Tweet-Up on the Twain

By Melodie Hilton Director of Marketing and Public Relations

The Napa Valley Wine Train hosted a fun and fabulous Tweet-Up, complete with costumed attendees, the Thursday before Halloween. Andrea Guzman estimated that the tweets from Train reached an audience that was approximately 150,000 strong.

If you are not already versed in the vernacular of social media, a Tweet-Up is like a networking event where it is not only appropriate -- but expected -- that you spend time heads-down making comments (140 characters only) on your hand-held device and posting them to your Twitter account for your list of “followers” to read.

Like some futurist film, at any given time half the room will have an eerie glow illuminating their faces as they stare with concentration at their connection to the larger world. The World (as I have heard it called) of Mouth. The other half the time, they are drinking wine and cracking jokes.

Is Twitter a fad? I suppose this method could potentially fall from grace as techniques for communication tend to be cyclical. Does anyone remember the CB of the ‘70s and ‘80s?

But, will the phenom of social media pass? It is unlikely. Once given the ability to communicate beyond the bounds of our physicality what is to stop us from spreading our ideas around the world? Not much.

And, if you still prefer the CB: “Breaker, breaker: This is Road Gypsy on your six and looking for Smokies. Back off the hammer, good buddy let’s close this backdoor. Over and Out.”