Internet entrepreneur, author and renowned geek Chris Pirillo was in Des Moines this weekend and we (the #dmtweetup crew) joined him for an impromptu TweetUp. I got a chance to interview Chris about how Twitter has replaced his RSS reading habits, and I asked him what Des Moines (and Iowa) can do to retain and attract creative talent.

More videos and photos of the event can be found on various Flickr photostreams.

Special thanks to Andy at East Village Books for donating the location space, free coffee and Wifi.

Unbelievable! Day one of SXSW was packed with fantastic conversations and invaluable new friends. The day started with bacon, biscuits and a social media chat with former colleague Greg Swan (new media guru and founder of Perfect Porridge), Jim Turner of One by One Media and Rick Calvert, co-founder of BlogWorld.

In the middle of sitting in on the “How to rawk SXSW” session, word started to spread via Twitter of an impromptu tweetup happening at Champions sports bar across the street. Greg and I immediately ran to join this, and met all sorts of Tweeps including the legendary @Pistachio, @simedia, @kristanaeher, @newmediajim, @twalk, @hansveld and @waderockett, among others. A quick, grainy video of the tweetup is below.

As if the day couldn’t get any better, Charlie the Unicorn stopped by for a beer before wandering off across the street. YES. We later met Brian Shaler of Crappy Graphs fame, the one-and-only Robert Scoble, and co-creator of Fantasy Congress (Andrew Lee) in the Hilton lobby bar.

After launching Des Moines’ first TweetUp back in February, my intent was for future events to be de-centralized and self-organizing. I opened up a wiki to let participants discuss ideas for future locations and dates, and almost overnight, others had taken the reins and organized a second TweetUp, which took place this Monday evening at Court Avenue Brewing Company. Based on our unofficial headcount, 17 people showed up — that’s almost triple attendance from last time!

What I love about these events is the opportunity to connect with other people interested in technology and new media here in Des Moines, who I otherwise may never have met. The insights, shared knowledge and ideas formed over cocktails with new friends are extremely valuable, or, as @webboy put it: “It did more for me in one night than LinkedIn did in one year.”

Well said. If you’re interested in joining us for future TweetUps, please check out / join the Des Moines TweetUp wiki and be sure to track updates using the #dmtweetup hashtag method on Twitter.

Last night I recorded this quick video at the Des Moines TweetUp with my Flip Video cam. Apologies for the lack of lighting. (We were in an underground drinking establishment.) Twitter-ers in attendance were @mikesansone, @abrudtkuhl, @miketempleton, @scottatdrake, @jakekerber and myself. Looking forward to the next one!