Comments on: Thanks Tweeps. Love, Des Moines.

By: Abbie Shipton

Abbie Shipton — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:01:31 +0000

Fantastic post! Dan and I have lived in DeMo for 2 1/2 yrs now and until we joined twitter we really didn’t have any other friends/contacts that lived near us any longer. We still mostly spent time with college friends(who now live all over the country) and family. Since we joined twitter, we really feel like we are a part of the local community and we LOVE it! Not to mention that if we didn’t have the twitter community’s support we would have never been able to launch Impromptu Studio and keep it going. Thanks for the kind words!!

By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:13:20 +0000

So great to hear from all of you. The generosity brought up by Claire and Mike is one of my favorite components of our local Twitter community. Looking forward to great things in 2009!

By: Rush Nigut

Rush Nigut — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:56:25 +0000

I agree wholeheartedly with your list. I would also add that the upcoming Central Iowa Shelter dinner sponsored by so many in the dmtweetup is very special. A number of people have contributed time and money. What a great effort!

By: Mike Templeton

Mike Templeton — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:43:37 +0000

I was transplanted into the area from my hometown of Muscatine so I could attend Iowa State. After graduation and a few job offers, I ended up in the Des Moines area not knowing a single soul.

From that very first tweetup in January to the seemingly weekly events going on now, I continue to be introduced to new, interesting people in Des Moines that are both enthusiastic about what they do and passionate about the city they live in.

It’s because of Twitter that I’ve been able to expand my network so effectively and find the type of people I want to associated with. Also, I’ve got to echo Claire’s comments about the generosity of this community and their willingness to help others succeed. A lot of that was already present, but Twitter was the vehicle to help amplify it.

By: Jules Joyce

Jules Joyce — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:30:38 +0000

Nathan ~ You articulate tweetology so well. Thank you for leading this fun and beneficial grassroots movement. It enhanced my social life (cool new friends:-) and my apartment life (gently used furniture;-). You da tweep! XO, JJ

By: Derek Mahr

Derek Mahr — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:38:18 +0000

I decided to try out twitter a while ago, mostly because It was related to THIS WEEK IN TECH. I added the usual people every geek adds, Kevin Rose, Leo Laporte, Jason Calicanis, Cali Lewis, Chris Pirillo, with a vague memory that Pirillo was from here.

I added a few Des Moines people, here and there, but nothing huge.

Then I see a Des Moines Tweetup, the one with Pirillo at the Underground, a club I didn’t know. Had fun, added a bunch of people.

Went to IGNITE DSM on a lark, ok, drawn by free beer. The people I met, the fun I had, and the fact that the Des Moines group of tweeters is so damn friendly and welcoming, I was hooked.

Thanks for a whole new circle of friends, guys, the more the better.

By: John Pemble

John Pemble — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:34:18 +0000

Since I began using Twitter last March I have met a large number of people in central Iowa at tweetups, restaurants, concerts, coffee houses even incidental random run ins on the street. All of these social occasions have lead to building significant relationships that mean a lot to me. Twitter has become an important guide bringing my private and professional goals and interactions together on a daily basis.

Some of the things Twitter has done for me include

helped me find new story leads and concepts for my work as a cultural and arts reporter / producer for Iowa Public Radio.

led me to a bar or coffee house for fantastic evenings with charming people, beautiful women, and hilarious smack talk.

established professional relationships with professionals in my career field and with practitioners of other trades for my potential future career changes.

made me laugh from witty posts about earthquakes during a gynecological exam (yes @missRFTC I’m talking about you) to silly statements about incidents that may otherwise go un laughed at

rocked the house with clever weekly music mashups and fat mixes downloaded every Friday from @djdeedle

connected me to people in a short period of time to start relationships that are likely to carry on for years long after we have moved on from Twitter

Thank you everyone for being part of one of the most significant progressive years of my life.

-John Pemble

By: Rich Drake

Rich Drake — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:35:48 +0000

Nathan, as you know I’m not a man of many words so I will just leave you with 2… True That!

Rich

By: Jan

Jan — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:30:12 +0000

The internet and all the possibilities is so exciting!
I am a native Iowan- Iowa City- now and love how we can sometimes become the pace setters!
Our generous helpful spirit perhaps?

By: pete

pete — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:19:47 +0000

Great write-up, Nathan. Thanks and have a great New Year! – Pete in KC