There’s something special happening in Baltimore right now.  Something almost indescribable.

The best way to explain it is to say that there’s a social media revolution happening in and around the city of Baltimore.  That’s right – a social media revolution.  And if you’re reading this, you’re about to watch a beautiful (and somewhat nerdy) flower blossom.

Each and every day, we witness a whole new flock of businesses and consumers joining the many social sites that we’ve been following for a quite some time now.  They’ve heard the buzz about these new communication tools, and they want in.  They’re expanding their personal networks, but also fueling a growing machine that’ll eventually connect each and every individual in and around the city of Baltimore.

On top of that, local web developers and marketing teams are developing ideas, sites and tools that are positioning the city as a major player in the social media realm.  Here are a few examples of what’s happening (if you haven’t already heard):

VisitMyBaltimore.com

Developed by FastSpot for the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association, this reincarnation of a previous video-sharing site serves as an aggregator for all things Baltimore on the web.  Driven by three primary content areas – Watch, Look, and Listen – the site pulls in videos, pictures, and ‘tweets’ from the user’s accounts on the major social sites (YouTube, Twitter, Flickr).  The site’s users utilize this constantly updated content to define local attractions, events, restaurants, etc.  The site is years ahead of its time, and will undoubtedly be “mimicked” by other destinations.

*Disclaimer* The Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association is a client of MGH.  The site is still awesome though.

600Block.com

There are an endless number of consumer review sites floating around the web right now, but 600Block.com is the one that finally got it right.  Local reviews of restaurants, attractions, and stores written by those who know them best are what make 600Block special.  Users create their “scene” in order to receive updates about the city’s newest dining options to the drink specials that can be found in town on a random Tuesday night (you have no idea how handy this can be).  Rumor has it that there’s also an iPhone application in development.  Okay…it’s not a rumor.  I saw it, and it’s awesome.

Beehive Baltimore

What do you get when you shove a bunch of developers, designers, and entrepreneurs into a room?  Most of the time, a lot of arguing and bickering.  But that’s not the case for Beehive Baltimore.  Beehive’s mission is to provide a common workspace for Baltimore’s creative professionals, hoping that ideas will be “cross-pollinated” (get it?) and that the business community will be better off because of them.  For a minimal fee, anyone can spend the day at Beehive and bounce ideas back and forth between the center’s attendees.  It’s a new way of doing business, and one that’s sure to produce results that will benefit the city as a whole.

It’s been said that Baltimore would be more aptly named “Smalltimore”.  Cliché, yes. But as these connectivity tools continue to develop and become populated by the city’s residents, we might need to request that name change.

Image c/o Grufnik (Flickr) http://www.flickr.com/photos/grufnik/

Written by Ryan Goff (@ryanatmghwom)

Twestival – it’s all the rage, you want to go and you definitely want to help. But…what is it exactly? Well, in short, it’s an event that is being held today in more than 175 cities around the world that brings Twitter communities together and raises money and awareness for the non-profit organization, “charity: water.” The goal at each of these events is to raise $4,000, just enough to dig one well and provide clean drinking water.

It all started in London UK, where a bunch of Twitter users were organizing a Tweetup, but also wanted to include a philanthropic angle to help a local homeless shelter. And, in about two weeks, these users were able to accomplish a goal that often requires month’s of planning.

At the same time in other parts of the world, other Twitter users were catching on and creating similar events that helped a selected charity. And, according to the official Twestival site, Twestival was “born out of the idea that if cities were able to collaborate on an international scale, but working from a local level, it could have a spectacular impact.”

Twestival obviously survives off of the Twitter members who have the passion to rally their local friends and family for a great cause, but it also opens the doors to other non-profit organizations that are in dire need of support. Who knew that in such a short amount of time, thousands of people could come together to help out one organization that helps so many people? Well, it’s happening, and we support it.

If you are looking to lend a helping hand, Twestival Baltimore will be held at Beehive Baltimore (@bhivebmore) at 5:30 PM located on 2400 Canton St., Suite 308. The entrance to the building is to the left of Austin Grill. Walk on in…

If you can’t attend, but would like to help, you can:

• Upload or buy music at Twestival.fm.
• Take part in the t-shirt design competition.
• Donate to charity: water.
• Watch live.

Tweet. Meet. Give – we like it.

Google Street View has finally come to Baltimore!

For all you out-of-towners, feel free to check out some of our favorite neighborhoods around the Greatest City in America:

Hampden

Fells Point

Federal Hill

Inner Harbor

Mt. Vernon