On the 20th of December, one half of the ReadMe team was busy at BMICH covering Day 02 of SLCG-the biggest E-sports tournament in Sri Lanka. The rest of us were a few election posters away at Orion City- for another event. An event that comes only once a year and gets the Sri Lankan Tweeps all excited. Yes ladies and gentlemen, we were at TweetupSL 5, complete with our usual special Internet package, courtesy of Hutch.
For those of you who aren’t on Twitter/ are new to Twitter, a Tweetup is an informal gathering of tweeps or Twitter users at one location. Since you don’t have to give any personal information on Twitter, a Tweetup helps #putaface on a twitter handle. Now TweetupSL is the biggest one for Sri Lanka tweeps and has a long but interesting backstory to it (which we wrote last year).
.@SiripalaBot appears at #TweetupSL 5 and finally #putaface pic.twitter.com/c3KrFeO0g8
— ReadMe Live (@ReadMeLive) December 20, 2014
Last year’s TweetupSL 4 saw 300 participants. This year at TweetupSL 5 there were 600. The long line that greeted us when we arrived is probably proof of this. Luckily we weren’t in there long, and got one of the infamous TweetupSL shirts.
We just arrived at #TweetupSL and there’s a long line here to greet us. Fingers crossed on getting a shirt 😛 pic.twitter.com/LE0M3Fq0AO — ReadMe Live (@ReadMeLive) December 20, 2014
There were games of darts and mini-golf, along with an active photobooth .Then there was the awesomeness that is paintball. Sadly, everyone was limited to only firing 3 shots per round (600 people means a lot of bullets. but yes, we want to empty an entire magazine).
If you’re at #TweetupSL don’t forget to try out some paintball! pic.twitter.com/AfHqawCfwV
— ReadMe Live (@ReadMeLive) December 20, 2014
There was also small yet active dance floor, fuelled mostly by Enosh and a dance competition.
The award winning dancer at #TweetupSL Ser @EnoshPraveen Photo credits go to our own @RoninKolla pic.twitter.com/XUcyJSgPtg — ReadMe Live (@ReadMeLive) December 20, 2014
It wasn’t until the afternoon, that we started seeing the schedule being followed. At around 1pm after lunch to precise when the couple drama aka balloon dance began.
Now its time for the balloon dance at #TweetupSL pic.twitter.com/uRqgOvfVJK
— ReadMe Live (@ReadMeLive) December 20, 2014
The balloon dance is where tweeps teamed up as a couple and dancing with a balloon in-between that shouldn’t be dropped to avoid disqualification. Just like last year, there were plenty of hilarious moments here. Following the balloon dance, it was time for a new game at TweetupSL: the rodeo ride. The game was all about keeping balance on a mechanical bull. It sounds so easy, and yet as some will know, it can be a quite a challenge to tame a not-so-horny mechanical bull. Many tried, many failed. Some succeeded, and few set records.
Its time for the rodeo ride. Who’ll tame the not-so-horny bull at #TweetupSL 5 ?? pic.twitter.com/1m3Hc62GIx — ReadMe Live (@ReadMeLive) December 20, 2014
Once the rodeo ride had ended, it was time to observe one of the biggest TweetupSL traditions: cake. At 3pm, came the official TweetupSL cakes. Last year, we saw Coco Vernada bring two delicious Death By Chocolate cakes. This year they brought three. Were they enough? No they were not. RIP Coco Veranda DBC, 2014-2014.
RIP @cocoveranda DBC at #TweetupSL 2014-2014 pic.twitter.com/ZMSkiBt0OT
— ReadMe Live (@ReadMeLive) December 20, 2014
@TweetupSL ! Talk about a frenzie! This happened in under 5 minutes! Guess the #DBC spoke for itself! 😀 #TweetupSl 5 pic.twitter.com/FeqTJY9oxC — Coco Veranda (@cocoveranda) December 20, 2014
Once we all had a slice of cake and danced off the extra calories. Then came the much anticipated moment we were all waiting for: the TweetupSL awards. Who were the lucky winners that won the titles this year? Here’s the full list:
Instagramoholic of the year
- Winner: @Ayshmarq
- Runner ups: @takashiG and @Anjalaf
Most controversial tweep
- Winner: @PoornaCW
- Runner ups: @BuduMalli and @Parinda_R
Sportaholic tweep of the year
- Winner: @nMeeDiN
- Runner ups: @warunanc and @shashika24
News breaker of the year
- Winner: @CrazyNalin
- Runner ups: @AzzamAmeen and @nMeeDiN
Most helpful tweep of the year
- Winner: @AnjulaMalshan
- Runner ups: @CrazyNalin and @aqeelDeGenerous
Funniest tweep of the year
- Winner: @excuzemi
- Runner ups: @maranaya and @AmIsoSweet
Hastagaholic of the year
- Winner: @BuduMalli
- Runner ups: @stranshad and @thambaru
Twitterholic of the year
- Winner: @nHiRanZ
- Runner ups: @DangaMalla and @Aye5ha
Tech tweep of the year
- Winner: @TechyTee
- Runner ups: @banuathuraliya and @kalinga
Foodie tweep of the year
- Winner: @erangatennakoon
- Runner ups: @SueKiri and @gagani_n
Mr. Tweep of the year
- Winner: @nHiRanZ
- Runner ups: @PoornaCW and @BuduMalli
Ms. Tweep of the year
- Winner: @Aye5ha
- Runner ups: @MadFrostie and @DangaMalla
With the awards ceremony over, the tweeps packed up and headed off home or to Coco Veranda for the after party. Meanwhile we went to BMICH to catch what was left of SLCG Day 02.
#TweetupSL 5 has ended. Here’s a shout out to the committee behind this years successful event. @TweetupSL pic.twitter.com/GwMnKJsSU3
— ReadMe Live (@ReadMeLive) December 20, 2014