Twestival is taking the world by storm as one of the first international festivals and fundraising events taking advantage of the popular social networking and microblogging site, Twitter, to spread the word and generate enthusiasm.

On February 12, 2009, cities from around the world will celebrate with a Tweet-up style festival to raise money for charity: water, a non-profit organization that works to bring clean, safe drinking water to developing nation citizens by funding sustainable clean water solutions.

Currently, more than 175 cities world-wide will be celebrating their own Twestivals, including my new home town, Portland, Oregon, and town of my birth, Seattle, as well as a virtual Twestival on Second Life.

There are many ways to get involved. You can attend a gathering in your city (some listed below), upload or buy music from Twestival.fm, participate in the t-shirt design competition, or donate directly. There will be podcasts, videocasts, news reports, and live streaming from many of the event locations, too. [Read more…]