.com

Organizing Local Groups and Revitalizing

Local Communities

Jaylynn Farr Munson

COMM352

New Media Case Study

What is Meetup.com?

“Meetup is the world's largest network of local groups. Meetup

makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of

the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 9,000

groups get together in local communities each day, each one

with the goal of improving themselves or their communities”

(About, Meetup.com).

Background• Founded in 2002 by Matt

Meeker and Scott Heiferman after Heiferman’s experiences in NYC after 9/11

• Experienced immediate success due to an aggressive Yahoo groups and blogs campaign

• Now, 13.03 million members in 45,000 cities

• More than 34,000 Meetups occur per month

“Cocktails and Cupcakes”

Girls Night Out

Zurich, Switzerland

“Pack Walk in the Park”

South Florida Pack Walk

Hollywood, Fla.

“Abstract Painting Course”

Abstract Painting Houston

Houston, Texas

“A Peak With a View”

Peaks Meetup Group

Seattle, Wash.

Strengths Opportunities

Networking opportunities

Product promotion

Focus groups

Partnerships with

organizations outside of

Meetups

Room for continued

expansion

“Real-world, face-to-face” social media factor

Minimal fees ($12 per month)

Expansive community reach

Interactive user interface

Multiple Meetup categories

Weaknesses Threats

Limited target

demographic

Not enough publicity

Inconsistent users

Too business-like

approach

Other competitors,

BigTent and

Groupspaces

New York Gaming

Meetup Case Study

Brad Hargreaves, the founder of the “New York Gaming Meetup”,

joined MeetUp.com in 2009. He saw an amazing opportunity in the

social media site noticing the possibly to gather gaming industry

enthusiasts in New York City after heading a gaming company in the

city for six months. Other organizations held regular gaming industry

events, however, these focused more on software development

rather than the entire gaming community.

Opportunities: ◦ Attract investors, marketers, designers and gamers

◦ Define NYC gaming culture

◦ Cultivate networking and software development opportunities

Threats: ◦ Difficulty in finding a venue and sponsors

◦ Minimal budget flexibility

◦ Lack of passionate initial interest

For the first year, the New York Gaming Meetup event took place at Gallery Bar in the Lower East Side of Manhattan (Hargreaves). Attendance was decent but not overwhelming at first, however, within a year, the New York Gaming Meetup garnered 3,000 members, making it an extremely successful MeetUp.com story (New York Gaming Meetup). The New York Gaming Meetup is a prime example of an organizational strategy using MeetUp.com. Through a bit of patience and consistent monthly meetups, Hargreaves was able to create a large gaming fan base in New York City using minimal funding and advertising resources. MeetUp.com allows meetups to form naturally.

Success

NY Gaming RSVPs

Meetups for a Non-Profit

Bread for the World could benefit from the use of MeetUp.com for:

• Scheduling interest groups for hunger-related issues

• Communicating with potential donors and activists

• Organizing focus groups for research

Meetups for a Non-Profit

However, the following threats might exist for an organization like Bread:

• Potential for group members to feel “pressured” into cause

• Lack of interest • Inability to afford to pay

Meetup.com dues and/or other expenses associated with group gatherings

ReferencesBusiness.com. Using Meetup.com to Market Your Business. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from

http://www.business.com/guides/using-meetupcom-to-market-your-business-2883/

Hargreaves, B. (2010, May 2). New York Gaming Meetup Case Study. Building Things. Retrieved February 19, 2013,

from http://bhargreaves.com/2010/05/ny-gaming-meetup-study-hockey-sticks/

Jeffries, A. (2011, January 21). The Long and Curious History of Meetup.com. The New York Observer. Retrieved

February 19, 2013, from http://observer.com/2011/01/the-long-and-curious-history-of-meetupcom/

Marya, R. (2010, October 28). Five Tips for Startup Success from the CEO of Meetup. Mashable. Retrieved February 16,

2013, from http://mashable.com/2010/10/28/startup-tips-meetup/

McCue, T. Two Social Networks That Will Help You Meet People. American Express OPEN Forum. Retrieved

February 16, 2013, from http://www.openforum.com/articles/2-social-networks-that-will-help-you-meet-people/

Meetup.com. Find Meetup groups near you - Meetup. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from http://www.meetup.com/

New York Gaming Meetup (New York, NY) - Meetup. Find Meetup groups near you - Meetup. Retrieved February 21,

2013, from http://www.meetup.com/gaming/

Saltzman, D. (2011, July 21). Savvy Agents Use Meetup.com to Build Local Business. Travel Market Report. Retrieved

February 20, 2013,

fromhttp://www.travelmarketreport.com/Content/publiccontent.aspx?pageID=1364&articleID=6106&LP=1