The fact that Twitter has now become a reason to gather fascinates me.

Cheryl and I had the chance to travel to a gathering of of the cool Twitter kids in Detroit this weekend.  The EPIC Chevy Tweetup went off exactly as it was branded: EPICally.

It seems there are loads of things happening in Detroit these days.  That might contradict what you’ve heard (or not heard) on the news.  I think the recent groundswell around technology and innovation is a result of how tight-knit the social media community is up there.

And yet, we were welcomed from three-and-a-half hours away as a part of the crowd.  That’s just cool.

Folks like Charlie and Elena Wollberg made us feel so comfortable and filled us in on who Detroit is changing.  Becky Johns was the reason we heard about EPIC in the first place.  She was kind enough to introduce us to a whole crew of people.  And have you looked at my Twitter background recently?  Twilk is the work of Kyle Mulka, who’s also out of Detroit.  What was classic was watching Brandon Chesnutt and Christopher Barger rock many a tune during the live band karaoke portion of the night.  These dudes know how to win over crowds.

What Makes a Tweetup EPIC

It’s ironic that on the drive up to Michigan, I was reminded of “plur” while listening to Tony Hsieh read his book, Delivering Happiness.

You see, back in early days of college, I was one of the kids who caught the tail end of the rave scene.  My friends and I danced nights away deep in the underground of vacant warehouses and closed-down skating rinks.  The electronic sounds of DJs like Bad Boy Bill, Tiesto and even Paul Okenfold fed the parties with enough energy to light up a city.  At raves, plur was a code of ethics.  Peace.  Love.  Unity.  Respect.  Thanks to that mentality, everyone was welcome to participate and have a good time.  There were no cliques and no outcasts, but a room full of friends who shared a passion.

I can’t help but notice the the parallels of that code and the whole idea behind Tweetups.  What’s funny about going to a Tweetup is that by the time you say hello to someone you recognize, the handshake (or hug, in some cases) is already warm.  More often than not, you might introduce yourself to a person, only to have them light up and excitedly say: “It’s good to finally meet you in person!” or “I’m so glad you made it!”

I guess it’s a result of knowing that at a Tweetup, you have a room full of friends who all share a passion: connecting with people through conversation on Twitter.

Cheers to all of my new friends in Detroit!  Thanks for being good peoples!

(And as a bonus feature, here’s Cheryl rockin the suburbs… in Detroit.)

EPIC Chevy Detroit Tweetup – Cheryl Harrison Rocking the Suburbs from Nate Riggs on Vimeo.

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