Bowery Mural

#themeet140Glasgow II - a journey continues

Monday 23 August 2010

Thursday I got up after the previous nights bike ride and was tired.  Tired beyond belief and my scratchy throat had turned into a barking cough along with runny nose and those heavy eyes you get when you have a cold.  Lucky then that I had got my bag of stuff for Thursday nights #themeet140 at the Lansdowne Bar in Glasgow sorted on Tuesday night.

I set off after work and drove along the motorway in eagerness about seeing old familiar faces and also excitement about meeting new 'familiar' faces.  Familiar in the way that via Twitter you 'meet' people online and seem to connect but the real test is real life meetings and so far i haven't been disappointed.  Tonight was the second #themeet140 Glasgow hosted by Mark ( @markofrespect ) and Allan ( @allanbarr ) and if that last one was was anything to go by I would enjoy it very much.  I have to admit, there were over 100 people who RSVP'd YES to the Twtvite and this made me slightly nervous about going.  I did wonder if it would be too big, would you get a chance to meet new people?

I arrived earlier than i thought and wandered into the Lansdowne Bar about 6.25pm.  There was a small gathering of folk inside already and the first one i met was Ali McGill ( @ali_mcgill ).  I was delighted to meet him as we've been tweeting back and forth for a little while now and he's a good guy.  I wandered through and met a few familiar faces and it started to get busy.  Then another person whom I've wanted to meet for a long time came in.  The wonderful Brian ( @BriTimeAssist ).  He's been someone who I instantly warmed to over Twitter.  Isn't it strange when you just get these connections?  Personally I love it.  There was a proper chat with lovely @AllanBarr  a bit of a gossip with ladies @JulieBee and @LadyMiller (when are you changing that picture?) a sit down with the now familiar Ross ( @Thirdsectorlab) and a chance to meet Rosie.  A good catch up with Nicola ( @LilacSwizzle ). A chat about the pictures I post with @FissionCreative.  A chat with @GlasgowOsteo about those initial hellos - are they awkward?  A great chat with Elizabeth ( @Holistic_tweet ) about everything from IT bands to college to t-shirts and grey suits!!  and then there was @GeeeBeee - who I've been tweeting for ages, it was only by chance that he happened to pop into the Lansdowne.  Great to finally meet him!  Plus loads more new meetings (really sorry not to mention everyone!!)...

Faces appeared that I recognised from avatars and faces I didn't (I didn't see that Dave @social_penguin  though!...).  And you know what, once upon a time I would NOT have been comfortable in this situation.  I mean me walking into a bar on my own in a city that is not mine.  Talking to people I've only met in real life once or twice (others I've met lots).  Then meeting new people that perhaps I've only just started to tweet with.  A few months ago this was not something I'd have been comfortable with at all.  But I think Twitter is a conduit that allows us to connect with people no matter who they are.  As someone who has no real connection with social media other than being a huge fan of Twitter and blogging and the like then I think it's fantastic.  I've connected with the most unlikeliest of folks.  I've mentioned all of this before in a previous post here.

There were people I wanted to meet but unfortunately never got around to *sad face* and there were brief and fleeting hello and goodbyes with folk I wanted to have a proper real life chat with but didn't... (@Pavedwithgold1)  Judging by the growing popularity in #themeet140 then I'm sure there's plenty of opportunities for these chats.  I for one am looking forward to them all.  So if we didn't meet then I'm really sorry and let's sort that out and if we did meet then I was very pleased to meet you *happy face*.

I'm going to give a special mention to @StuGlen as we've met twice but never get the chance for a proper chat.  Stuart, definitely at the next one!  You can find more blogs and takes on the night here by Allan Barr

Overall it was another good night that allowed me the chance to meet more good people.  It also allows us to communicate in more than 140 characters!  Although I do need something to introduce myself as?  I mean I'm no guru, I'm not a marketer nor do i work in social media, I don't have my own business (yet!!) and I'm not really great at bigging myself up.  So if you've got any suggestions drop them in a comment below :-)

Thanks again to Mark and Allan for organising.  Oh and also to Chris Hall for the inception of it all. Good stuff guys!
Ange x

I have no photos (and we all know i like to take a photo) but you can find some here.

1 comment:

  1. It was such a pleasure to meet you! Someone described it to me as though you'd been dropped inside your twitter stream! All these avatars have come to life! It was amazing to meet all these people, that you know so much about, with whom you've shared good news & bad, but until Thursday you'd never met IRL.

    I love #themeet140 - Long May It Continue!!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for reading. Leave a comment! I read them all x