There has been a fair bit of talk this week within the Twitterverse about the concept of having sponsorship for #btub events. For those who don’t follow Twitter, #btub is the Brisbane Twitter Underground Brigade. It’s not particularly underground at this stage but really it is a chance for Brisbane Twitter users to get together, have a few drinks and network. Anyone can organise and hold a #btub event. All you need do is tweet an event with the hashtag #btub and see if people are interested. So talk this week of sponsorship for #btub events worries me.

Some people might think that sponsorship is unlikely to get off the ground. Without thinking too hard, here are some ideas that companies may be willing to consider for a large organised gathering of people.

• Free gifts/Knickknacks/Branded Items- a company might throw in some free shirts or coasters or movie passes. Small gifts.
• Food or Drinks – perhaps a venue will supply nibbles and soft drink. It might even be a bar tab or a free beer on arrival.
• Product Giveaways – distinct from gifts, a company may want to give away a prize or some of their product to people. Telstra might give away a 3G internet package. A computer company some free wireless routers.
• Money – never put it past a company to offer money for sponsorship, which really just ends up being advertising. This could be $50 for a quick plug during a speech, a logo on name tags or a whole lot more for naming rights, “the Helstra #btub spectacular”. (Ok, I am pushing the boundaries – but surely you’ve heard of scope creep, right?)

So there is definitely scope for sponsorship, whether in dollars, product or services.

For those who don’t know much about how to organise a #btub event, it is really simple. Anyone can do it. Lets say @definatalie and I are headed to the State Library and tweet “Meet us at the State Library at 2pm. Lets catch up for a chat. Maybe coffee/drinks afterwards? #btub” Now that’s enough to start a #btub event. No sponsorship involved and a very nice day out. Note to self: organise this some day.

Another person might organise a movie night at one of the major movie chains. They’ve arranged to have a 20% discount and a free popcorn for those who come along. Perhaps they’ve agreed to tweet this message, complete with company name until the movie night. Maybe part of the deal was to tweet from the event and hope other people will tweet the company name.

Sponsors always expect something for their money. Even if it is free food and drink, they still spend real cash dollars to provide it. They are in business and they spend money to make money. It doesn’t make sense to sponsor something if they don’t make something out of it in return. Is it ethical to organise a social gathering in the name of profit making for a sponsor?

Now since #btubs can be organised by anyone, imagine for a second if you received an offer too good to refuse. Company A will pay sponsor a #btub event. Food, drink or product – it doesn’t matter. Then they offer you $500 to get their word around. You can’t tell anyone you are getting paid to spruik their wares, and since you are bringing the sponsorship gifts you certainly expect a large amount of goodwill to come from attendees. So you figure, “Hey, I’ve spent ages organising this. Why shouldn’t I get something out of it?”

This is where it all falls apart. People will find out because they always do. Something doesn’t feel right and then all of a sudden it’s out in the open. All of that wonderful feeling and community spirit of #btub is ripped out from under everyone and it dies.

I don’t doubt that the current #btub community are in it for the right reasons. I’m totally sure that no one in their right mind would attempt something like this. But the number of people attending is huge now and each time the number grows and grows. Who knows who are going to be the organisers in the next six months.

(Sidebar: Don’t tell me there are no organisers. There are a few driven and committed people who make this stuff happen each month. We’d be lost without them.)

#btub has grown because it is organic. It grows through word of mouth and people meeting up with people and then bringing more people with them. It’s a social event that also involves networking, having a few drinks and a laugh and enjoying one another.

Let’s not let money get in the way of a good thing.

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