What is a Tweetup? Come see for yourself!

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Posted on: May 12, 2009

Posted in: People, Technology, Thoughts, Video

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What is a Tweetup? Come see for yourself!

When I first started using social media, I kept hearing about something called a tweetup… and it sounded like the funnest thing ever. Let me tell you now that I have been to a few tweetups, they ARE the funnest things ever. What is a tweetup? Tweetups are a spontaneous gathering of people sparked and organized on Twitter. I decided to do a video to help explain this phenomenon while at a tweetup recently in Honolulu! I was lucky to have a moment to catch up with Tom Merrit whose podcast Buzz Out Loud is listened to by tech, gadget and social media junkies all around the world… (Tom and his lovely wife, Eileen are old friends of mine from TechTV) I also got some great tips on a ways to organize a tweetup from the man who organized my first ever tweetup, Ryan Ozawa. And since it’s all about logistics, there are some tweetup best practices from the organizer of this tweetup, Burt Lum. Ryan and Burt, by the way, have a great radio show in Honolulu called Bytemarkscafe.

Watch this video and get tips on throwing a tweetup, best practices and useful tools. Thanks to Ryan and his jailbroken iphone we also have a great behind the scenes and bloopers video!

And here is a bonus video! Meet the tweeters and see the entire interview uncut with Tom!

Front page featured image courtesy: Burt Lum

  • big_brother
    Nice piece. But the audio is ROUGH and next time you might think about switching up the music a little. Shortly before you hit the 3 minute mark, that never-ending, guitar tune becomes just torturous. BUT as I said... it was a nice piece!
  • Ha! Thank you... and yes you are soooo right about the audio and the music track. I'm learning and growing and audio is an art... without a doubt. I actually really enjoy adding music to my vlog, but unfortunately it can end up being the last thing I do and have the least amount of time for. Do you happen to have any suggestions on where I can find some good free music? This track was from Garageband... Thanks for leaving a comment and for the feedback. --sukhjit

    PS the audio is just what was recorded by the flipcam.. no external mic!
  • Hey Sukhjit!

    Love this post for two reasons. One: the first time you and I met F2F, It was at a tweet up. Two: I'm going to Hawaii next month and now I'm feeling the Island love. Awesome.
  • Hey Sukhjit,

    Great site you have. I accidently ran into your site via Twitter, and I’m glad I did. I’ve learnt so much from your site today. I had no idea what Tweetup was, and now I'm planning on arranging one in my area.

    Thanks again for the very informative site.

    I'll be visiting again,

    T.J. Walia
    http://tjwalia.blogspot.com/
    http://twitter.com/twalia
  • Hey T.J.

    Thank you so much for the visit! I'm so glad you stumbled upon my vlog! How are the tweetup plans coming along!?

    Sukhjit
  • Seesmic video reply from Disqus.
  • @disposablepal Yay! Good job going to the gym. Been reading that a lot in your tweets. Proud of you!
  • Hi Sukhjit. We tweeted a bit about this but I wanted to say how well your video came out. I know from your bio that you're a former producer, but I'm guessing that this doesn't include editing. As someone else mentioned, good editing should be invisible to most viewers. Maybe a good vblog idea is a short 'how to edit' video? Not an instructional clip, but more of a 'I chose this to go here because..." type of entry.

    As I mentioned, I've been using Vegas (now using 8 Pro) for editing, this is a pretty pricey program, but new users can use Vegas Movie Studio for under $100. My youtube page (user name:satoauto) has mostly cats and cars, but there is also a video I made for a friend who passed away. His family is in Ohio and unable to travel here. My own webpage has all the videos I've made including ones to introduce some of the cars we sell. Thanks again for the great video on tweetups!
  • @colinsato
  • I agree with everything you said. The getting the story, flow and pacing right makes it so much more watchable for the viewer - even if they don't know WHY it's watchable. In the S2000 documentary, I wanted to make a video about Honda history but mostly about my friends, their cars and the social aspect of owning them. I sat everyone down in a park and we talked about the car. Its a long video, probably the longest I ever made, but it tells a story and was my 'gift' to the owner community. The memorial video is much shorter, told with stills (all I had) and our video on Kauai. He was actually a customer who became a friend.

    I wanted to make a video reply, and I signed up with seesmic. Unfortunately, I don't have a webcam. I've got two video cameras, and 4 still cameras so I've got to see if its possible to adapt one of these as a makeshift webcam. (another 'how to' idea?).
  • Finally put my video and photos together. Here's the link to my Flickr set:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/madmarv/sets/72157...
  • @madmarv thank you for sharing your video and pics!
  • rachaeljoy
    It wasn't that long ago that i didn't know what a tweetup was so I think this is a great idea for a video! Mucho aloha to everyone there and viva vivacious Sukhjit!
  • @rachaeljoytv thanks for the comment and the ReTweet of the video! Miss you!
  • yickth
    Good one Sukhjit! I liked your reflection at 3:06 giving the interview while holding the cam. Nice (unintended?) touch. Nice production. Yeah... :)
  • Thoughts on production of the video, being part of the story.
  • I loved it!!
    Well done Sukhjit, Quel Talent!!!
    @+
    Olivier
  • Thanks for the comment @balavoine!
  • chaeseco
    awesome. good video. to this day, I have yet to go to a philly tweetup. I always find out about them after or as they're happening in the city. regardless, thanks for sharing!
  • @chaeseco So glad you got to meet the folks at the Honolulu Tweetup!
  • chaeseco
    @sukhjit warning it's a long rant; classic me :)
  • I have a lot to say about this comment, Alan. Will shoot you a video tomorrow. Funny, you know more than most people the struggle I go through and have gone through to make this vlog happen. It's a big gamble. Lots of work, investment of time and money from me and ... fingers crossed that it will lead to a stable career. We'll talk more tomorrow. I'm very thankful for your comments support! =) --sukhjit
  • Fun stuff!
  • @hawaii thanks for the Aloha spirit!
  • Looks like you're having a lot of fun, Sukhjit. Did @amerjit not want to join in also? Anyway, thanks for sharing the highlights of your tweetup with us. =)
  • @justG You are the lucky first comment! Thank you so much!
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