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| by Scott |
That's over double last year at this point.
Congrats to Organizers and their members! You're doing something right -- & doing something important -- in BEING THERE for these people!
Let's make 'em feel welcome, hear why they joined, and see them shape the future of your Meetup Groups!
Viva la DIO ("do it ourselves") !
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| by Davide |
How long have you been at Meetup and how do you spend your days here?
I've been at Meetup since I was a wee pup of 29. Now I'm 34. Do you believe that?!? 34!!!!!??? Oh my God, I'm so old! I'm practically dead!
How do I spend my days at Meetup? Well, like most Meetup employees, I rise with the Sun and bathe in the sparkling waters of the Hudson River. Then it's off to the email fields to reap a new crop of customer inquires. Provided the frost hasn't gotten 'em, there's always plenty of questions that need a'answerin'.
How many emails did Meetup Support receive last week? Now, for the trickier part, tell me about one specific Organizer that recently made your day.
Last week, Meetup Support received one email. Just one. But that message contained 5,000 questions from a myriad of Organizers, members, and people interested in Meetup.com.
Apparently, they all got together, compiled their various questions into one giant email, and sent that to Support. The Support Department was excited at first. "Check it out, guys! There's only one email to answer! This week's gonna be a piece of cake! [The email is opened] Holy motherless..."
It was the Organizer that sent us that giant email that made my day. I think his name was Odysseus.
You've been known to ask potential support people what their superpower would be if they had one. What's the secret behind that question? And what does it reveal about the candidate?
No real secret. It's just a fun way to let a candidate brag. "My superpower is I can get two opposing parties to see each other's point of view and come to a compromise." That's a delightful superpower! Here's a second interview, you tender little muffin! "My superpower is no one can tell when I'm lying." That's a creepy superpower! No job for you, scary fibster! And are you lying right now? I'm so confused!
You are a stand up comedian, everyone knows that in the office. Tell us about how your two passions (helping Organizers and making people laugh) interface with each other.
Well, my two passions are actually antiwar demonstrations and Civil War reenactments. While I don't think people should fight wars, I do believe they should reenact them. I mean, who doesn't like seeing old, bearded dudes with muskets pretending to get shot? The smell of black powder, the Blue and the Gray duking it out once again! Heaven. Those are my two passions, and I think they interface quite well.
Here's your chance to say something nice about Jersey and/or Bruce Springsteen.
New Jersey is a nice place. Bruce Springsteen is a nice man. There. Do I get ice cream now?
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| by Andrea |
San Francisco is a beautiful, historic city. But for Europeans who make it their home, they may have left their hearts behind somewhere else first....cue Geoff and his fabulous Bay Area Friends of Europe Meetup!
This support group for Europeans and Europhiles is incredibly fun. Check out their past events page! Soirees, holiday parties and gatherings abound! Newcomers are welcomed with open arms, and folks get to know eachother in a relaxed group setting.
The group's About Us page explains that "mingling is mandatory" and has a cute Mingling Policy:
One of the main goals of Bay Area Friends of Europe is to help people with a European affinity meet, talk and make friends. The key word is mingle. Mingle (verb): "to move freely around a place or at a social function, associating with others : over aperitifs, there was a chance to mingle with friends old and new."
The BAFOE organizer and helpers will help you connect with people who may have common interests or backgrounds but you are encouraged to introduce yourself to anyone at an event. It is enough to say for example "Hello, I'm X" and start a conversation about the flag on their badge. And at any point it is perfectly acceptable to say "It's been nice talking. I think I will mingle some more." Move around and meet as many people as you can!
It's great to see Organizers like Geoff bring people together to share stories, laugh, and just be there for one another. Congrats, Geoff! Check out his Organizer of the Week interview here.
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| by Erica |
You start imagining what it will be like and your palms get sweaty. You realize you are about to walk into a room of strangers.
What if you don't have anything to say? What if you don't like anybody? What if nobody likes you!?
Your heart starts racing, you have trouble breathing and before you know it you are back at home, in your pajamas with a bowl of ice cream.
If you relate at all, you definitely aren't alone. There are more than 10,000 people here that belong to Shyness & Social Anxiety Meetup Groups. Those who are mildly shy to those who suffer from severe panic disorders are all welcome. Together these members discuss different ways of overcoming social phobias and get together in comfortable, safe atmospheres.
At the Boston Social Anxiety Meetup a member commented:
"I really appreciate this Meetup Group as a community where I feel comfortable challenging myself and trying new things, and I have enjoyed getting to know the group members. I hope others will find the courage to take advantage of the opportunities this group offers."
Sometimes it just takes a little extra support from someone who understands what you are going through. Members of this Meetup have even started banding together in order to attend other Meetups. Watch out Boston!
Congrats to anyone who has ever overcome the fear of attending a Meetup for the first time. If you are among those who haven't yet, take a deep breath and remember you aren't alone. It might just be easier than you think! Have a story to share? Tell us in the comments!
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| by Kate |
Have you ever dreamed of playing ultimate frisbee? How 'bout ultimate frisbee for hours on end -- at night?!
This Meetup group takes frisbee up not just one but many levels. Their upcoming event might just put them in legendary status. On February 28, the NYC Ultimate Frisbee Meetup group is planning on pooling forces to compete in New Jersey's Nocturnal Ulitmate Frisbee Competition. Teams will duke it out all night to decide who can truly call themselves the most ultimately awesome frisbee players.
Here's a dayshot of the group -- not as extreme, but just as fun!
If you're still curious about this group and its audacious use of man's flat, plastic friend, why not join them some time for a pickup game? You can also check out their mention in an SIlive.com article.
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| by Maya |
Hi folks,
On Tuesday of this week we launched the following...
Thanks,
Maya
Tell a Friend just got better
Know someone who would love your Meetup Group or another Meetup Group you know about? It's now easier than ever to encourage your friends to join. The Tell a Friend form is now easier to use and always there when you need it - there's a link in the footer and you'll see the form after you rate an event, just to name two places.
Customize your group's mailing list address
You can now customize your group's mailing list address and make your emails instantly recognizable to your members! Instead of having your mailing list emails come from a Meetup-generated subject line, you can now use a unique address that's more memorable and personal to your group. Go to Group Settings > "Optional Features" to get started or learn more.
Improvements to managing your group's topics
Members are more likely to find your group if your group is listed under the right topics. Now, it's a lot easier to select and manage your group's topics! When you're adding a new topic, we'll auto-complete them for you as you type. And, you can reorder them by dragging and dropping (changing how they appear on your group's homepage and in search results.) Get started by clicking on the Manage Topics link on group home, or Group Settings > Topics.
Bugs and other fixes:
* Fixed some copy-related bugs having to do with the "Create a New Group" experience
* Updated the form to contact Meetup Support
* For those groups that have an upcoming Meetup scheduled and who have no members, we no longer prompt the organizer to ask members for ideas for future Meetups.
* The Appearance and Sponsorships features are no longer "new," so we've taken down the "new" icons in Group Settings
* The first time you send a message to a mailing list is no longer a dead-end page
* Fixed bug having to do with refund policies not showing up on the refund page in IE6
* If you received payments as an organizer but are no longer an organizer, we now show you your "payments received" tab
* Fixed a bug with how the payment settings option on the meetup creation page looks against darker themes
* The page a member sees when contacting another member now is customized with their group's theme
* New topics - Presidential 2012; New topic add: Miniature Enthusiasts
* Changed wording that members see when rsvp'ing for paid meetups
* Fixed bug where the payment type was lost if there was another error while setting up a Meetup event
* Fixed bug with the display of the city/topic heatmap on the API demos page
* All member profile photos that show within the Money section now point to that member's group profile
* Fixed search results layout bug
* Copied Meetup events no longer copies over the event creator
* Export to a Calendar now posts the correct time in Google and Yahoo
* Assistant Organizers can now see custom titles of other AOs in the member list
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| by Tegan |
Today is officially Mardi Gras, so I've been poking around most of the day looking at all sorts of ways Meetup folks are observing Fat Tuesday.
In Virginia, the Arlington Poodle & Small Friends Meetup group held a Mardi Gras Party indoors at their local Animal Welfare Association -- and all the members of the group who came made a small donation to the cause.
The Eastside Skiing/Boarding Adventure Meetup group in Washington used a king cake to pick the winner of a pair of lift tickets at their Mardi Gras social.
In New York, the members of the Cupcakes Take the Cake Meetup Group celebrated a little early with a 'Fat Thursday' Meetup last week, adding beads and beer to the usual mix of Cupcake enthusiasts.
Last weekend the The Denver Expat Brazilian Meetup Group celebrated with a Carnaval-themed shindig, and the Raleigh Portuguese Language Meetup group is hosting their Third Annual Carnaval Party this Saturday.
Exactly how folks observe Mardi Gras depends a lot on where in the world they are, but one thing is certain: Mardi Gras is a great excuse for a party, and a perfect reason for a Meetup. :)
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| by Tegan |
For movie fans, the Academy Awards are one of the most exciting nights of the year. Hollywood's best and brightest get together to honor great movie making, and dolled-up actors and actresses stroll down red carpets on their way to and from exclusive parties.
But who says you have to be a celebrity to get the red carpet treatment?
The SoCal Movie Fanatics Meetup group decided they'd get together and have their own red carpet shindig. At their second annual Oscar party, folks dressed to the nines (there was a prize for best dressed!) and cast their votes on their own Oscar ballots.
Plus, SCMF teamed up with the SoCal Hearts & Friends Meetup and brought donations for a local food bank to the party.
Hey, it's not all glitz and glamour for these movie lovers, but the SoCal Movie Fanatics know how to party like Hollywood's elite.
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| by Davide |
What do you do at your desk and how long have you been doing it?
I've been working at Meetup for almost two years now. I was hired as the Email Marketing Manager but now I'm a product manager. It is my job to plan and help launch new features and products for the site.
You are the man behind Meetup's internationalization. How did the project enrich or change your weltanschauung?
My weltanschauung? That sounds dirty. First off, making Meetup international was definitely not the work of one man. You, Rich, Malcolm and now Shavanna and Camila all helped in making that happen :) It's really exciting to see new Meetup Groups start outside of the US and in other languages. I've been to Meetups in Italy, Spain and Amsterdam and it was so cool to see something that I've worked on be used all over the world.
Right, Meetup sent us to Italy last November. What's your favorite memory from the trip?
What happens in Italy STAYS IN ITALY!! Hehe just kidding. Italy was such an amazing place, I wish I had had more time to see the entire country. Rome was pretty amazing. I really enjoyed all of the ancient sites like the Coliseum. My biggest regret while taking the Coliseum tour was not yelling out "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?!?!" like Russell Crowe in "Gladiator". I doubt I'll ever have the chance to do that again. I blew it. I had fun with Rich and Malcolm in Florence too when we went to a bar that had an open mic night and I sang "Welcome to the Jungle". I rocked it pretty hard.
You are a big sport fan. A rarity here at Meetup. In Italy it's very common to spend Monday morning discussing soccer results. Do you miss having something equivalent here in the office? Is this the reason behind your Penguins Meetup Group? Tell us about it!
It is a little sad. Most people at Meetup HQ didn't even know who was in the Superbowl (Go Steelers!). But there are plenty of other things to talk about with people at Meetup; we are a pretty diverse group. As for my Penguins Meetup Group, I started that because I would watch the hockey games by myself at home and yell at the TV when we were playing bad. My girlfriend didn't like this and my dog would get scared. So I needed to find others who liked the Penguins as much as I do that also yelled at the TV and wouldn't get mad or scared when I did it. It's grown a lot over the past year and we've done a lot of cool things like go to games, take road trips and raise money for charity.
My dog, Winston, is the best. He is not a big hockey fan but I still love him. He's a really good boy, very well behaved. I want to bring him to the office but apparently a few people here are scared of dogs or something. Maybe one day I'll just bring him in as a "surprise".
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| by Tegan |
We love hearing about Meetup groups in the news, and so we were thrilled to hear about all the press The New York City Beekeeping Meetup Group is getting.
What's all the buzz about?
Right now, they're working with local politicians to update city health codes to allow for licensing of beekeepers in New York City.
This Meetup group's members share a love of bees, a passion for honey, and a desire to share their enthusiasm and knowledge with everyone: together, they'll make the world a sweeter place.
And -- given all the trouble bees are having these days -- it's great to see folks lookin' out for the little guys.
John and the NYC Beekeepers? We think you're the bee's knees.
