Posts Tagged ‘tweetup’

Posted on October 4, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

Announcing the 1st ever State Fair location-based scavenger hunt with QR Codes at the Deep Fried TriangleTweetup

Last year during the North Carolina State Fair my partners and I joined forces with the State Fair organization team to plan the fair’s first ever tweetup. It was called the Deep Fried TriangleTweetup with the theme “A Whole Lotta Happy”. We wanted to say it was the first ever tweetup held at any state fair but we were the second state fair to do so but by fare the largest with over 150 attendees last year. This year, we’re doing it again, bigger and better with more prizes, a live video show featuring @GregoryNG of Freezerburns and of course more deep fried food. The theme for the 2010 North Carolina State Fair is Celebrate What’s Great and the Deep Fried Triangle Tweetup is held on October 14, 2010, opening day. You can purchase tickets here at the discounted price of $5.00 that includes your entry to the State Fair and the TriangleTweetup.

Also returning is the State Fair Tweetup scavenger hunt. We wanted to make things a little better than last year and doing so the North Carolina State Fair partnered with TriOut to set up the 1st ever State Fair location-based scavenger hunt using QR Codes. The scavenger hunt will start October 14 at 3:00 P.M. and will end at 8:00 P.M. and if you collect all of the clues you’ll win a few prizes at the Deep Fried TriangleTweetup tent. To start the scavenger hunt you’ll scan a QR Code at the tweetup tent for your first clue and then you’re on your way scanning various QR Codes around the fair for more clues and other social sharing activities that will give you a new North Carolina State Fair experience. Also note to participate in the scavenger hunt you don’t need an iPhone, just a QR Code reader that is found on most smartphones but using the TriOut [iTunes link] will provide you with a better experience.

More details are to follow and we’re excited to be working with the North Carolina State Fair to host the first ever State Fair location-based scavenger hunt with QR Codes. You can find more information about the event over the next few weeks here onTriangleTweetup.org blog and over on the Deep Fried blog. If you haven’t already, you can also follow the NC State Fair folks on Twitter (@NCStatefair) for the latest updates on the 2010 N.C. State Fair.

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Update

Looking for a fast QR Code Reader / Scanner? Try my new iPhone app: CLICK HERE

Posted on June 7, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

TriOut launches HTML5 location-based check-in web app for Android and iPhone users plus API

Since TriOut launched the iPhone app back in December one of the most asked questions was when will TriOut have a native app for Android and other mobile platforms. While we haven’t launched a native app yet, this past Thursday during the TriangleTweetup, TriOut founder Lawrence Ingraham @LawPower made two announcements bringing TriOut closer to having a native app for other platforms and helping TriOut Android users have a better experience.

The first announcement was the launch of the TriOut API. The API provides methods to interact with our system, pulling location information, providing check in for your users, pretty much anything you can find in the TriOut system will be available. With the launch of the API we’re excited about the possibility of other apps being by developed using the TriOut platform such as a new iPhone app and/or Android App. The TriOut API was also used for inclusion with Check.in and you can see full documenation at http://api.trioutnc.com/

The second announcement was the launch of the new mobile experience for Android and iPhone users at http://mobile.TriOutNC.com. The new mobile experince is an HTML5 web app built with the new API. With http://mobile.TriOutNC.com it brings an entirely different look and feel to TriOut and focuses on a faster check-in experience, a better way to see your friends activity, finding nearby places, and upcoming events. The new app also supports check-in awards/badges, access to your messages and soon you’ll be able to update your settings all from the web app.The mobile app works great for Android users and although it’s not a native app we think it’s pretty darn close. Here are a few screenshots of the app.

Here’s what one Android user tweeted about the new mobile app.

For Blackberry and Palm TriOut users, you can still check-in by using: http://m.TriOutNC.com

We’re very excited about the API and the new mobile web app as our goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to “Explore the Triangle”, check-in, post reviews, and see what your friends are up to. Thanks for the support and let us know what you think in the comments.

What are your thoughts on native apps vs web HTML5 apps for checking in?

Posted on March 5, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

Join us Saturday for a Pre-Oscars Tweetup / #SquareUP at the @HiltonUniversal #kodakredcarpet

It’s my first visit to California and I’m looking forward to meeting friends who I have chatted virtually and new friends as well.

Join us this Saturday from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the Atrium Lounge at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City to celebrate the 2010 Oscars. This year, Kodak will be sending some of our nation’s top bloggers to report live from the Red Carpet.

Then we’ll head over to City Walk for a great night out!

You can RSVP below or go here: http://preoscarstweetup.eventbrite.com/

A big thanks to @HiltonUniversal for hosting, and we hope to see you there!

Posted on November 3, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

Call it a Tweetup & they will come? Wrong! Social media event marketing 101

Photo Credit: Abbyladybug

Wrong!
You know the saying, “build it and they will come” well, we all know how that works out and now it seems there’s a new saying, call your meetup a Tweetup and they will come. Just like the first saying, businesses and people need plan accordingly and don’t expect by calling your event a Tweetup that the Twitter community will embrace your meetup and show up tweeting about your product or services.

What’s a Tweetup?
Oh, if you’re wondering what a Tweetup is, according to urbandictionary.com a Tweetup is A group of friends on Twitter (social network) that are planning to meet up, that’s it, that’s all. But with the success of Twitter in the news, TVs shows and being used by music artist and other celebrities Twitter has now caught the eyes of brands to host Tweetups as a way to reach various communities to market their services offline and locally to potential buyers. Tweetups can consist of two people and can be held anywhere from coffee shops to businesses to parks. There are sites now that focus on Tweetups such as: http://tweetups.com

Tweetup Photo by Jeff Cohen

Past Tweetup Success
You may be asking why am I posting about this now, well, in the past few weeks I have been approached by a few national brands, local malls stores and individuals about hosting a tweetup. It seems that people have started to notice the success we have had with Triangle Tweetups ( http://triangletweetup.org ) in North Carolina. Some of our past Triangle Tweetup numbers have been 150, 250 to 180 attendees with our recent partnership with the North Carolina State Fair to host a Deep Fried Triangle Tweetup at the State Fair. What’s unique about those Tweetups except for the @NCStateFair tweetup is they were not directly linked to another event/conference. There were just planned well and organized to bring the community together to learn and network with the common interest being Twitter.

Brands, Businesses and Tweetups
As I stated earlier, brands / businesses are now hosting tweetups to reach out to various communities offline to market their product and services. There’s nothing wrong with that but I would like caution companies looking to host Tweetups because it’s the new “cool” thing to do without any research. Especially if you’re trying to host a Tweetup in a different location where you may not have a local connection or network reach. But even then I would do a lot of market/Twitter research to see how the local community uses twitter and with various Twitter tools available it’s easy to find users by location now. Also look at how locations view your brand before you host a Tweetup. The last thing you want is to have a tweetup and all the attendees are showing up to complain about your product or service.

Social media event marketing 101
So you still want to plan a Tweetup? If you’re an individual and just want to meet for coffee, lunch or just to catch-up with local tweeple, have at it and enjoy. I think I’m meeting a few friends at a coffee shop in Raleigh for a #busybeetweetup in  a few weeks myself. But if you’re a company and you want to host a Tweetup to announce your grand opening or your new product / service or to show that you “get social media” I would start with the following before I decided to host a Tweetup:
1. Use a custom twitter location search or Twitter Grader to find local Twitter users and build a relationship with them.
2. Plan at least 30 to 60 days ahead to market your event.
3. Join other location based social networks such as Whrrl, brightkite, foursquare, gowalla, and Tri-Out (NC only) and connect with the community there.
4. Find the right loaction with wifi and good parking.
5. Use a Tweetup planning sites like: http://twtvite.com or http://tweetvite.com
6. Sponsor existing Tweetups held by the community that can serve as the same purpose as hosting a tweetup
7. Ask yourself the following: Why does my company want to plan a Tweetup
What is my goal for planning a Tweetup and how are we going to measure the success of the Tweetup

No guarantees
With that being said you could simply hire companies or experienced individuals to plan Tweetups for your organization and talking with these individuals you may find out that a Tweetup may not be something you should invest your time or money into at the moment just because it’s the cool thing to do. Yes, hire someone because even though Twitter is free but peoples time, network and expereince is not. Still there are no guarantees, even after you have done your market research and planned accordingly that after the doors open and tweeple arrive that you will convert a tweetup attendee to a new customer.

My experience?
I’m co-organizer of the Triangle Tweetup in Raleigh, NC ( http://triangletweetup.org ) and partner of OurHashtag where we plan community events using social media. I planned the first tweetup in North Carolina with 5 people in December of 2007 and have planned tweetups up to 250 attendees in 2009. I have also co-organized first time tweetups in Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, Raleigh Wilmington & Durham, NC & Harlem, NY.

If you would like to plan a Tweetup or use social media to plan an event email us at contact@OurhHastag.com.

Posted on September 14, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

We're having a Deep Fried Tweetup at the @NCStateFair

Triangle Twitter users will not be confined to 140-character conversations as they experience the Fair’s offerings at the first Deep Fried Triangle Tweetup at the N.C. State Fair on Thursday, Oct. 22.

The event, co-hosted by the organizers of Triangle Tweetup, will be held in the Folk Festival Tent from 7 to 9 p.m. on Food Lion Hunger Relief Day.

“We’ve built great relationships over the past year with our social media followers, and we wanted to organize an event that would help them enjoy the Fair in a new social way,” said Wesley Wyatt, fair manager.

During the Deep Fried Triangle Tweetup, attendees will be able to sample deep-fried Fair food, interact with Fair entertainers, participate in a Twitter-themed scavenger hunt and enter to win prizes throughout the night. The event is part of a growing trend of events where participants have face-to-face gatherings with people they follow on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. It is also one of the first Tweetups hosted by a state fair.

The co-host, OurHashtag, has held 10 Triangle Tweetups during the past two years. The company’s partners Wayne Sutton, Jeff Cohen, Ryan Boyles and Kipp Bodnar are active members in the local social media community, and have planned several social media events including Ignite Raleigh and monthly Triangle Social Media Club meetings. Past Triangle Tweetups have included a charitable component to the main event.

“By holding the Tweetup on Hunger Relief Day, we are able to gather at the Fair without charging a registration fee, and can continue to help our community through charitable contributions,” Sutton said. Anyone who brings four cans of food to the Fair on Thursday, Oct. 22 will get in to the Fair for free.

The N.C. State Fair was the first fair to use Twitter, and currently connects with fairgoers on a variety of social media sites, including:

• Deep Fried @ the N.C. State Fair Blog: www.ncstatefair.org/blog
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/ncstatefair
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ncstatefair
• MySpace: www.myspace.com/ncstatefair

The Deep Fried Triangle Tweetup is one of several new activities added this year to appeal to the state’s tech-savvy community. Other events include the TXT-O-LYMPIX texting competition and nightly video game contests.

Promotional video

More information about the Fair can be found at www.ncstatefair.org. Space is limited to the first 500 registrants.