Punk’d [WIRED.com Edition]

[Flickr/jacketseason]

Have you ever received an accidental SMS text from someone with the wrong number? While most people would ignore it or kindly let that person know that they’ve texted you by mistake, here is what happens when the text recipient is a tech reporter with a penchant for pranks and a huge Twitter following to egg him on.

Premise: This morning, Brian X. Chen over at Wired’s  Gadget Lab tweeted about a random text message that he got from a would-be “Romeo” who had the wrong number. At the suggestion of Macworld’s Roman Loyola via Twitter, Brian then proceeded to prank the poor guy by pretending to be “Juliet” and make a startling confession that “she” got knocked up. Hilarity ensues…

[Flickr/jacketseason/SMS prank set]

I wonder if “Romeo” ever figured out if he got punk’d or if Brian decided to put the guy out of his misery and say, “just kidding…tee-hee.” Either way, I was very entertained this morning and I hope you are too </3

Filed under: Breaking News, Social Media, @bxchen, @pinatubo2000, Asian-American, Brian X. Chen, Comedy, Prank, Punk'd, Roman Loyola, Social Media, Twitter, Web 2.0

Thoughts on Twestival SF

twestival sf, originally uploaded by emilychang.

So I attended the Twestival in San Francisco this evening with @flackette and @tommyktse. In case you didn’t get the memo, this even was a worldwide fundraiser for charity:water. There were about 175 participating cities, in which the Twitter communities in each community would host a party. Proceeds from the entry fees are to be donated to a nonprofit dedicated to providing clean water to developing countries. Here’s a short blurb about the Twestivals on CNET’s Webware blog.

While I thought the event was a very worthwhile cause, I couldn’t help but leave Twestival SF with some thoughts on the pros and cons of the event.

Let’s start with the pros. I am glad that the Twestival organizers chose a real charity with a cause worth raising awareness for rather than something fluffy. The free t-shirt and reusable bag were great quality swag. The cupcakes by teeny cake were delicious and pretty! Props to the sponsors who made that happen.

….and in terms of the cons, I felt that the organizers were not as prepared as they should have been. I got to Paradise Lounge around 6:30pm. The event was suppose to start at 6:00pm, but I stood out in the cold for a while since “they weren’t ready yet.” Lame. In terms of the setup, I thought that there should have been more focus on the charity (e.g. provide materials, run slide shows, etc.). It just seemed like a regular networking event than anything else, though nothing wrong with that. Also, maybe it was just me, but I thought that there wasn’t a whole lot of mingling at this event. Most of the Tweeters kept to themselves and the groups that they came with. Though, it wasn’t a total loss, since I did meet some cool people this evening.

Filed under: Social Media, Charity:Water, Event, San Francisco Bay Area, Social Media, Twestival, TwestivalSF, Twitter, Web 2.0