For those who continue to think that Twitter is all about pimple faced geeks sitting alone in the dark at home tapping away on their computers here’s another real life event that shows differently.

Last Saturday a bunch of us gathered to farewell our friend Stilgherrian as he takes off on a trip for Action Aid Australia to Tanzania.

We gathered at Kelly’s on King Street in Newtown for a few beverages and a tasty pub meal. Sure there was some dancing, some singing along with the jukebox, and some lively debates about politics, technology, religion and philosophy. But behind it was the serious reality of Stilgherrian’s trip. Tanzania is really different and a bit more dangerous than Newtown.

What’s happening here is that a well known Twitter personality & Crikey correspondent, in the form of @stilgherrian, is participating in a “groundbreaking attempt to bring the causes of poverty closer to the Australian public”.

It’s a one of the many good causes we can support. Check out the Action Aid website to see the different ways you can help out.

Stilgherrian takes off on his trip later this week – you can track his adventures via his blog.  There’s also some more pictures from the farewell gathering on Flickr.