I spend a fair amount of time on Twitter, for reasons I’ve explained elsewhere. Simply put it’s an amazing tool for connecting with interesting people, and it’s invaluable from a professional point-of-view, a hotline straight through to valuable marketers, PRs and journalists.

So, once in a while, I turn up to Twitter meet-ups to put faces to names, names to handles and handles to faces. That’s a lot of information to juggle in your head while making small-talk with someone you’ve never met before, but I like a challenge.

There’s something of a singles night aspect to Tweetups, in that there’s a certain amount of bravery involved in approaching someone you think you may know by an internet alias. But, to stretch the analogy, the effort you’re willing to put in is likely to pay off. Besides, I normally approach these events with a certain amount of dutch courage.

I’ve met up a few groups of people who I’ve met on the internet, and always been pleased that I’ve bothered to. I’m not especially phased by meeting strangers as it’s generally something I have to do as a journalist on a frequent basis and, although some people find it odd that I’d choose to meet Twitter folk and the like, I’d prefer to think of it as less strange than never meeting people with whom I have some sort of relationship.

The latest meet was the second Liverpool Twestival at the lovely Leaf tea bar, in aid of Clatterbridge Cancer Research.

Anyway, I’ve collected a few photos and a video from the various social networks my fellow Twitter folk frequent. I appear in the vid below classily waving a can of Red Stripe.

And here’s some images on Flickr from ap4a and feelinglistless – and a blog post from adebond all about the night.

• Video by JenniferWelch via Creative Commons.

Find out more here if you’re interested.