March 17th, 2010
140 characters may not seem like a lot to begin with. Now, take those 140 characters and use them to organize a massive charity event across 200 plus cities and online, where an eBay auction features donations from celebrities who Tweet.
Twestival Founder Amanda Rose, Twestival homepage
140 characters may not seem like a lot to begin with. Now, take those 140 characters and use them to organize a massive, one-day charity event across 200 plus cities. For the second year in a row, Amanda Rose will be doing just that. Rose is the founder of Twestival, a one-day charity event that uses Twitter to mobilize people and resources to raise money for charity. While last year’s event raised more than $250,000 for the global water non-profit Charity Water, this year’s Twestival, which takes place on March 25th, will be in support of the education-based charity Concern Worldwide. eBay has joined the festivities this year in the form of an auction featuring donations from celebrities who Tweet.
According to Rose, Twestival got its beginnings in the form of a charity-oriented Tweetup—an event where people who Tweet come together in-person—at a local pub, in 2008. “I took the idea and ran with it, and less than two weeks after the original idea came my way, we had a canned-goods drive [with over 250 people in attendance] and raised over 1,000 British Pounds for a local charity,” she says. After the success of the first mini-Twestival, Rose, who wrote her dissertation for her Master’s in Communication about Twitter, decided to expand the event. “The initial idea was a one-day, one-cause event in cities around the world, sort of like a Live Aid scenario. Within a week I had a 100 cities sign up. And so it began!” she told us.
Flickr images from Twestival including the Twestival SF DJ Chicken
Flash forward to 2010. This year, Rose expects about 200 cities to participate in countries around the world, including Russia, South Korea, South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and more. Twestival events, which will occur on March 25th, include concerts, art shows, DJ’ed parties, bowling events and more. Rose uses Twitter to engage and connect local organizers and attendees. She tells us, “People from each city tend to start sending messages around like, ‘Can anyone put together a map for the event?’ and a local artist will reply and say, ‘I can do that!’ You see the discussions happening organically and it is fantastic. After not too long, you have an entire city-wide event organized via Twitter. In our case, we have hundreds of cities across the globe doing this for one main cause.”
Rose chose Concern Worldwide as this year’s charity because she wanted to support education and believed in the grassroots work the organization has been doing around the world for the past 40-plus years.
For individuals who can’t make it to a Twestival event, there are lots of ways to get involved. The event will be live streamed, starting in New Zealand and ending in Hawaii. “We also have something called Twestival FM,” Rose says. “We’ve invited artists from around the world to donate their music on our website. The Twestival FM page looks like a map, so you can locate where each artist is around the world and download songs. Last year, we raised $5,000 [through this channel] and hopefully this year, we will surpass that number!”
Then, of course, there is the eBay auction, which runs from March 16th through 26th and features signed items from chef Jamie Oliver, actress Alyssa Milano, and rock band The Counting Crows; the opportunity to meet NBC Anchor Ann Curry and tour NBC Studios; a behind-the-scenes tour of Wine Library TV and more. “Probably my favorite item right now is from [singer] Imogen Heap,” Rose says. “She is a huge advocate of social media. The lucky winner of her auction item will be able to request a song that she will record live at her upcoming concert in Melbourne, Australia, which also happens to be the night of Twestival. The lucky winner will not only get the master track of their requested song, but will also be given the recording by Imogen Heap herself during a private outing with the artist.” The eBay auction page features a live stream of all the Twestival comments as well as Twitter feeds from the auction donors. “Everyone knows about eBay, but to feel closer to whom your donor is, to actually connect with them via Twitter is really fantastic. Additionally, having an online auction with eBay enables people to donate to the cause if they can’t attend an event,” Rose says.
Lexi Green is a Brooklyn-based design, fashion, and shopping writer. She is currently a Master’s Degree candidate at Pratt Institutes’s environmental sustainability program.
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