New look for Meetup Groups (Updated 9/7/2011)
Over the next few weeks we will roll out a new look for Meetup Group home pages. The new look is intended to better reflect the vibrancy of Meetup Groups, and holistically address some key issues raised by the Meetup community.
The maps are gone. Customizable headlines are back. Recent activity and photos are more prominent while keeping Meetups front and center. We’ve created a quick video tour that gives a run down on what’s new.
(If you want to check out a full list of the updates, click here)
We’ll be asking Organizers over the next few weeks to opt in, give the updated look a try, and send us feedback on how it affects your Meetups. We’ll monitor the new look’s impact and make revisions based on what we see and hear. The plan is to have every Meetup Group on the updated layout this summer.
We realize the changes we made a few months back created a lot of stress and frustration for Meetup Organizers and members, and we’re sorry about that. Every change we make to the Meetup platform is aimed at fostering robust local community. Sometimes we nail it. Sometimes, we miss the mark, but we are committed to doing everything in our power to help Organizers and Meetups succeed.
Organizers and members work tirelessly to make Meetups happen. We’re proud that we’ve helped spark millions of Meetups so far, and look forward to working with our community to spark millions more.
Special thanks to everyone who provided feedback through UserVoice, online and in usability testing. We could not have done this without you.
Up next: a new layout for Meetup event details pages. Stay tuned for that. We’ll roll it out when the transition to the new Meetup Group home layout is finished.
UPDATE 6/14/2011 - Over the last few weeks we’ve received an overwhelmingly positive response regarding the new look. We’ve made a few additional modifications based on the the feedback we’ve received. The full list of updates here includes all of the latest changes.
As of today, we will make the new look available for all Organizers. Please give it a try and let us know how it impacts your Meetup Group. Thanks again to everyone who has provided feedback and insight!
Next up: updates to the layout for event details pages. Keep an eye out for those changes in the coming weeks.
UPDATE 8/8/2011 - We’ve made a few additional changes to the layout in the last few weeks: our latest enhancements include an expanded calendar view and improvements to the feed so you can see more information at a glance. We’ve also upgraded the photo logic to showcase even more recent images.
We’ve had some time to measure how the recent changes have impacted Meetup Groups across the Meetup platform: Meetup Groups with the new look are attracting even more new members than Groups who haven’t made the switch. Due to the success of the trial, we will be switching all Meetup Groups to the new look on August 30th September 7th. (See below.)
To everyone who contributed ideas and input throughout this process: thank you! We couldn’t be more pleased with the feedback and response from the Meetup community.
UPDATE 8/24/2011 - We’re down to the wire!
If you’re an Organizer but you haven’t tried the new look yet, you’ve got two weeks to take it for a test drive before it goes into effect for all Meetup Groups. Just head to your Meetup Group home page and click the ‘Try it out’ button.
We’ve revised the timeline slightly: on Wednesday, September 7th, all Meetup Groups will be switched to the new three-column layout automatically.
UPDATE 9/7/2011
We’re live! The new look is now in effect for all Meetup Groups. Get details here.
Andres is Meetup’s VP of Strategy & Community.
