Twestival in all 175+ cities will begin within 48 hours and there is already quite some buzz generated by Twitter users (see #twestival).
Volunteers, who came together, mainly through Twitter connections, are the ones who made Twestival possible across the globe. One thing is for sure, organizing a Twestival isn’t as easy as it seems. Just imagine organizing an event with literally zero resource!
@mikefoong, who is the main guy behind this year’s Twestival Singapore has “been there done that,” and we’re glad to have him share his experience with all of us. Below are 6 basic steps toward creating a successful Twestival.
6 Basic Steps
1. Gather team members: This is the first and probably the most important step towards making Twestival possible. Gathering members are mostly based on connections, and once your core team is formed, it is important to communicate goals and objectives of the event, and the members’ specific work scope and their commitment level. This will ensure efficiency and transparency throughout the whole campaign.
2. Lay out every idea: A successful Twestival strives on creativity and openness. During meetings, make sure every team member is allowed to share his/her ideas. Maximize the diversity of your team.
3. Evaluate whether it is practical: Once all the ideas are thrown on the table, evaluate what could be done. Create a timeline of events and make sure you have a Plan B in case something crops up.
4. Stay focus and social: In the midst of planning, remember that the goal is to help raise funds for the charitable organization. To do so, you could: (1) get sponsorships or donations from corporations, (2) get people to join the Twestival party and donate, (3) encourage people to donate directly through Paypal. Blatantly spamming to get people to donate wouldn’t work. Do so by educating and providing value to the crowd. “Market” your cause through word-of-mouth, and do it the social way.
5. Create a Timeline of Programmes: What’s there to do at Twestival? Hype participants with updates of performances, activities and prizes. Give them a programme list so they know what to expect on that day itself.
6. Execution: On the day itself, remember to have fun and don’t focus too much on pushing people to donate. They will do it if they want to. Focus on having fun instead.
10 Quick Tips
Here are 10 additional quick tips from @mikefoong:
1. Have a big heart
2. Be adaptable
3. Have no ulterior motives other than supporting the cause
4. Create a fun and rewarding environment
5. Openly accept and expand on ideas
6. Be comfortable with your own short comings and rely and trust people around you
7. Recognize the strengths of your team
8. Listen to people who influence you and people you influence
9. Be fun and have fun
10. Expect surprises
Other Resources
Twestival FAQ: Twestival provides a pretty comprehensive FAQ site. If there are additional questions not answered in the FAQ section, simply post a question to the Twestival team.
Twestival Organizer Tools: The Twestival website provides a list of tools to help your team effectively plan, organize and blog about your Twestival event. Check it out here.
[P.S Donate here 
]
Special THANKS! For Making TwestivalSG Happen
Emcee
1. Joe Augustin hosted Twestival last year and has graciously agreed to be TwestivalSG’s emcee for the night.
Entertainment
2. Jack and Rai are the opening band for TwestivalSG
3. Terence will wow TwestivalSG participants with his magic tricks, caricatures and face painting
4. Deborah and Thomas will keep the energy going with their music
Lucky draw
@TwestivalSG is grateful to these amazing companies that have provided the prizes for the lucky draw
5. Samsung (Daniel Goh)
6. Cisco Systems (Supriya)
7. Crocs (JP and Nick)
8. Whole Earth/Naive (Pat)
Contributors
@TwestivalSG wouldn’t have been able to do this without its wonderful contributors
9. Brewerkz (Lisa) for being our venue sponsor and contributor (10% of revenue from the event donated)
10. The Lens Men (Desiree) for donating 1% of their daily revenue for the week leading up to Twestival
11. O2 Advertising (Mr. Wong) for helping us with our expenses
12. SCDF (Adrian) for the very relevant and necessary first-aid kits as door gifts
13. PoMo (Smith) for the awesome wine cooler bags as door gifts
14. Lenovo (Derrick) for the laptops onsite that enable PayPal donations
Technical and Live Streaming
15. Tech65 (Hisham) – for bringing new ways to share TwestivalSG with the rest of the world!
16. Photography – Kevin and Darryl for capturing the memories
17. Media support: CNNgo (Mun Yin, Larry)
The Organisers
Michael Foong - Ungrounded professional of play, borderline certifiable, full of exuberance, discoverer, adventurer, broadcaster, court jester. Also known as Mike, he’s the main person for bringing Twestival Singapore here.
Supriya - Cisco Systems, Text100, E2.0, social media converter, shutterbug, DIY enthusiast. She digs cats, coffee and other wonderful things that start with c. Supriya is in charge of all media and PR relating to Twestival.
Daniel Goh - PR guy, social media enthusiast, wannabe entrepreneur, blogger and food fanatic. Daniel, together with Supriya, has been handling all PR and media relations relating to Twestival.
Nicholina (Nic) – (Mostly hopeless) romantic / foodie / twitter ghostwriter / copywriter in mostly equal parts. Yes, in that order. Nic has been awesome in the team by getting more donations and sponsorships through offline and online relations. She’s also the main person behind the @twestivalsg account and started the Twtvite.
Kevin Lee – Entrepreneur, designer, social chatter, dirt biker, closeted traveler, photographer. Kevin has been a big help by pulling more people to support the event through his passion for photography.
Nizam - Media & Communication student. Writer for omgzam.com & blogpress.sg. Keen interest in social media, technology, advertising, public relations and marketing. Nizam, together with Nic, handles the @twestivalsg account. He’s also in charge of the blog posts on the official site and the Facebook event page.
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