"The Tweet at 650 Feet is about to begin with the first hoist going down in a few minutes! Follow #TWT650FT to keep track of the action." -- tweet to kick-off the first-ever UNDERGROUND Tweetup

Twitter users across state lines converged both online and in person 650 feet below terra firma Saturday at the Kansas Underground Salt Museum's first-ever underground tweetup.  The evening began with a dark ride where guests learned about mining and its history.  After that, the tweeps (nickname given to friends on Twitter) went back to the subterranean event center to mingle and go through the gallery tour. Ted Nelson of Hutchinson, Ks (@loopdog_tedward) was impressed with the Underground Vaults & Storage exhibit and posted pictures, saying in a tweet, "Cool items preserved @ Underground Vaults & Storage's 68 degrees 40% humidity." A scavenger hunt of fun facts was handed out to all who attended and they combed the exhibits to find the answers. 

"Awesome! I am tweeting underground!" -Shellie Couch (@taegus), Hutchinson, Ks

The event was held to kick-off the museum’s establishment of a permanent wireless internet program providing free Wi-Fi to guests with smartphones, laptops and other Wi-Fi capable devices.

Some tweeps met friends at the event that they had only known online, others were excited to send pictures of the museum topside to their friends. A video chat was established between one guest and a friend at home as he told his friend about his experiences underground. There were some that had never used social networking sites before and had set up accounts specifically for the event. They began two adventures that night, one underground…the other online.  Relationships were created, conversations were abundant and adventure was had by all.

"Didn't meet nearly all the tweeps I could have...but what a great time! @650FeetDown is AMAZING!!" - Sarah Sipe (@sariks) , South Hutchinson, Ks

The tweetup didn't catch just catch the attention of social media users...KWCH reporter Dave Roberts was on the scene to capture the first tweets to go topside. His coverage aired on Fox Channel 4 at 9 pm and on KWCH Channel 12 at 10 pm the night of the tweetup. Raymond Munoz (@TheRaymondMunoz) of Lawrence, Ks said his son was excited after seeing himself on the news. He tweeted, "My kid just woke up half the hotel guests when he saw himself on TV...proclaimed, 'Twitter makes you rich!' after seeing himself on the news for the @650feetdown tweetup."

For a sense of scope, by looking at the number of tweets, conversations and news of the museum would have reached close to 84,000 people! The biggest question we’ve heard thus far has been…when is the next one?