The Official Meetup HQ Blog

Interview: Big Dave of the Tri-County Adventures Meetup Group

by Tamara

Recently we heard from an amazing Organizer: Big Dave of the Tri-County Adventures Meetup Group in Boca Raton, Florida. It turns out that the group recently hit 1,000(!) past Meetups, and he was understandably proud of this accomplishment.

He's been running the group since March 2007, and they stay busy year-round; as their description notes, "We welcome you to the winter months here is South Florida. That means an average temperature of about 75 on a daily basis. We love to be outdoors in the winter and will be planning some great events."

We reached out to Big Dave for some words of wisdom about his organizing success.

How did you get started doing this huge variety of outdoor activities?

In the beginning I started with planning events to places that I had always wanted to visit. South Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach) has so much to offer year around. After about a year we started to collaborate with other small groups to create alliances and increase our numbers to events. It was during this time I met another organizer from Sporting Out. They offered many outdoor sports and activities. We collaborated on about 50-60 outdoor events during the spring/summer season.

How did your Meetup Group come about?

In 2006, there were only 2-3 really large groups that were offering a variety of events. I joined a group formally known as 'South Florida Travel and Adventure' which is now known as The Bison Club. It was in that group that I went from a member to an assistant Organizer. At the time I lived in Miami and we wanted to expand the same type of group mentality and events that The Bison Club was offering so I started my group. So I am a spin off Organizer from this group. We were very fortunate to have started this group when there were very few groups in the area.

Were you surprised to find yourself leading a whole group of strangers, or did it come naturally?

Meetups mobilize against PIPA and SOPA

by Kathryn

You may or may not have heard about two pieces of Congressional legislation in the works -- the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) -- but the fact that you're online right now, reading this blog post means that they could potentially profoundly affect you.

In short, these acts would empower the government to block or restrict websites based on the desires of corporations. It would infringe upon the innovation and growth within the web industry. It would violate many Americans' conception of the Internet as a bastion of free speech, creativity and productivity. And it will very likely pass without citizens taking action against it. 

And where action is needed, it's no surprise to find Meetups involved.

Tech Meetups are a rapidly growing topic on Meetup, and even though these acts could impact everyone who uses the Internet, tech groups are currently spearheading the on-the-ground movement against PIPA and SOPA. The New York Tech Meetup, NYC's largest group with nearly 20,000 members, has declared an emergency Meetup, calling on every concerned resident to take to the streets. In solidarity, the Hackers and Founders Meetup of the Bay area scheduled their own Meetup to rally folks in and around San Francisco. 

On Wednesday, January 18, members of the tech community in both cities will meetup to give a physical voice and presence to their demand that our Congress men and women halt their support of PIPA and SOPA. There are related Meetups in the works in other cities around the U.S.

If you're in New York, go here to participate: NY Tech Meetup

If you're in the Bay area, go here: Hackers and Founders Meetup

This won't be the last action needed against this legislation. There's nothing more powerful than self-organized people -- particularly constituents -- so get involved with your local Meetup Organizers and members to figure out what you can do together.

For more information on SOPA and PIPA, and to take online action, check out http://americancensorship.org/

Kathryn is on Meetup's Strategy and Community teams.

You can reach her on Twitter @kathrynfink

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This Meetup is serving Kansas City

by Mary

In December, jcpenney along with its charitable partner, The Salvation Army, issued their sponsored Meetup Groups a challenge to help provide Christmas gifts to children and seniors in need through the Angel Giving Tree Online program.

Serve Kansas City, whose goal is to make volunteering both easy and fun in their community, stepped up to the challenge! They adopted 52 angels in total. That’s 52 children, teens, and seniors who benefited from the joy of giving on Christmas morning!

Plus they took it a step further and had a great Meetup sorting, matching, and packaging the items together.

As the winner of this challenge, Serve Kansas City received $1000, courtesy of jcpenney, which they are planning on using to pay forward to the Kansas City community. Aaron, Organizer of Serve KC, shares their plans:

"We are planning on using the $1000 sponsorship reward to help fund a soup kitchen project we are currently working on with a Kansas City homeless shelter. Forest Avenue Family Shelter, a homeless shelter that serves women and children, is renovating part of their building into a "soup kitchen". The soup kitchen, which is now being called the "Bread of Life Kitchen", could potentially feed 50+ on a daily basis. It would be a combination lunch/dinner service that is in addition to the dinner service they already provide to the women and children staying at the shelter. We have already had two very successful work day Meetups for this project and have more planned."

How awesome is that?!?!

Be sure to keep an eye on Serve Kansas City to see how their project evolves! You can stay connected with jcpenney on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to find out about their future programs too.

Mary is Meetup's VP of Sponsorships.

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Interview: Elizabeth, Kitsap Moms Meetup Organizer

by Katie

The Kitsap Moms Meetup recently received some well-deserved recognition in the North Kitsap Herald.

We reached out to Elizabeth, the awesome Organizer behind this active Group, to learn more about her organizing experience. Here's what she had to say:

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In the North Kitsap Herald article, you mention that your Group provides lots of options for members. What kinds of Meetups get the most RSVPs in your Group and how do you decide what kinds of activities to host?

We have real success with in-home playgroups, anyone in the group can host a playdate and we usually provide a snack or two or someone brings something to snack on. These Meetups are relaxed and comfortable in a home environment, which has usually been baby-proofed. Having the kids in a safe, trusted environment gives the moms an opportunity to relax and hang out with friends, which is what we've become over the last year.

You also noted that your Group usually has 3 or 4 weekly activities, which is quite impressive! How do you keep your Meetup Group so active? Do you have any tips you would share with other Organizers?

Happy new year! Video: What it's like to Meetup

by Kate

You guys really lived it up in 2011 -- there were 16 million 'Yes' RSVP's in more than 100k Meetup Groups! That's a lot of mountains climbed, Portuguese practiced, scarves knit, apps developed, races run, cupcakes baked, playgroups enjoyed, new people met.... And January promises to be the most active month for Meetup members ever.

If you still haven't checked out a Meetup, or just want to get amped up for the New Year, take a peek at the mini-movie we put together. A bunch of really lovely Meetup members agreed to chat with us about what it's like to meetup. We learned a lot, especially that it's just crazy what you can fit into 90 seconds.

The smiling faces on-screen include: Lance from the NYC Dads, Melissa from Cupcakes Take the Cake, Jake from Manhattan International Co-Ed Soccer, Shreyans from Hack And Tell, Anders from Agile Experience Design, Jennifer from Little in the City, Nicola from Girl Develop It, and Maxwell from Apartment Therapy Design Evenings.

Of course, we have many important thank you's to attend to, as there were tons more superstars that we simply couldn't fit into the video.

First off, mega thanks to all the wonderful Meetup Groups that opened the door to us: New York Boston Terriers, Little in the City, Location Based Apps, New York Afternoon Hiking, S.W.A.G Enterprises, Gyrl Tyme, Taiji Yoga, Etsy Labs, Gsummitx, Hack And Tell, Evenings & Weekends in NYC, Adopted Dogs of New York City, The Dashing Whippets and Manhattan International Co-Ed Soccer.

And a special thanks to everyone who was courageous enough to chat with us on camera. We really wish we could have included: Paulina, Glenn, Mark S., Albert, Marisa, Anders, Julietta, Martha, Faith, Jeff, Laura, Pamela, Aidan, Mark Y., Leo, Francesca, Megan, Erika, Scooter, Andrea, Vikki, Sandra, Melissa, and Nestor.

Finally, what would a mini-movie be without mini-credits?

Director and Producer : Kathryn Fink
Assistant Producer and Microphones : Kara Lee
Music and Audio : Glenn Forsythe
Camera : Kathryn Fink and Richard Boenigk
Editing: Kathryn Fink
Technical Wizardry : Pete Siriprakorn
Jiminy Cricket : Andres Glusman

Kate is on Meetup's Strategy and Community teams.

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Tips and Tricks: Outdoor Meetups all year round

by Lisa

How can an outdoor Meetup Group stay active during the winter months? To dig into the issue, I asked Organizer Doug and his wife/Co-Organizer Mary how they keep Western Slope Adventurers going strong during the cold season.

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How do you come up with ideas for your Meetups, like the holiday Meetups?

Doug: Ideas for our Meetups just come naturally.

We have a broad base in our Leadership Team so we just say, “I am planning to do this, and it sure would be fun to have others join me for that activity.” I like (and many of our other members like) to do a wide variety of things outdoors.

When I meet someone on a hike, bike ride, kayak trip or other outing, right away I start quizzing them about what else they like to do outdoors, what it will take to get them to share one of their own outings with the Meetup group.

Mary: Doug is a powerhouse of ideas which he then shares with the rest of us before asking who will do it. He has a way of infecting the rest of the AOs with the power of imagination and ability to do something they wouldn't ordinarily take on.

How dp you keep a Group active all year round?

Doug: Folks who went outdoors with us earlier in the year just followed along as the seasons changed and the fact that we continue to post activities.

Happy holidays!

Meetup wishes all of our friends a joyful holiday season, and a very happy New Year.

(photo credit: Latin American Motorcycle Association Washington DC)