Twestival: an international success
Friday, February 13th, 2009
by Grace Carter
Photo by John Biehler, @retrocactus
For any who missed it, yesterday was a big day for members of the Twittersphere. Last night was Twestival, an international tweetup for charity. The official numbers have yet to be announced, but with 175 participating cities it seems likely that scads of funds were raised for the event beneficiary charity:water, a fantastic non-profit which brings clean and safe drinking water to developing nations. According to the Georgia Straight, Vancouver alone raised $4011, New York City more than $22,000, and figures from other venues continue to pour in.
Beyond being an incredible and fun fundraiser, Twestival was emblematic of the scope and power of social media. Of the infinite reasons people congregate, converse, joust and giggle together online, this ability to come together in order to help humanity is undoubtedly among the most uncontroversial and well-loved. As one of the first truly global Twitter events, and arguably the most well-coordinated and successful one to date, Twestival demonstrated the capacity of online social media to achieve tangible social change.
We decided to take our participation in Twestival international. Following Wednesday’s Shorty Awards ceremony, where our twitter tool, HootSuite, took home the award for best app, our crew headed to M2 (formerly Mansion) in Manhattan, to check out NYC’s Twestival event.? Charity:water did a great job with supplying visuals to remind all why we were there—numerous yellow jerry cans used to transport clean water were on display, as well as a bathtub representing representing the volume of water required to sustain 13 people for one day.
We had a great time chatting with Jeff Pulver (@jeffpulver), the team at Sawhorse Media (@gregory, @varga), Clickable (@clickable, @maxkalehoff), the charity:water folks (@scottharrison), and the crew from Technorati (@technorati).
Meanwhile, back in Vancouver, other members of the Invoke clan were enjoying #YVRTwestival at the Opus Hotel, one of the largest and best-produced events the local online world has yet experienced. An astonishing 300+ tweeple in attendance made navigating the three plush party rooms a happy challenge.? #YVRTwestival tweets scrolled on a screen in the entrance room, and the bar served up “Fail Whales� and “Tweetups,� beverages designed for the evening.
Here are some pics of Invoke’s Twestival exploits in New York and Vancouver!
@quikness, @invoker & @d1337 keeping it real.
Dance party begins!
This bathtub holds enough H20 to sustain 13 people for a day.
Our darling @kateleg
Anthony Nicalo of Farmstead Wines (@farmstead), with @nalei & @kateleg
Photo by @retrocactus
A sweet silent auction prize – a weekend at Tinhorn Creek. Photo by Rebecca Bollwitt (@miss604)
Even the silent auction room was bumpin! Photo by @retrocactus
Chris Mathieson (@cognoscento) of the Vancouver Police Museum, with Raul Pacheco-Vega, a.k.a. Hummingbird604 (@hummingbird604), & @gracibelle & @kabutar
