Jamie S. and Casey Lau of Twitter Drinking Hong Kong
Every so often, social media goes out into the real world. After getting to know each other online, social media users meet face-to-face at Twitter events, or tweet-ups. Ahead of Social Media Week (Feb 13-17), Charmaine Mirandilla talks to Casey Lau and Jamie S. the co-founders of Twitter Drinking Hong Kong (#TDHK), Hong Kong’s local tweet-up group.
HK Magazine (@HK_Magazine): How did the TDHK tweet-ups start?
Jamie S. (@jmis): In May 2011, I decided to ask my Twitter friends that I had never met IRL (in real life) to join me for a birthday drink—at least 20 people turned up and it was a memorable night. We thought it would be nice to continue such a gathering.
Casey Lau (@hypercasey): I met Jamie (who I had been following on Twitter) for the first time that night. She has become a great friend of mine, and we probably wouldn’t have met randomly any other way.
HK: How has word of TDHK spread?
CL: It’s most likely from word of mouth on Twitter and Facebook. New people start talking to each other on Twitter and it spreads to their followers, photos get tagged on Facebook and more people show up. It’s entirely viral.
JS: Most of the time, people also bring their friends along. Although these new faces may not have heard of TDHK prior to their attendance, they always manage to have fun meeting people from different circles.
HK: Do you tell bars that you are booking for a tweet-up? How do they react? How do your friends/family react when you say that you’re going to one?
CL: Yes, we definitely have booked bars for happy hour. We do mention it’s a tweet-up and, of course, they are excited since they will be getting tons of free publicity for hosting us. We find the venues with an active social media person to be the most receptive to our requests. Either you “get” Twitter and social media or you don’t—but that doesn’t mean it’s a snobby crowd. It’s social, it’s fun, it’s about sharing.
HK: After doing a quick browse through Twitter, I can see that you and Jamie have been sending invites for followers to attend the TDHK event. Can a non-invited Twitter user simply turn up?
CL: We sent the invite out to people we talk to on Twitter that haven’t had a chance to attend yet—and that we haven’t met yet. Anyone can join. I’ve signed up at least five people at the last few events [who] use their Twitter account to keep in touch with the people they meet at TDHK. The D&G fiasco was a great event to follow on Twitter to see what was happening.
JS: Hong Kong’s Twitter community is ever-expanding—we believe a good way to welcome new “tweeps” is by inviting them to TDHK, where they will get a chance to share Twitter tips and meet people IRL (in real life).
HK: How do the tweet-ups differ from regular meet-ups?
JS: We make sure everyone at TDHK has a nametag with their Twitter handle on it, and it’s fun to watch people connect those to faces. We’ve seen some great friendships develop, even romantic ones!
CL: We’ve had people that have known and spoken to each other for a year on Twitter that have finally met in person. It’s quite exciting.
HK: Besides the regular TDHK gatherings, do you have any other events planned in the future?
CL: We will be kicking off our new Twitter Speed Dating night called #DWITTER at Social Media Week in February, which will hook up guys and girls via Twitter at a venue in SoHo.