Twitter

Turning a tech conference into a conversation

CES is overwhelming. Thousands of exhibitors, all fighting for attention. Most booths are about showing off the latest gadget or demo. Flashy screens, loud music, people handing out swag. We wanted to do something different. Instead of competing on spectacle, we leaned into what actually makes Twitter valuable: the people who use it.

The insight was simple. Twitter’s power isn’t the platform itself. It’s the communities that live there. Sports fans breaking down every play. Activists organizing in real time. Creators building audiences one tweet at a time. The conversations that shape culture aren’t happening because of an algorithm. They’re happening because people show up. If we could bring that energy to life in a physical space, we’d stand out in a way no product demo ever could.

So we created Twitter Commons. An immersive activation built around the #StartWithThem idea. Instead of talking about Twitter, we let Twitter’s communities speak for themselves. The space highlighted the voices, creators, and conversations driving the platform. Each corner told a different story. Each story connected back to real people doing real things. Attendees didn’t just walk through. They engaged. They listened. They became part of the conversation.

It worked. Twitter Commons drew crowds and sparked real interactions in a place where most people are just passing by. It reinforced what Twitter does best: connect people around the things they care about. And it proved that sometimes the most memorable thing you can do at a tech conference is remind people that technology is really about humans.