#sgtweetup- All Twisted Up ?
I had an interview earlier on this afternoon and my interviewer was asking where I’m heading to after the interview.
I told him about #sgtweetup, like how it is supposedly the first/official meet-up for Singapore Twitters. He chuckled and mentioned that he went for the “official” one last week (which one ? That’s one !?!) but anyways, I have to agree with him that there are just way too many people claiming that their event is the “first”/”official”/”exclusive” – which is the real thing ? And does it really matter ?
I personally don’t really give a damn about it, I’m here for the content/meeting more (new/old) friends - not so much about being “in the scene” or “active” in the community. Let’s just say I’m more of a passive user of the social media platforms. (HAHA)
Back to the topic – I was half expecting a bunch of geeky people, whipping out their gadgets and twittering away while being in the same room (Sorry, anything related to technology is just being stereotyped as “geeks”/”nerds” with no life ! HAHA) To my surprise, Geek Terminal was filled with people – mostly high on alcohol and laughing away in small cliques, nothing like what I’ve imagined. We were actually following #sgtweetup while on the way there and the word “models” popped out from nowhere. So what is the relationship between “models” and a sg twitter event ?
Apparently, the “hidden agenda” behind this event (not very hidden afterall) was to introduce the girls from supermodelme.tv ! Since we were late, the main “show” was already over and people were just mingling around while the models had to break into the small cliques in order to introduce themselves, giving away their “name cards” which has their Twitter ID and the show’s Facebook group+website address on it. I mean, I’m fine with checking out the show+girls and I’m quite sure the guys in the room were not complaining either. But is there a need to keep this as a “surprise” ? It certainly was not a pleasant one for most of the attendees, as you can see from the -ve feedback on twitter.
To keep things short and simple, here’s my own opinions about the event :
1) It is #sgtweetup, right ? I was expecting more than just a “hi-bye-here are the models” session. Where’s the social media/Twitter element ! But yea, it sure did create a buzz on Twitter.
2) They are models for a reason – they don’t tweet. You don’t go up to a person at #sgtweetup and asked if they are on twitter or not *roll eyes*. And I noticed they do not approach the girls first – but the guys instead ! Way to go, very clever and *duh* ! (HAHA, I’m NOT acting jealous here)
3) It was a “neither here nor there” event. I am ok if it’s like a “sponsored” event by supermodelme.tv and the models are introduced as part of the marketing campaign but it was not stated ? In the end it felt like a nightout with random people with bad alcohol breath, happy hours after work huh ? I won’t mind if it is like how plurk outings are being organized – purely chill-out sessions.
4) Kudos to the organizers who planned this – but it could have been (much) better ? Not easy to plan an event I must say, but next time – clearer agenda needed please. Felt alil “cheated” in a way as a participant.
I really pity the girls who are being bombarded with negative feedback because of this “surprise” twist to the event – they are definitely the innocent victims here. BUT I don’t think I’ll follow them because this is just part of the marketing stunt for the show and to be honest, I’m not exactly blown away by this tactic/the girls.
Sure, it was a “successful” event because of the attendance but I’m not impressed (by the quality and motive).
P.S : Happy to put some faces to the names I’ve been following/followed ! If you were there tonight…”Hi,I’m @iammyy on twitter/plurk aka Ingrid” 
–
Links :
Daryl – Singapore’s “First Ever” Tweetup (#sgtweetup) : Shill Or Social ?
(and he added in why the “surprise” may not be a “surprise” like what @sgbrands tried to explain to me after reading my entry)
Claudia with some event pictures and Ian with his views on the event too !
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May 15th, 2009 at 01:05
[...] me borrow a picture from Ingrid’s post to illustrate what happened: Model [...]
May 15th, 2009 at 01:14
The models didn’t approach me too. Maybe I not good looking enough.
DK’s last blog post..When did you join Twitter?
May 15th, 2009 at 01:14
have to correct you on the “high” bit. they ran out of beer.
May 15th, 2009 at 01:28
[...] Ingrid shares her thoughts. [...]
May 15th, 2009 at 01:33
@DK : Should I be worried that they did approached me ? =P
@inrsoul : Haha,I’m not sure who was the person rambling to me but he sure has a strong alcohol breath and looks tipsy. (Maybe he stole all the beer!)
May 15th, 2009 at 01:49
I mentioned this over at Daryl’s blog also, but while their presence certainly was amusing tonight, I didn’t necessarily think the models being there took much away from the event.
For me, the TweetUp served one objective, which was to meet new people on Twitter in Singapore and to hang out and have fun in a relaxing atmosphere.
I certainly think the objective was achieved, even with the models there. The thing is, I thought there was a lot of good conversation throughout the night in the various “small cliques” (which constantly morphed and people shifted around, BTW) as you described.
The model “distraction” was only but a short period of time in the middle of the event.
Jonathan Wong’s last blog post..A Late Night unChat about the unConference 2009
May 15th, 2009 at 02:13
@Jonathan : I don’t think the models were “distracting” either but it could have been a more “open” agenda instead.
Like if the objective of the models being there was to mingle with people from twitter (since they are new to it), then it’s perfectly fine with me.
But it was rather “commercialized” and gave me a “shoved down your throat” feeling.
I think there’s no way we can mingle in a big group, I agree that it was still good conversations shared etc. What I was referring to was more of people drinking silly etc (or at least to me, they were kinda getting high). Not sure if they are even on Twitter (perhaps they came with the models).
I had a good time meeting new people nonetheless, that was the sole reason why I attended TweetUp =)
May 15th, 2009 at 11:48
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May 15th, 2009 at 23:14
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