Exploring Twittergate: Lessons Learned from Woolly’s Infamous Tweet Up Experiment

HowlRound: About a month ago, Woolly Mammoth came under fire for launching a new Twitter-based program aimed at deepening engagement with a new audience. There was a lot of support for the program, and a lot of fear as well. People loved it or hated it; quibbled with our language (this is not a tweet-up); wanted more access (it felt too top-down); wanted less access (the rehearsal room is sacred); shared strong opinions about live tweeting; and much more. We promised that we would allow the program to run its course, and then report back on what we learned. Below, you will find our reasons for embarking on such a project, our successes, and perhaps most importantly, our mistakes.