Preston Tringe Festival is bringing an exciting range of acts to the city

The line-up for the first Preston Tringe Festival has been unveiled. Running from 23rd July to 31st July 2009 at various venues across the city, the Tringe will be a hodgepodge of comedy, music, theatre and other live performance events – complete with a Tweetup about the Preston arts scene thrown in for good measure.

The standard of shows over the Tringe is extraordinary for a new festival, with two five-star rated shows from Edinburgh International Festival confirmed to play.

Liz Bentley and Russell Thompson come to Avenham Park Pavilion on Friday 31st July with ‘Liz and Rachel Get in Touch with their Feelings’.

Thompson will also be bringing ‘Project Adorno’s Top 10 of British Culture’ to the Tringe at the Adelphi pub on Thursday 30th July and Friday 31st July.

These are just two shows from a diverse line-up.

Sam Buist, from Preston’s Screaming Theatre Group and who is co-organising the festival, said in an interview with Preston Blog in April: “We just want Preston Tringe to be accessible to anyone and everyone and allow people to experience a range of theatre, music, literature and other contemporary stuff for a week.

We wanted to take this event to the people and make it in places you wouldn’t expect to see drama or these type of events.

“I’d like to think we can detach the stigma that’s sometimes attached to drama and live performance, that’s it’s for those with money and needs to be in a big swanky theatre.”

Preston Tweetup brings together people to discuss a particular topic and generate new ideas

We’re pleased to announce that the second Preston Tweetup has been confirmed. We’ll be back at the New Continental and this time we’re part of the Preston Tringe Festival that’s taking place in late July, showcasing theatre, music, comedy and much more across the city.

The topic for the next Preston Tweetup is ‘How do we support the arts in Preston?’. There’s already a lot happening with the New Continental’s events and the Tringe Festival but what more could we do? How can we get this city buzzing with a great arts community?

The event is on Monday 27th July 2009 from 8 PM in the Snug area of the pub. Please register to attend (we’re working on another drinks offer for those who register), so charge up those laptops and mobiles, and get your thinking caps on. It’s going to be a great event. Only 40 places available.

It’s free, fun and creative. If you’re unsure of what all this Tweetup business is, take a look at what happened at the last one.

Take a moment to read through them all and then sign up and add your voice to the ideas. We’ll be using this wiki as a base to build on over the coming weeks.

One of the break-off groups at Preston Tweetup

I really didn’t know what to expect when I floated the idea of Preston Tweetup and it just goes to show how a decent idea can really go places when people get on board. The night itself generated a fantastic response and fantastic ideas.

Now, what to do with all the great ideas that are floating around on Twitter?

1. Collate and upload onto a wiki

2. Present to Steve Parkinson the Head of Communications at PCC, then possibly to other relevant staff/councillors

3. Maybe ask specific people to expand on their ideas and develop them further?

Using twitter in the room. It was noisy! I think some people had a vision of a tweetup being very quiet, with everyone sitting around on laptops/mobiles and not speaking to one another. It was the complete opposite.

As Chris Skoyles blogged after the event, he was taken aback at just how ‘social’ the social media event was. Damn straight.

And that’s exactly how sites like Twitter should be used; putting the emphasis on the social element of social media/technology.

Yes, a bunch of people did meet up in a pub tonight to post stuff on the Internet, but isn’t that far less anti-social than staying home and doing the same?

Martin Rue added his voice about ‘why Preston Tweetup was cool’:

Reflecting on the event, it was insightful to see an event where conversation was indeed that – conversing with peers without heavy debate or argument. Perhaps it was the subject area, perhaps the people, perhaps the cool name.

And the Preston Writers Network have also done a great write-up of the event and it seems there could be a Guild related literature/writing project on the cards:

I sense a PWN Guild Project brewing – collecting stories via a creative tweet-up: memories of PGs past, and collecting your wildest imaginings for PG 2032 – what kind of Preston will we have created for ourselves by then?

From our point of view the event was a success. The conversation was flowing, but people got it – posting snippets/ideas onto twitter and these were cascading in real-time on Twitterfall (thanks to Jeremy, phpcodemonkey for hooking this up). We estimate there were around 500 tweets during the course of the evening, but some of these were coming from people who weren’t even in the room – it was definitely an inclusive event.

There were two conversations going on, one in the room and the other being played out on twitter, in real-time, in living rooms, bedrooms, trains, wherever there was wireless access, not just in Preston but anywhere that was interested in #prestontweetup.

The LEP photographer got some of us to pose for a suitable cheesey pic at the start, and to their credit the LEP were giving it some on twitter about the Tweetup and posting a couple of pictures on Tweetpic!

This event showed that there is an appetite for social media in Preston and that there’s some incredible ideas out there among the people of Preston – spanning all generations (I think the age range in the room was 16-60!).

What’s the future for Preston Tweetup? We don’t want overkill. I think once a quarter, with a different topic each time, would work really well. It’s a great chance to get people from all different backgrounds, sectors and business’ discussing one topic. As one person commented to me, they’d gone in the space of 30 minutes from chatting to someone with an arts background, to a businessman, to a student, to a teacher!

Preston Tweetup was an example of Britain 2.0, connected, constructive and creative.

Thanks to all who came and a huge thank you to Ruth and Jeremy at the New Continental for providing the venue and thank you to Emma and Colin at Stage 9 Marketing for sponsoring the event, taking part and providing everyone with a free drink to start the night with!

I’d really appreciate your comments below about the night, whether you attended physically or virtually, and your thoughts on the format and topic for the next event.

Preston Tweetup Logo Entry by Kerry Sholicar

The entry received just over 40 per cent of the vote in what was a close contest.

Thanks to those who entered and voted. And make sure you register for Preston Tweetup.

Mark Hendrick is Preston's MP

I was browsing the web and came across this excellent site that lists which MPs are on Twitter and gives you an insight into the corridors of power. It’s called Tweetminster. It got me thinking, is Preston’s MP Mark Hendrick on Twitter?

I checked out the list of MPs on the Tweetminster site and couldn’t find him. I tried his own website, no mention of Twitter there. I tried searching Twitter, but no luck – twitter.com/markhendrickmp was not registered.

I think it’s great if MPs are on Twitter, it’s a top way of being transparent and also connecting with your electorate and the people who you are supposed to serve once elected into office. A great example of an MP using Twitter is Labour MP tom_watson (there’s also Tories and Lib Dems using it well, I just picked the best example I could find before someone shouts at me for being bias).

So, I found the contact page on Mark Hendrick’s website and wrote him an email with the subject: Twitter – why aren’t you on it?

Dear Mr Hendrick,

I’d like to inform you about a great web service called Twitter (you may have seen it being talked about in the media). There is a website tracking which MPs are using the service, to keep in touch with their constituents and improve the transparency of the democratic process, called Tweetminister (http://tweetminster.co.uk/). I took a look through the list of MPs using the service and couldn’t find your name.

Preston has an ever increasing Twitter community (http://prestonblog.wordpress.com/preston-twitter-directory/

) and it would be a great move if a public figure such as yourself were to join in the conversation.

At Preston Blog (http://prestonblog.wordpress.com) we’ve been using Twitter to connect with people in the Preston area and we’d be happy to show you the ropes. We’ve even used Twitter to organise Preston’s first ‘Tweetup’ (http://prestonblog.wordpress.com/tweetup/) where local people will be coming together to discuss ‘How the web can be used for Preston Guild 2012′ and using twitter and other web 2.0 tools to capture and bottle that discussion.

I hope you’ll look into using Twitter, as other MPs such as Tom Watson (http://twitter.com/tom_watson) have, and you’ll see that http://twitter.com/markhendrickmp is still available. Get on there and register it quick!

We look forward to tweeting at you.

–
Ed
Preston Blog
http://prestonblog.wordpress.com

Entry 1 – submitted by David Perkins

Preston Tweetup Logo Entry by David Perkins

Description:

It was basically a quick concept that I thought looked quite cool, I then added colour in the style of the twitter colours (blue and yellow). I thought that i should use a handwritten sort of font to make a point that handwriting is becoming less and less used due to the the amount of / the evolution of social networking and blogging around the world!

Entry 2 – submitted by J0sh D Semans

Preston Tweetup Logo Entry by Josh D Semans

Description:

When I first thought about “Preston Tweetup” I immediately thought about Preston. In my minds eye, I saw a city. I wanted my logo to draw the mind away from the urban view of Preston and focus on the calmer side, like the nature side, like Winckley Square. Hence the nice green grass, the blue sky and the clouds. I also tried to capture the essence of Twitter itself, simple, pleasing to the eye, and somewhat humorous. The lamb is, of course, the lamb from the Preston Coat of Arms. The lamb is at a laptop computer, on Twitter.com, the humour side breaks through around here. On the back of the Lamb, is the Twitter bird, perched happily and looking at two banners that read “PRESTON” and “TWEETUP”. This text is in PNE-like colours, the “PRESTON” in white, and the “TWEETUP” being in two different shades of blue. The overall appearance of my logo is quite Twitter-Like and has obvious references to the city of Preston.

Entry 3 – submitted by Kerry Sholicar

Preston Tweetup Logo Entry by Kerry Sholicar

Description:

My initial thought was to design a typographical logo that could somehow represent the social occasion, capture an essence of Preston City and still give people a relation to Twitter and the Twitter logo. My first job in creating this was to find a font that I felt fitted the criteria. After sifting through and trying many fonts, I decided to stick with “Learning Curve” for the main “Tweetup” part of the logo. I chose this font as I think it represents the relaxed and friendly feel of the event. I then chose a simpler font for the “Preston” part to contrast and help it to stand out, ensuring that it can easily be read. I then decided to go with the blue theme as it relates to both Preston (the city councils coat of arms and the football team) and Twitter.

Voting

You can vote now for your favourite entry. You have until Tuesday 10th March 2009 at 5 PM to register your vote.

Don’t forget to register for Preston Tweetup and claim your free drink on arrival.

The first 50 people who register and attend the event, with their printed out confirmation slip, will be entitled to a free drink up to the value of £3. This will get you a glass of house wine, draught beer/lager or soft drink.

So don’t delay, register today for Preston Tweetup!

Preston Tweetup will be discussing the topic of how the web can be used for the 2012 Preston Guild

Through the process of Doodle we have arrived at the most suitable date for Preston Tweetup.

It will be held on Tuesday 17th March 2009 at the New Continental, kicking off at 7 PM.

You will need to register for the event and you’ll need to register to allow you to receive your free drink on entry.

I am also pleased to announce that local business Stage 9 Marketing are the official sponsors of Preston Tweetup. They’ll be working with us to promote the event and also be offering the first 50 people who turn up (with wireless enabled device in tow) a free drink.

Here’s what Colin Sneath, founder of Stage 9 Marketing, had to say about supporting the event: “Stage 9 Marketing is delighted to support the first Preston Tweetup, which is a great example of the City’s willingness not just to embrace innovation but to have fun and be sociable on the way!”

Stage 9 Marketing are the official sponsors of Preston Tweetup

I will then display the entries on the blog and we’ll have a good old fashioned vote for which one the Preston Blog community would like to be used.

If you’re a budding designer then drop an email to prestonblogs@googlemail.com and I’ll send you some more information if you need it.

The deadline for entries is Friday 6th March 2009 at 5 PM. The entries should be emailed in JPEG format with a 150 word description of the logo and how you came up with it to prestonblogs@googlemail.com.

Preston Tweetup will bring people together to discuss a chosen subject

Had a really positive meeting with Ruth at the New Continental yesterday as we planned Preston Tweetup. The New Continental has agreed to host the event in their ‘Snug’ area. It’s ace.

They are installing wi-fi access later this week so that’ll be up and running ready for the event.

Now we need your help. When do you want the event? I’ve created a quick schedule/poll via Doodle that lets you tell us which of the days we’re thinking of would be best for you.

Go and fill it in and then once I see a most popular day we’ll confirm the date. It’ll definitely happen in March 2009! Spread the word amongst everyone you know and get them to add their availability.

Twitter, the micro-blogging service, is becoming popular in Preston

Update: Venue confirmed for Preston Tweetup, now for a date

Been kicking an idea around for a bit, it happens in other towns and cities and I think it could be good for Preston, about having a ‘Tweetup’ in Preston.

What’s a ‘Tweetup’ I hear you cry. It’s a meeting of folks, arranged via Twitter/the web in a venue that has wi-fi access. Everyone who comes brings along their wireless enabled laptop/mobile phone and the event is assigned a hashtag on Twitter. So for example the hashtag would be #prestontweetup and then everyone who is talking about the event, or at the event, puts the hashtag into their tweets.

The event allows people to network, meet people face to face (in a safe environment) who they might have connected with only via Twitter and potentially to use the meeting to generate some ideas or discuss a particular topic.

I was thinking of hosting the event, as in ‘Preston Tweetup, in association with Preston Blog’, and Stage 9 Marketing have already indicated they’d be willing to support the event. Can anyone recomend a suitable venue?

I was also thinking of having a purpose to the night (other than just getting lots of people who are on Twitter and live in and around Preston together in the same room!), so taking a topic e.g. ‘How the web could be used for Preston Guild in 2012′ and asking for people’s contributions ahead of the event (in the format of one slide each) and then we could discuss these at the event, come up with ideas and maybe break off into smaller groups to discuss. The rest of the night would then be free for networking and other discussions, but it gives everyone a starting point of conversation with one another!

You can follow Preston Blog on Twitter @prestonblog or check out Preston people on Twitter on the Preston Twitter Directory.

So, get involved, would you attend a Preston Tweetup? Know a suitable venue? Want to be more involved? Let me know below…