One million tweeps

The Twitter phenomenon will soon be immortalized in that most retro form of publishing: a book. Remember those? Arianna O’Dell, a UW entrepreneurship undergraduate, is hoping to capture the faces of one million Twitter users in a coffee table book called One Million Tweeps.

O’Dell and software developer Ludo Antonov launched the “One Million Tweeps” website in early October and have received close to 1,500 submissions to date. Twitter users, or “Tweeps” as they’re called, can upload their Twitter photo for free to a tile on the site that will be included in the book. Businesses and public figures are also encouraged to upload photos or advertisements at a cost of $5 per tile. Several marketing and social media firms have already signed on and staked out their spots in the book.

Inspiration for the project came from the “$1 Million Home Page,” a wildly successful website created by a student in the UK to fund his university education by selling ad space for $1/pixel. Similarly, O’Dell and Antonov will use any proceeds remaining after publishing their book to bootstrap their next start-up, “a business focused on making the web a more transparent and informed place.” But this unique project is as much social experiment as it is business venture. “Our goal with this book is also to create a time capsule of the state of social media today,” O’Dell said.

O’Dell is now talking with potential publishers to determine final pricing of the book as well as the layout and design. The pair hopes to reach the one million–tweep point by the end of the year. “We’re really excited about how well it’s all going. The Whidbey News Times and TechFlash.com just ran articles about the project, which was great,” said O’Dell. “Now we’re just focused on getting the word out.”

To contribute to One Million Tweeps, go to: www.onemilliontweeps.com.