Despite his busy schedule, Jason wants to meet our active community. So, Chris Barger from GM and Social Media Club Detroit have arranged a Tweetup. We will be gathering around 6:30pm at Royal Oak Brewery on Tuesday, July 13th.

This is a great chance to connect with one of the industry’s heavy influencers.

It is also another great opportunity to show outside talent just how strong and active our community is. Showing that Detroit is just a viable digital market when compared to the coasts, is important.

Show your support and stop by to say hello!

If you are not already, follow Jason on Twitter and say hello. You should also be reading his blog, Social Media Explorer, as he shares excellent marketing and social media advice.

You can RSVP for the event here. See you on Tuesday!

• Royal Oak Brewery
• 215 East 4th Street
• Royal Oak, MI
• 6:30pm – 9:00pm

Meet Inchy

iDetroit encourages you to attend LOVELAND’s Big Inch Block Party. On Saturday, July 17th, at sundown (approx 9:06pm) and going until people get tired, LOVELAND kindly takes over the Downtown Synagogue and plans to spill into Cafe D’Mongo’s Speakeasy in downtown Detroit as the crowd gets bigger.

Headed by Jerry Paffendorf – an expatriate from Silicon Valley by way of New Jersey, LOVELAND is building a fun and interactive way to buy actual real estate in the city of Detroit. Leveraging social media tools and innovative green technologies, they have been selling square inches of the city, which makes the cheapest and most expensive real estate you can buy. The Big Inch Block Party is a fundraiser for LOVELAND, but also a way to say thanks to the community that they have been serving and looking to serve more. Now is your chance to buy your first inch of Detroit for only one dollar ($1) and it’s an interactive process, so that means you can tweet that you bought a piece of the city. Come be a part of Detroit history and invest in our humble city. Be sure to RSVP on Facebook as well as share this across your social networking profiles.

In addition to owning a (possibly your first) square inch of Detroit, you can witness:

Food and drinks (afforded by sponsors – Betaworks and McClure’s Pickles)

Immersive video projections by Dan Land (who happens to have worked on Insane Clown Posse’s Miracles video — F’ing inches… how do they work??)

DJing by Greg Baise

Live music by Lightning Love, The Reelers, The Band of Lovies, and the Detroit Party Marching Band

Live giant painting of the whole scene by Marianne Audrey Burrows

Time-lapse recording of the entire party via Project Lemon Battery

Personal video recording booth

Tiny land

“Inchvestors”

Cool peoples

Further surprises

We hope to see you there!

Also, please peruse the LOVELAND blog and follow them on Twitter at @makeLOVELAND, where they showcase all the cool projects they have created and curated, like this 8-bit interactive map of Detroit.

Courtesy of Teknotika on Flickr

Join us on Monday, June 21st, at 8:00pm at Garden Court Condominiums for an awesome view of the Detroit (Target) Fireworks. Garden Court Condominiums was generous enough to donate their rooftop penthouse suite to Detroit’s social media community the night of the fireworks. The patio alone fits 120+ people! We will also have complimentary beer, cocktails and wine thanks to Atwater Block Brewery, Valentine Vodka and B. Nektar.

For additional event details and to register to attend, head over to Eventbrite. Tickets are free, but space is limited!

The event hashtag for Twitter and Foursquare check-ins: #gardencourt

This is going to be one of the best tweetups yet! I hope to see many of you there!

- Brandon

Courtesy of ChrisMRichards on Flickr

Wondering what’s happening this month in Detroit’s social media and tech space? Here are a few events to add to your calendar.

Startup Weekend Detroit
Friday, May 14th – Sunday, May 16th at Wayne State University

Founded in 2007, Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event that provides resources and incentives to help local students, developers, innovators and entrepreneurs build successful startup companies. The event has been hosted in more than 50 cities in 12 countries, resulting in the creation of more than 280 new companies. Over the course of a single weekend, Startup Weekend Detroit participants will work in teams to create, develop and launch new business ideas. On the final day of the event, each team will present their new company, share their progress and discuss next steps. Startup Weekend Detroit is open to anyone interested in metro Detroit’s growing technology and interactive community. Tickets to the event are $50 for professionals and $40 for students. For more information, visit www.detroit.startupweekend.org or follow the Startup Weekend Detroit 2010 hashtag on Twitter (#SWD2010).

Social Media / Michigan EMMY Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts Mixer
Thursday, May 20th at 6:00 PM at D’Amato’s Neighborhood Restaurant and Wine Bar.

The Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (MI-NATAS) is the most recognized non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of Excellence in Television. They are hoping to “break down a few silos” and connect with members of metro Detroit’s digital community. RSVP on Facebook.

Social Media Club Detroit – May Meeting
Wednesday, May 26th at 6:00 PM at the Rochester Mills Beer Co.

Gary Wohlfeill, Creative Director at Moosejaw, will be presenting on Social Web Strategies for Retailers. Gary will talk about how Moosejaw uses the digital space and often wacky antics to start conversations with their customers. He will discuss how they have successfully used Facebook, Twitter, SMS, and Email marketing to build an incredibly loyal following. Come out and hear about a company with a truly fresh approach to marketing on the web and beyond.

Moosejaw info:
Web: http://www.moosejaw.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/moosejaw
Twitter: @MoosejawMadness

Rochester Mills info:
Web: http://bit.ly/a2f0sT
Facebook: http://bit.ly/dxObKL

RSVP to the event on Facebook

If you have questions regarding any of these events, feel free to contact us on Twitter at @idetroit.

- Brandon

Courtesy of Umair Mohsin

With FutureMidwest week in full swing, there are plenty of fun things going on around metro Detroit. We hope that you’ll consider swinging by O’Tooles in Royal Oak this Saturday at 5 p.m. after day two of FutureMidwest for the iDetroit after party. The event will be ultra casual and a great opportunity to share what you learned with others. Everyone is welcome!

To RSVP, check out the Facebook event page.

Courtesy of TeamStickerGiant on Flickr

TECH cocktail, one of the most popular startup and interactive events in the country, is finally coming to Detroit to help kick-off FutureMidwest 2010.

From the TECH cocktail Web site:

TECH cocktail is a media & events company better connecting & amplifying the startup technology community. Started as a community building event founded in May 2006 by Frank Gruber and Eric Olson, TECH cocktail has been hosting mixer events and covering technology start-ups across the country with the focus of helping to amplify the local technology signal. TECH cocktail is aimed at helping build and strengthen local tech start-up communities both online and off.

TECH cocktail has hosted large events in Chicago, DC, Boston, Boulder, San Diego, Barcelona and more.

Here at the details:
When: Thursday, April 15th, 2010 – 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST
Where: BlackFinn American Saloon in Royal Oak, Michigan
What: A “cocktail of TECH people”
Price: $15 – includes 2 drinks tickets ($20 at the door)

Buy your tickets here.

Get your startup in front of the right people.
TECH cocktail is offering a handful of startups the opportunity to show off in an expo-style to the rest of the Michigan entrepreneurial community.  Space is limited.  Interested in having your startup on display?  Submit this form.

Help support your community.
There a number of sponsorship opportunities available for TECH cocktail. With the right package, you can get pretty creative and really get your brand in front of metro Detroit’s interactive and tech community. TECH cocktail is also looking for volunteers to help ensure that the event goes smoothly. Additional information about sponsorships and volunteering are available on Eventbrite.

- Brandon

Tumblr Meetup – Wednesday, February 10th at 7pm – Detroit Beer Company (Detroit)

If you can brave the snowpocalypse, head down to the Detroit Beer Company tonight for the very first Detroit Tumblr Meetup.  There will be stickers.

TechKaraoke | Detroit 2010 – “Rockin’ New Years” Edition – Friday, February 12th at 8:30pm – Dino’s Lounge (Ferndale)

TechKaraoke Detroit is a freakin’ blast. That is all. Join us Friday, February 12th at Dino’s Lounge in Ferndale for some awful singing a hilariously awkward moments.

Social Media Club Detroit – February Meeting – “The Social Web and the Law” – Wednesday, February 17th at 6pm – Lawrence Technological University Cafe (Southfield)

Karen Evans (@KarenEvansTM) is going to present on The Social Web and the Law at Lawrence Tech at Cafe Lawrence. Karen Evans, an attorney and university professor, will discuss common legal issues that surface in the Web 2.0 environment. The social Web has introduced new variations on old issues (can I form a contract with tweet?) and brand new issues all together (when/how can I use the Facebook logo on my promotional materials?).

Ignite Detroit - Thursday, February 25th at 6:30pm – The Magic Stick (Detroit) (SOLD OUT)
This is going to be an awesome time. Ignite Detroit is a night of presentations with a twist. Presenting on a subject of their choice, speakers have exactly five minutes to enlighten and inspire their community using twenty slides that auto advance every fifteen seconds. Ignite is quick, fun, and smart. I’m also proud to say that iDetroit co-founder David Murray will be presenting at the event.

Unfortunately, if you don’t have a ticket already, the event is completely sold out!

If you have questions regarding any of these events, feel free to contact us on Twitter at @idetroit.

- Brandon

So, just what is a Photowalk? It is simply the act of walking with a camera for the main purpose of taking pictures of things you may find interesting.  Find more info here.

You can RSVP by visiting the event’s Twtvite page.

To see shots from the last Photowalk, check out the gallery bellow or head over to the Photowalks Detroit Flickr pool.

Last January, more than 80 Detroit Twitter users showed up and basically took over Buffalo Wild Wings in Novi for the night.  We hope to repeat that event’s success.

There will also be a special contest for Foursquare users.  Check-in from the location with the #detroittu hashtag AND sign the event attendance sheet for your chance to win a copy of Gary Vaynerchuck’s Crush It!

Make sure you visit the Detroit Tweetups Facebook event page to RSVP.

Any questions?  Contact Brandon Chesnutt (@bchesnutt/brandonchesnutt@gmail.com)

We hope to see you there!