Journalism of Courage
As the Twitterati universe grows,the world of hash tags and @Replies paves the way for events that promote common interests.
When Clinton Cooper moved to Mumbai in 2010,he attended a Cigar Club’s gatherings held on a Thursday every month. What he found slightly irksome during these meetings populated by expatriates was that hardly anyone was smoking cigars. The visitors were,instead,concentrating on talking business and exchanging cards. Passionate about cigars and single malts,the chef from New Zealand decided to host a small group of co-workers at his Worli flat.
According to Semiocast,a social media monitoring tool,India is the sixth highest user of Twitter. Many brands are recognising this and also creating unique TweetUp — a real-life meeting organised on Twitter — to cater to their target audience.
Inspired by the scope of the medium,the once Facebook-driven Pet Pujaris,a group of foodies,has also hopped on to the Twitter wagon to attract new members. On the other hand,Diageo Reserve’s brand ambassador,Tim Judge has started the #BombayCocktailClub in which the group meets for cocktail demos and discusses unusual mixes. Travel photographer and wine connoisseur,Aneesh Bhasin,has initiated #WineWednesdays where each member brings along a bottle of wine and then participates in a blind tasting.
Twitter,more open and up-to-date than other social networks,is perhaps most effective when it comes to generating interest. It helps that guests at these events share their experiences,post photos and tag their friends on their timelines.
Last October,the Dewarists gave their Twittter fans the unique opportunity to interact with British artist,Imogen Heap at Mumbai-based resto-bar Zenzi while she was in India to perform at NH7 Weekender,Pune. More recently,the Pumas #FAAS TweetUp called on Twitter users they considered influential and asked them to nominate followers from their lists to put on the guest list.
There is a big buzz around the Twitter-driven property created by United Breweries — #KFBeerUp — which has so far been held in Mumbai,Pune,Delhi and Chennai. The invites are posted on Kingfishers Twitter handle through a service called Twitvite a few days before the event. All an user need to do is click on it and RSVP to feature on the guest list. The #KFBeerUp is a great way to enjoy a brand experience without subjecting them to a marketing pitch, says Arjun S Ravi,co-founder of NH7. He brought in bands to perform and stand-up comedian to host the events. Theres no compulsion for people to tweet from the event. But most people end up tweeting anyway, he adds.
