What a smart idea. And many restaurants have private rooms. Rent the room for free, supply some hors d'oeuvres -- a great way to introduce your menu and space to prospective guests and extend goodwill to the twitter community. Plus they could partner with the tweetup folks on a food drive.
The Raleigh area just had a tweetup in a co-working space -- at least I think that's where it was held. Another great gesture of both goodwill and showing your space.
Danny Brown
· 11 months ago
Love the food drive suggestion - putting back into the community from new customer base that you built up through community interaction. :)
BarbChamberlain
· 11 months ago
Okay, I'm going to go all Mom on you. I have a 14YO daughter I introduced to Twitter. She greatly enjoys it. That doesn't mean I'm totally comfortable with the idea of her meeting people she knows only through Twitter, even in a public venue.
It sounds great on the surface. But anyone can "be" 14 or 15 on the Web, while in real life being a creepy stalkerish person of any age who would exploit this scenario.
I'm not a "Smother"--I've had both daughters riding public transit alone for quite a while. I want them to develop street smarts and be able to handle unpleasant situations appropriately. But as a parent, I am wary of the false intimacy of social media for impressionable kids who want to be grown-up.
The coffee shop that does this should also consider how to engage and reassure parents of the younger teens. The private-room idea sounds great for 18 and up (I have a daughter that age), but tell me my baby girl is going into a room where they're going to close the door, and I'm going to get twitchy. And chaperone.
@BarbChamberlain
Danny Brown
· 11 months ago
Hi Barb,
As a parent myself, I hear what you're saying. This is where the "strength in numbers" aspect would offer security. I would never advocate anyone meet on a one-to-one basis offline, unless there were some hugely effective safeguards in place. This is where parents, kids and owners of establishments get involved together.
Also, as much as we try and protect our kids, there is also the chance of *offline* people being as equally *dangerous* to our kids. We only get to know people through interaction and trust offline as well as on - the saving grace is that there's a barrier (however small) between online users. Your daughter could meet someone in school and become their friend, only to find they're not the person she thought.
I know what you're saying and I agree - but I'd also say the risks are just as inherent offline than on.
Thanks for your thoughtful view, appreciate it.
BarbChamberlain
· 11 months ago
Oh, agreed absolutely. Creepy Stalker Man is everywhere (most often in the family, statistically speaking).
I still think the very strengths of social media--the ability to connect one to one, and feel you're getting to know a person--can affect the ability to recognize things that would be warning signals if you were meeting for the first time from scratch, with no previous interactions. Parents have to be good educators and listen to/talk to their kids--nothing new there.
@BarbChamberlain
Rachel Reuben
· 11 months ago
I absolutely love this idea. I have a few local coffee shops in my (college) town and am going to share this with them! Love this kind of thinking! Expands further on Chris Bogan's Cafe Shaped Conversations post, which inspired my Café New Paltz project. Love the coffee connection, which is terribly ironic considering I'm allergic to caffeine and don't even drink it! :)
Rachel Reuben
· 11 months ago
I was thinking about this more this afternoon after my initial post. I definitely see where Barb is coming from. The age group I think this could really take off with is the 17-35 year old crowd. That's a bit of a range, but I work for a university and live in a typical "college town" filled with bars, and of course lots of students that like to frequent them. But what I'm seeing and hearing more, is a desire by these younger students to live a healthier lifestyle (hopefully in part because of our Student Affairs health promotion campaigns) and aren't into getting the fake IDs and hitting the bar before they're legal (and I'm hearing from some even "after" they're legal). These same students are getting into Twitter -- there's about a dozen of them, and as they talk about it and find out about each other, word is starting to spread. (They're also becoming friends, as they didn't know each other before.) I could also see 17 year olds meeting each other in regional areas that have all decided to come to our university, as a meetup in their area prior to starting at our university this fall.
So, yes, of course there's the security issue -- but I think there are great, responsible ways that this could really benefit this age range, help them bond w/ fellow current (or soon-to-be) students, and live a healthier lifestyle -- and Twitter can help pull these kids with similar interests together at a local coffee joint. I think it has such potential, especially in a college town, and potentially even facilitated by a university...
Tim Jahn
· 11 months ago
What an excellent idea for using Twitter! With Tweetups becoming more and more popular, this is the time for cafes and such to take action in this realm.
Affiliate Tips
· 11 months ago
Wow a fantastic idea. I happened to have stumbled upon your site from marketingpilgrimage.
adrielhampton
· 11 months ago
Danny, this is a great idea, which I plan to borrow, with credit. I've been tapping away at a project to increase business for restaurants in my town that offer free wi-fi. But what a great use of Twitter here! It's very appealing to me as a non-drinker as well. We are planning a social media training for locals in the next month or so, and I'm going to use this example. Thanks!
All Comments
The Raleigh area just had a tweetup in a co-working space -- at least I think that's where it was held. Another great gesture of both goodwill and showing your space.
It sounds great on the surface. But anyone can "be" 14 or 15 on the Web, while in real life being a creepy stalkerish person of any age who would exploit this scenario.
I'm not a "Smother"--I've had both daughters riding public transit alone for quite a while. I want them to develop street smarts and be able to handle unpleasant situations appropriately. But as a parent, I am wary of the false intimacy of social media for impressionable kids who want to be grown-up.
The coffee shop that does this should also consider how to engage and reassure parents of the younger teens. The private-room idea sounds great for 18 and up (I have a daughter that age), but tell me my baby girl is going into a room where they're going to close the door, and I'm going to get twitchy. And chaperone.
@BarbChamberlain
As a parent myself, I hear what you're saying. This is where the "strength in numbers" aspect would offer security. I would never advocate anyone meet on a one-to-one basis offline, unless there were some hugely effective safeguards in place. This is where parents, kids and owners of establishments get involved together.
Also, as much as we try and protect our kids, there is also the chance of *offline* people being as equally *dangerous* to our kids. We only get to know people through interaction and trust offline as well as on - the saving grace is that there's a barrier (however small) between online users. Your daughter could meet someone in school and become their friend, only to find they're not the person she thought.
I know what you're saying and I agree - but I'd also say the risks are just as inherent offline than on.
Thanks for your thoughtful view, appreciate it.
I still think the very strengths of social media--the ability to connect one to one, and feel you're getting to know a person--can affect the ability to recognize things that would be warning signals if you were meeting for the first time from scratch, with no previous interactions. Parents have to be good educators and listen to/talk to their kids--nothing new there.
@BarbChamberlain
So, yes, of course there's the security issue -- but I think there are great, responsible ways that this could really benefit this age range, help them bond w/ fellow current (or soon-to-be) students, and live a healthier lifestyle -- and Twitter can help pull these kids with similar interests together at a local coffee joint. I think it has such potential, especially in a college town, and potentially even facilitated by a university...