Ten Years of Vancouver Anime
Hello Meetup and world,
I just wanted to announce that our Meetup, The Vancouver Anime Meetup, had its 10th year anniversary this month. We where established in 2002: we are, I think, among the rare groups that have been around since almost the very beginning. Even some of our members have been regular for that long. We look forward to another 10 years.
For the record: We have had 3 head organizers, 447 members and 179 Meetups thus far.
Thank you Meetup for your website. It’s still one of the best and most robust websites for running groups.
—Noel
Noel, thanks for sharing your story, and cheers to the Vancouver Anime Meetup!
We wish you and your Meetup all the best. Here’s to the next 10 years…
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Have a Meetup story to share? Let us know.
Yusuf Hamza, one of the Organizers of the Accra MongoDB User Group in Ghana, shared this account of the Meetup Group’s very first Meetup:
This was our first meeting and it offered the group members to interact and share ideas with each other. Members ranged from novices to computer wizards. A brief overview of mongoDB as well as basic features of mongoDB was presented to members as well as the history of 10GEN. A simple iphone application was then developed to record the details of members present using mongoDB as the data store. Members and guests enjoyed the meeting and promised to spread the news.
Thank you so much for sharing your Meetup story, Yusuf!
If you’ve got a Meetup story to share, let us know.
Interview: Jill Salzman, Founding Moms
Jill Salzman is the genius Organizer behind the Founding Moms’ Exchange Meetups —there are now dozens of Founding Moms’ Meetup Groups around the world, specifically designed to support, educate and empower entrepreneurial Moms, with over 2,000 members.
We caught up with Jill to ask a few questions about her life as a super Organizer:
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How would you finish this sentence? Because of the Founding Moms Meetups…
My life has improved dramatically. I now run an organization entirely built upon the Meetup platform. Because of the organization, my professional reputation has earned me spots on top TV shows and media outlets (The New York Times! CNN’s Headline News!), I’ve become the author of a book (Found It: A Field Guide for Mom Entrepreneurs), I’ve done a TED talk partially about Meetup, and I’m launching an accelerator for mom entrepreneurs called The HighStyle Fund.
All the time. Just last week I was given a hand-written thank-you note by one member just for doing what I do. I mean, it’s not just me doing it and I feel silly being thanked. It’s a member-driven organization and I’m merely a facilitator. We have over thirty brilliant facilitators, whom we call “hosts,” that help me to build our Founding Moms’ Exchanges everywhere. It’s a team effort, so personal thank you’s are always the cherry on top, and always humbling.
The best success story has happened more than once: It’s always the moment that I hear that a member was able to hire someone else. When we have the ability, through encouragement and education, to empower an entrepreneur to build her business up enough to be able to hire someone else, that’s pretty much the be-all end-all for me. It’s the very definition of my success, and when it happens, it’s just awesome.
I see us continuing to grow far and wide. It’s astounding to me that three years ago, I didn’t know another fellow female entrepreneur who had kids. Now, I know over 3,000 and am meeting women who want to get a Founding Moms’ Exchange going in Mexico, in Australia, even The Netherlands where we just launched. It sounds so cliche to say it, but I still find it remarkable each and every day that there are women around the world who yearn to connect with like-minded folks, exactly the way I wanted to three years ago. The collective power of Founding Moms is literally changing the world, and this ride has been so awesome, I don’t want it to stop anytime soon.
Thanks for taking a moment to share your Meetup story with us, Jill!
Andrea leads Meetup’s Community team.Band of Mothers made a trip to Circle S farms 30 minutes outside of Nashville. It’s a sweet place: a self-serve, pick-your-own farm that grows sweet strawberries in Spring. After our baskets were full, the kids played with the toys and natural play structures, and we all had lunch under the pavilion discussing local restaurants. We generated a list for moms’ nights out that will take us into the new year!
Submitted by Laura, Organizer of the Band of Mothers Meetup Group in Nashville
I go to meetups to meet interesting people. Sure, those people might share a common interest in photography, or blogging, or tech, but I’m more interested in the people than the subject.
Why should we Meetup?
With all the various ways of having conversations, including Facebook, Skype and phone calls, meeting people face-to-face has become one rare event among our busy schedules.
While all the other forms of communication supplement relationship building, true relationships are built when we can shake hands, look into each other’s eyes and smile together. The impact we have on a person in person stays longer than most other interactions.
Submitted by Shyam S, Co-Organizer of the Bangalore Entrepreneurs Meetup Group
Meetup story: take me out to the ball game
For the first time ever in our Meetup group history, We had a Family Night Event. We contacted our local Minor League Baseball team (the Tampa Yankees) and set up a group picnic. We had a great response! Not only did we have several fathers come out for the event, we even had a grandmother attend!
Minor League Baseball teams usually have all sorts of fun activities at their games. On the night we attend a game, they had a free bounce house for the kids to play in. As part of our group package, we had access to a private room before the game to eat in. Each person got a hot dog, drink, chips, and popcorn as well as a program and a Tampa Yankees hat.
Although our Meetup’s main focus is playdates during the day for Stay at Home Moms, it was a nice change for the kids to have a night out with not only their friends but with their families too!!
Submitted by Franny, Organizer of the Tampa Bay Stay at Home Moms Meetup Group
9/11 & us
Fellow Meetuppers,
I don’t write to our whole community often, but this week is special because it’s the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and many people don’t know that Meetup is a 9/11 baby.
Let me tell you the Meetup story. I was living a couple miles from the Twin Towers, and I was the kind of person who thought local community doesn’t matter much if we’ve got the internet and tv. The only time I thought about my neighbors was when I hoped they wouldn’t bother me.
When the towers fell, I found myself talking to more neighbors in the days after 9/11 than ever before. People said hello to neighbors (next-door and across the city) who they’d normally ignore. People were looking after each other, helping each other, and meeting up with each other. You know, being neighborly.
A lot of people were thinking that maybe 9/11 could bring people together in a lasting way. So the idea for Meetup was born: Could we use the internet to get off the internet — and grow local communities?
We didn’t know if it would work. Most people thought it was a crazy idea — especially because terrorism is designed to make people distrust one another.
A small team came together, and we launched Meetup 9 months after 9/11.
Today, almost 10 years and 10 million Meetuppers later, it’s working. Every day, thousands of Meetups happen. Moms Meetups, Small Business Meetups, Fitness Meetups… a wild variety of 100,000 Meetup Groups with not much in common — except one thing.
Every Meetup starts with people simply saying hello to neighbors. And what often happens next is still amazing to me. They grow businesses and bands together, they teach and motivate each other, they babysit each other’s kids and find other ways to work together. They have fun and find solace together. They make friends and form powerful community. It’s powerful stuff.
It’s a wonderful revolution in local community, and it’s thanks to everyone who shows up.
Meetups aren’t about 9/11, but they may not be happening if it weren’t for 9/11.
9/11 didn’t make us too scared to go outside or talk to strangers. 9/11 didn’t rip us apart. No, we’re building new community together!!!!
The towers fell, but we rise up. And we’re just getting started with these Meetups.
Scott Heiferman (on behalf of 80 people at Meetup HQ)
Co-Founder & CEO, Meetup
New York City
