It all started one quiet Sunday morning, as we sat idly flicking through the weekend’s Twitter feed. ‘Next #AUHtweetup coming soon!!! Sign up and retweet!!!!’ says one of our small collection of followers. We’re baffled, and, convinced it’s yet another elaborate plot to make us buy a new iPod or invest in some sketchy pyramid scheme, we ignore the message and get on with our day. But then there’s more. Soon, nearly all of our UAE-based online chums are at it, flinging messages back and forth as if their digital lives depended on it. Feeling a little left out, finally we crack and ask – what on earth is a Tweet Up?
As it turns out, it’s not a sinister plan to empty our bank accounts, but in fact a new social concept that’s steadily gaining popularity in the capital. The premise is fairly simple – a real-life gathering of acquaintances made on popular social networking website Twitter (as it’s forever doomed to be introduced), only instead of telling each other what you had for breakfast and spouting inspirational verse from some poem you’ve never actually read, you sit around in a bar, share nachos and chat about life in the city. Tweet Ups are easy to arrange, too – just head to www.twtvite.com, where the instigator can post details of a suggested location and start spreading the word. Intrigued by the mounting levels of hashtags and exclamation marks clogging up our screen, we decide to pop along to the latest – held at the Holiday Inn’s Thirty 1st bar – and see what all the fuss is about.
We arrive fairly early and, recognising some faces from the pictures that cycle through our screen every day, we quickly greet the group. If we’re honest, our first impression is that it’s all a little bit awkward, and as another handful arrive and introduce themselves with their online usernames we find ourselves cringing to the point where we’re genuinely considering a hasty exit via the 11th floor balcony. Luckily, though, it’s just a temporary lull and within 15 minutes the bar’s breezy outdoor terrace is alive with the unmistakable buzz of people getting to know each other.
It’s not just office-bound nerds like us getting involved either – as well as the expected haul of journalists and marketing people, we also chat to a pastry chef, airline crew and charity workers, all of whome are eager to share their stories of city life. An hour or so in, the vibe of forced social communion is gone completely and the 20-strong crowd is getting along famously. Things rap up fairly early (it’s a Tuesday, night after all) and we’re left in a taxi at around 11pm, looking back on our first Tweet Up as a decidedly successful experience.
So, see you at the next one? Excellent. We look forward to it. Just don’t be surprised if we leap to our death when you introduce yourself as twitter.com/@cooldude77.
Fancy getting involved in the next Abu Dhabi Tweet Up? Keep your eyes on Twitter hashtag #AUHtweetup for details on the latest outing, or head to www.twtvite.com to set up your own.
