Thousands of technology-thirsty people took Twitter to a higher level Sept. 11 by attending Twestival in 200 different cities around the world, the proceeds of which were contributed to charities.

The San Francisco event, which took place at Horizon Restaurant and Lounge, hosted about 300 hundred people, who all came to raise money for Operation Smile. Operation Smile is a nonprofit that helps raise money for surgery for children with cleft lips and palates. At the last Twestival, in February, all cities were raising money for the same cause -- Charity Water. This year, the cities could choose their own charity.

The organizer of the event, Krystyl Baldwin, said their goal was to raise enough money to help 140 kids. Such a surgery costs about $240, she said.

"People on Twitter were very responsive and are bringing new smiles to kids," said Renee Hamilton, the Operation Smile social media strategist. "It's a community of people who want to change the world through technology."

Also present at the event was Stefanie Michaels, whose brother died when he was six months old -- just before getting surgery. "My parents never talked about him," she said. "I'm doing an honor to my brother, who's never had a voice." Michaels said her parents used to cover her brother's face in public.

For some of the people attending, it was their first time meeting each other outside of the Web. "Relationships started on platforms and then they are growing into real life relationships," said Marla Schulman, who helped Baldwin with the organization of the festival.

At Twestival, people did not introduce themselves using their first name, but rather, had a name tag with their Twitter name. For instance, Baldwin was known as @krystyl, Michaels as @adventuregirl and Alison Potvin, the organizer of the February San Francisco Twestival, as @bravegirl.

Also, Twitterers don't meet up via Twitter; they "tweet up." The Twestival is like a regular tweet up but taken to a higher level by raising money for charities.

"Twitter is a social media platform that creates community," Schulman said. "It gives people the ability to come together for a variety of reasons and charity is one of them."

The people present at the event were mostly age 30 and up. Twitter taken to the charity level is not necessarily designed for younger crowds. "It's self talk, and people are just saying where they are," said Adrian Chan, a social interaction designer. "The media changes how everything gets communicated." Chan explained that people attach their status in society to where they go and who they see.

Twitter is also an opportunity for businesses to advertise. At Twestival, about 30 sponsors were giving their products away at a raffle. Among the prizes were two sets of two airplane tickets and a couple of autographed books written by Dave Lakhani, "How to Sell When Nobody Is Buying." Lakhani came from the Midwest to autograph his books in person.

Kevin Mahoney, a teacher whose wife's company was sponsoring the event, said the Twitter phenomenon was interesting because it's a way for people to be heard. "I work with kids, and kids want to be heard as well so they act up in class," he said. "This is the same thing: People tell other people where they are and what they are doing to be noticed."

Baldwin said she was satisfied with how the event turned out and that she thinks that they reached their goal of raising $12,500 for Operation Smile. "We haven't counted everything yet because we are still waiting on a couple of donations," she said.