Twitter is nothing new…

Article By: Digital Perspective Blog

Twitter is nothing new.  Tweet-ups are nothing new.  But the first official Twitter Tweet-up in Spanish in Bogota, Colombia IS something new.

As I was scrolling one of my lists I came across @guidogaona (B-M Colombia Market Leader) rewteeting @laura (Laura I. Gómez, twitter bio: políglota mexicana trabajando en Twitter. las efes: familia, friends, fútbol, films, food, felicidad.) and she tweeted the following: “Acuerdense: Ciento Cuarenta tweetup mañana at BBC Cedritos: http://ow.ly/1ee23 #140bogota” (translation: Don’t forget: one hundred and forty tweetup tomorrow…”  As I looked at the twtvite it said the first official Twitter tweetup in Spanish (see invite: http://ow.ly/1ee23).  Pretty cool!

Update – Esteban Osorio, our digital in Bogota, went to the event http://twitpic.com/171wtw and can expect a recap shortly.

Various countries in Latin America have seen a huge growth in Twitter users, some countries only had a couple of thousand users last year now have hundreds of thousands – Colombia already has over 150,000 users…may seem low, but give it a little more time and let’s not forget that Colombia is the 11^th country with the most Facebook users.

Chile is estimated to have well over 200,000 users – it became an integral communication tool during the recent catastrophe that the country was faced with and is still coping with (I encourage you to please donate if you haven’t already: http://www.google.com/relief/chileearthquake/) – even the Chilean military is using twitter: www.twitter.com/ejercito_chile.  For ongoing updates, follow some of my friends there: @emiliosanfuente, @juanpablotapia, @colonnello.

No need to mention Brazil – they are the country with the second most Twitter users after the US.

So while it may just be a “small” tweet-up – it represents a lot more when you look at the big picture and the rapid adoption rates in Latin America especially in the social space.