Monday, 18 January 2010

Twestival Farnham: 25 March 2010

On 25th March 2010, cities and towns across the world will be harnessing the power of Twitter and digital media to raise much needed funds for Concern Worldwide. Twestival is a global event organised by a fantastic team of volunteers, and for those interested in hosting a similar event, the UK Twestival office is run by the very helpful @claireatwaves and @arengrimshaw.

In the charity's own words: "Concern’s work is informed by a vision for change and their education programs target the poorest people in the poorest countries in the world, with particular emphasis on reaching out-of-school children such as girls, orphans, street children, working children, children affected by conflict, children affected by HIV and AIDS, and children with disabilities."

Twestival can truly make a difference. The first Twestival event, held just under a year ago, involved 220 international cities and raised over $250,000.00. The money donated funded the building of over 55 water wells in Uganda, India and Ethiopia, positively impacting over 17,000 people.

thebluedoor has decided to organise a Twestival in Farnham, with the generous support and sponsorship of iBundle, the Surrey based innovation hub. We know that there are a fantastic number of people and businesses in Surrey who actively use Twitter to network, do business and have fun. We hope that people will be inspired to support this event by coming along, lending a hand (in kind or in sponsorship), and helping us to raise some funds for a truly wonderful charity.

We have set up a Twitter account - @twestivalfarnhm (yes we know, it's missing an 'a' - Twitter won't let through longer account names LOL) and hashtag #twestivalfarnhm so interested peeps can keep up to date with our progress. Very soon we will be launching a farnham.twestival.com blog as an official source of event information and the global organisers are planning to ensure that tickets will be on sale some time in February. One way or another, thebluedoor will aim to keep everyone up-to-date with our progress.

If you are interested in finding out more, helping or even sponsoring an aspect of the evening's events (give-aways, prizes, music etc), please don't hesitate to let us know - info at thebluedoor dot com. We'd love to have you on board and are committed to creating an interesting, fun and productive event worthy of the main Twestival event.

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posted by thebluedoor at 17:41 1 Comments

Thursday, 7 January 2010

Digital PR: my education at thebluedoor

I am thrilled to be starting 2010 with an eight week internship at the Surrey PR agency, thebluedoor. After completing PR placements in London in the travel and tourism sector last year, I am eager to continue my education and learn from a PR agency that is growing rapidly with exciting prospects for the year ahead.

thebluedoor – its clients and its digital PR expertise – offered me an internship which I was delighted to accept. As a relatively new PR agency I felt that I would be able to both learn from their experience as well as significantly aid the team in implementing PR strategies and campaigns for their wide portfolio of impressive consumer, B2B and digital brands. And from speaking to the team, I know that the coming two months will greatly improve my knowledge of PR and the importance of digitised communication for businesses.

And I’ve not been disappointed: on my first day I was I was asked to help organise a Tweet-up, inviting interested Tweeps in the Farnham, Surrey and Hampshire areas to meet and celebrate Twitter and its effects upon the world of PR, communications and business. I’m really excited about this project as it will provide me with first-hand knowledge of digital and social networking tools such as blogs and Twitter, and getting to grips with their power beyond sharing what I’ve eaten for breakfast.I know I’m going to be challenged and supported whilst at thebluedoor, they have committed to ensuring that I learn rather than just being thrown in at the deep end. And having met the team, I know that as well as some hard work, there should also be plenty of fun to be had along the way.

Written by Liam Sherry, Intern at thebluedoor

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posted by thebluedoor at 11:11 3 Comments

Thursday, 17 December 2009

Twitter: Surrey networking - a review

Last week, we organised the first Twitter networking event in Farnham, Surrey (aka a Tweet-up). On a busy week full of festive gatherings we were delighted with the interest and attendance.

We organised this gathering following encouragement from all sides, led by @emmafirth of the Daily Telegraph. It was great to see quorum of Twitter enthusiasts rocking-up, including: @jamesfirth, @andypiper, @guy1067, @toni_jane, @jeniferdav, @kwright5, @pascalw and rachel_adams88.

There were a good number of conversations including:
  • Telegraph expenses story
  • Paywalls / free content
  • The rise and rise of Google
  • The digital goldfish bowl
  • Programming: Ruby, Adobe AIR, .NET
  • The perils of marathon running (!? - @guy1067 is gearing up to his second Marathon and is tackling London in April 2010)


We will definitely have another evening Tweet-up in the New Year, so the conversations can continue.... currently thinking end of January, beginning of February. Do let us know if you would like to come: info at thebluedoor dot com, and when.

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posted by thebluedoor at 10:46 2 Comments

Monday, 23 November 2009

Festive tweet-up in Farnham

Twitter has taken the world of journalism and PR by storm. With its 1,959% year on year growth, its use in the world of communications is firmly established. Although the world of Twitter is online, I have met some interesting, inspirational and awesome Tweeters in real life.

So to celebrate all things Twitter and Christmas, and with encouragement from fellow Farnham Tweeters @jamesfirth, @emmafirth and @guy1067, we have decided to organise a festive gathering in Farnham, Surrey on 10th December 2009. Kick-off is at 7.30pm, so come along and meet up in person at the Slug & Lettuce on East Street. For those of you driving, there is a handy Sainsbury's car-park on South Street, and for those of you coming by train it is just ten minutes walk from the station.

Let us know whether you are coming by either sending us an email or leaving a comment below. It would be great to meet up with the Surrey Twitter community in person, and of course raise a glass to the festive season.

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posted by thebluedoor at 12:30 4 Comments

Sunday, 18 October 2009

Surrey strides out for charity

It was fantastic to take part in the Farnham Stride on Sunday - a 10Km sponsored walk around the beautiful Surrey countryside, taking in the Frensham Ponds area. This local event was just one of the many activities being run in aid of Cancer Research.

It was a great turn out with people of all ages from around the Surrey area taking part. There was real camaraderie amongst the participants and the ladies from the fitness centre, Curves really showed their team spirit by wearing brightly coloured pink wigs and setting the pace for the entire group.

Events like these are an amazing way for groups and individuals to help to support charities, but they don't just happen overnight. Working in the PR industry, we know what a great deal of organisation is needed to make events a success - from the promotional material, through to the administration and logistics. Whether it's a professional events team or volunteers, the organisers play a vital role that requires dedication and hard work.

To co-ordinate a diverse group of people, as well as motivate, cater for their needs and ensure they get the most out of the event takes a lot of effort, which can often go unnoticed if things run without a hitch. But the knowledge of a job well done can go a long way. So that just leaves me to say a big thanks to everyone involved in making the Frensham Stride such a success - and to share some images from the day!

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posted by thebluedoor at 19:26 0 Comments

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