Twitter fans hold their own festival

04/02/2009

Micro-blogging shindigs to raise funds for water charity

Scottish Twitter users will get the chance to indulge their info-update hobby at Twestivals in Glasgow and Edinburgh later this month.

The events, on February 12, will include live video streaming linking to Twestivals in almost 200 other cities around the world.

Events will celebrate the increasingly popular micro-blogging site which allows people to post short messages (of up to 140 characters) to fellow users – a constant update of activities and thoughts.

Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry both raised the profile of twitter recently by “tweeting” entries about Ross’ return to his Friday night chat show.

It also grabbed the attention of the news networks when one of the first pictures to be posted from the Hudson River plane crash was obtained by a Twitterer on his phone and immediately posted through Twitpic.

The festivals will see project individual tweets projected onto the walls of the venues next to pictures and videos posted to Flickr and other sites, as a way of people getting to meet face-to-face.

Fans will also get the chance to perform or play their own music live. “We're already blown away by the global reception and how keen people are to invest their time and energy for free,” said Amanda Rose, one of the Twestival organisers.

As part of a global project, described as "a ‘tweet-up’ with a social conscience", the Scottish events will be raising money to support charity: water, a not-for-profit group bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

According to Rose: “TwestivalSocial tweet ups like this are a great way to meet the faces behind those avatars while raising a lot of money for a fantastic cause.”

The Edinburgh Twestival will be held at the Hawke and Hunter in the capital and the Glasgow event will take place at the Sith Cafe in the city's west end.