Wow.
I should probably just end the blog post with that one word, as I am speaking about Tweet-a-Thon 2009.
Just wow.
But you know I can't stop there!
It's the morning after. I am still exhausted. But I am basking in the afterglow of what I shall remember for the rest of my life.
Tweet-a-Thon 2009 was a live broadcast event that took place for twelve consecutive hours on February 19, 2009.
The goal was to combine social media platforms to generate awareness and resources for a social cause.
The platforms were Twitter and uStream.tv.
The cause was Water is Life, a project designed to bring clean drinking water solutions to those in developing nations.
On hand was my good friend Ken Surritte, founder of Water is Life.
He demonstrated the water purification straw that can provide clean drinking water for a child for a one-year period.
This is pretty amazing considering the water source they drink out of. If you'll imagine that filthiest, nastiest water filled with all kind of contaminants, you'll have an idea of what people in some countries know as the "norm."
That's just not acceptable. And I wanted to do something to make a difference.
The Tweet-a-Thon featured approximately thirty guests who joined me throughout the day. A few came into our studio in Northern Colorado. Most were brought in by video from wherever they were located.
Some of the highlights included:
Wil Wheaton - the dude has got massive Twitter Power and was a real pleasure to interview.
David Lawrence - from the TV show Heroes, David and I go back many years. He was a riot!
Chris Pirillo - speaking of riot. Pirillo is always a hoot.
Pete Cashmore - Mashable is a great site and having Pete call in from Scotland was awesome
MC Hammer - wrapping up the evening, Hammer embraced the cause and intends to continue helping out. What a guy!
That is just the tip of the iceberg!
It was an exhilirating event that was a blast to do. I have to take an hour off after the first four hours and I was grateful that Dan, Ken and Ken could fill in for me. After that I came back and did seven hours straight with high energy. With as exhausted as I already was (I didn't sleep the night before), I can only explain it as a Divine infusion of energy.
I want to thank the nearly 25,000 people that enjoyed our broadcast. It seemed like we usually had between 600-700 viewing at any one time, peaking as high as 950 when Wil Wheaton was on.
The Twitter stream was PACKED with people discussing the show. Our hashtag was #tat09, and we trended 1st or 2nd spot on Twitter for many hours.
You can search the Twitter stream for tweets here.
And I want to give major props to my team who made this all possible.
Chris Harper and Fletcher Groeneman pulled off the most amazing live broadcast production the web has ever seen. Mike Filsaime said we raised the bar and I hope others are inspired by what we did.
Tim Golen worked extra hours to pull together the web site. It was magnificently done!
Brian Means organized our guests, moderated the chat room and took excellent care of me, making sure I stayed hydrated under those hot lights. What a guy!
Dan was there by my side almost the entire time. He helped update the web site and provided much-needed companionship while I was hosting the show. Couldn't ask for a better sidekick.
And the rest of the staff at InfoMedia, along with spouses that came and went during the day, not only helped our guests feel at home, but I'm sure they also contributed in ways I am not even aware of. Please forgive me if I didn't mention you by name. I am grateful for all of you!
We recorded the entire production and it is split up into four parts of varying lengths below.
I hope you enjoy watching as much as we enjoyed creating. :-)
Water is LIFE! Please give generously at Water is Life
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February 20, 2009 09:49 AM
That's awesome, Joel!
Hey, for your next something-a-thon, I found this great program that distributes Bibles to Russia. Interested?
;-)
February 20, 2009 09:50 AM
Congratulations Joel on a successful Tweet a Thon for a great cause.
Steve
February 20, 2009 09:57 AM
Joel, thanks for the excellent event yesterday. Your enthusiasm for both the subject matter and the charity was outstanding.
I was happy to get bumped out of the uStream chat, as the word grew about the event. Let me know if I can help out in the future.
February 20, 2009 10:17 AM
The word 'wow' is an understatement!
I listened in as much as I could.
I donated what I could (mad props to @lozlawn!!!)
I tweeted about it about five times & commented as well.
It was fun.
In fact, I had a chance to enjoy the spotlight... At around 9:30-ish (PM) the broadcast was waiting on a guest. To fill the void, who was asked to join in on the conversation? You got it- me!
Talk about your 'wow' moment.
I was humbled beyond description.
But, alas, Murphy and his Laws got in the way. I needed a Skype account to have participated. So for that, I must sincerely apologize for not being able to help you any more than I did- Sorry. But for inviting me on board is something that I should not ever soon forget. Infact, I've been telling all my friends about it.
Thanks again for the chance- really appreciated!
And, as usual, you are spot-on...
WOW!
February 20, 2009 10:32 AM
hey, Joel Comm that is a great way, to give back !
I appreciate all you do, and I met you at the "World Internet Summit", in Dallas Texas , have a Great Day.
Robert Watkins
February 20, 2009 05:30 PM
Joel,
It was a fun event. I loved seeing some people from Twitter for the first time live and learning about those straws to drink water safely.
Thanks for your efforts to pull such a large event together.
Dulcita Love
@dulcitalove on Twitter
February 20, 2009 06:12 PM
Congratulations Joel and team for an amazing event .. Your Tweet-a-Thon 2009 event made history.. By the way the people at twitter, must absolutely love you... I hope they reward you in a significant way for your efforts in promoting them....
Appreciate all you continue to do for the Internet Marketing community!
Roger J
The PowerTeam Marketing Network
http://powerteamnetwork.com
February 21, 2009 06:27 PM
Show was educational and good content
For clean water go to my nonprofit site and click on link water for humanity:
http://www.dowsers.org/Wfh.htm a high sucess rate
March 2, 2009 08:10 AM
Hey Joel,
Congrats on your successful Tweet-A-Thon! There is a Tweet-A-Thon March 2-5 that honors International Women's Day and the event A Powerful Noise LIVE. Each Tweet that includes the hashtag #apowerfulnoise unlocks a 10 cent donation to global poverty fighting organization CARE from partner NCM Fathom. Please join our Tweet-A-Thon, my screename is cheraerobinson.
Thanks.