#NBNTweetup!

I had a real blast at the Nefesh B'Nefesh Tweetup this past Monday night. This was one of the first formal tweetups arranged in the US for the "Jew Crew." Its program was centered on Israel and the diaspora as related to social media and global connectivity.
Each presentation covered a different aspect of the Israel connection and I won't cover the details here in my blog. I will however highlight a few key points that I got out of both the presentations and the informal discussions that took place at the Tweetup.
1. Good PR move, Nefesh B'Nefesh! NBN found a way to target US/diaspora Jews without encouraging Aliyah or moving to Israel directly.
2. Twitter is about people. Jeff Pulver went around the room hugging every man in the room just to prove that the connections we have made online are real relationships that transcend the Internet and our geographical locations. Meeting Laura Ben-David for the first time at this event after tweeting with her for the past few months was as natural as visiting an old friend from high school. I know many others felt the same about meeting their "tweeps." I had this experience with many people that evening; I did not have to introduce myself to new or old friends because we were simply "getting together" after our last chat. There were no awkward silences or conversations about the weather.
3. Twitter is like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Everyone uses twitter differently and there is no "wrong" way. (Promote you blog, business, self, friend, post daily musings and Torah thoughts, meet friends, talk tech, fashion, parenting or Israel... As long as you don't spam me!)
4. I had a nice ladies night out and met new twitter friends, broadening my feed and expanding my network.
Thank you to all the organizers, speakers and participants.
You made this happen. I hope we can do it again soon.