TweetCamp uses Twitter data to gamify a promotional virtual campsite

TweetCamp is a free-to-attend, participant-led ‘unconference’ in London, aimed at Twitter veterans and noobs alike.

It aims to connect digital practitioners to accelerate conversations around social media channels, such as Twitter, cement new relationships and generally inspire fresh thinking, new collaborations, and innovation.

The first TweetCamp took place in September 2009, and we’re now fast-approaching the 2011 event. October 8th is the day, and it’s taking place at The Learning Village in East London.

Tickets will be released on a first come first served basis in 4-5 batches, between the 8th and 30th of September. But social media monitoring company Brandwatch has launched an interesting initiative to help promote the event and perhaps even get its #tweetcamp hashtag trending on Twitter.

It has produced an interactive data visualisation tool in the form of a virtual campsite, where campers compete to upgrade their tents and claim the warden’s hut in a bid to win tickets to the event, as well as prizes and the honour of being the Tweetcamp warden.

Initial entry to the campsite is gained through the Tweetcamp campfire. To enter the campfire area, you simply have to tweet the hashtag #tweetcamp, and when you hover your mouse over the campfire, you’ll see all recent tweets:

Each Tent, Tipi or Yurt (there are 50 pitches in total) represents one Twitter user and the number displayed on the tent displays how often they’ve used the #tweetcamp hashtag. As campsite occupants tweet more about the event, they begin to upgrade their pitches and surroundings.

There is also a nice soundscape that plays in the background and, at 6pm, night mode kicks in and the sounds and visuals change to suit the time of day.

Whilst this is designed as a promotional tool, it does help to demonstrate some of the pretty cool Twitter API use-cases. Check it out for yourself here: http://labs.brandwatch.com/tweetcamp/.