Big and small pups are welcome. We have had quite a few puppy tweet-ups in the past and they have been a lot of fun, so please join us!

Contact @mayor_of_twtr or @valette with questions

Well, it’s time for another Tweetup. Just for fun. No agenda.

For those new to Twitter, this is a chance to meet in person the people that you follow and that follow you online. A chance to use more than 140 characters and get to know people better. It’s casual, social, and yes, you’re allowed to stare at your smartphone screen as much as you like.

Getting back to 2009, when Tweetups were still new, @MKinMotion was one of the earliest to join the Alaska Tweets community. He was a friendly face with a passion for music, photography, and, well… Spenard Roadhouse. We’re expecting him at the Tweetup on Friday, but sadly this may be Matt’s final Tweetup on the Last Frontier — he’s moving south very soon.

Matt didn’t want a big send-off Tweetup event in his honor. So this is the “Not-About-Matt All-Hands Tweetup” to which everyone is invited — even if you’ve never met Matt. The point is to socialize, hang out, and get a drink with friends that share jokes and news and links and photos online together. Laid-back. Just like Matt. (But it’s not about him — we swear!)

The When, Where, and What

• Friday, Oct 28
• 6:30 – 10:00pm
• Embassy Suites / Pi Kitchen + Bar – some of us will be in the bar/lounge area, some in the restaurant
• The Plan: Drop in, hang out, tweet a bit, grab dinner or drinks if you like, then head out to other adventures when ready

Remember: This is not about Matt. But you know, it would be nice if you said hello. And goodbye.

@MKinMotion photos all borrowed from the Alaska Tweets Flickr Pool. Photos by @Valette, @Okiave, @jmproffitt, and the late @hogbiker, among others.

But today she’s back in Anchorage and this Friday she’s doing a solo hometown concert to celebrate the launch.

The concert is not a tweetup, but it’s definitely an event our Alaska Tweets friends may want to check out. Here are the details:

• Something Fierce launch concert
• Friday, October 21
• 8:00 p.m.
• Snow Goose Theater (Anchorage)
• 21-and-over only (Snow Goose rules)
• Buy tickets online now — $10 to $15 per person
• Buy tickets at the door — $12 to $18 per person
• CDs on sale at the event and CDs and/or downloads on sale online

More Alaska Concerts Coming Up

• Juneau: Saturday, Nov 5 at 7:00pm at The Rookery Cafe
• Fairbanks: Saturday, Dec 10 at 7:00 p.m. at College Coffeehouse
• As noted at mariancall.com: “Several more CD release concerts around Alaska are currently in the works — watch for shows in Homer, Seward, Palmer, Wasilla, Talkeetna… and any other community that would like a show!”

We hope to see you at the Snow Goose this Friday, or at least let’s tweet some Marian Call lyrics back and forth, like a secret code!

But this year it also commemorates the first Tweetup hosted by Alaska Airlines in the State of Alaska.

We don’t have a lot of details, but it sounds pretty darn good, and you might like to sign up and attend, even if this is a last-second notification. Here’s what we know:

• “Alaska Day” Tweetup
• Hosted by Alaska Airlines / @alaskaair
• Hosted at Moose’s Tooth
• Tuesday, October 18
• 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Info & Sign-up: http://twtvite.com/ggn4n8
• The first 40 to arrive get a free drink
• Prize giveaways during the event

Special thanks go to @alaskanexplorer for being this little birdie’s little birdie — she mentioned it in passing on Monday, and that’s how we found out about it. Of course, if she actually attends, it will be her first tweetup. Not an official AlaskaTweets tweetup, though, so it won’t count on her punch card. (Mwahahahaaa!)

If you plan to go, be sure to sign up. You can see who else has signed up while you’re there.

If you go to Table 6 between now and Monday, be sure to put your Twitter name on your receipt — the owner is collecting them and tracking who’s been there lately. Why? Because they’re going to hold a drawing for a secret prize this Monday, August 1.

To give away the prize and celebrate the Alaska Tweets Twitter community’s support of Table 6 in its first 60 days, they’re hosting a Tweetup! So mark you calendars and be there:

• Monday, August 1
• 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
• Prize drawing at 6:00 p.m.
• 3210 Denali St, Anchorage AK 99503

Please sign up at Twtvite if you’re coming!

In the mean time, be sure to follow @Table6, put your Twitter name(s) on any receipts during lunch, dinner or drink visits, and… try the “Jenga” Churros.

We’ll be there with name tags (not as fancy as the End of the World Tweetup, though), so even our newest family members are welcome — we want to meet you!

Questions? Contact @Table6 or @AlaskaTweets.

Please join us for a farewell Tweetup for our dear sweet @hogbiker. That infectious laugh, the humorous one-liners. If you knew him, you loved him. Come out and tell us a story about Karl and meet many of the people who knew and loved him.

• Where: Bernie’s Bungalow Lounge (626 D St, Anchorage AK 99501)
• When: Thursday, June 30 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Come out and have some dinner, drinks and fellowship to honor our friend Karl.

Kids are welcome with parents (up to 9:00 p.m.). We are set to have a bar open for us on the patio, but they will move us upstairs and inside if the weather isn’t so great.

We will have a donation jar for the family if you are so inclined. Or you can send donations via PayPal to Karl’s daughter: crowbreak@gmail.com. Finally, @jmproffitt will be on hand to swipe your credit or debit card for donations if you’re short on cold, hard cash.

If you’re planning on coming, please REGISTER online here so we can prepare for the right size crowd.

We hope to see you there!

Details are over on Facebook, but in short, be ready to ride at 10:30 a.m. in South Anchorage on Saturday, June 25, and pick up one card at each of 4 more stops along the way to the Lodge — Girdwood, Turnagain Pass, Hope Junction and finally the Lodge itself.

It’s $10 per hand, and you can play as many hands as you like. Proceeds go to the LeRay family to help cover funeral and related expenses.

Thanks to long-time AlaskaTweets pal @BigDaveGrizzly for organizing and promoting this event!

Good News: I was able to shoot a little video at the escort to share.

Plus, there are photos available on Flickr here. There will be more.

[1] Official Memorial Service Set
Posted on Facebook, the family’s official memorial service and celebration is set for this Thursday, June 23 from 4:00pm to 8:00pm at Janssen’s Evergreen Memorial Chapel in downtown Anchorage. A prayer ceremony is set for 7:00pm. There is a motorcycle escort from the funeral home to the crematorium scheduled for 3:00pm.

Be sure to review the event on Facebook and note whether you’re attending so the family knows the number of people attending.

This is the primary memorial and we wouldn’t think of setting up a conflicting event. Which brings us to the next point…

[2] “A Farewell to Karl” Is Overloaded and Must Move
Our event, originally intended for @hogbiker‘s Twitter friends and other social media acquaintances for this Wednesday evening, has grown to more than 70 people since being posted last week. We had planned to gather at Spenard Roadhouse, but they can handle, at most, only 30 people. We’re now more than double that number, so we need to move elsewhere.

We looked into moving the event to Embassy Suites, where we had another large, successful Tweetup in the past. They’re not available on Wednesday. But they are available Thursday. That sounded great… until the family’s event was set for Thursday evening.

So no day can work at Spenard Roadhouse due to group size. And Thursday won’t work anywhere due to the memorial service conflict. We need other options.

[3] Our Solution: Cancel and Reschedule
We still want to have an event to remember our friend Karl. But since neither Wednesday nor Thursday will work, we have to arrange something else. Starting Tuesday (6/21) we will look into options for this Friday or sometime next week.

Please note we expect to charge for the new event — for two reasons. First, because renting space and buying catering for such a large group costs real money, and second, we want to raise money to help Karl’s family pay for the memorial expenses. We’re thinking somewhere around $10 per person to cover the space rental, hors d’oeuvres and soft drinks for attendees, then a hosted cash bar. Details when we post the event.

We will directly email everyone that signed up for this event and invite folks to sign up for the next event. We will also post the event details here at alaskatweets.com and post via the @alaskatweets account.

Our apologies for the confusion, but as you can imagine, a lot of details had to be worked out by the family in the last few days. And we didn’t expect such a large turnout — though we’re heartened by the response!

For now, here’s what you can do:

1. Take this event off your calendar
2. RSVP to the official memorial service over on Facebook
3. Stay tuned for a new event

We hope to see you at the memorial service Thursday. And at our own gathering as soon as it’s scheduled.

Please consider attending the family’s official memorial and celebration event on Thursday, 6/23 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in downtown Anchorage. Details and RSVP over on Facebook.

We will reschedule this memorial tweetup for Friday, 6/25 or later. Details to be posted here at alaskatweets.com and the @alaskatweets account.

Original post follows…

It’s been a terrible day for a lot of us in Anchorage and beyond, as we learned that a great friend passed away overnight: Karl LeRay — our very own @hogbiker.

There’s no way for us to capture the magnitude of our loss effectively right now, but we can at least gather to share memories and honor the life of this veteran, biker, father, teacher, friend, businessman, radio host, and social media pal. In fact, we already have. There were two lunch gatherings earlier today — one in Anchorage (thanks @onefunnybroad), one in Juneau (thanks @awpz) — and a karaoke bar gathering this evening.

This one is next Wednesday, June 22, so folks have time to prepare and by then we’ll probably know more about how the family, including @crowbeak, would like to handle things and whether there’s anything the AlaskaTweets community can do to help.

For now, please check your calendar and see if you can join us for this informal memorial gathering:

• Wednesday, June 22
• 5:30 p.m. start
• Spenard Roadhouse

The details and the sign-up is over at Eventbrite. PLEASE SIGN UP. We need a tight estimate of attendance so we can advise the venue ahead of time and/or change venues. Plus if you sign up, we can email you with any updates.

Meanwhile, we’ll all continue to grieve in our own ways. We hope to see you there with happier remembrances and kind words for Karl’s legacy.

Here we are. Together. At the edge of the universe, looking into the abyss. Mere hours from Judgment Day.

Who’s ready for some beer and burgers?!?!

Apparently the following people are ready to party at The End of the World. They signed up and we’ve got custom Twitter name badges for all of them. Even if you haven’t signed up, here’s your chance to hang out at the cool kids’ table — and listen to @mariancall — one last time:

• @907natalie
• @AgentIceCream
• @AK_Becky
• @AK_Doug
• @akcook
• @akflutterby
• @akhighvolts
• @akprincess
• @alaskamom
• @alaskanexplorer
• @AnchGirl
• @Anniepants
• @Bella_Boutique
• @birkedal
• @bluetabbies
• @braveorchid
• @ChrisOPeterson
• @chugach3Dguy
• @CitizenRecon
• @colleenyork
• @davedaires10
• @davidhulen
• @eareeve
• @earth2eric
• @fertwitts
• @FX_DaleTran
• @gneicco
• @herbelou
• @hogbiker
• @IcyCoder
• @jessejoseph
• @jmissler
• @jmproffitt – your host and organizer
• @JohnnyAlicante
• @jomariet
• @juback
• @kaizan
• @KaladiBrothers
• @katemckeown
• @KevinTraver
• @kitaq
• @kpearso3
• @lindseydurrell
• @Lintlicker22
• @lizinthelibrary
• @magpieowl
• @margot907
• @mariancall – an original Alaskan artist, with a concert in the middle of the Tweetup
• @markmeyerphoto
• @matozoa
• @Mayor_of_Twtr – your host and Tweetup instigator
• @mcav0y
• @MKinMotion
• @mudlock
• @nodgarb
• @onefunnybroad
• @otaku99
• @photogfank
• @pwann
• @redrummy
• @Robertforto
• @RossDM
• @Starkath
• @TheDuckMonster
• @TheRealHarper
• @ToddWalkerKTUU
• @Valette
• @wasyetz
• @zac_in_ak

Bring your smartphone, your camera, your sense of humor and the curiosity to meet new Twitter people and hang out with old Twitter pals. Share social media tips, talk about the summer plans you won’t be able to use after Saturday, and enjoy a cold Snow Goose microbrew.

And if you’re a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fan, don’t forget your towel.

Finally, don’t forget these Tweetup details:

• Friday, May 20, 2011 – 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
• Snow Goose [map]
  
• Tweetup Hashtag: #eotwak
• The Tweetup starts in the upstairs meeting room, just off the bar
• Marian Call’s concert is downstairs, in the theater, starting at 8:00 p.m.
• Tweetup attendees can attend the concert free (but please kick @mariancall some bucks to support her independent music career)
• Note that access to the bar and concert is officially restricted to folks 21 and older –Snow Goose policy

We’ll see you there!

Man, everyone is getting in on the End of the World action these days. Stephen Colbert just alerted his viewers to the perils of May 21. “Folks: This means there are only 11 shopping days until there are no shopping days.“

But before Judgment Day got the coveted Colbert Bump, local songstress Marian Call setup her last concert ever, right alongside our last Tweetup ever. You’ll be there to tweet and to take in the smart and sassy singing, won’t you?

So far we’ve got 34 tweeps signed up to hang out with new and old Alaska Tweets pals. Where will they be? When? How can you get in on the fun?

• Friday, May 20, 2011 (the last day before Judgment Day!)
• 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
• Snow Goose [map]
• The Tweetup starts in the upstairs meeting room, just off the bar
• Marian Call’s concert is downstairs, in the theater, starting at 8:00 p.m.
• Please register for the Tweetup (free!) so we can prep a custom name tag
• Please buy tickets to Marian Call’s concert ($15 or $10) to support a brilliant artist that loves Twitter (@mariancall) and Alaska
• Note that access to the bar and to the concert is restricted to folks 21 and older

As we mentioned in the original post, this is a No Agenda™ Tweetup — no theme (well, mostly), no fundraising, no greater purpose than getting Alaska Twitter friends together in the same place at the same time to chat, eat, drink and be merry. All social, all the time. We’re especially interested in getting new friends to join us, so please invite anyone that’s never been to a tweetup before.

In the mean time, get your affairs in order. We’ll see you at the Snow Goose!

And stay tuned for information on the Pearly Gates Tweetup.

If the Mayans had had the Internet — or even AOL — they’d have known the End of the World is really in October 2011. But what about Judgment Day? Good news! That’s next month. [Cue the booming voice...] Prepare to be judged May 21, 2011!

But before the end, let’s have a Tweetup.

Spend the last evening before Judgment Day with your Alaska Tweets pals in Anchorage. At a sinful bar. With a side of wings.

This is a No Agenda™ Tweetup — no theme (well, mostly), no fundraising, no greater purpose than getting Alaska Twitter friends together in the same place at the same time to chat, eat, drink and be merry. All social, all the time. We’re especially interested in getting new friends to join us, so invite anyone that’s never been to a tweetup before.

Mark the last available box on your calendar with these details:

• Friday, May 20, 2011
• 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
• Snow Goose Restaurant [map]
• We’re gathering in the upstairs meeting room, just off the bar area, though we may spill out onto the deck occasionally, if the weather is good
• Please register (at Eventbrite) so we can prep a custom name tag for you!

Special thanks to @Mayor_of_Twtr for instigating this Tweetup and making the reservation with Snow Goose.

And thanks to everyone out there that’s been waiting for a big all-hands-on-deck event. This is the one. Be sure to join us!

• February 14, 2011 from 7:00 to 10:00 pm
• Bernie’s Bungalow Lounge Paradise Room
• Must be 21+ to attend

Tickets are $10 and available now through Brown Paper Tickets or your favorite rollergirl. Tickets will not be available at the door, they must be purchased in advance.

Proceeds from this event go to support your Rage City Rollergirls.

Enter @Robotkarateman. He fired up the graphics ware and created a whimsical new image to welcome site visitors. Please tweet him with your congratulations.

Hosted by @alizasherman and @alaskasherrie, this all-afternoon session on Thursday, January 27 is perfect for small business leaders, marketing pros or anyone that wants to understand how and why social media can fit into your professional communications and personal life.

Get all the details at the Alaska Professional Communicators site, including pricing, location, time and more.

Thanks to @cay_anchor for the tip!

We’ve started a new AlaskaTweets Lending Team on the global “micro finance” platform Kiva and we’re inviting everyone to join!

You can fund loans to small entrepreneurs around the world for as little as $25, and you can choose from among borrowers in a variety of countries and for a variety of purposes, risk levels and more. Not sure what we’re talking about? Check out this intro video that explains how Kiva works:

As of this writing, with less than a day’s work, we’ve already made $375 in loans and we have 17 members (that we could figure out) including:

• @omungous
• @jmproffitt and @agenticecream
• @valette and @robotkarateman
• @lisabunny
• @TinCupDesigns
• @phillygoat
• @wrtheuer
• @MKinMotion
• @clemsonpilot
• @galradio
• @anniepants
• @redrummy
• @hogbiker
• @fairbanksgrrrl
• @mcav0y
• @akflutterby

At the end of Jan 1, 2011

In fact, we picked up so many new AlaskaTweets Lending Team members on Kiva this January 1 alone, we were the second fastest-growing team in the world, even beating out Team Canada and Team Europe!

Help us keep the momentum going and help emerging entrepreneurs worldwide at the same time. For as little as $25 you can make a difference — and you’ll even get your money back as loans are repaid!

Plus, it just feels great to start 2011 with a good deed. Or as one AlaskaTweets pal said…

@redrummy: Just made my 1st micro-loans to people making a living feeding others in Tanzania. Feels good. Try it.

Who knows? Maybe we’ll have a @Kiva Tweetup in Mongolia one day…

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 4,300 times in 2010. That’s about 10 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 23 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 108 posts. There were 27 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 5mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was February 18th with 309 views. The most popular post that day was Fond Farewell Tweetup: Thur, Feb 18 at 6:00pm.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were twitter.com, iconfactory.com, facebook.com, twtvite.com, and brizzly.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for bake sale flyers, alaska tweets, alaska twitter, bake sale flyer, and twitter alaska.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Fond Farewell Tweetup: Thur, Feb 18 at 6:00pm February 2010
1 comment

Promote the Tasty Tweets Bake Sale with new flyers and graphics August 2009

White Elephant Gift Exchange Tweet-up December 2010

A Polite Tea Party, or, I Believe in Civility and Manners April 2010
2 comments

Paperback Swap-Up August 2010

• When: Tuesday, December 21 at 6pm (game starts at 6:30) until 8-8:30 depending on game
• Where: In the Community Room in the downtown Kaladi Brothers on 6th

If you plan on attending, please DM @robotkarateman to RSVP before the 21st so we can have numbers ready for everyone. Suggested gift price is $10-$20, give or take depending on your budget. Alcoholic items are welcome but, please, no “adult” items. This will be a family-friendly event. Also, please wrap your gifts so that it’s not obvious what they are.

The Rules

• Everyone brings a present
• Presents are all placed in a pile at one of the room
• Everyone gets a random number
• Play begins with #1 and continues until everyone’s gotten a present
• On your turn you can pick an unclaimed present to unwrap or you can steal a present already taken by someone else
• If someone steals your present, you get another turn
• Presents can only be stolen 3 times (i.e. have a maximum of 4 owners) before becoming “safe”
• Safe presents cannot be stolen
• You cannot steal a present back from the person who stole it from you
• Player #1 ends the game by choosing to keep the present they’ve ended up with or swapping their present with any present not already safe

Join @kaizan and friends this coming Sunday, November 21 at 4:00pm for a Dog Biscuit Baking Tweetup! Make crunchy cookie treats from scratch for tweeter’s best friend while chatting over drinks.

Location to be provided to attendees via email. Just @ or DM @kaizan with questions and to let her know you’re up for the challenge of baking for animals that will, uh… pretty much eat anything.

The cost is $14 per person and this includes shoes. Please bring cash or check for me.

We are on the drinking side so this means NO KIDS. Also, please do not forget your ID.

I will be there at 8 to have a drink and we need to check in between 8:30 and 8:45 so we can get wrist bands.

If you need something before then you can reach me via Twitter @mayor_of_twtr !

See you crazy cats there!

–

It’s been a while since we’ve had a tweet-up so here’s your chance to get out and see/meet some tweeps!

Come out for a classic (is it?) bowling tweet-up this Saturday (11/13) at 8:00 p.m. at Jewel Lake Bowl!

We will bowl for a couple of hours, have a drink and some laughs! I will be reserving lanes, so if you can go send me an @ or a DM on Twitter and let me know! (@mayor_of_twtr)

But these aren’t your everyday presentations. Presenters must strictly adhere to a 20-slide / 5-minute format, where slides auto-advance every 15 seconds, whether the presenter is ready or not.

Check out these Ignite Anchorage samples from Alaska Tweets pals:

• The Open Web — @kevintraver
• Who’s Your Muse: Rediscover or Redefine Your Creative Spirit — @AgentIceCream
• The Evolution of Media — @galradio
• The DOs and DONTs of Karaoke! — @hogbiker
• You’re An Avocado, Baby — @mariancall

Organized by @jdfrankl, this event includes a presentation from Alaska Tweets’ very own @eareeve and plenty of other characters.

Hey — it’s fun. You know it is. Be there!

• Thursday, October 21
• Alaska Experience Theater / 333 W 4th Ave
• Doors open at 6:00 p.m. / Event starts at 7:00 p.m.
• Admission: $10
• All proceeds donated to the Anchorage Schools Foundation
• REGISTER NOW
• Follow @IgniteAnchorage on Twitter while you’re at it

Bonus Video: Collateral Consequences of Being a Lawyer, by Cindy Franklin at Ignite Anchorage 3

Paperbacks? Yes.
Hardcovers? Yes.

And for those of you with those new fangled electronic readers, you are more than welcome to swap too (though I really don’t know how that’s done).

The Plan

• Kaladi Brothers downtown (621 W 6th Ave) in the Community Room (off the end of the bar)
• Sunday, August 29, 2:00 pm
• Bring your gently loved books to swap

Deposit your books on a central table and we will very orderly and without too much yelling (they would kick us out) rifle through and grab what we would like to read. Easy peasy. There is no limit to what you can bring or what you can take, we just ask that you play nice and try to be fair. Any unclaimed books at the end of the day will be donated to the library.

Unearth your randy romances, your sassy sci-fi, and your funky fiction. We want it. All of it. See you there.

We are meeting at Mad Myrna’s for the Friday night Diva Show that starts at 9:00 p.m. So come and get your gay on, get your groove on or hell just come by have a drink and say hello!

We will be there long after the Diva show I am sure, so if you want to come after the show, feel free!

Hope to see you there!

Everyone is invited, let’s make this one big tweet-up!