Great fun to Tweet Up with fab Twitters at Reading Twestival!
The Reading Twestival was good fun last night, turning many a virtual relationship into a real-life friendship and proving that when in comes to leveraging social networking, Twitter truly is a community tool.
The Mix Bar in Reading was packed with Twitter folk keen to sample the specially blended cocktails such as the ‘Fail Whale’, ‘Hashtag’ and ‘Retweet’ – after enjoying the bubbly upon arrival of course! You can see the fun being had courtesy of @AmyKate who has shared these images on Flickr.
The hashtag #rdgtwestival helped everyone keep track of tweets being made at and about the event through a giant screen ‘waterfall’ that saw such tweets cascade downward as fresh tweets came in.
The venue was positively rocking, not least when ‘Chasing Vegas’, the Newbury band, took to the stage and kept us entertained! I reckon my favourite was a fine rendition of The Rolling Stones classic ‘Sympathy for the Devil’.
Having the common ground of Twitter made it really easy to meet people – a bit like being a guest at a wedding where you didn’t even have to ask a stranger if they knew the bride or the groom! Special mention in despatches must surely go to @philipstears, @nic_flower, @ClaireatWaves and @jaimedrinksin, all new friends and now followed!
There was also a lesson for those of us with any following significance – I met relative newbies who were already following me – and indeed I would have automatically followed them back – who were familiar with my tweets, but alas not I with theirs!
I was reminded of the blog post I had made earlier in the day rubbishing the idea that Demi Moore had snubbed the Prime Minister’s wife Sarah Brown on Twitter, but had instead simply overlooked her tweet.
It was also good to see people that we have encouraged to become involved with Twitter and those who have been an encouragement to us too.
Through the hard work of volunteers, ticket sales and a raffle made possible with a host of donated services and prizes, the event also raised over £1,300 for Daisy’s Dream, the charity that supports bereaved children and their families. Extra special kudos should go to main sponsor @dedipower - without their generosity there would not have been a #rdgtwestival!
Plans are already underway for a major Tweet Up in February 2010 which given the continued growth of Twitter should be even more remarkable! We’ll keep you posted.