Twestival dot org

It’s insane how many common connections we find that we have with people through the internet. Facebook and Twitter have made it very simple to connect and organize in an efficient way. Everything is happening very rapidly and things are changing just as fast. As much as we all try, it’s near to impossible to keep up with the changing landscape of it all.

Are we truly mindful of our actions when disseminating information over these networks? Would it be beneficial to stop and take some time to think before we share? Do you have a strategy to help guide the flow of your information?

On March 19th of this year during one of my usual domain grabs, I noticed Twestival.org was unregistered. I jumped at the opportunity to own such a high profile domain with no strategy in mind, and I sat on it.

A few weeks ago, @amanda approached some friends of mine over at The 1010 Project to inquire about the redirect I had set-up on the domain. Soon after, I was brought in to the conversation. Twestival was concerned about my using a domain with their name on it and wanted it to be used properly. I had a decision to make:

1. Hold out for the highest amount of money possible.

2. Keep the domain and use it for my own personal gain.

3. Do the right thing and allow a great movement the freedom to use a domain that was rightfully theirs?

I spoke with Amanda a bit and we worked out the details.

I say this not to make myself feel proud, I say this to inform you in avoiding the pitfalls of a ruined digital identity. Had I chosen options number 1 or number 2, Amanda and the great people who support Twestival could have ruined my name online. In no way do I ever think that this is something Amanda would’ve done and it’s not something I would’ve done either. It is, however, an example of the careful decisions we have to make even in our digital lives. Social networking capital in this case was much more valuable than any financial capital I could’ve made.