An article reproduced from the Evening Standard 08/03/2012

Simon Key & Tim West

Social networking sites have often been blamed for having a negative impact on the reading habits of Londoners.

When an independent bookstore in Wood Green hit financial difficulties, Twitter and Facebook came to the rescue.

Simon Key, 43, and Tim West, 49, the owners of the Big Green Bookshop, sent out emergency tweets and Facebook posts pleading for help to solve their £60,000 debt crisis. It prompted an extraordinary response, with hundreds of new customers visiting the shop and “staggering” online sales.

A series of fundraising events were also organised, including readings by writers such as Will Self and Mark Billingham. A party is planned at the shop on Saturday to celebrate clearing its debts.

Follow its fortunes on Twitter: @Biggreenbooks

Good to see the Big Green Bookshop is celebrating its fourth birthday this weekend - do go along and say hello...

It was interesting to read the article in the Evening Standard - particularly about the online  and social networking support for the shop last year. I did a couple of interviews and made a short film when a group of supporters gathered at the shop for a "Tweetup"  (a meeting organised by Twitter). ...

Are there any social media users locally interested in a Tweetup of our own?