I was email chatting with Jaymee, Lia and Joyce from SWAG this morning about hosting one of the weekly steampunk chats on Twitter (they happen Fridays at 9pm, New York time –  hashtag #steampunkchat — everyone welcome!). The result, I’m happy to announce, is that on Friday 4 May the hour long chat will be on the theme, “Off to the Antipodes”. Please note, for those of us who live in the Antipodes (by which I’m talking of New Zealand and Australia), the chat is actually Saturday morning — 11 am in Sydney, 9am in Perth. Aren’t timezones a wonderful confusion?

#steampunkchat is very relaxed and exceptionally welcoming. Everyone is encouraged to join in — even if like me, you’re more “audience” than “creative artist”. The world needs people like us who gasp in awe and applaud. You can find transcripts of the chats here, if you want to know more about them.

I’m keen that the 4 May chat on “Off to the Antipodes” introduces a range of Australian and New Zealand steampunkers to the world. So whatever kind of creative artist you are (hat maker, jewellery designer, steam-automobile engineer, musician, author) I want you to be part of it. In the last five minutes of the chat I’ll shout out for everyone to share one self-promo tweet. Before then (i.e. for 55 self-disciplined minutes) the conversation will be a conversation and I’ll expect you all to shine with witty repartee and bemusing Antipodean slang 😉

However, for all this to happen, I need to reach Australian and New Zealand steampunkers who are willing to tweet. This is surprisingly difficult. I decided what I need is a list of such rare and priceless beings. So I’ve put out a call on Twitter. I’m creating a public list of everyone who tweets the hashtag #Ozsteampunk. That way everyone who tweets it self-identifies as a steampunker from Down Under and happy to join the twittering community of creative imaginations.

I hope this helps build the Antipodean steampunk community.

Of course, there is always the embarrassing risk that such a Twitter list already exists and I’m reinventing the wheel. If I am, can someone quietly nudge me? Thanks