make the next one.
Yo, maybe the next tweet up should sponsor an animal charity? I’m sure my Mom would help to coordinate since she likes cats & dogs.
Tweetup was DEFINITELY a blast but I tend to agree on the sheer volume of folks in attendance. I caught up with a couple and met just as many new Tweeple as I could. Even still, how AWESOME was it to see that many Triangle Tweeple together at once! The Triangle Tweetup team did a fantastic job organizing it and without question, many thanks to all of the sponsors – great space, food, beer, prizes, you name it.
And the next one is scheduled for when?
[...] a look at some pictures from the event, other pictures from UpDownMostly and a comprehensive recap of the Tweetup from Ginny [...]
@ginnySkal:
What a wonderful recap – no surprise there. Thanks for all of your help in pulling this sucker off. Oh yeah, thanks for the beer too.
dj
@djwaldow