Is Facebook scaring the pants off you? Don’t know your Twitter from your Tweetdeck or your social diary from your social media? Well why not join us at Barnsley Twestival 2010 and get to grips with the basics, and maybe even more, in the company of nice people, at a nice venue and at the same time raise money for Concern, the international charity doing great work for the world’s most poor and vulnerable people. Twestival is essentially, a Festival of Twitter and this event is a great chance for social media to do some social good – and at the same time give you all the knowledge you need to get Tweeting!

45 minute sessions will provide a fun and interactive way to get to grips with the basics, expand your existing knowledge and explore new ways of doing things. The event starts at 11am with coffee and cake.

Timetable:

11am start - Welcome - tea, coffee and networking
11.30 Introduction to the day and Twestival by Tracey Johnson
11.45 Choice of BOOKABLE SESSIONS:

- Social Media for Novices

- Social Media Basics for Businesses

12.45 Lunch and networking
13.30 Choice of BOOKABLE SESSIONS

- Networking On and Offline

- Twitter Best Practice

- Digital Region

14.30 15 minute comfort break
14.45 BOOKABLE SESSION Digital Innovation – making the world smaller!
15.45 Roundup and day session close
16.00 Day session close - networking space still available with free wifi

After the end of the sessions there is a chance for charities and non-profits to link up with Social Media experts in our Social Media Surgery hour. This is a unique chance to get one-to-one support for your organisation from some experts in the field.

At 6.30pm things get all creative as we host a creative sector focused networking event exploring how social media links to creativity and how it can add extra interactivity to creative projects with guest speakers, drinks, nibbles and great networking.

• 16.30 Launch of Barnsley Social Media Surgeries - free access expert short one on one sessions for local charities and non profits.
• 18:00 Social Media Surgery ends
• 18.30 Evening networking event - The Creative Mash Up. Free creative sector focused event with refreshments and keynote speakers. Day delegates and social media surgery delegates welcome to stay.
• 21.00 Event close
  

The evening networking session is free to attend and included in your registration for the full day. To attend just the evening session please book a FREE place using the booking system. Just click TICKETS at the top of the Blog

Booking is simple thanks to Twestival partners Amiando. You can book a single session for £5 or a full day ticket for £15 with an optional raffle ticket at £1. You can also make a further fee free donation to Concern via the booking system.

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PLEASE NOTE: The price you pay for your ticket(s) and any raffle tickets or donations goes directly to Concern with no fees paid to any other party.

Evening all!

Twestival is nearly upon us and we will be hopefully selling tickets by midweek.

In the meantime I need volunteers to lead some sessions across the Twestival day. We have identified 8 sessions we want to run at roughly an hour a session. Where we have a session leader, this is noted. The sessions are:

Session 1 - Social Media for Novices Absolute basics about social media - dispelling myths, providing simple case studies and basic toolkit Raychel Perks

Session 2 - Social Media basics for business Overview session of how social media can benefit business. Simple case studies and basic toolkit Tracey Johnson

Session 3 - Building networks on and offline Networking basics, using these to positive effect. Simple case studies, group exercises (possibly), info toolkit

Session 4 - Twitter made easy Focusing just on Twitter, how to use, how to make the most of it, debunking myths and best practice principles

Session 5 - Twitter for Business Marketing Using Twitter to build a business market, good examples, bad examples, best practice guide.

Session 6 - Twitter for developers Understand how to develop programmes that interact with Twitter, good examples, potential for monetisation

Session 7 - PR and social media Using social media for PR development and management, basic principles, pitfalls and examples

Session 8 - HR and Social Media How to use social media for recruitment, staff liaison, best practice examples and toolkits

We are additionally looking for Social Madia Surgeons prepared to give an hour and a half of their time from 4.30pm till 6pm for one on one free sessions with local charities and non-profits sharing knowledge and advice.
The day’s structure is:

10am start - Welcome - tea, coffee and networking
10.30 Strand 1 - 2 sessions, 1 special interest session
11.30 15 minute comfort break
11.45 Strand 2 - 2 sessions, 1 special interest  session
12.45 Lunch and networking
13.30 Strand 3 - 2 sessions, 1 special interest  session
14.30 15 minute comfort break
14.45 Strand 4 - 2 sessions, 1 special interest  session
15.45 Roundup and day session close
16.00 Day session close - networking space still available with free wifi
16.30 Launch of Barnsley Social Media Surgeries - free access expert short one on one sessions for local charities and non profits.
18:00 Social Media Surgery ends
18.30 Evening networking event - The Creative Mash Up. Free creative sector focused event with refreshments and keynote speakers. Day delegates and social media surgery delegates welcome to stay.

Any offers of help appreciated! I need sponsors for:

Refreshments
Signage
Printed leaflets
Prizes
Live webstreaming

Please email tracey (@) creativebarnsley.co.uk with feedback, offers etc.

Thanks

Tracey x

The countdown has commenced to Barnsley’s second Twestival event on March 25th 2010, part of Twestival Global. We had so much fun back in September ‘09 and made so many new friends that it seems logical to do something similar … just BIGGER!

The idea is again to focus on an open to all mega event focusing on social media and the digital world - what it is, what it’s for, how to use it and why it’s important. I am pulling lots of strands of activity together for this so aiming to make the event as diverse and useful as possible. And fun. Oh yes, much fun!

Some additional resources should help us to plan a real melee of activities, opportunities and debates - BUT that said, we are open to ideas so send ‘em through as you have them. Post them here, or post them on www.twitter.com/@twestivalbsly or use the hashtag #tweetbsly or strap them to a carrier pigeon and point them in the general direction of Barnsley!

I will be populating this site with more information over the coming weeks and building up a cacophony of tweets no doubt, but some basic info in the meantime:

• Twestival is all about using social media for social good - not about profit
• If we levy a charge for events 100% (ie ALL OF IT) goes to the designated charity which this year is the very very worthwhile Concern who are working hard in Haiti as I type. Don’t wait until Twestival to donate to their hard work!
• Twestival only works if we all pull together. This time I don’t have the amazing Melissa from Barnsley Digital Media Centre as my chief cohort (although I may still persuade her …) so supportiveness, patience and kindness are all wonderful traits to display!
• Partners are key - the central Twestival team are wonderful, and again we have the support of Amiando for event bookings who allow use of their exceedingly good systems free of charge for this event. Twestival Barnsley is open to offers of support (hint hint) and sponsorship (hint hint hint). Key things we will need are marketing support (design, print and distribution of promotion/free advertising/PR services), excellent speakers and workshop leaders and … an alcohol sponsor! Get in touch with me tracey[@]creativebarnsley.co.uk if you can support in any way.

OK that’s all for now folks … keep an eye on us and I will do my best to get info out there asap. Pass on the good Twestival word and get March 25th in your diary now (possibly the whole day!).

Yours tweetingly

Tracey x

Well sorry for not keeping the blog more updated - but the good news is, we did it! We pulled off Barnsley’s - nay, the WORLD’S - very first Twestival Local as we were the first of all the Twestivals to kick off. Tonight is the last event - TwestivalTyne. Be sure to log on and give your support http://newcastle.twestival.com/

A fantastic time was had by all. We sold 36 tickets and made £180 for our designated charity Action Space Mobile. Images from the event can be viewed here http://www.flickr.com/photos/42398985@N02/

The seminars were well attended and everyone participated actively. The Twitter Challenge which Melissa and I ran generated over 20 followers for our teams in 20 minutes, and delegates had the opportunity to learn more about a whole host of social media including Twitter thanks to Kayla Kavanagh and Nick Cable our other seminar speakers who generously donated their time to the event.

Our Big Twitter Debate was a lively discussion of the pros and cons of face to face and social media based networking. Massive thanks to our speakers Etta Cohen (www.forwardladies.com) and John Popham (www.sero.co.uk) who each put the case for face to face and social media networking and the result was a resounding … draw!

Thanks to our great friends at Eye Digital www.eyefilms.co.uk we were able to broadcast the event live across the internet so a huge thanks to John for providing this for us. We also had a live stream of tweets running throughout the debate which generated much amusement and discussion. Especially when Etta’s examples of great face to face networkers joined the debate on Twitter! Goes to show the savviest networker uses all the tools at their disposal…

Networking continued into the evening, with our hosts and sponsor Barnsley Digital Media Centre www.barnsleydmc.co.uk providing a warm, welcoming and wonderful venue and plenty of wine; particular thanks to Melissa Goodrich who put huge amounts of effort to help organise … and not least, laminating and cutting out a whole flock of Twitter birds! Thanks are due also the guys from www.weareconsumer.co.uk for producing our lovely poster designs.

It was a pleasure - a nervous one, but a pleasure nonetheless - to pull together the event and be able to both raise money for a worthwhile local cause, whilst bringing together a great bunch of people and being part of something so unique and global. We couldn’t have done it without the ample support of the Twestival team and their generous sponsors - Amanda, an amazing woman and visionary, Amiando for providing a flawless ticketing system and Claire at Waves PR for just being fantastic in every way.

It has been a blast - roll on the next Twestival in February! And if you are interested in more events in the meantime, keep an eye on @cr8tvebarnsley on Twitter.

Well it’s only four days until Twestival Barnsley (this Thursday Sept 10th) and tickets are moving … but not fast enough! Help us to raise as much money as possible for Action Space Mobile and gain valuable insights into the world of Social Media … AND get to put your own opinion across in the Big Twitter Debate. You have to admit it’s a bargain at only £5.

All proceeds go to our charity of choice to help support their creative theatre work with disabled adults.

If you have somewhere you can stick a poster (no rude suggestions!!) please download it here and print it off twestival-poster

And don’t forget to visit www.amiando.com/twestivalbsly to book your tickets asap.

Now live and seeking fans! Please come and play with us.

Delighted to confirm the lovely Etta Cohen, founder of www.forwardladies.com, as our speaker for face to face networking at The Big Twitter debate.

More info to come soon on the seminar programme

We are delighted to announce that we have our first speaker confirmed for the Big Twitter Debate! John Popham will be arguing the case for Twitter and Social Media at the event on September 10th 2009.

Tickets are available to purchase at http://www.amiando.com/twestivalbsly.html at the bargainacious (ok not a real word) price of £5 all of which goes to our chosen good cause, Action Space Mobile, thanks to our Twestival friends at Amiando who are providing ticket sales free of charge (big cheer!).

We need support for the event so if you have any time, goodies, cash you would like to donate, please get in touch! Email tracey [@] creativebarnsley.co.uk

Keep us bookmarked and follow us at @cr8tvebarnsley @twestivalbsly and @barnsley_dmc on Twitter. Facebook page coming soon!

We finally just about have our Twestival Local event sorted! We’re calling it ‘The Big Twitter Debate’ and it will be held on Thursday September 10th at the lovely Digital Media Centre in Barnsley, wonderfully supported by the team there from Oxford Innovation. The event starts with a series of short seminars on using social media in life and business, and then at 5.30pm we will prepare for the Twitter debate to end all Twitter debates! We have speakers shouting for social media based networking and face to face networking, and we will open the conversations up to the floor so everyone can have their say (or Tweet!). It promises to be a lively, fun and incredibly Twitterific evening, with live Twitter updates across the event.

We are just finalising our booking systems, tidying up the blog and getting ready to start tweeting via @twestivalbsly @creativebarnsley and @barnsley_dmc

Will keep you posted and please circulate all information as widely as you can!

Hi everyone from a decidedly un-sunny Barnsley.

Creative Barnsley is delighted to be heading up the very first Twestival Local here in our splendid, if wet, town in September 2009. It’s not long to go and we have lots and LOTS to do, including choosing a charity to donate to, decide on event/s, get the word out there.

Please do give me your suggestions as to what you would like to see happen for Twestival Local here in Barnsley, and which charity we should be donating too.

Keeping it local, it would be great if we could support a local charity - perhaps if there is anything out there that supports giving voice and influence as lets face it that’s what Twitter is all about!

Add all of your comments to this post - promise to read them all - and I will be trying to update this page with as much information as I can and also tweeting as @cr8tvebarnsley plus setting up a purely Twestival Twitter account.

Hope to here lots of ideas and pledges for support (no pressure…)

Tracey x