Happy Birthday #eventprofs!
Today is a day for celebration.
Exactly one year ago, on February 9, 2009, the twitter group #eventprofs was born.
Eventprofs started off like most things do -- as a small embryo. Let’s put a hashtag after our “events related tweets" so they are easier to find. Let’s try to do a “twitter chat” - whatever that means.
Over the past 365 days #evenprofs has evolved into a passionate community. A community that has hosted over 60 self-organized chats. A community that has a self-organized website, video and badges all for its members. A community that created an awards program. A community that organized its first face-to-face event, Event Camp, in New York City - this past weekend. Oh, and it was livestreamed around the world for free.
Here is a timeline that highlights the evolution of this self-organized community:
> February 9, 2009: Lara McCulloch-Carter(@ready2spark) creates #eventprofs
> February 16, 2009: Eventprofs starts a weekly chat on Monday nights.
> March 2009: Eventprofs creates a video to show people how to join the chats.
> April 2009: Eventprofs creates a website wiki as a home base to keep track of chat topics, archive chat discussions, etc.
> April 2009: Chats become twice per week Tuesday night and Thursday afternoon.
> Summer 2009: #eventprofs is mentioned in event industry rags and The Twitter Book by Tim O’Reillyand Sarah Milstein
> August 2009: Eventprofs creates a blog awards to encourage and support the #eventprofs bloggers.
> October 2009: Eventprofs community members @mizcity, @jessicalevin, @jeffhurt, @mikemcallen and @michaelmccurry get the idea to create an event and start the planning.
> February 2010: Eventprofs members host a face-to-face event called Event Camp that turns out to be the largest gathering of members from the Eventprofs Twitter Group.
As a testament to the passion of this community - and their expression of that passion via blogs - I recommend that you read some of these posts on the learnings from Event Camp. Two of these blogs were written by virtual participants:
> Michael McCurry (@michaelmccurry): Eventprofs Tribe Meets for first Time - Event Camp 2010
> Lara McCulloch-Carter (@ready2spark): Event Camp . learnings from outside the fishbowl
> Christina Stallings (@msstallings): Eventprofs, Social Media, Ideas and cats...Lot’s of em. Oh, And Water Buffalo Hats.
> Jenise Fryatt (@lyksumlikrish): How social media creates a NEED for events
> Adrian Segar (@asegar): First Impressions from Event Camp 2010
> Alan Wight (@cascade_alan): EventCamp: a view from Outside
> Clinton Bonner (@clintonbon): What #eventprofs can learn form rockers “No Doubt”
> Adrian Segar (@asegar): 14 Things that I learned at Event Camp 2010
Today is a day for celebration.
After 365 days of tweets, over 60 weekly chats and one face-to-face event - #eventprofs turns one today.
Happy Birthday #eventprofs! I can’t wait to see what happens in year two!
Image credit: @samueljsmith
