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FeedProvidence’s First Tweet-Up
May 20, 2009 - 11:00 AM
The Perry Group, a local PR firm, hosted the area’s first Tweet-Up at Providence Piers last night. More than 100 people — all having heard about the event @Twitter —gathered for the panel discussion. The much-buzzed about event featured some of the state’s top Twitterers talking about how to brand your business — or yourself — through social media.
A few observations from the meet and greet:
- Contrary to what most people might think (or wish) Twitter isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
- Twitter is not just for the young. Grandmothers were (proudly) in attendance.
- Or the super tech savvy. All industries were represented: tourism, publishing, marketing, hospitality, higher education, media, etc., etc., etc.
- 140 characters is not a lot of space. 2 b cr8tiv mst lrn to abbrv.
- Panelist and the state’s top Twitterer (15,359 followers, and growing) is @TheDailyBlonde, a.k.a. Cheryl Phillips. A writer and single mom of five, she is currently ranked in the top 50 of Twitterers worldwide. Though she’s still got a long way to go to catch up to Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk).
- Given the inherently impersonal nature of communicating computer to computer, the irony was not lost on the one tip all the panelists kept hammering home: be real, and be yourself.
Reader Comments:
Excellent recap of last evening's Tweet Up. As one of the grandmothers "proudly" in attendance (and the mom of panelist Jane Couto-Porricelli), I can attest to the incredible reach of Twitter in both my personal and professional world. As a matter of fact, I just a few minutes ago received a Tweet from a Twitter friend telling the wonderful news of a baby on-the-way, and I was tweeted by a potential business connection a few moments later. Ah, those 140 characters can change your life!
Someone has to say it. This was not the area's first tweetup. There have been at least 4 or 5 in the past few months.
Hey, anonymous! Be proud of your knowledge and thanks for sharing it; no need to hide. ;) Whether it was the first or the fifth, it was certainly the most well-publicized and most recognized by the media, so it feels like the first time. (And it was for me.) I loved it. The energy in that room was exhilarating. Looking forward to the next one. Kudos to The Perry Group - to all organizers and participants - for a great job. (Sharon, I will meet you in person next time!)
Can we change the headline to something a little less false?
Like: PR Firm Hosts Tweet-Up.
There is a monthly Tweet Up called Nerdsday and have been SEVERAL others before that.
Twitter is not new.
Hi, Anonymous - I was one of the panelists at the Tweet-up and I also helped organize the event. You are right, this was not the area's first tweet-up, and it was never advertised by us as such. As the Eventbrite page for the event stated, it was, "Rhode Island’s first of its kind Tweet-Up and panel discussion dedicated to the social networking tool Twitter." In other words, it was the first time a panel was assembled in RI to discuss Twitter and business and address questions from the crowd, *as well as* allowing people to spend time meeting up with fellow Twitterers (the latter part, of course, being what is traditionally defined a "tweet-up"). Also, I would actually argue that there have been more than 4 to 5 tweet-ups in the area in the past several months, as I have been to about 4 to 5 myself, and I am certain that there have been plenty that have gone on without me. :) You're right - Twitter is not new (I've been on since May 2007), but it *is* new to a lot of people and businesses, many of whom came and enjoyed the Tweet-up last night!
Not to be cynical or anything (who me?) but from the media's perspective, "Providence's First Tweet-Up" makes a much better, more newsworthy headline for them than "Providence's Fifty-Sixth Tweet-Up."
Besides that, if this was the first Tweet-Up at Providence Piers, then Lisa Harrison's summary is not only good, it is also accurate. : )
This is a good example of PR's challenge: craft a message, set it loose, and then have no control over whatever misunderstanding ensues once the media/public takes it and runs with it. (We're usually just happy someone picked up our story!)
P.S. I am not affiliated in any way with The Perry Group, except I saw Gregg Perry speak last night.
First I want to say that this was a fantastic meet-up, tweet-up, social event, business meeting, Twitter expedition....whatever you want to call it. Whether it was the first, first of its kind, second or 100th, it was well organized. Kudos to the Perry Group and those lovely Couto (-Porricelli) women who worked so hard to put this together and including me!
Now, 'anonymous', it's great that you want to set the record straight and you know everything (please tell us your name because I want to applaud you for being knowledgeable) but in these somewhat trying times, can't you just be thankful that people got together to learn and enjoy an evening that could potentially help businesses grow???
Take a look at my blog each Friday. You're going to earn one of those "special" awards I post there if you don't play nice in the sandbox.
Thanks, Rhode Island Monthly...and by the way, Ashton is now following me. Go figure. However, I do not want a million followers if I can't communicate with them!
Congrats!
@johnhaydon
I was proud to be in attendance at the tweet-up that was put on by the Perry Group as well. Although I'm a long time tweeter, it was still nice to see companies wanting to learn how to better connect with their customers. This was definitely a combination discussion/learning experience for some as well as a traditional networking tweet-up. For me, it was fun connecting people to tweets and meeting new tweeters to connect with in the future.