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It costs money to form a meetup. About $10 a month.
Hopefully the new company will go back to having a usable app again. The new one has been horrible for a year or two. Now it is awful to navigate and so easy to miss events because they are filled by he one you see them.
It costs money to form a meetup. About $10 a month.
agreed there is a cost to form a group, no cost to be a user
(except for the groups that charge dues, to distribute that cost to viable participating members)
let's see if the new company does something crazy and stupid, like:
a) charge $25/mo form a group
b) charge members $1/event
c) charge no-shows $5 for flaking
d) charge $100/mo to groups with more than a 1000 members
e) force us to watch ads ala Youtube before we can see the content we want
f) manditory Facebook, valid credit card#, and retina eyeball scans to become a user/login
It costs money to form a meetup. About $10 a month.
I think it's at least $12, maybe more by now.
As a friend of mine points out, the cost is a bit absurd given that all they do for you is provide space on a web site. What is all that money used for?
It makes you wonder why nobody has formed a much cheaper alternative.
As a friend of mine points out, the cost is a bit absurd given that all they do for you is provide space on a web site. What is all that money used for?
It makes you wonder why nobody has formed a much cheaper alternative.
Main reason? Supply and demand. In this socially disconnected society of ours, social connections are hard to come by. So the market allows Meetup to charge the prices it does. Alternatives do exist, such as Meetin, but they're barely a blip on the radar. Even Meetup itself didn't go mainstream until 2 years ago. Before then, if you walked into a restaurant looking for "Meetup", the workers would give you blank stares.
With the acquisition by WeWork, I sort of expect Meetup group organizers to get a price break or even a free group, provided that they rent a WeWork office space for it. (Which isn't a bad place to host board game nights, as long as you can BYOB.) News reports so far said that Meetup will remain what it always was, much like Waze is still Waze, even under Google ownership, albeit with new Google features.
I'm really hoping Meetup doesn't go away. With all my long-time friends getting into LTR's and dropping off the social radar, Meetup was my lifeline for the past 2 years and counting.
Meetup has been 'mainstream' for more than 2 years.
Hmm, perhaps you live in a more urban area than me, or in a region where Meetup became popular earlier. In my world, it's only by 2015 where it became a recognized brand. When I first got into Meetup in 2011, and tried to find my groups at restaurants, the servers had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned it. Perhaps Meetup's false reputation as a dating service slowed its awareness.
or it will change to something that costs money, its popularity will wither and die...
if you start a group on meetup there is a fee you have to pay. you can pay it monthly or for a few months at a time i think. i took over a group for a short time and i had to pay to keep the group going. nobody was showing up for it so i quit being an organizer. someone else took over for a short time. again, no one was showing up so she quit too and the group died.
it's free to join a group but it is not free to keep a group going for the organizer. that's why some groups charge a fee to members, to help keep the group going.
edited: oops, i see others have already mentioned the fee to start a group and keep it going. sorry!
I think they're fabulous for bringing together people who want to pursue an actual hobby or interest together, particularly if it's something that actually requires other people. I would feel a little funny joining something called "Friends Over Forty" or "Socializers Over Fifty" or "Find a Date" or whatever. There's just something sad about being so obvious? Of course, if you make friends or find a lover organically in the course of jointly pursuing interests, that's great (it's also the best way TO make friends or find a lover), but I would personally hesitate to join a group with that express purpose as its whole reason for being.
I think they're fabulous for bringing together people who want to pursue an actual hobby or interest together, particularly if it's something that actually requires other people. I would feel a little funny joining something called "Friends Over Forty" or "Socializers Over Fifty" or "Find a Date" or whatever. There's just something sad about being so obvious? Of course, if you make friends or find a lover organically in the course of jointly pursuing interests, that's great (it's also the best way TO make friends or find a lover), but I would personally hesitate to join a group with that express purpose as its whole reason for being.
Why would you hesitate, and why would it be "sad"? That's been the spirit of Meetup since its founding.
Most of my groups are general socialization groups for people in their 20's and 30's, not unlike the "Friends Over Forty" example you gave. (Interest-specific groups, such as board games or hiking, have an older crowd.) And they've been my social lifeline for the past 2 years, after my long-time friends got into relationships. We go to bars, we sing karaoke, we play Cards Against Humanity, etc. I've even made some "organic" friendships through Meetup.
I don't know why so many would sign up, but not show, though I've heard it's not unusual for a small group of serious participants to have trouble getting a group off the ground for this reason. I think some people sign up, thinking it would be a great activity, but when the time comes to actually attend, other things may get in the way.
This is true. I signed up for one, was going to go to one then backed out. I haven't really used the app of late due to possibly dating someone but that seemingly fell through. Maybe I'll start up after the holidays.
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That's been the spirit of Meetup since its founding. 
