Twestival: Meet and Tweet For a Cause

Last night communities of Tweeters met in over 175 cities around the world to raise money and awareness for charity:water, an innovative non-profit dedicated to providing clean water to developing communities in desperate need. What started as a small gathering to benefit a local charity in London last year has evolved into a global fund raising event that is 100% volunteer organized. Early reports are predicting $1million was raised. Vitamin IMC attended the Chicago Twestival at Catalyst Ranch, a cool and funky converted loft that oozed creativity from every corner. 

Meeting other twitter users face to face was a great opportunity to network, share ideas and discuss the endless capabilities of Twitter. We'll explore these capabilities ourselves and how Twitter can be used as a marketing tool in an upcoming post. 

Referred to as the Live Aid of the tech world , Twestival's success highlights the power of social media. Not only does it allow you to share and connect with other users, but it can also be used to mobilize its users to effect social change. Social media is an important aspect of developing an IMC strategy, and as shown by Twestival, when used properly can yield great returns. We expect to see more events like Twestival in the future as the true value of social media is realized by more people.

So tell us, did you attend Twestival? What do you think about the power of social media?

--Stacy Cohen