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<a href="http://twitter.com/#journaccel" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.journalismaccelerator.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Twitter_newbird_small-e1308856651551.png" alt="" align="right" /></a>
<h4>Are we missing something?</h4>
<a href="http://www.journalismaccelerator.com/resources/community-resources/how-to-host-a-tweetup/#respond">Let us know</a> additional steps you recommend to include in the Tweetup guide or suggest your list of Tweetups others should check out.

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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Simply put, a Tweetup is a set time and day when a group of people on Twitter are online to discuss a particular topic. One main group moderates the Tweetup by posting rules, promotional tweets and questions during the event, while participants tweet responses and follow other participants. Sometimes a core group of participants will meet to execute the Tweetup in person.</span>

Here are some tips we've picked up on how to make your own Tweetup successful.

<strong>Prepare in advance for the Tweetup:</strong>
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<ul>
	<li>Set a date and time</li>
	<li>Choose a topic: something that you will focus your questions and conversation around</li>
	<li>Choose a hashtag: pick one that isn't commonly used already</li>
	<li>Select questions to ask: prepare 4-5 that relate to your topic</li>
	<li>Write a blog post: offer a landing page with information about how someone can attend</li>
	<li>Prepare canned Tweets and a timeline: schedule your Tweets in CoTweet based on a timeline of how you want the event to go</li>
</ul>
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<strong>Reach out to people to see if they will attend:</strong>
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	<li>Reach out to attendees: send invites to people you know or people who are involved in the topic</li>
	<li>Confirm panelists to participate: find experts on the topic who will deepen the value for participants; ideally they are already familiar with Twitter</li>
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<strong>Use third party applications to help Tweeters follow the conversation:</strong>
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<ul>
	<li>Create <a href="https://bitly.com/" target="_blank">Bit.lys </a>or other shortened, trackable links</li>
	<li><a href="http://tweetgrid.com/" target="_blank">Tweet Grid</a> allows you to monitor multiple searches and share with followers</li>
	<li><a href="http://cotweet.com/" target="_blank">CoTweet</a> (or another 3rd party Twitter app) helps you view Tweets and Twitter accounts more easily</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.tweetdeck.com/" target="_blank">TweetDeck</a> (or another 3rd party Twitter app) allows you to see a number of searches at once</li>
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<strong>Join one of these useful Journalism focused Tweetups to see how they manage their events:</strong>
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	<li><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23journchat" target="_blank">#JournChat</a> Journalism and public relations chat, every Monday at 5pm PST/8pm EST</li>
	<li><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23pubmedia" target="_blank">#pubmedia</a> Public purpose media chat, every Monday at 5pm PST/8pm EST</li>
	<li><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23wjchat" target="_blank">#WJchat</a> Web journalism chat, every Wednesday at 5pm PST/8pm EST</li>
	<li><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23mybxb" target="_blank">#mybxb</a> Hyperlocal news chat, every Monday at 5pm PST/8pm EST</li>
</ul>
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