Your job description at Meetup has changed multiple times throughout the years... can you tell me how the relationship between you and the Meetup site started? Is the site nice to you? How long have you been together? Can you tell the world what tasks the site currently wants you to complete on a daily basis?I met Meetup back in 2003. We flirted briefly, but it was just a part-time thing. Then my life changed and I moved to France for awhile where (very serendipitously) we ran into each other again. I guess it was just the right place and the right time. I was listening to too much Serge Gainesbourg, drinking too much espresso at faux American coffee shops and staring wistfully at tourists. When the opportunity to work with the Meetup community was open, I was somehow ready for it.
I have to say, when I started working with Meetup Organizers, I fell deeply in love. It was a long-distance relationship, but it worked. Then my life changed again! I moved to Philadelphia, where we finally decided to make it more official. I then moved to New York City back in 2008 (yet again!) , so we could be even closer to one another. Now it's a full time gig, and I can't get enough of it.
If I were to specify what I do here at HQ in one simple phrase it's, 'Keep Meetup Meetuppy'. I'm a Community Manager here, and the role means that I work with the community directly, as a peer – with the lucky connection of having the braintrust of Meetup HQ surrounding me. It's humbling. My responsibility is to make sure the community is well represented, maintained, and that we're providing everyone with the best resources and support possible. It's a work in progress and we're growing! Not to go off topic or anything but
we're hiring. For those
who want to work with rock stars,
geniuses and some of the most incredible
Community Organizers on the planet, apply now. You'll be right at home here.
Plus, we have movie stars too!
Walker Texas Ranger was also in the
A Team, and will likely be sitting right next to you - until you're awesome. Then you can sit next to me.
You're seriously one of the nicest human beings I have ever met. If asked about the origin of such virtue, where would you start?
Wow, Davide! That's a super nice thing to say. Nice begets nice, right? I've been exceptionally lucky in my life. In my world, kindness is the most useful of all virtues, and can be applied to everything - work and play. I guess it's main definition is "Charity, compassion, friendship, and empathy without prejudice and for its own sake." If I had a terms of service, it would probably say that.
I also think mean people suck, which is one of the few things in life that puts me out of tune. That and litter. Boy do I hate litter. I have a saying, "If you can kick it, you can pick it up". I try to control myself, but if I could spend all of my spare time picking up trash, I would. Of course, I wouldn't have time for anything else because I live in New York City - so I do it in spurts instead.
How did I go from talking about being nice to talking trash? See, I'm enigmatic too. Which hopefully explains everything.
Your daughter looks like a rock star already. Are you worried about her unavoidable notoriety?
I'm thinking of moving to a remote foreign country by the time she's a teenager and homeschooling her, yes.
She's already famous (to me). I've been an enthusiastic member of many different online communities over the years. I chronicled our life together in France on
Fotolog back in 2003, and took a picture of her that was published in the
fotolog book. Now she even has
her own blog. She insisted on launching it, but didn't realize how much work it was. Now I have to keep after her to post. Just like I bugged you to start up this whole regular blogging thing for Meetup. See? I'm a relentless boss
and Mother.
Beside the Community Team here at Meetup HQ, we have amazing Moderators helping us on the Meetup Boards. Can you tell me about them? How did you recruit them? What does it take to become one?Moderators are Community Leaders by example. They're great communicators and a wonderful influence on our membership. They're fantastic at providing feedback and advice to the community, and all around superstars
on the forums. They're hand selected by folks in the Community Team at HQ. You'll see
Mikayla,
Crystal,
Dean and
Lana out there actively responding to folks, while we're working behind the scenes.
What does it take to become one? A good heart, if you ask me, and a willingness to help others achieve their goals. One of the most important roles Moderators have is keeping members and Organizers focused on what's important. That means shining a light on the community, and spreading awareness of the tools and strategies required to build and maintain successful Meetup Groups. We're always looking for great Moderators, so if you'd like to be one, check out their posts to learn by example, then just start posting! Moderating a message board is a 'dive in and learn by doing' skill. It helps to be an experienced Organizer but it's not necessarily required.
The internet says you're a fan of a certain chocolate bar, but I've never seen you eat one. Is it something you grant yourself only on special occasions?
I would probably settle for any old chocolate bar on a regular basis, which you already know because there's often a trail of wrappers from my desk to the conference room. (I pick it up after, I swear! It just falls out of my pockets.) But yes, I'm truly a chocolate snob. Lindt bars are my very, very favorite. Learn more about tasting chocolate with the five senses
here. It's no joke. If you bite into a
Lindor Truffles Dark Chocolate Bar, you'll embrace all five senses in one crisp, smooth, creamy and delicious bite. It's the kind of thing that puts me into a trance, which is why you've never seen me with one. You could probably tell me to grant you 5 weeks vacation, summer Fridays all year long and request that I put an espresso machine on your desk and I'd say something like, “Yes”, but it would come out sounding more like “Mmmm.” Some things still make me speechless, even though I spend most of my day talking, typing and roving around the office in constant animation.
And, by the way, I love sitting across from you now! If I ever do decide to bring that special chocolate into the office on a lark, I promise to share it with you.
Davide is on Meetup's Community Support team.
