Serial Networking By Christine Major @cmajor » TweetUp http://www.christinemajor.com When the online and offline collide Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:16:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 2010 – And The Journey Continues http://www.christinemajor.com/personal/2010-and-the-journey-continues/606/ http://www.christinemajor.com/personal/2010-and-the-journey-continues/606/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:29:46 +0000 christinemajor http://www.christinemajor.com/?p=606 As 2009 is quickly coming to an end and a new decade is just a few hours away, I can’t help but get a bit emotional as I reflect on all that has happened these past years. Here’s a quick rundown…

- I had kids! Two girls who are amazing, beautiful and so smart (I love you with all my heart A & L)
- I sold my house and built a new one. Well, I didn’t build it, but I had a lot of influence on what went into it. I made a lot of trips to Home Depot and Lowes that summer!
- I bought and sold 5 different cars (3 minivans, 1 Jetta Wagon and my current vehicle, a Nissan Cube) Guess I am fickle when it comes to cars
- I worked at 3 different companies. I am currently at Awareness and loving it! (you can include the bonus in my next check)
- I launched this blog
- I started planning these silly events called “TweetUps” where I brought people together offline to network and strengthen their online relationships
- I met all of you!

As I continue my journey into the next decade, I am excited and optimistic of what the future will bring. And I am truly thankful to everyone who has come along with me for the ride.  Each and every one of you has made an impact on my life in some way or another and I thank you for that.

So, without getting all mushy, I want wish you all a happy and healthy New Year. With you all there to join me, it truly will be an amazing journey.

]]> http://www.christinemajor.com/personal/2010-and-the-journey-continues/606/feed/ 2 The SpookUp: A Tale of Zombies, Ale and a Whole Lot of Networking http://www.christinemajor.com/social-media/the-spookup-a-tale-of-zombies-ale-and-a-whole-lot-of-networking/395/ http://www.christinemajor.com/social-media/the-spookup-a-tale-of-zombies-ale-and-a-whole-lot-of-networking/395/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:21:56 +0000 christinemajor http://www.christinemajor.com/?p=395 spooky-nightIt was a cold, dark and rainy night and all through Portsmouth, NH the zombies, ghouls, goblins, a few pop princesses and fairies were heading towards the SpookUp at The Red Hook Ale Brewery.

As they entered Brewhouse Foyer, the smell of fresh hops filled the air.

“Thar’s the smell of some of the finest beer ever brewed,” said the old brew monkey master to the group as they entered the room.

As the brew monkey master was broadcasting to the world, the zombies began to come to life and started to slowly (they are zombies afterall) lead everyone out of the room and into the cemetery for a Thriller dance.

The spooky food was delicious and included everything from wart of toad to eyes of newt and was provided by Walter “wanna be a Thriller zombie” Elly from MicroArts, The Vital Design Construction Workers and the masquerade masters from Ballards.

A creepy contest ensued as one of the lead zombies waddled away with a night’s stay at the Haunted Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Portsmouth. Other SpookUp guests were lucky to walk away with:

The night ended at the stroke of midnight (well, it was more like 10pm) when all the zombies, ghosts and goblins journeyed back into the night. But before they disappeared into the fog, they all gave each other one last “elbow bump” and agreed that they should meet above ground more often.

~Fin

*******************************

This Pirate wants to thank everyone for dressing up and coming to the SpookUp on a rainy, gloomy night. It was an amazing event which could not have been possible without some amazing people including Salina McIntire from the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, Amanda Telford and Jessica from Red Hook Brewery, Tara Sullivan – Zombie Coordinator Extraordinaire, Walter Elly of MicroArts, Brian DeKoning of Vital Design, Ballards, Patti Fousek from CreativeMind Search Marketing, Tara Aiken from Port City Coffee, Stephanie Wales photography, Phip Cohen who not only took pictures of the SpookUp, but donated a print to raffle, Marshall Malone from Portsmouth Tea Company, Mike Schneider - aka BelchingMonkey and all of YOU!

Thank YOU for making these events a success for everyone involved.

The pictures from Phil Cohen will be added here soon and I will tweet about them when they are available. Until then, here are some shots from Amy Greenlaw – @GirlGamy

If you have any photos or videos or comments about the event to add, please do so in the comment section below.

And if you wouldn’t mind – please share your thoughts on the event by filling out this Boston TweetUp poll: http://bit.ly/BTUPollSpookUp

Thank you!!

-Christine

]]> http://www.christinemajor.com/social-media/the-spookup-a-tale-of-zombies-ale-and-a-whole-lot-of-networking/395/feed/ 8 What Makes For A Good TweetUp? http://www.christinemajor.com/photos/what-makes-for-a-good-tweetup/97/ http://www.christinemajor.com/photos/what-makes-for-a-good-tweetup/97/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:30 +0000 christinemajor http://christine-major.com/?p=97 nhtweetup-smallBeing in social media you have no doubt been exposed in one way or another to a TweetUp – a silly name we Twitter folk use to signify a networking event where people (typically Twitter users) gather to connect and meet in real life.

I have attended and been involved in planning many TweetUps over the past year with my first being an impromptu one I “organized” with @girlgamy and @Geechee_girl at Pocos Bow Street Cantina in Portsmouth, NH. I use the word organize loosely because all we really did was decide we wanted to hang out and meet some people we tweeted with then chose a location and Bam! People actually showed up.


Jeff Cutler & Christine Major MargUp!

Jeff Cutler & Christine Major MargUp! (photo credit: Steve Garfield http://www.stevegarfield.com & http://www.twitter.com/stevegarfield

Since then, I have planned many other TweetUps including, the #MargUp at Margarita’s in Portsmouth, the #NHTweetUp at The Portsmouth Gas Light Co. (which ended up in the upstairs lounge because it rained) and some movie-themed events such as the #BondUp for the James Bond movie Quantum of Silence and the #BostonBeamUp for the new Star Trek movie. In all cases, we were able to draw a nice group  - both Twitter users and non-Twitter users, who also shared the same passion for networking and just hanging out with friends (along with movies and popcorn).

The latest NHTweetUp - tagged The #DeckUp – took place on 8/12/09 at The Portsmouth Gas Light Co. again, this time on their outdoor deck since the weather actually cooperated with us. Local videographer/photographer Jay Duchin from Duchin Productions attended and brought along his video equipment to capture some on-site interviews and footage of the event. He asked a few attendees, including myself, several questions about TweetUps, specifically what makes for a good event and the benefits of attending a TweetUp. Below is the final version of his video. If you are curious about what a TweetUp is or the value of attending them, you will want to check this out. Better yet, find out when the next TweetUp is taking place in your area and just go!

So what do you think? What makes for a good TweetUp/networking event? Let me know your thoughts with a comment below. Would love to hear from you as I have been having many discussions around this topic lately with varying degrees of responses. A future blog post perhaps? You bet!

Photo credit: MargUp Jeff Cuter & Christine Major photo taken by Steve Garfield

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