The social media frenzy found its way into the Hyatt Regency Chicago this Tuesday, with over 200 Twitterers chatting away in real space. The event marked the second stop on the Mashable-sponsored, six-city #Hyatt4Good Tweetup Tour. Created as a series of informal meet and greets, the Tour is attracting more and more “followers” as it leaps from New York to Chicago, and now on to Denver, L.A., D.C., and Boston.
NYC, Chicago, Denver, San Diego, D.C., Boston.
Contrary to initial suspicions, comments are carrying on in excess of 140 characters. In Chicago, the social media community was well represented by a consortium of tech and media mavericks, designers, entrepreneurs, PR and marketing professionals, and others invested in ideas surrounding social media. Attendees gathered in groups of twos and threes, their excitable banter fittingly matching the exuberance so often found on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Conversations ranged from social media news to business development, to the latest in smartphone applications. What remained consistent, however, was the level of deep interaction so common among Twitterers. After all, it is just this type of open participation that continuously injects the “social” into social media. Several guests showed up with no prior knowledge of the tour, encouraged by friends unable to attend—yet eager to invite others to get out and mingle.
"Tweeting" in real space—Chicago, 8/4/09.
The event also celebrated the launch of Sevans Strategy, a Chicago-based PR and new media consultancy. Sarah Evans, the company’s president, presented a short video highlighting the profound changes occurring in the world of social media. To conclude the evening, some raffle prizes were announced, followed by Mashable COO, Adam Hirsch, inviting everyone to toast their nearest neighbor—a social media gesture of open exchange if there ever was one.
It’s fair to say the social media movement has entered its adolescence, with events like the Twitterup Tour attracting hundreds into small ballrooms across the country. Next year, it may be thousands. Yet unlike adolescent periods marked by an awkward and self-imposed identity crisis, the social media movement today holds its head high, confident in its own self-awareness, more “social” now than ever before.
Messina Marketing Group 
How appropriate for me that you launch your SOCIAL MEDIA and the BUSINESS OF WORDS blog as I prepare to launch a blog targeted to using social media to build a law practice (to be hosted on Martindale-Hubble Connected). My latest blog is targeted to a specific audience in a more narrow community, but the general ideas will likely be parallel to yours. Social media is not just a passing fad, it is the next way to harness technology to create, collaborate, develop, share and form communities. Businesses and individuals who are able to write and present “killer content” will put themselves at an advantage against their peers and be looked to as leaders in their space. I look forward to learning from you strategies for improving my content.
-Patrick
Not a tweeter but enjoyed the information…Maybe one day you will convert me.
Do you think Maine will ever step into this realm of life? I sure hope not. I’m quite comfy in the backwoods…knowing I can take a jaunt into all the other realms that exist out there. Killer content, indeed!
Yes, Jen, I understand your viewpoint. I am convinced, however, the backwoods will remain an important part of our cultural landscape, despite the advance of social media. Btw, there’s a new social media conference next month, right in your neck of the woods! Check it out:
http://socialmediaftw.eventbrite.com/
Thanks for your article! Although I’m not a tweeter myself, I enjoyed the article. I am interested in how the social media is transforming, and I always find a way to discuss changing forms of communication (and their effects) with my high school students.
Thanks for sharing, Frank! I thought Facebook was it, but this is another savvy way to get out there. Maybe soon I too can jump on board…hmm. You’re so inspiring! Loved the stats, and your consise writing fed my mind just right.