I have often heard people say that you are only as powerful as your network. Well, if that is the case, my Detroit Tweeps network is so powerful that I can fight crime.
Last night marked the first official Detroit Tweetup of 2009. Held at Buffalo Wild Wings in Novi, there had actually been quite a bit of buzz surrounding the event since @kenburbary put the word out on January 2nd (super special thanks to Ken for coordinating the event and getting us our space. You are the man… and you owe me an interview). Those of us who RSVPed on the Detroit Tweetups Facebook page watched as the number of attendees quickly climbed, at one point topping over 90 people. I honestly would have been happy if only half that number showed up. Boy… were my expectations blown out of the water.
More than 80 tweeters showed up for cocktails, wings, casual conversation and the fun game of matching real people to their avatars and @ handles.
Here are some of my favorite highlights from the Novi Tweetup in no particular order:
- Hearing @virtualjason explain to me how the economy really has impacted ticket prices at major sporting events… as he handed out a stack of Pistons tickets…
- Seeing @rmercader come up with “Twitter gang signs” for use throughout the night.
- Experiencing only two party fouls: one from our group and one from the group of guests who somehow were sat at a table in the middle of our massive tweetup.
- Learning that @charliecurve has an excellent taste in all things science fiction (yep… we are nerds).
- @shannonpaul’s AWESOME t-shirt (video below).
- Listening to how @toddwaller had a freakin’ fantastic year in the residential real estate business despite “the rumors we may have heard about the market.”
- Watching the room fill up to the point where you needed to be some type of trained gymnast to bob and weave your way through all the groups. The area at the back of the bar was particularly brutal (thanks to @wa73 for the photo).
- Meetings a ton of cool new people to follow – professionals, students, entrepreneurs, communicators, creatives and social media fanatics.
Here are some videos from the event.
@shannonpaul’s awesome t-shirt!!
The always hilarious @charliecurve shot a quick video on site (using @balanon’s flip) about why people come to a tweetup.
You can also check out the event’s Twitter stream here – #nt09.
Honestly, I’m pretty excited about of the social media community that is beginning to develop in Detroit. While many people in the area have been blogging, podcasting and tweeting for years, we are starting to formalize our presence in the region. Our innovative culture is expanding rapidly, and people are starting to take notice.
Watch out world. Detroit is becoming a real hub of social media activity.
So, to all my Detroit Tweeps out there, I just want to say that you guys crushed this event. My personal thanks for showing up en masse and kicking off 2009 in style.
For those who attended, what were your favorite moments of the night? Who were some of the great tweeters that you met? More importantly, what did you get out of attending? New friends, new business, new meetings? Please share.
A list of attendees after the jump.
2009 Novi Tweetup attendees 1-19-2009
(if you do not see your handle or need to make a correction, please let me know!)
UPDATE 1/21 – Add @essohhbee to your contacts
@bchesnutt
@balanon
@drintelmann
@damnredhead
@rumblestrip
@jfavreau
@danlevin
@bryan_halicki
@chrisjlee
@virtualjason
@nipashah
@michiganmoves
@cletch
@dbrycz
@shaunan
@derekloyer
@kenburbary
@danieleizans
@vitaeizans
@dewand
@thestoryofb
@wa73
@adsmi
@davemurr
@kaseylb
@bigmacher
@netpods
@hubertGAM
@davebenjamin
@livewell360
@ryanviers
@adrianpittman
@sjp413, @fordracing
@racepr
@bryanmgoblue
@mrossana
@martastrickland
@brianberryman
@fhalabou
@mabdelno
@sharlandouglas
@tvdeegan
@estrellabella10
@red5050
@wmtylerwalker
@kilbeydotcom
@armstrongwhite
@detroitvoice
@thelegalvadana
@toddwaller
@davesacre
@davidlingholm
@khalidh
@anahidlisa
@davebiznet
@kevinbiznet
@shannonpaul
@dmassad
@scottmonty
@rukmal_fern
@kewlrats
@leahmcchesney
@meickmeyer
@sanjbaxi
@jwphillips
@rmercader
@ferg424
@publiccitypr
@smcevilly
@llaurentsmith
@olddog96
@digitalvision
@beverlycornell
@benrosenzweig
@charliecurve
@ericjvogel
@joefoodie
@chrismoritz
@visual_thinker
Attendees who need to contact me about their Twitter handles:
Arielle Helfman (Need to double check spelling)
Filed under: detroit, social media, social networking, tweetup, twitter
Hey Brandon -
Thanks for taking the time to put this together and listing all of the attendees!
Having moved back to MI – it is very exciting to see how many talented people there are out here and it was a fantastic opportunity to meet in person.
Highlight for me was meeting and listening to @scottmonty talk about how Ford is using social media in comparison to the other auto companies.
I’ll see ya at the next one Brandon!
Great overview of the Tweetup! And you rocked it out with the clipboard! It’s so nice making a face-to-face connection with people we’ve built relationships with through Twitter. Hope we keep up the momentum at future Tweetups! See ya soon
One other monumental moment was @shannonpaul telling @hubertGAM, @kenburbary and I her favorite Wu Tang member. Then busting out some lyrics! Classic
Thanks again for putting together this great post and documenting the whole thing!
Brandon – great to meet you and so many others. Tx for the list. Can’t believe how many people I didn’t get a chance to catch up with. It was a great event ~ looking forward to doing it again soon!
Really wish I could have been there
@primesuspect
Imagine my surprise when I saw my face on the video but my name wasn’t on the list. Sad times.
The post and vids are great. Thanks Brandon.
EDIT – @adrian – I double checked! You are on there. You made me feel bad for a minute! Check below @livewell360
So fun; glad I could make it this time and looking forward to the next one! @chrismoritz
Thanks Brandon! Love the follow up.
YAY!! Great job, Brandon! Thanks for putting this together. It was great meeting everyone, even though I probably only spoke with a 10th of the people there… which is why this list is fantastic!!
See you at the next one!
Sheila (aka @livewell360)
http://www.livewell360.com
Brandon… fantastic post, love the follow up. Had a blast with my wife and meeting lots of new folks. Really looking forward to the next one so I can get to the back of the bar next time.
Cheers.
Dan | @danieleizans
http://www.danieleizans.com
signed up on facebook. I’d have been there if I had more than like half an hour notice lol
Thanks for the rundown. Very nice recaps and videos.
Brandon,
Kudos for your participation for making this one of the best tweetups not only in Michigan but across the country.
With the downsizing of companies going on, there is no better way than to network with the local professionals that are working hard to make a difference.
I met so many wonderful people, too many to mention. Great to re-connect with those I’ve met before and enhance those relationships.
Prediction: Next tweetup surpasses 100 people.
Thanx, Brandon for putting the list together. great times meeting everyone. really looking forward to the next one!
Brandon,
Great wrap up! Looking forward to the next Tweet-Up. Your videos are always a highlight.
@RyanViers
Brandon,
Thanks pulling this together, the Novi Tweetup was a great time, BW’s was a happenin’ place. You are now officially the “make it happen man”.
Take it easy,
Ryan Viers
http://www.lifegawker.com
http://www.livewell360.com
@everyone
Thank you guys so much for the positive feedback and great comments about the Tweetup. I had a freaking blast and was totally “in the zone” when it came to capturing attendee names on my list. I can’t wait to bump into all of you again at the next Tweetup.
Hi Brandon,
Great seeing you again.
You were definitely the man with a mission at the Tweet Up. I hope you connected more then just breifly with all the people you had sign the sign in.
Jamie
@jamie Great seeing you again too. Don’t worry, I spent some time with many of the people there and did more than just shake a few hands. Glad I got you looking out for me though!
It’s a good thing that I did more than sign people in. I just might have talked a few people there into playing host for future Detroit Tweetups. Woo hoo.
Brandon, thanks for a cool event completely inundated with positive energy and great conversations.
I appreciated both seeing people that I know and meeting many others.
So, if that’s a tweet-up, we need to plan a future tweet-down…
@bchesnutt Great to meet you Brandon and I echo the comments above: well done, thanks for your help, etc.
Next step, making the networking streamlined for all the folks involved…
And of course I just now see my name in the post…thanks for the mention Brandon!
@Todd – Thanks man. There is no telling what the future holds. Before you know it, we’ll be sharing resources and doing business with one another on a regular basis… all because of Twitter
[...] Instead of trying to recreate the experience, I will simply point you to his blog post on the Novi Tweetup event. Here’s a brief video from the event via Brandon’s Flip [...]
What can I say that hasn’t already been said?
I think this set a new bar for Tweetups everywhere.
Total blast.
@dnrevel — What great fun, sorry to miss it. Various non-tweeps just don’t get it…but this group obviously knows. Last year, BuffWild Wings was 15-25 (All the better to enjoy Chris Brogan even on low sleep mode. That one was right before some conferences. This one, without the conf. yowza, and the vids really make it. THANK YOU! –D
thanks for documenting all this, BC! I must concur with Damian; my conversation with Shannon regarding her favorite Wu Tang member Cappadonna was mind-blowing. If we had Detroit Tweeps mock awards, she’d definitely get “most likely to be the only person able to properly rock a Nas song at a karaoke event.” Besides myself, of course.
Again, great work, I look forward to seeing you around, man!
Oh, I blogged a bit about one of the interesting people I ran across at the Tweet-Up on my blog, if you want to check it out!
Brandon,
Thanks for putting this together. Great to see what a thriving, organized twitter community there is in the area.
I’ve already recruited several people who want to come to the next one. To name one @adamiswater
I am so bummed I missed this! Looking forward to the next one.
@maureenfrancis
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