Tweet up, and meet up, once more

Another evening of food, friends and tweeting is planned in Prince William County, this time in Gainesville at the second Prince William County Tweet-up.

The event comes of the heels of the first official Tweet-up event that was held last fall at La Chapelle Restaurant in Manassas.

This latest event will be held at Uno's Chicago Bar and Grill on Jan. 27 from 6 to 9 p.m. at 7390 Atlas Walk Way in Gainesville. The Tweet-up is free, and the restaurant will provide free appetizers and non-alcoholic bever-ages.

Tweet-ups are events held in various cities across the U.S., including Washington, that allow users of the popular social networking service who regularly communicate online to meet face to face. Often it is the first time many users meet in person, and the event also provides another chance for those who have met at previous Tweet-up events to meet again.

"Being a photographer and traveling from New Jersey to Virginia I am constantly tweeting about where I am, what I'm shooting, who I'm with," said Michelle Riordan, who attended the first Prince William Tweet-up. "Sometimes I am backstage with celebrities photographing them, and sometimes I'll send a tweet letting people know who I'm with."

Chris LeCompte works at Manassas-based Cavendo Web design, and said the Tweet-up is a different way to see the faces of people you might already be familiar with.

"It's just good for the people in the Prince William County area who are on Twitter to finally meet each other, and kind of interact with people on another level," said LeCompte.

Twitter users not only use the service for fun and socializing, they also use it to promote their business.

Kristen Hammond lost her job in 2005, and then spent a lot of time watching daytime soap operas, she said. After her first year of changing diapers for her kids, she said she came up with an idea to make and sell T-shirts with clever sayings on them.

She now uses her Web site, babybrewing.com, and her Twitter account, @mommy4cocktails to sell her merchan-dise, as well as write about her husband and three children.

"Probably 95 percent of my tweets are personal and five percent are business, and for the most part I'm just sharing with the world how crazy my children are at any given moment," said Hammond.

The event is open to the public. Those who are attending are encouraged to RSVP online at twtvite.com/b8p808.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.