The 140 Madness continues.

A few months ago, I had the privalege to attend the #140 Conference in LA and it turned out to be a highlight of my social media experience in 2009.

Well Jeff Pulver continues to build upon the success of the 140 conference by setting up 140 meetups, which are basically FREE refresher events, created to continue to share stories, information, and more, in a low-key, social, community oriented setting. The LA 140 meetup was held at the Yahoo HQ in Burbank, and although quite a trek for me, I was more than happy to attend, knowing full-well that I would meet many of the great friends made at the 140 conference again. The meet-up did not disappoint.

Hit the jump for the full wrap-up and photos!

Arriving to the event a bit late (stupid traffic), I walked into the awesome Yahoo HQ in Burbank, signed in, picked up my swag bag from @amberavines, and walked into the conference area. I was stoked to be greeted with all of the familiar faces of @jonathan360, @mayhemstudios, @jeffrago, @hennartonline, @adventuregirl, @hoda007, @staceysoleil, @smaknews, @funomenalrealtr, @topbrokeroc and a ton of other peeps right off the bat. Even more exciting was to see that the format of this meetup was exactly the same as the 140 conference, but in a much more intimate setting. Speakers, like @marlooz and the trio of @bethfrysztak @3lunches and @MomsofAmerica, spoke of the great things Twitter/Social Media has done for people, or how it is continuing to do great things in the future. It felt much more than a meetup, it felt like a reuniting of a group of friends.

Directly after the conference ended, we all hopped in our cars and caravaned over to the Burbank Bar and Grill, who along through the generosity of Make It Work, Inc., were gracious enough to reserve us the top floor of the establishment. Drinks were served. Food was ordered. More drinks were served.

As the night continued on, tables and booths were packed to capacity as we all sat and spoke about whatever came to mind. This party was not a party of strangers. This party, much like the earlier conference, exemplified what Twitter and Social Media does, and does so well: brings people together and starts conversations. The only thing that the meetup did better than the 140 conference was allow more of an engagement with each other (not to say the conference didn’t allow this), because the lower number of people in attendance made it very easy to connect and share with everybody there. Or as Jeff Pulver would say, it allows for an increasing number of moments of serendipity.

As the night wore on, the music began and most of those in attendance made their way to the dance floor (I’ll never forget @funomenalrealtr’s display of b-girl moves), as others remained in the booths and tables to continue to eat, drink, and be merry with each other. Moments like the one above with @adventuregirl, @staceysoleil, and @amberavines, summed up the camaraderie amongst those at the meetup. Silly moments shared together that are more powerful than any powerpoint presentation, one-sheet, or elevator pitch can be. Human connections on a genuine level.

Leaving the event that night, I was happy to be a part of it all. Jeff Pulver and Eric Greenspan (@ericgreenspan) and all of the 140 meetup crew did a fantastic job pulling this whole thing together in such a short amount of time. The speakers were fantastic, the attendees were excited and the event was great. What other conference can share great information, provide fantastic connections, and allow people to display their funkadelic robot moves all in one night?