The March 25th tweetup event in Greater Lafayette, IN will now include the Twestival, a global event organized in 200+ cities around the world via social media tools to help a charity.

At this edition the event will sponsor Concern Wordwide, an international charity bringing education to the world’s poorest children. Concern has been implementing innovative educational programs and solutions for over 40 years.

We are still in discussions with local venues to host the event, including Skylight Coffee House and others. Follow our blog posts or Twitter account @LafayeTwestival for the latest news.

Photo morganlevy

Today is the day of our local Greater Lafayette Twestival 2009 event.

I feel like there are more things that should have been done, but I am comfortable, in the same time, because we managed to continue with having our Greater Lafayette city involved in this great global charity event. And we had more people willing to help organizing or participating than for the February 2009 edition.

The thing I need to apologize for is that I was a bit late with starting organizing all things together for this local edition. I was lucky, though, because in the process I found beautiful open-minded people that have freely offered their support and resources. They didn’t know me, I didn’t know them until this Twestival. We just connected each other for a cause. Some of them I still haven’t met in person, we will get together tonight at The Muse to celebrate the Twestival. And I am positive we will keep a good relationship and communication after the event will end.

My personal feeling is that Lafayette people using Twitter are somehow skeptic to the idea of coming out from behind their monitors and just go offline and spend some time with their fellow followers. We might need to change that. Online is good, but offline makes connections even more efficient. I guess we will find more after tonight’s event.

I also noticed, during all these weeks of organizing this event, various local Lafayette businesses that are on Twitter. I am now curious if they have any kind of method to measure their success, and if they really use it at its full capacity and power, or just for fun and fashion. Hope they will join us today and learn more about what people expect from their tweets.

So this Twestival thing just gave us all the opportunity to become more friendly for a while, and to learn new things about our local community. And for this opportunity we’d like to thank Amanda Rose and global Twestival Team of coordinators. There is another global event planned for February 4th, 2010. Will Greater Lafayette in Indiana join the venture again? I’d really like to. Post your comment below with how you feel about this.

Well, see you tonight at 6pm at The Muse (RSVP here or just come to the front door) and hope we will all have a great time while helping for a better world.

- @NeluLazar

Guest post by Tamera Clark (QA & Systems Analyst, Twitter enthusiast)

By day, I am an IT professional, and during the rest of my waking hours I am an IT junkie. I blog, Tweet, Yelp, Dopplr and spend many hours just surfing. I have a Web-enabled phone, a netbook just for my purse and machines all over my house, including the kitchen.

Just this week I paused for a moment and thought to myself, “OMG, what did we do before the web?!” I will admit that when I first started using Twitter, I just thought of it as fun, really short instant messaging that EVERYONE can read. My, how my thoughts have changed over the last several months; I now have begun to think of Twitter as a necessary tool in my everyday life.

For instance, I am currently trying to develop stronger MS SQL skills mostly relating to being a DBA and report writer. So I started following several people on Twitter that are professionals in that field. Since then, I have come to know them as real people who are not just professionals but outstanding professionals in their fields (@SQLRockstar) who have written books(@PaulRandal), who are MS MVPs (@kimberlytripp) and are willing to help. Through these connections I have had opportunities to attend FREE training, which is huge when travel and training budgets are being slashed. I have seen people post real issues and get help solving their problems quickly, unlike most tech support these days.

But Twitter doesn’t just stop there being a helpful tool for work. I am a foodie (according to Wikipedia, a foodie is an armature who simply loves food for consumption, study, preparation, and news). I dedicate most of my blogging to food that I have prepared or that I have consumed while traveling. So of course I found a few other foodies on Twitter who also have blogs. Just last week I found someone (@theNoviceChef) who’s already broken down a recipe to make pumpkin spice lattes and she is the wife of someone else (@SQLchicken) I followed for killer SQL skills. Kind of sounds like the Kevin Bacon game.

Back in February this year, Twitter fans did the first global fundraiser called Twestival. This was to raise funds and awareness for a global issue: clean water. This time it is up to each location having a Twestival to pick a local organization to support. Lafayette has chosen, by vote, United Way of Greater Lafayette. This is a wonderful organization and with so many organizations in need it was hard to pick. If I had to guess, these Twestivals came about because there were so many “Tweetups” happening. A Tweetup is where several people who may not know each other, but have connected on Twitter, decide to meet. Sometimes these are because you are visiting from out of town, traveling on business and don’t want to eat alone or it’s just a good social activity right here at home. If people are already Tweeting-up, why not put those to good use.

The biggest thing that Twitter has done for me is that it has inspired me to be better. I am learning new skills that will help me grow professionally and will help me get ahead. I am motivated to become a better blogger and to write better posts. Twitter has increased the traffic to my blog so I recently started looking for ways to improve it. I started a project to revamp the site and to fine-tune (or find) writing skills. How? Following people on Twitter who know (like @BrentOzar, he’s an SQL guy too).

So get out there and start Twittering. I know there is someone out there that shares your interest. And if you are already Twittering ask yourself this, “Am I helping anyone? Am I learning anything? Am I having fun?” If you said, “No”, change that.

- Tamera M. Clark

You may RSVP for the Greater Lafayette Twestival 2009 here.

Guest post by United Way of Greater Lafayette (the charity to be sponsored at the local Twestival)

The United Way of Greater Lafayette is moving in a bold, new direction focused on prevention. After helping millions of local residents for 85 years, we’re now taking a fresh, strategic approach – one that addresses the root causes of problems before lives are ruined and ripple effects are felt across our community. Our goal is to create lasting, measurable change – not just for today, but for generations to come.

When the United Way of Greater Lafayette found out about the local Twestival contest we viewed it as an opportunity to dive deeper into social networking. We had already laid the ground work with an e-newsletter & Facebook causes page and wanted to see if our members would be interested in a more interactive style of communication. We were overwhelmed by the number of supporters that voted for us! The response just proved that United really does start with U the supporters. We have since added a Twitter account to our online communication tools (@uwlafayette) and plan to continue interacting with our supporters in the online world.

We’re looking forward to the local Twestival event at The Muse and can’t wait to get to know our supporters better! It should be a fun night with great food from Moe’s Southwest Grill and awesome musical entertainment from Brian Green of The SmallTown Heroes and Jordan Banks & The Years. Don’t forget all proceeds go to the United Way of Greater Lafayette to address local needs. We hope to see all of you there!

- United Way

You may RSVP for the Greater Lafayette Twestival 2009 here.

First 5 different people that will add a comment with the correct answer to the question below, will receive a Twestival invitation each. This means FREE admission to the Greater Lafayette Twestival tomorrow, Friday September 11, at The MUSE!

What is the name or the Twitter handle of the editor that wrote great articles about the “Greater Lafayette Twestival 2009″ past days in local “Journal and Courier” newspaper http://jconline.com?

RSVP for the local Twestival event!

Ticket pic credit: http://carsonified.com/blog

Guest post by Duke Long (owner of Realty Executives Lafayette)

The Greater Lafayette Twestival 2009 is not just for people who are already using Twitter. It’s the perfect opportunity for curious locals to connect with leading companies and individuals that are active on Twitter and social media. Join your neighbors at The Muse, downtown Lafayette, as we demonstrate how a group of dedicated people use Twitter to raise money for charity. In attendance will be many of the most active Twitter users in the Lafayette area. In the spirit of Twestival, they have generously offered to donate their time!

Twitter is used by many different for many different things. As an active Real Estate Broker I have used Twitter to gain knowledge, network, and build my professional profile. Not only locally, but regionally, and at the national level. Using Twitter as a basic tool, I have been able to communicate and interact with the best, brightest, and most cutting edge, influential people in the commercial and residential real estate business. I went from some guy in Lafayette, IN to volunteering and sponsoring some of the best FREE real estate social media educational events in the country, with the help of the state and national real estate associations.

To get you started, take a look at this blog post by Chris Brogan: 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business. Deciphering Twitter on your own can be a daunting task. We’re excited to help you learn about it together, while benefiting United Way Lafayette! We look forward to seeing you!

- Duke Long

You may RSVP for the Greater Lafayette Twestival 2009 here.

Many thanks Kevin, Duke, Kate, Arianne, Nelu, United Way!

RSVP for the Greater Lafayette Twestival 2009 here!

UNITED WAY
The Greater Lafayette Twestival 2009 edition will support local United Way of Greater Lafayette.
http://twitter.com/uwlafayette

WHY
The Twestival are global events in 150+ cities, to bring people on Twitter together offline to support a great cause. This edition, local Twestival will support United Way of Greater Lafayette.
http://uwlafayette.org

LOCATION (21+)
The Twestival will take place at The MUSE, downtown Lafayette, 323 Columbia St, Friday Sep 11, 6-9:30pm.
http://themusevenue.com

BUY TICKETS / DONATE TO UNITED WAY
Buy tickets even if you will not attend, all proceeds will be donated to United Way of Greater Lafayette:
http://amiando.com/lafayetwestival

CAN’T ATTEND? JUST DONATE $1 (ONE DOLLAR)
If you can not attend to the event, you may just donate $1 (that’s one dollar) to the United Way of Greater Lafayette:
http://amiando.com/lafayetwestival

LAFAYETTE TWITTER CELEBRITIES
Participate in the Lafayette Twitter Celebrities contest. Votes will stop during the Twestival, Friday Sep 11, at 8pm. Winners will be chosen with a raffle during the event.
http://lafayetwestival.uservoice.com/pages/28001-lafayetwittelebrities

LAFAYETTE TWITTER BUSINESSES AND PRODUCTS
Twitter ain’t just fun. Businesses and commercial products are using Twitter to connect with their customers and people. Caterpillar, Journal and Courier, Purdue, Clarian Arnett, Z96.5 WAZY are just a few local businesses that maintain their Twitter account to share news quicker and more efficient.
http://lafayetwestival.uservoice.com/pages/28010-lafayetwitterbusiness

THE SMALLTOWN HEROES
Brian Green of The SmallTown Heroes will perform live again for the Twestival.
http://thesmalltownheroes.com

JORDAN BANKS & THE YEARS
Live performance of this great local Indie Rock band. Jordan Banks - guitar, vocals, Adam Jahn - bass, Zach McNulty - guitar, vocals.
http://facebook.com/jordanbanksandtheyears

MOE’S FOOD
Twestival’s food will be provided by West Lafayette’s Moe’s Southwest Grill.
http://moes.com

ARRANGEMENTS
Some venue arrangements will be provided by White Iris Designs.
http://whiteirisdesigns.com

SILENT AUCTIONS
Moe’s Southwest Grill gift cards will be available for the silent auction. Proceeds will be donated to United Way.

SPECIAL PRIZES
Moe’s Southwest Grill “Moe Money” will be distributed to awesome participants, donors and volunteers!

MEDIA PARTNERS
Journal and Courier - http://jconline.com
WAZY FM 96.5 - http://wazy.com
BOB FM 95.3 - http://wbpefm.com
Classic Rock The Rocket - http://957therocket.com

RESOURCES
Lafayette Twestival Blog - http://lafayette.twestival.com
On Twitter - http://twitter.com/lafayetwestival

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS!

More than one week before the Twestival event in Lafayette, we’ve launched two Twitter analysis for popular local people and businesses using online communication tools.

LafayeTwittelebrities (Twitter Celebrities in Greater Lafayette)

Is looking to select the most popular people using Twitter from Lafayette. There is a voting process going on, so go ahead and suggest new local popular people or vote for the ones already in the list.

LafayeTwitterBusiness (Greater Lafayette Businesses and Products using Twitter)

Is selecting the most popular Businesses and Products operating in Greater Lafayette area, that are using Twitter to connect with their clients, partners, people. There is a voting process going on for this statistic as well, so go ahead and suggest new local popular businesses and products or vote for the ones already in the list.

The fun part will happen at the actual Twestival event, next Friday

The votes for these two voting contests will continue until the Twestival event Friday, September 11th 8:00pm (in the middle of the event that will begin at 6:00pm), when we will stop the voting process and announce the winners.

We accept sponsors for the contests’ prizes, so please contact us at lafayetwestival@tweetvisor.com with suggestions.

Photo credit: Bostoncs.com

Very excited to announce that “The Muse” accepted to partner with us to host the 2009 local edition of the Twestival.

The Muse is the newest, most cutting edge venue to arrive in Central Indiana in the past decade. Specializing in catering to the arts, music, fashion, and much more. The Muse has become the premiere destination between Indy and Chicago. [themusevenue.com]

With a host now for our Twestival event, we have been able to schedule the exact date for the show:

Greater Lafayette Twestival 2009
September 11th 2009, 6:00 - 9:30 PM
The Muse - 323 Columbia St, Lafayette, IN 47901 map

We’ve learned about The Muse on - guess where - Twitter, while looking after local venues to choose from and listening to people’s tweets recommending some. It was actually so easy to quickly find and connect with the venue to host the Twestival, just by using online tools that may sometimes change lives. Follow @TheMuseVenue on Twitter.