Meet Your Neighbors at Tweetea

On Tuesday, October 4th, we will have the distinct pleasure to participate in Detroit Gallery Week. Rob Brogan, director of Artist Relations of 1xRun and the social media manager of 1xRun and 323East Gallery, will join us to discuss the use of social media marketing in the arts and the mutually beneficial relationship between online and real-space galleries.

If you would like to attend, then we need you to sign up as both Goldfish Tea and 323East will have limited space.

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The Farmhouse experience

When it comes to Tuesday’s Tweetea the one thing I always look forward to is the Farmhouse, the atmosphere is cozy quiet and overall enjoyable.  The staff are probably the nicest people ever and on top of that the wireless is amazing, we have had a ton of people on it & all are surfing at amazing speeds.

As for this week, it was no different. Arriving a few hours early, I am greeted warmly by the staff & I find my place in my usual spot. Around start time Sola rolled in, with her usual greeting, “what up E” with Hadi following shortly behind. Much of our chit chat this week revolved around Social Media Week, which Sola recently returned from being on staff and occasionally the evenings topic finds its way into the discussion.

This week like many other weeks we basicly just talk about anything and everything, whats going on in each others lives, what kind of cool things someone has found, basically whatever is on your mind.

If you ever decide to visit Tweetea at the Farmhouse, you can always expect it to be just time to unwind, we like to enjoy each others company and are always very excited for new visitors.

The topic wrap-up

For those that were not able to participate with Tuesday night’s TWEETEA, it was a very full night. There were actually two discussions that took place, one being the debated RoboCop statue and the other JC Penney and their use of black hat SEO.

If you are not up-to-date with either story, here is a couple links to give you reference.

Mayor Bing: Detroit won’t build RoboCop statue via Detroit Free Press

The Dirty Little Secrets of Search via NY Times

Now, being that I can only keep up with so much of what was discussed last night here are some great visuals to fight off our Datafetishism tendencies (thanks for the word @Davezilla). I would like to note that tweets used may not reflect the individual’s actual opinion, they are used to highlight each side of the discussion.

By the Numbers (I know, this only aids our fetish towards data)

• 263 tweets
• 61 contributors
• 37.6 tweets per day
• 56.7% come from “The Top 10″
• 21.7% are retweets
• 76.8% are mentions
• 19.4% have multiple hashtags

We’ve explored topics at both ends of the spectrum at Tweetea over the past few years, from lighthearted and fun to serious and emotional. Yesterday’s topic hit home for many attendees. For me, it’s something that’s been on my mind more and more every day as my wedding date looms closer. The topic of the evening was raising a family in the digital age and how having a family today is much different than it was 10 years ago.

Several mommies and daddies joined the conversation both in-person and via Twitter, including Elena Wollborg, Mike McClure, Angela Watts and Nicole Pipe. Mike, Elena and I were holding down the fort at Goldfish Tea. Here’s a snippet of what we discussed:

• Life is more chaotic in this always on, always plugged in world, but it’s amazing what you can handle when you know children are depending on you.
• Now matter how addicted you are to social media, your family will always come first. You must find time to put down the phone, close the laptop and spend time with your family.
• More and more employers are open to the idea of virtual offices, which is advantageous to parents.
• We live in a technology-driven society, so it’s impossible to keep your kids from using technology. But, it’s important to closely monitor their activity, especially teenagers on Facebook.
• The mom blogger community is passionate and very open to sharing advice and best practices. It’s a community of supporters you can lean on when times get tough…or when you just need to know if the little bit of cat food your kid consumed is worth the freak out session you’re having.
• If you write a blog about your family/children or have a blog for your children, you can turn those posts into a book through blurb.com.
• Different people have different preferences about sharing photos of their children online. If you do put those photos online, it’s a good idea to not use full names, use code/abbreviated names or post your photos on a password protected site.
• Social networks have enabled parents to connect with their children more.
• The Internet provides more educational opportunities for children.

If you were at a different location or participating via Twitter, what did you share about parenting in the digital age?

Photo credit

As a co-host of #Tweetea NW I enjoy each and every evening I spend putting a faces and voices  to our online exchanges. I feel it’s only fair to show my gratitude to my fellow members.

On the Social Media is a Party! event registration page there are 15 discounted tickets available exclusively for #Tweetea members- for cost of $5. It’s first come first serve.

Enjoy!

Social Media is a Party! takes place on Thursday January 27th at Goodnite Gracies and D’amato’s.

The evening will begin with Reaching Your Mobile Market – a panel discussion on Mobile Technology which will leave you with actionable advice you can implement immediately.  Our Hire ME segment will follow, showcasing Michigan companies and their open positions.  We will conclude with an extended mixer during which all attendees can socialize and have fun!

REGISTER:http://socialmediaisaparty.eventbrite.com

Guest post by Tara Michener

Imagine walking into a room and being laughed at. Now think about being hit by the person who is laughing. The people around you watch in horror, but they do not lift a finger to help. This is happening across America in schools every day.

During a recent Tuesday Tweetea session, neighbors shared bullying stories of their youth, and some shared current stories of being taunted and teased. We talked about how these behaviors have an effect on our culture and how they have impacted our current life in both productive and counterproductive ways.

If you have never been to a Tweetea meetup, let me fill you in. Tweetea is a Tuesday night tradition in southeast Michigan that involves conversation, computers and typically a hot beverage. People from all walks of life join the conversation in person and/or online using Twitter and the hashtag #tweetea.

Our cyberbullying discussion prompted a lot of emotion, as well as questions. We asked questions like, “How are you using your computer?” and “Do you comment on blogs with constructive feedback or are you tempted to name call?” If you have ever done the latter, that is a form of cyberbullying.

The cyberbullying epidemic has made victims of bullying unsafe even when they are at home. I recalled skipping school when I was a young teen to avoid a bully’s promise to beat me up and make my life miserable. Today, teens cannot get away from bullying because it exists in person and online. They can be tagged in unwelcomed photos, talked about in Facebook groups and on pages and they can be videotaped secretly.

We discussed some ideas at Tweetea on how to break this pattern. Some of the solutions included the village effect in which parents, teachers and the surrounding community have an active role in educating kids at an early age about the effects of bullying. We discussed breaking down prejudices and discriminatory patterns by exposing our youth to people who are different from them.

One of the Tweetea participants confessed that when he first saw me he made a judgment because of my race. He said that he was taught at an early age misconceptions about African Americans. He is not proud of it, but it is hard to break the pattern of being taught something like this at an early age. He was pretty courageous to share this with us. In the same way that negative behaviors effect our outlook later on in life, positive behaviors and teachings do the same.

So, you may be wondering what we actually accomplished that night. Well, we had a room full of people different in backgrounds, career paths, interests and knowledge who came together to have a cup of tea (or coffee, if you are like me) and talked about solutions to cyberbullying and bullying in general.

Change always starts with a conversation, and we are grateful for people like Hubert Sawyers III who created this Tweetea format that allows us to get to know each other and discuss social media and hot button issues on a weekly basis.

Hope to see you at one of Tweetea’s five locations in the near future!

Tara Michener is the author of the “Who I Am” series of books that celebrate self-esteem and diversity in young people. If you are interested in learning more about her Breaking The Pattern Campaign, please email her at whoiamnotwhatiam@yahoo.com or visit her website.

Photo credit

Has the ever-evolving digital space changed the way we brand ourselves? What are your experiences? Are you totally against the idea of personal branding?

These questions and others will be a part of the theme at this week’s TWEETEA in commemoration of the third edition of Brand Camp University, put on by Michigander, Hajj Flemings. Personal branding has become a hot button topic, thanks to the many success cases and utter career-ending injuries sustained by individuals using the real-time web.

As an added bonus to this week’s stimulating conversation, we have a contest in place for three (3) free passes to give away for Brand Camp on Friday, October 8th. The contest rules are simple.

1. You must be following @tweeteaIRL on Twitter and/or “like” TWEETEAHappens.com on Facebook.
2. You must “like” Brand Camp U on Facebook and/or follow @BrandCampU on Twitter.
3. Post a tweet using the hashtag #brandcampu OR a Facebook status update highlighting Brand Camp U saying why you think the personal branding discussion is being discussed these days by 8:00PM EST on Tuesday, October 5th, regardless if you believe in personal branding or not.

The winners will be chosen at random at the October 5th TWEETEA. Come join us up in the drawing, accompanied by a delightful discussion at your neighborhood location.

On Tuesday, July 27th in the year 2010, TWEETEA will be participating in Mashable 5th year anniversary celebration. Since we know there are a lot of Mashable fans in the Metro Detroit area, we will be having a one-time gathering at Town Pump Tavern in Detroit.

This event gives attendees an opportunity to win a Lenovo Squeezebox Touch, which is a portable Wi-Fi music device. If you are interested in entering to win, follow these instructions.

If you want a shot at winning the Logitech Touch:
1. Simply click the “Like” button below for our Facebook Page;
2. Sign-up to attend a local Meetup to help celebrate our birthday;
3. And answer the question in the comments: When and why did you start reading Mashable? And let us know where you’ll be attending so that we can confirm your RSVP.

Please RSVP specifically to the Detroit meetup as we need to give an accurate count to Town Pump. We look forward to seeing all faces – old and new!

TWEETEA can be a polarizing event for some. In fact, TWEETEA was inspired by a desire to have tweetups that were smaller than your average. “Mini-tweetups,” if you will. This term was actually first coined by today’s featured person, David “Admore” Damore.

David has a passionate  zeal for making connections. He also has an extreme interest in startups and is an avid consumer of podcasts. If you ever meet Admore, your mind will probably be blown by his knack for search and deep knowledge for social web applications. Not to mention, he is one of the most helpful guys you will meet in Metro Detroit. Meet Admore.

Full Name: David Damore
Twitter Handle: @Admore
Zodiac Sign: Aries
City, State: Grosse Pointe Woods, MI
Website: http://www.google.com/profiles/david.damore
Where was the last place you went on vacation? Grand Rapids, MI

What does TWEETEA mean to you?

Tweetea is a safe and comfortable way to meet new people. New people are welcomed and respected. In general, Tweetea is a way for users of Twitter to meet other local users face-to-face. Tweetea is a community, a place where friendships are made and opportunity is born …

What do you get out of TWEETEA?

Comfort with people in group situations. Overall, Tweetea has enabled me to become more comfortable in social situations. Tweetea has also introduced me to many smart, engaging and friendly people.

Who would get value from TWEETEA?

People that are currently online or are actively considering a digital online presence. People that want to connect with others will find the Tweetea community to BE welcoming. At the same time, each person will find the diversity of Tweetea guests excellent for uncovering alternative viewpoints.

How should TWEETEA grow attendance?

Once a month there should be a push for individuals in the Tweetea community to reach into their rolodex to engage and invite their contacts to attend.

As TWEETEA is all about community, it seems only right to highlight the wonderful people we have within our community. Every week, we are going to feature many of the regular TWEETEA attendees. As we expect to grow, we will see how long we can keep this series going before it is just too hard.

Our first person will be none other than Nikki “aka Kiki” Stephan. She is the main host currently at Goldfish Tea. Nikki works at Identity Marketing & Public Relations as a Social Media Strategist and is also a member of Social Media Club Detroit. has been a great pleasure to have such a devoted and passionate person on board. Many may not believe this, but there was a time when the future of TWEETEA was quite uncertain. If not for the 2009 season of American Idol ending when it did, ending Nikki’s five-month run as an Idol blogger for The Detroit News, we may not have this site today. I know, funny, but true.

Okay, we asked Nikki a couple questions about TWEETEA in regards to what she gets out of the event and what she envisions for the future of it, so without further ado.

Full Name: Nicolena Stephan
Twitter Handle: @EstrellaBella10
Zodiac Sign: Libra
City, State: Pleasant Ridge, MI
Website: nikkistephan.com www.identitypr.com, www.identitypr.com/blog
Where was the last place you went on vacation? Glen Arbor, Michigan…and it’s where I got engaged.

What does TWEETEA mean to you?

To me, Tweetea is synonymous with community. One main goal of Tweetea is to get people who use online tools like Twitter to talk about the ever-changing world of social media in person once a week. In doing this, Tweetea strengthens our community by contributing to new knowledge, friendships/relationships and ideas.

What do you get out of TWEETEA?

I can’t count the new pieces of wisdom and new relationships I’ve formed thanks to Tweetea. I look forward to this event every week. Tweetea has become a comfort haven to me, and I’ve learned from others that they feel Tweetea is a friendly and welcoming environment. All you have to do is show up one time to know you’ve got a trusted group of people who you can share ideas with and who will provide thoughtful feedback about any topic/question discussed. That’s not something you’ll find in every community.

Who would get value from TWEETEA?

Anyone who is an enthusiast of the social Web, anyone who wants to learn more about the social Web, anyone who is looking to meet new people in the community, anyone who wants the benefit of learning from people from diverse backgrounds and industries, anyone who has ideas floating in their head about the social Web and who wants to vocalize those ideas to people who will genuinely listen and provide feedback, anyone who wants to experience networking minus the exchange of business cards.

If you had a vision for the future of TWEETEA, what would it be?

Tweetea isn’t Social Media Club Detroit, nor should it ever be. Tweetea works best in a small group setting. My vision is to have a healthy group (15-30) attend at least three existing Tweetea locations in metro Detroit every week. Ideally, I’d love to see Tweetea expand into other sectors of Michigan, as well as across the country. I would love if every week people were contacting the location leaders with suggested discussion topics (or submitting topic ideas via the website). It would be great if we could come armed with 4-5 topics a night and see how many we get through. Topics can always be tabled for a different week. Some people find it helpful to prepare their discussion ideas prior to the weekly event, so deciding on a few topics prior to Tuesday would be great so those who like to prep can do so. I would also like to see more people who don’t spend a ton of time online attend Tweetea. Another thing I would love is if I could walk into any store or business in Michigan and have at least one person know what Tweetea is all about.

Above all, when people are asked to describe what Tweetea means to them, I would like every person to give their own response of course, but to always have it come back to Tweetea being an event where people can grow online relationships offline, always expect a great conversation and leave with one new nugget of wisdom that they didn’t have when they first arrived.

As TWEETEA is all about community, it seems only right to highlight the wonderful people we have within our community. Every week, we are going to feature many of the regular TWEETEA attendees. As we expect to grow, we will see how long we can keep this series going before it is just too hard.

As this is the first [of hopefully many] posts on this here site, we are going to start by featuring one person a day until the end of the month. Each post will have a brief bio, a profile and a TWEETEA-related interview. Consider this a beta test, so please let us know what you think of the feature.

Meet Jenni, an expatriate from Minnesota. She is the reason this site is so pretty (read: web designer). Actually, it probably would not exist, if not for her. It must be noted that she has been very accommodating in lending her design and technical services to this passion project. She makes a real Guatemalan by the name of David Murray a really lucky chap, plus she makes tasty treats like Turtle Pretzels and oatmeal raisin cookies. You really cannot say enough about Jenni, but we should let her do some talking now.

Full Name: Jenni Murray
Twitter Handle: @jennimurr
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
City, State: Troy, MI
Website: http://jennimurray.com
Where was the last place you went on vacation? Mackinac Island, MI

What does Tweetea mean to you?
A group of great friendly intelligent people who are open to teaching andlearning from each other in an environment that compliments that. A great source for think tank / brainstorming / debating, and “round table”
discussions.

What do you get out of Tweetea?
Feeling of belonging to a community of people who care and listen to each other. A foundation to great friendships and opportunities that will last a lifetime.

Who would get value from Tweetea?
Everyone who is open to discussions and want to meet a great group of people.

If you had a vision for the future of Tweetea, what would it be?
Keeping it an open discussion and continue to invite those looking for advice with starting out or beginning in the social media space.