twestival local - Tweet.Meet.Give. - March 24, 2011

It's been talked about for weeks on Twitter; buy a ticket to Tyne Twestival and win a ticket to Thinking Digital.  But what exactly is Thinking Digital? Well, here we have a description from the organisers directly to try to explain what this conference is for those that may not have heard of it before:

"Thinking Digital is a conference that brings together the world's most innovative ideas, technologies and people. Whether it's digital media, science, art or music, if it's cutting edge, it'll be right at home at the Thinking Digital conference.

We scour the globe to bring the world's greatest minds to North East England, so that they can share their passions and enthusiasms with you. We want to create new thinking, debate and ideas for future innovation in our lives both at home and at work .

We want you to participate in the experience, be part of the community, laugh, learn, and be inspired."

If this isn't enough to whet your appetite, then check out their website at www.thinkingdigital.co.uk.  

Thinking Digital takes place at The Sage, Gateshead on 24-26 May 2011.  Advance passes are currently available to purchase through the website, starting from £299.00.

This Thursday evening is Tyne Twestival, one in a series of worldwide events to raise money for worthwhile causes, bringing together people who use and love Twitter.

Listen, I appreciate you're sick to the hind teeth of charitable causes. No doubt you're all spent up buying George Michael's pot-addled and, to be frank, shit cover of True Faith to raise money for Comic Relief.

This is different. Really, it is. Twestival is in its third year and it's unlike any other charity event you've attended (unless you been to Twestival before, of course). If you're umming and arring about coming along, here are 10 reasons why you should turn that frown upside down and attend:


1. It's a chance to meet friends you've never seen. All those people you only know as a teeny patch of pixels? There's a lot more to say in real life, and folk who are friendly and engaging on the intermaweb are usually so in the flesh, too.

2. If you're a local business using Twitter, it's a chance to give something back. There are local companies using Twitter to engage their customers and profit by it. If you can't support Twestival by attending, then please donate a prize to our draw or raffle.

3. It's not full of geeks and nerds. It's really not. If you don't consider yourself one but you're on Twitter, then it's reasonable to assume there are a lot more people like you. So come along and meet them.

4. It's fun. Whether you stay for an hour or all night, you'll enjoy yourself. Promise.

5. There's booze included. You're in the North East - this should be reason enough to attend.

6. There are outstanding prizes to be won. I'm not pissing about when I say that. This isn't a primary school summer fare. Just by turning up, you could win a ticket to Thinking Digital, one of the leading conferences in Europe. On top of that there's a raffle with some deliciously massive prizes to take your pick of.

7. There's a cake stand and music. Holy shit cakes, can you see how much we're putting into this?

8. It's at the The Tyne. Ouseburn is bloody great, isn't it?

9. Tickets only cost £6. Go back and read all the stuff so far. All of that for six quid. Smashing.

10. We're raising money for The Calvert Trust. Nuff said.

If George Michael can fuck over one of the best song ever produced in the name of charity, then I'm certain you can find your way to turning up, drinking beer, eating cakes, having a good time and walking off with prizes worth hundreds of pounds.

Please come along. Seriously, it won't be the same without you.

This year's Tyne Twestival local is proud to announce that we have a fabolous new sponsor.  Ladies and gentlemen, let me intoduce to you NEMoney!

Here's the lowdown:

NE Money is a full service financial advice company dealing with people in and around the North East.  So what does that mean?  We are the only North east based company who offer simple, straight forward advice in relation to people’s money no matter if times are good or bad – all under one roof.  What that means is that we can provide advice for people for their entire financial lives!
 
No matter what a person’s situation we are here to provide advice and solutions to everyday financial needs.  We help people with:
 
·         Getting the right mortgage; whether they are first time buyers or looking to remortgage
·         Protecting their future; whether that’s putting cover in place for their family or providing something to safeguard against sickness or unemployment
·         Help when it matters most; we provide a range of debt solutions for when times are hard or there’s worries on the horizon
·         When its time to stop working pensions and investments aren’t just for the wealthy, everyone needs them and we help get you on the road, today!
 
Or, as we have found with Twitter, its sometimes a real person being available to give a little (140 characters) bit of advice!
 
Our aim at NE Money is to bring financial (& debt) advice back into the public domain to get people talking about their financial needs, hopes and aspirations.  Our use of twitter hopefully allows us to engage with an audience that might have otherwise used the internet for financial advice etc but through twitter they will see the benefits that a ‘human’ can bring to their financial lives.  Financial advisors, in the main, are old guys and girls but thankfully at NE Money we have a range of advisors all mainly in the 20s/30s!

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So, why not go give our sponsors a follow at @NEMoney and say hello.  And don't forget to raise your glass to them at Twestival - your first drink is on them!

The announcement you’ve been waiting for - we FINALLY have our tickets available!  All you have to do to purchase one (or as many as you like!) is click the button on the right hand side of the screen that says 'get tickets' and follow the onscreen instructions.  It really couldn't be simpler!  The best news is that every single penny we raise from these ticket sales goes directly to our charity, The Calvert Trust, Kielder. 

For the first twenty people that purchase a ticket, we have a little thank you present for you from the lovely people at GoodyGoodyBag.  These will be presented on the night. GoodyGoodyBag was set up by Donna Hildrew and Gillian Gordon.  Being parents they we were tired by the uninspiring, unfriendly and unhealthy party bags that are currently on the market and similarly that were making a regular appearance at our own children's parties. So, they decided to set about changing the out-dated non-specific party bag. The aim is to make the GoodyGoodyBag suitable for every child regardless of needs. The ethos originated on keeping the bag earthy, sensible and simple.

Also, every ticket sold will be entered into a prize draw, where one lucky Tyne Twestival attendee could win a ticket to the very much sought after Thinking Digital conference.  That's a prize worth over £300, all for supporting a charity event and coming along to one of the best bars in Newcastle and meeting some fantastic Twitter folk! Not bad, eh?

Oh, and on top of that, as if you would need any more encouragement to come along, every ticket holder gets a voucher for a free drink from the bar, courtesy of NE Money - more details to follow.

For those of you that are unable to attend, but would still like to donate to our charity, you can click on the donate button on the right hand side of the page and follow the instructions.  There is no limit or minimum amount, so you can give whatever you can afford.  Every little helps, not only for us to reach our fundraising target, but for The Calvert Trust.  To find out more about the charity, please visit there website by clicking the link next to our logo, or follow their twitter feed at @Calvert_Kielder.

So, see you at the bar, yes?

Here at Tyne Twestival HQ we’re gearing up for another fantastic evening with the wonderful people at The Tyne Bar, Ouseburn. This year’s event will be held on Thursday March the 24th and we’re hoping that you’ll be there to join in with all the fun.

The Tyne Twestival

Your Geordie generosity blew us away last year when you managed to raise well over £2,500 for Concern Worldwide. You broke the fundraising target on the night with a brilliant evening of friendship, chat, food, drinks, live music, a superb raffle and cupcakes…

…mmm — Who could forget the cupcakes?

The Tyne Twestival® gives you the chance to meet all the Tweeps you Tweet, Retweet and #FF with in the flesh. It’s an opportunity to discover great people here on your doorstep in Newcastle, to come together and to do something amazing with your local online connections for the global good.

Think Global, Act Local

The original idea behind Twestival was to make things happen. It started with one Tweet that suggested using the power of Twitter on a local level to collaborate on international issues.

Since it began in 2009 Twestival has:

• Built 55 clean water wells for over 18,000 people in Ethiopia, Uganda and India.
• Built and developed schools for some of the world’s most vulnerable children in Malawi, Liberia, Haiti and Burundi.

Last year’s Twestival raised £250,000 for Concern Worldwide, a charity that works to build and develop schools in some of the poorest parts of the world.

Put the date for the next Tyne Twestival in your diary today — Thursday, March the 24th 2011.

Twestival — the Power to Make Things Happen

Katherine Wildman is a freelance copywriter who just happened to be on Twitter one Friday afternoon and heard rumours of a great Global Tweetup called the Tyne Twestival coming soon to a rather funky bar near her house.

You can contact her:

@skinnycap or
07816 763393 or via
www.kewildman.com