The Official Meetup HQ Blog

Meetup Shutterbugs! HQ Needs Your Help!

by Adaam

Hello Meetup shutterbugs! We're hoping y'all can help us with a little decorating project.

The walls in the Meetup HQ offices are a nice bright red, but they're pretty much bare. It's a little sad.

So we decided we'd jazz them up a bit with pictures of some of our favorite people -- Meetup members and Organizers!

We'd love to have a picture of your Meetup Group.

So if you've got good pictures, upload them to you Meetup Group and then send the photo links (or the photo itself)  to us at photos@meetup.com!

What do we mean by 'good pictures'?

We are going to blow them up to hang them on the wall, so the higher the resolution, the better.

And photos with Meetup logos or folks in their Meetup t-shirts are awesome. (Pssst: You can get logos and signs and all sorts of fun stuff if you go to your Meetup's home page and click 'Promote' in the left column.)

They don't need to be fancy. Pictures of your Meetup Group doing whatever it is your Meetup Group does are great. Sitting around laughing and talking, practicing your Italian, watching the dogs play, catching your breath after a really great hike  -- whatever. And of course, a good old-fashioned, "Everyone get together, I'm taking a picture!" photo will do. Individuals, a few people, a whole bunch of people, whatever.

Want a sneak preview of what we're doing with the photos? Check out the first round of photos we've got up on the wall already:

But don't worry: we've got a lot of wall space to cover.

We're hoping to have this project wrapped up by the end of summer (that way, we can ward off the winter blues with lots of bright, colorful pictures!)

So if you can get them in by Monday, August 31st, that would be great.

We're really excited! All of your lovely, smiling faces will inspire us every day.

Adaam is Operations Coordinator at Meetup HQ.

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Who's behind Meetup.com? Episode #20: Adaam Hukins

by Davide

Adaam, you're a Multitasking, Multi-department Meetup Staff Member (MMMSM). When did you start working at Meetup and how did your position change throughout the years?

I started working at Meetup in October of 2006 & my role in the office has changed dramatically. I started at the reception desk, but last year I got moved to a desk of my very own. At this desk I run a little operation called "You break it, I fix it": Computer freaking out? Phone not working? The printer hates you? etc.? Well, I'm the first line of defense & try to take care of it as quickly as possible. I also get to work closely with the awesome & talented office manager Camille & office assistant Gina. Together we help to make sure that Meetup HQ accommodates the needs of the entire staff, and we try to keep things in the office fun.  See our Jamaican Me Crazy Party for example.

You're into Scrabble and Hip Hop. Do you think mastering the former can help aspiring MCs?
I love Scrabble & Hip-Hop with equal passion but in different ways. The three of us have had extensive talks about this "arrangement" and found it best that I spend time with each one on alternate weeks. You'll never find me listening to Ghostface Killah & hunting for a place to put my "Z" at the same time. Oh, but this question was about aspiring MC's... A strong vocabulary never hurt anyone & I'm sure that being a scrabble master would make any MC's lyrical skills increase. I just fear that great words like "crunk" might not come into existence if every MC becomes a scrabble nerd.  Chess is probably a better game for the average MC.

I've heard you love to eat non-breakfast items for breakfast. What does your doctor has to say about that? Do you think breakfast food is a myth in itself? Maybe a conspiracy set up by cereal companies?
The fact that I occasionally eat a turkey sandwich for breakfast is of no one's concern! Let me tell you a little secret friend;  Turkey sandwiches are still tasty before noon. Omelettes are still tasty after noon. Steak is good all day. I refuse to let General Mills, Kellogg's, or Kashi tell me when I should have a bowl of cereal!  Also, I eat lunch foods for breakfast because I consistently maintain a 6 hour advantage over the rest of the population. You eating breakfast? Then I'm eating lunch. You going to bed? I'm getting up. You just learned it? I knew it 6 hours ago!

Shavanna and I think you're an incredibly positive and happy person. Is that because you're from North Carolina? You know, we're both from Europe and we think NYC can build a side of grumpiness into every soul. What's your secret?
If you think I'm a positive & happy person now, you should've met me before I moved to NYC. You would've thought I was a bodhisattva.  Anyway, dealing with the subway system alone has led me to come up with new and colorful profanities that I will refrain from sharing with you.  But what's my secret to staying positive?  It's just personality and my upbringing. My parents had me pretty late in their lives and they were ridiculously laid back & over sweating little things by then. I'm positive it rubbed off on me. I get upset & grumpy just like everyone else but I make a point to not dwell on those feelings or lash out at others just cause I'm not feeling good.  Whiskey also helps.

In college, you were part of an unconventional fraternity. Was that like a 24/7 Meetup?
I guess I've always had a thing for "the unconventional". My unconventional fraternity, Delta Psi, is a co-ed literary arts fraternity with fewer than 15 chapters up and down the East Coast. No hazing, binge drinking (unless you wanted to do it on your own time), or lack of support for bringing your ideas to life. Meetup is similar in that it's the most unconventional work place I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of. Sure, we work our butts off to get our jobs done like everyone else, but the office culture is certainly different than most. There's no hazing, binge drinking (unless you want to do it on your personal time), and no lack of support for bringing your ideas to life.

Davide is on Meetup's Community Support team.

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Adaam shows us all up.

You might have seen our blog post about the CNN article on Meetup's unorthodox structure. We definitely keep things interesting around here, and Adaam recently contributed to our daily dose of inspiration and fun.

Our CFO Brendan posed a challenge for someone to eat a chocolate grasshopper.  Adaam stepped up to the plate without hesitation and our faithful Office Assistant Ginamarie recorded the momentous feat. 

Watch the video all the way to the end to find out what a chocolate grasshopper really tastes like!  And see if you can spot Camille and Erin in the background!  :)