In vino veritas, as the old saying goes. Meetup groups all over the globe are taking this sage advice and adding another bit of wisdom: in food, friendship! 

In fact, there are more than 2.5 million members taking part in over 2,300 broadly categorized  “Foodie” groups. There are communities organized around craft beer, international cuisine, home cooking, low-key coffee snobbery, vegan dining, and everything in between. 

Apart from all the delicious food and drink at your fingertips, the main benefit of joining a group dedicated to gastronomy is the ease of exploration and connection. Sparking a new friendship is always easier when a common interest provides a fun backdrop for conversation. And what interest is more common than a love of eating and drinking delicious things? Plus, you can really get to know a city’s culture by trying new restaurants, cafés, bars, and some favorite under-the-radar haunts with locals.  

So check out the huge variety of food and drink groups, and broaden your palate by joining an awesome event happening near you.   

Restaurant groups on Meetup 

These communities seek out delicious full meals at the coolest establishments in town. Some, like The World Food Lover’s Dining Out Group, have a specific theme. This NYC Meetup of nearly 1,300 members values diversity, and takes advantage of the cosmopolitan offerings of New York by eating dishes from a huge array of world cultures. They’ve tried everything from Malaysian and Nepali cuisine to Romanian, Uzbek, and Azerbaijani fare.  

You could also meet fellow serious gourmands through a group like Elegant Dining for Singles in Los Angeles. With nearly 550 members, this community offers gourmet experiences that provide an enchanting backdrop for sparking new connections.  

Brunch groups 

It’s not breakfast. It’s not lunch. It’s that pure magic in between. You can find Meetup groups devoted to this special meal, like the Ladies Who Brunch in Atlanta, as well as groups who include occasional brunches among their regular activities, like the outdoorsy Let’s Go Adventures in Denver.  

Craft beer and wine groups 

If you enjoy the finer things in life, these are your people! Craft beer connoisseurs use Meetup to get together and appreciate bold, beautiful brews, from  Queers and Beers in Seattle to the Craft Beer Lovers of Austin.  

Fans of cabernet and sauvignon can explore new and exciting varietals with communities like Grapes & Gusto Charleston Wine Meetup Group or Wine, Dine & Sunshine in Miami.  

Café groups  

Whether you’re after the richest espresso, the perfect pastry, or just a cozy haunt to work and chill, communities like Georgia Foodies | Restaurants & Cafe Meetup Group have got you covered. 

Other groups, like Taiwan Café: Culture, Food, and Meaningful Conversations, use the café as a warm and approachable backdrop for deeper connection. In this case, the San Francisco-based group of more than 400 members gathers to meet fellow global citizens, encourage the cross-pollination of ideas, and create a profound cultural exchange.  

Groups that mix food and drink with fun activities  

Plenty of foodie groups share other interests, too. For example, if you live in Portland, you could work on crafts with other artisans who love a good pint by joining a Pints & Crafts, or sample different local breweries after rock climbing with Boulders and Beers.  

Some communities turn food into the activity itself, like Eat the Neighborhood: Chicagoland Foraging Tours, a Meetup group of more than 600 members who follow a professional foraging guide throughout Chicago’s neighborhoods and parks to teach people about nature’s bounty right in their own backyards. 

You can even try creating your own delicacies with a group like North Dallas Fermentation Enthusiasts. These 800 members see fermentation as part science, part art form, and part magic. They host classes on everything from home-brewing ginger beer to making kimchi, pickles, yogurt, and kombucha.  

Find your own foodie inspiration 

If any of these groups appeal to you, but you don’t see one like it in your area, you can easily create your own Meetup group and invite others who share your taste to join.

The post Food and Drink Groups to Help Expand Your Palate appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Connecting people has been the core mission of Meetup ever since it was founded in 2002. In these past two decades and counting, that guiding light has never changed, but the ways that people connect have grown over time and adapted to new circumstances. 

For many years, in-person events were the gold standard for Meetup’s community-building efforts around the world. But in 2020, when the entire globe faced an unprecedented pandemic, Meetup and its dedicated organizers had to become open-minded. In order to keep people connected during the era of social distancing, Meetup began offering online events for the first time. 

Meetup groups of all kinds not only weathered the storm, but actually showed incredible growth despite the challenges. Online events had unlocked a new value-add for organizers and members alike—the ability to meet anywhere at any time. 

Now, in 2023, what has emerged is the new playbook for successful group organizing. Hosting a mix of in-person and online events is the current trend that Meetup’s most successful communities have in common. If you’re searching for a way to increase event turnout and add more members to your group, learn more about why you should adopt this approach. 

The magic of IRL events

The thing about meeting in real life is—and this will sound obvious—it’s real. No matter how immersive an online experience may be, it’ll never match true physical presence. With an online event, you always have to accept some level of buffer between you and others. But when you pick a local spot to gather and you actually put yourself out there, something special happens. 

Human beings are social creatures. The social fabric of our lives has been based on in-person connection for our entire history, apart from this relatively tiny blip called the Internet Age. That’s why Meetup was founded on the idea that IRL connection is necessary for true friendship to emerge.  

For one thing, the casual observation and small talk aspects of community gathering are much easier to do in a physical location. Not only is there more stuff in your atmosphere to connect over, but you can more easily pick up on social signals when you’re engaging with more than a cropped image of a person on your screen. 

At the end of the day, the magic of IRL events is simple to understand. There’s nothing like connecting with locals who share your interests. It can make a new city feel so much more inviting, or deepen your love of your hometown.  

The benefits of online events

During the height of the pandemic, the emphasis of online events was about meeting safely. But beyond that, virtual gatherings continue to provide elements of community-building that are difficult to achieve with IRL events alone. 

The main draw of online events is that they’re easier to attend. As an organizer, RSVPs aren’t limited to your local area. From the perspective of a potential attendee, an online event is more accessible and requires a lower degree of commitment, making it more likely that you’ll give it a shot. Starting with a casual online event is a great way for new members to break the ice. 

Online events are also cheaper to host. You don’t have to worry about the potential costs of booking an event space, or the headache of finding a last-minute backup venue if bad weather rolls through town. 

In addition to these logistical factors, hosting an online event also creates more curatorial possibilities. You can feature talented, knowledgeable, and experienced guest speakers from all over the world with the freedom that virtual gatherings offer. Check out this simple list of best practices for hosting online events.  

Embracing the two-pronged approach

A healthy mix of both IRL and online events ensures that you’re meeting members where they are. 

No matter the theme of the Meetup group, it’s undeniable that your community is built from the participation of unique individuals. Each of those individuals has their own preference for gathering in person, virtually, or some combination of the two.  

To help facilitate this kind of diversity, Meetup Pro will soon release a new feature: hybrid events.

This kind of event can be posted with two location links—one that shows the address of the physical event space, and one that leads to the simultaneous virtual hangout. That way, your hybrid event will appear in potential attendees’ searches whether they’re looking for an IRL or online event!  

The Meetup team’s internal data shows that the fastest-growing groups host both IRL and online events. Learn more about powerful organizing tools like hybrid events that are available exclusively through Meetup Pro. 

The post The New Playbook for Successful Group Organizing appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Are you familiar with a sales funnel? One of the most useful tools in marketing, a sales funnel helps you visualize the process of finding and motivating new clients for your business. In this Meetup Live recording, we are taking a deep dive into sales funnels so you can maximize your customer base. Learn how to use Meetup’s powerful event and marketing features to create a funnel that turns your members into customers.

Watch Ari Hunniford, organizer of the Meetup Pro community Awkwardly Zen, for a discussion on how to leverage event marketing tools to reach your business goals. Ari will showcase the key Meetup Pro features she uses to drive awareness to her group, build trust with her members, and engage prospective clients. You will leave with clarity on what a sales funnel is, and learn about the steps your community members need to take to move from potential to loyal customers.

Timestamps:

• Introduction (1:58)
• Growing a Paid Business (5:52)
• More about Meetup Pro (8:30)
• A Sales Funnel (10:52)
  • Awareness (11:11)
  • Interest (20:40)
  • Decision (27:09)
  • Conversion (31:02)
• Features to Utilize on Meetup (39:15)
• Q&A Session (43:11)

Learn more about expanding your customer base with Meetup Pro with this article.

Top Q&A Questions and Resources:

• Where do you have your tagline placed?
  • If you go onto our Meetup Pro page, it’s going to be on our header. It is also in every single one of our headlines for the names of our group. So it says “Awkwardly Zen: a safe space for your spiritual path, Atlanta.” So each one of the groups has the tagline. It’s also on business cards and on everything else we promote.
• How can I get sponsors?
  • We are looking at starting the sponsorship program which is new for us. Right now, we are looking for more of our partners who might want an extra level of advertising and starting with them. We’re also looking at the different metaphysical stores that are in our areas as an opportunity. We are reaching out to these stores and offering them the chance to connect with our community of 1,800 people in Denver. We believe this opportunity can be mutually beneficial, allowing them to expand their reach while offering our members valuable products and services.
• Could you explain the pinned feature event more?
  • Using pinned events is a strategy we only implemented in the last year, but it has proven to be incredibly beneficial. Normally, when we host an event, it lasts for about an hour or an hour and a half. However, we discovered that Meetup allows us to extend the duration of an event by setting an end time for multiple days or even an entire month. This opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for event planning. For instance, let’s say we have a special event lined up for the month of July. Instead of creating individual events for each day, we can create one event for the entire month and feature it by pinning it to the top of our Meetup page. This way, every time someone visits our page, the first thing they see is the pinned event, which increases its visibility and prominence.
  • To make the most of this feature, we have found that designing a graphic that resembles an advertisement works really well. The graphic catches people’s attention and entices them to click on the event. By utilizing the pinned event and optimizing the graphic design and event description, we have been able to attract more attendees and drive traffic to our website, where visitors can find comprehensive details and make reservations easily.

Resources:

• Website
• Facebook
• Youtube
• Find the Awkwardly Zen location closest to you on our Meetup Pro network page and get access to over 30 free online events every month plus periodic in-person events in your area!
• Learn more about using Meetup to build a sales funnel for your business in Meetup’s four-part series on the Community Matters Blog.

The post Recording: Building a Sales Funnel with Meetup Pro appeared first on Meetup Blog.

It’s Pride Month! Let’s honor this occasion by celebrating love, acceptance, and living authentically. During this Meetup Live recording, we’re gathering Meetup organizers to discuss how they create a safe space for their members.

Watch this recording for a panel discussion with LGBTQ+ group organizers, Doni Burton, Wil Fisher, and Carly Novoselsky, as they share their best practices for crafting a community where members feel welcomed to come as they are. Hear about how they structure their groups to foster acceptance, from finding great venues to fostering discussions where everyone feels included.

Main Takeaways:

The importance of creating a safe space

• Doni: I would say it’s important to create a safe space because of the political climate we’re currently experiencing, as well as the isolation that the pandemic created. I work from home so I’m not interacting in person as much as I would when I went to the office. So it’s nice to know that there are safe spaces for us to exist, to discuss issues that are important to us, and to feel seen.
• Carly: It is so important to have these spaces where you can just show up as yourself. We’ve had people in our group, who come and try different pronouns on, try different names, try different looks. They feel comfortable doing so since it’s a very safe community that is excited for you to grow into yourself and change.
• Wil: Many of us in the LGBTQ community have suffered a lot of wounds in our childhood and our adolescence. A lot of that comes from feeling like we don’t belong and feeling like we can’t be ourselves and feeling pressure to confirm. One of the main values of the spaces that we’re creating is it’s a way for people to heal from those old wounds.

Identifying your group as inclusive and accepting

• Wil: In the group description of a Meetup group, you can share a bit about your community. I like to use the word ‘intention’ and talk about the intentionality of the group. I mention creating a safe of belonging and for people to show up as they are. I also talk about the intention of creating connections and friendships with some events. I’ve even gone so far as to say what the intention is not by being clear that romantic connections are not the intention of the group, though it may happen organically.

Setting rules and regulations

• Carly: My co-host and I created a code of conduct that has some guidelines, simple things including that we’re all-inclusive, we’re considerate and respectful, we describe what the intentions are: we’re supportive but we’re not necessarily a support group. We have really emphasized the social part of Queer Sober Social, we know that people are on their own recovery journeys.
• Doni: My group is trans and nonbinary inclusive so I encourage people to ask about pronouns. Also, it’s really important to center on black queerness, that was the reason this group was created.

Making genuine connections

• Carly: We absolutely love icebreaker questions, and the quirkier and deeper they are, the better! This simple act creates a sense of comfort and approachability. When someone wears a name tag, it becomes a signal that they’re here for similar reasons, fostering a welcoming environment.
• Wil: A certain level of facilitation is sometimes an opportunity to get people connected. If you’re hiking, and it seems like everyone’s keeping to their own or just connecting with the person that they came with, invite a prompt to change the conversation or encourage them to find a new partner to walk with.
• Doni: I use name tags in my group as well, they not only help attendees remember each other’s names but also assist me in recalling names and pronouns more easily. Name tags can also serve as conversation starters, providing an opportunity for someone to approach another person and ask about the pronunciation of their name, initiating a friendly interaction.

Resources:

Resources

Doni:

• Instagram
• DC Queer Black Women Meetup group

Wil:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Website
• North County Gay and Queer Men Meetup group

Carly:

• Queer Sober Therapy Instagram
• Queer Sober Social Instagram
• Queer Sober Social Discord
• Queer Sober Social Meetup group

The post Recording | Organizing with Pride: LGBTQ+ Community Building appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Most Americans today are aware that the Emancipation Proclamation set free individuals bound by chattel slavery. A lesser-known fact is that many of those people weren’t immediately informed of their newfound legal freedom. On June 19, 1865, Black citizens of Galveston, Texas heard the news that they were no longer slaves. The anniversary of the announcement that liberated the last group of enslaved people is known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, Emancipation Day, or, most popularly, Juneteenth.

Traditionally, people have celebrated Juneteenth by donning new clothes at church services and community meals. Juneteenth activities have evolved to any form of observance that allows the Black American experience to shine. Learn more about how and why you should celebrate Juneteenth this year and in years to come.

Book, Film, and Television Recommendations

The sharing of knowledge through books and film is one of the most accessible ways to learn about cultures. In an effort to understand his own family’s lineage, author Alex Haley traced his ancestry all the way back to the village of Juffure in The Gambia. Drawing on this history, Haley wrote the novel turned mini-series Roots, a work of historical fiction that follows several generations from captivity to emancipation. Amistad is another film that highlights slaves longing to be free. Watch the uprising of a group of slaves to find out if they’re able to earn their freedom without the help of the law. 

Many artists have incorporated magical elements into their work to bring some levity to the severity of the topic or challenge our understanding of historical events. Ta-Nehisi Coates’s debut novel The Water Dancer uses surreal elements to tell the story of an enslaved family longing to be free. Coates merges history with fantasy to follow a young slave searching for memories of his mother.  In the novel Kindred, Octavia Butler uses time travel to explore what would happen if a modern Black American woman had to endure the perils of chattel slavery. Investigating the answer to that same question, the film Antebellum follows the abduction of a successful author who suddenly finds herself enslaved. Using books and movies to enhance your knowledge of historical and contemporary Black experiences is a great way to amplify the voices of Black creators and learn about the historical context of Juneteenth.

Juneteenth Activities and Celebrations

Expanding your knowledge of Juneteenth doesn’t have to be a solitary activity. Attend a community event to learn more about the holiday and make friends at the same time. For avirtual event options, check out this virtual webinar Juneteenth: Paying Tribute to the Journey with the Austin Acts of Kindness Meetup group.

Consider using all the knowledge you’ve gathered to give back to the community. Though the Emancipation Proclamation prevented the enslavement of any American citizen, we still have a long way to go toward equality. Volunteering at a community garden relieves the strain of urban food deserts. Participating in a book drive helps promote education and literacy among local students. Both of these struggles disproportionately impact minority communities. Assess your own skills and resources to further advance equity and equality for Black Americans.

What’s a holiday without a little celebration? Juneteenth is an excellent occasion to attend a social event and meet new people. Fortunately, there are Juneteenth events happening around the country. You can link up with the NYC-based Shorewalkers Meetup group at their Juneteenth Celebration in Historic Richmond Town. Or link up with the New York & New Jersey “Chicago Style” Steppers at their Steppin’ for Juneteenth at Londel’s event on Saturday, June 17.

Finally, you can celebrate Juneteenth with your own event! Host a party to get in on the fun. If you’re looking for menu inspiration, check out the recording of chef and cookbook author Rosie Mayes on Meetup Live for her take on spicy catfish and collard greens. If you plan on hosting a Juneteenth cookout, make sure you’ve brushed up on the rules of spades, because, believe me, no one is going to teach you on the spot.

Whether you watch a talk on Black history, read books that expand your knowledge, or share a delicious meal with new friends, we hope you’ll create lasting connections on June 19.

The post Celebrate Black History with These Juneteenth Activities appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Before he was a co-founder of General Assembly and founder of Common co-living spaces, Brad Hargreaves was a Meetup organizer hosting tech events in New York. In this conversation with David Siegel, a legendary entrepreneur talks about how he’s made community building an essential part of his business strategy. Learn how the right community can help you make a major change in your life, whether it’s a long-distance move or a career change.

Show Notes

In this episode, we have Brad Hargreaves, the Founder of General Assembly and the Founder and Chairman of Common. If you are looking for advice on career transitions or information on building community, this is the episode for you to learn not only the common answers but the uncommon ones. Happy reading.

—

Brad Hargreaves, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to be here.

Everyone should understand Brad knows a lot about keeping people connected. He is the Founder and Chairman of Common, which is all about connecting individuals in their living spaces. He’s the Founder of General Assembly, which is all about building community, building connections and helping people around their career transformations. I find it amazing, first of all, that you are willing to punish yourself by not just being a founder once but being a founder multiple times. Are you founding for punishment?

I don’t know what else to do. It’s the only thing I know so I keep doing it. There would probably be easier ways to live my life but I love it. I have fun and hopefully, do some good for people in the process.

After General Assembly, which is in 20 cities and 35,000 graduates, we’re going to talk a lot about that and Common up to 10,000 beds, are you working on the potential next idea?

I brought on a great CEO to run Common day-to-day. I’ve been building it for a couple of years. An incredible woman named Karlene Holloman has spent decades building and managing hospitality operating companies. I am out of day-to-day at Common and I’m taking some time off for the first time in my working career, which has been nice.

What does a day in the life of an incredibly successful entrepreneur who doesn’t have to work ever again if he doesn’t want to look like? Are you getting off the couch?

My kids mandate that I get off the couch. I’ve got two young kids. I take them to school every morning and pick them up every day. I’ve been doing a lot of writing. I started a newsletter called Thesis Driven, which is focused on innovation in the built environment. I’m going deep into new real estate trends and topics that are emerging by profiling people that are building new things, aligned with those trends. I’ve had a lot of time to write which has been nice and catch up with a bunch of people. It’s been nice to take some time off.

Is there a meaningful feedback mechanism for your writing? Meaning a lot of times, you could write and people read it and that’s wonderful but it’s even better when you write and then you get feedback back. For me, I need that incentive to keep going on and writing more, to hear whether it is helping me play or not.

I do it on Substack and something Substack does. Certainly, Twitter does very well where I promote a lot and push the articles out. It enables people to comment and say, “This is spot on. This was helpful,” or, “You’re an idiot. You didn’t think about X, Y and Z.” I get both of those. Going back to this idea of community that we’re talking about, it’s a very different type of community than one I’ve ever fostered before. You see the same people engaging with what I’m putting out on Twitter. For instance, there are these little sub-communities and groups of people who advocate for housing policy reform that I support.

There are groups of real estate developers. You don’t think about real estate developers having a community but there’s a tight community of real estate developers on Twitter. It’s been fascinating to see the growth of these little sub-communities doing very specific things. Meetup was and is great at fostering that and then you see online channels like Twitter taking that nation worldwide. Through those, I do end up with a lot of feedback. Sometimes, more than I want on my plate.

Let’s talk about the first major community that you helped to build when you started General Assembly. We’ll start talking about that, Common and all the other things that you’re doing. General Assembly, why did you start it initially? How did that company evolve? We’ll then get to what role community played and what learnings people are going to have as well. Why’d you start General Assembly?

To start, I was one of a couple of cofounders of it. It was four of us in the early days and each one of us had our vision of what it would be. This was coming out of the global financial crisis. We didn’t start it as a company. We started it more as a collective of people in this emerging tech community scene in New York. On one hand, there were a lot of interesting companies getting started. My Cofounder, Matt Brimer knew a lot of them. We went to events and got to meet a lot of these emerging tech companies. Meetup was one at that time. This is 2009 going into 2010 when we formally started General Assembly.

You look at these companies and they had a huge need for talent. They needed engineers, digital marketers, designers and product managers. These weren’t disciplines that were coming out of universities. On the flip side, remember, this is not a time of 3.5% unemployment. It’s much higher. You had a lot of people coming out of school. My peers at that time you could say overeducated and underemployed. People had got degrees and expected to go into whether it was law or finance. Suddenly, those opportunities and paths weren’t as clear as they used to be. They said, “I have to pick up new skills.” It was an educational envelope. We had all these different parts.

We started with this 16,000 square foot. We called it an urban campus at 902 Broadway. This was back when you could rent office space. We rented that at $29 a foot for a 10-year lease. Now, that space would probably go for $80 to $85. Everyone laments the decline of offices and office rents are dropping. I would love to go back and you can do a lot of interesting and creative things when rents are $27 a foot.

We had a little bit of co-working space for interesting startups. We had a big event space where we’d host meetups and events like hackathons. We also had a classroom and the classroom is where the education would happen. Even though it was a very small part of our square footage, it was maybe 400 square feet out of the 16,000 total that we had, that became the core of the business.

High ROI for 400 square feet right there.

Initially, it was these small evening classes. We have workshops and eventually, we started teaching people fundamentals of web development, user research, digital marketing and data science. This was before the very early end of the learn-to-code movement when that became hot. As we continue to grow and built more campuses and spaces, a larger part of our business became an enterprise as well. Helping organizations digitize and helping them take the talent that they had and make sure it was up to speed and fluent in digital technologies.

People had to up-level. The New York Times was separate from New York Times team and the Digital New York Times team. They wanted nothing to do with each other until there isn’t that much of a print in one team anymore. It’s one integrated but publishers, in particular, resisted for a period until some of them don’t exist anymore.

You look from starting in maybe 2012, 2013 until 2018, 2019, many consumer-facing organizations went through a digital transformation. Everyone was talking about that.

General Assembly was very much at the forefront of that. Let’s talk about community as it related to General Assembly and connections. What role did it play? How did that community space help you? I’m assuming you weren’t directly monetizing it. It was more that you used it for lead gen. Tell me about the role that community played in helping to grow the enormous company that it continues to be.

The nature of the community touched everything we did at General Assembly. It’s an important part that we looked at it as this extended user journey, particularly in the early days. If someone comes to an event, maybe they’re working a job at a law firm, about to graduate college or moved to the city for whatever reason and they’re looking to explore what’s going on in the broader tech world. They would come to an event and learn a little bit. They’d take a class in the evening or go to a weekend workshop. They’d sign up for a course. We could help them get a job at a startup or one of our talent partners.

We looked at that in that exposure to people at various stages of progressing through that ecosystem. It is important. We would create specific things to take people from one stage to the next. Those stages almost always had some aspect of like, “Get to know other people in existing communities and see what other people are doing.” We would run regular programs like Introduction to the startup ecosystem where we’d talk about, “Here are the major VCs and interesting tech companies. Here are five Meetup groups you should check out.” People would come.

Did they come for the pizza or for other reasons too?

Who knows?

Was there always pizza at these events or not?

There’s a lot of pizza. I don’t know how many slices of pizza have been served in the history of General Assembly events. It’s probably in the hundreds of thousands. They would come for the thing to do on a Tuesday night. They go to this workshop and learn a little bit about tech. We started finding specific channels to take people from specific industries into what we were doing tech. We would run a lot of events for lawyers.

You’re telling me that some lawyers don’t love being lawyers and want to go to another job? Every lawyer I know loves their job.

Often going in-house at a startup is very common.

It is very different from being a white shoe law firm into a tech GC. It’s a very different role.

I’m guessing Meetups lawyers are dressed more like you and me and not wearing suits and ties every day. I could be wrong but they’re real benefits to that, probably not going in the office 3 or 5 days a week.

Community centrals to everything. I have to ask, it’s a little aside but I’m interested in the topic of career transformations for people. Many of our audience are in the process of career transformation. Many people at Meetup join Meetup groups because of the networking career transformation element. What holds people back? What advice would you give to people having seen, as an organization, tens of thousands of people go through career transformations? What advice can you give our audience abound what’s holding people back and what actions they could take?

There are a few different ways I could answer that. The most fundamental is it requires, in many cases, taking a step back to go through a career transformation in every way.

The most fundamental career transformation requires stepping back to go through a career transfer.

Financially and also in level. You were a director and then an individual contributor, whatever that is.

There is an ego component to that. I don’t want to dismiss that but there’s also a meaningful financial component of that as well. For some people, that financial piece is viable and in some cases, it’s not. You’ve seen a lot of different models come out. You look at what people like Austen Allred are doing with the income share agreements model. That’s after my time. Income share agreements weren’t prevalent.

Not everyone knows what those are. Why don’t you explain what an income share agreement is for people in 1 or 2 sentences?

An income share agreement is a way that a student can finance their education, not through an upfront payment or debt but rather by saying, “I’m going to pay a share of my income.” It could be above a certain threshold or after a certain period back to whoever is financing that education.

Companies could even be looking at individuals as individual stocks and hoping that that individual is a potentially high-paying stock return. Please continue.

You’ve seen innovation in this space to help address this challenge. Even though a lot of these programs are an order of magnitude less expensive than traditional undergraduate or graduate education, that’s still a meaningful cost. Not everyone can afford to take that on. What I do tell young people when they come to me at any stage of life is to try to keep their personal burn rate as low as possible. Sometimes that’s not possible but it does increase the number of options you have available, like asset, light and existence. As long as you can keep that, the better.

Number one is to be willing to potentially take a step back. Mindset, ego, accession. What are a couple more?

Being willing. That willingness from an ego standpoint and a financial standpoint is incredibly important. That unlocks so many other things that you could look at as separate but I almost look at them as subsidiaries to that like willingness, egoless and intellectual curiosity. Often, it is pretty closely mapped. Your willingness to admit and say, “I don’t understand this. This is going to be hard. I want to put the time and effort into it.” I look at that as a subsidiary of the ego piece and willingness to take that step back. A lot of it goes back to that. Rather than listing a laundry list of things, I’d rather say, “Have that willingness and keep your burn rate as low as possible and you’re going to be in a good position to go through a career transformation.”

Let’s talk about you. Sometimes, I start with the person but this time, I decided to start with General Assembly and then Common. You grew up in rural Arkansas, went to an Ivy League school and went around the world to science competitions. You have done a lot of interesting things. It was community, connections and education, which are at the forefront of a lot of the areas that you’ve devoted your life. Was that a big deal for you? When did it become a big deal? How did your past influence that? Share a little on that.

I’ve always been seeking out connections and trying to build my community. I grew up in a very isolated rural area. Not a lot of other human beings around. I live in Chelsea, Manhattan. A lot of what I’ve built from General Assembly to Common has been focused on building not communities standalone but using this idea of togetherness, bringing people together around common motivation and cause. I’m using that as an accelerant in a way to do what we’re doing better.

Did you feel like growing up, you had community because it was this small environment?

When I had opportunities to seek out the community by entering whatever academic competition I found on the internet, I would do that. It was what it was. I don’t think I knew anything different. My best friend is someone I met when we were twelve on online games. Life has funny ways of working out.

Gaming drives community as well. When I used to play, back on Nintendo Day, when I was a teenager, it was not as community-oriented as it certainly is now. For many people, it’s incredibly valuable. Let’s talk about Common because it’s a super interesting company. What is Common? Why is Common so needed by frankly so many people post-college, people in their 20s and 30s? Not only that age but 40s, 50s and potentially 60s as well. Why is Commons so valuable and important?

Let’s go back to General Assembly. We were building these in 902 Broadways in the heart of Manhattan. We replicated that model in a lot of other cities. When you have a lot of people and you see a lot of people, mostly young people moving to these big expensive cities, the struggle to find housing, specifically affordable housing, is at the forefront. We saw that all these students, not only our students, our instructors and employees were moving in and saying, “I’m not even going to try to find an apartment. We’re going to find a room on Craigslist.” This informal roommate world was massive and nobody in the development and finance world was paying attention to it. Twenty-five million Americans share a home or apartment with someone they’re not related to.

If you look back in history prior to World War II, it was common for when people moved to cities, they would live in what we would call residential hotels. Some of them were nice. The Plaza Hotel used to mostly be long-term residents. You still occasionally see these women’s hotels and things like that. Often, when they’re new to the city straight out of college, the Y on the Upper East Side, 92nd Street Y has a lot of single-room housing. I said, “Let’s take this concept and adapt it to the 21st century.” I work directly with the real estate world. I partner with developers and investors to create housing built with roommates in mind.

Typically, 3 to 5-bedroom apartments are open into shared kitchen living amenity areas that are priced at a substantial 30% discount to a studio apartment in the same neighborhood and quality. It also comes with utilities, Wi-Fi, shared cleaning or shared kitchen, bathroom supplies and all that. That was the idea back in 2015. We’ve made it in some ways a thing. In other ways, we’re still scratching the surface. Ten thousand units is a great number but it’s small in comparison to the need.

In the addressable audience, it’s a minuscule percentage but that tells you how enormous the potential can be. Community is very much at the center of General Assembly and Common. Talk about how Common builds community. What are some of the best practices that Common does? Also, what are even best practices that anyone who is not in a Common apartment could potentially think about doing?

For us at Common, it starts with having some shared set of understanding of what it means to live together in a shared space. You have to have some basic understanding there. First, make sure that what you don’t want to do is say, “We’re going to have all these fun events,” but you don’t have some common shared set of understanding of the owner.

Get the basics done. You can’t leave your dirty laundry in the kitchen sink.

There’s some basic set of things there that have to be established. We have to be good property managers. That’s what we are. At the end of the day, we’re a designer and property manager of these spaces. Beyond that, it is about creating those forums and venues for people to meet within buildings. It might be something where it’s very traditional like getting together, getting to know the people in your building and welcoming new people coming in. We also do a lot of things at a city or neighborhood level. In comparison to a lot of more traditional residential communities, we try to get people out into the community and go to local sporting events, bars and restaurants. It is a big part of what we do to foster and support that.

Do you have a community manager in each building that focuses on this or is it a part of someone’s responsibility?

We have a central community management group that organizes events and things for all of the cities we’re in. We often have local property managers that help out there and adapt those events to the local communities.

If someone is not in a common building, which most of our audience is not, are there any things that they should think about doing to help to build community within their apartments? What could John and Jane in San Diego be doing to build a greater community among the people with whom they live?

Often, we’ve found that the best communities start with shared interests. A lot of our matching, particularly on a city level, is about, “You live in Common and you’re interested in running. Why don’t you join this running club?” I would start by thinking about, “Are there some shared interests that go beyond like, ‘We live in this building?’” Often, I’ve found, certainly outside of Common buildings, one of those shared interests is, “Let’s advocate for something that we’d love to see happen in the building. We need this elevator fixed. We’d love to see something installed in the garden in the back.” That’s often a way that neighbors can get together, get to know each other and build those relationships.

The best communities come through a shared start with shared interests.

Property managers love when all the neighbors get together too to ask for a million-dollar investment in X, Y and Z.

That is often what I encourage people to do. Think about some shared cause, whether it’s an interest that they all have or something they’d like to see done to get together. Talk about that and try to make it happen.

A garden is a great example though because it’s physically located potentially near the building and it could be something that people could do together or work on together and be a meaningful source of joy. It doesn’t have to be unless it’s in New York City or some expensive place with an outrageous cost. What types of common goals that you see people wanting to join forces together on the garden as an example? Any other ones?

You often see these groups gather around sporting events and things that like. It’s silly sometimes for each person to be isolated in their living room watching the World Series or Super Bowl. Get a lot of people together in the building.

That’s easy and then bring pizza again.

It doesn’t have to be simple and complicated. Invite your neighbors over and say, “Here’s something we’re doing. I’m hosting a Super Bowl party. I’m having an event to watch X, Y and Z. I’ve got a plan on the TV. I’ll have some chips and pizza.” People will come by.

Brad, I love that you’re calling that out because one of the things I did want to hit on is how to organize events in a cost-effective and time-effective way. People are intimidated justifiably. A lot of people want to go to a party but not everyone wants to host a party. Hosting events, whether they’re Meetup organizers or generally want to have something in their home or wherever. The principle that you said is an important one, which is to figure out how to keep it simple. Any other advice you would give specifically around events aside from keeping them simple or in close proximity probably to where someone lives? Any other bits of advice you would give to people around that?

A lot of it depends on what stage you are in the development of your event. For someone who’s getting started and thinking through the first steps, I would say don’t overthink it. Open your door, be accommodating and welcome people in. Most people are incredibly friendly and warm. I try to encourage a lot of people to start very simply. Invite their kids’ friends from school and people from work to start the first steps of that physical community.

With two young kids, do you still host any events ever or too hard?

Absolutely. We host bigger and more events than we’ve ever hosted. We host events in our house for political candidates we support nonprofits. We had a nonprofit fundraiser.

Let’s share it. What’s the nonprofit? We like hearing about nonprofits.

At the Table support kids in foster care with educational resources, specifically tutoring. It’s a great cause. It was years ago. He’s helping out hundreds of students with tutoring and support. We hosted a fundraiser at my house.

I hope someday, I’ll get an invite but maybe next time.

We’d love to have you. Something super simple. We had a Passover Seder. We kept it lowkey but we invited other parents and families from our kids’ class. If they didn’t have anywhere else to go, they could come to our house.

You were a Meetup organizer at one point in time, which is why you’re such an event and community expert. According to what you said, you’re possible into over 200 different Meetup events. What was the group that you had organized? Let’s start with that.

When I was in college prior to starting General Assembly, I was a game developer. I started a game developer’s Meetup group here in New York for other game developers because there was nowhere for people who were building games to get together and talk about building games.

What happened? What was your biggest event? Did you have 10 or 20 people ever come to an event or even more than that?

We got well into the hundreds. We would do them in a gallery bar on the Lower East Side every month. We’d have six developers come and demo their games. In the gallery bar, they had a big screen. People could throw up their games and be like, “Here’s a game I’m building.”

It’s so much fun. Did people play games with each other at the event or after the event or was it more educational to learn about?

They started doing that later. When General Assembly took off, I handed the group over to someone else and they started more playtesting.

You’ve also been to hundreds, which is more than I’ve been to as a CEO Meetup. I’ve been to many. I don’t know if hundreds are the number. I’m going to a Zumba Meetup event and see how that goes. Tell me about some of the events that you’ve been to besides the gaming one that you were an organizer of.

Back in 2008, 2009 and 2010, around that time, we were starting General Assembly. Every week, I would go on to Meetup. It was the place to go to find what tech events are happening. Where can we go talk about what we’re doing and meet new startups, interesting founders and engineers? From those years, I was probably going to a couple a week.

You did it for recruiting reasons or help to recruit people.

Recruiting reasons and salesforce, more evangelizing General Assembly. We’re getting the brand out there.

Any advice or suggestions you would give to our audience around Meetup specifically before we go into rapid-fire questions? You went to many but what should they do to find the right one? Any advice you’d like to give?

I would encourage people to go to events and then talk to people about what are the other good events they go to. If you go to an event, you’re probably going to meet a lot of other people who also go to other events and may have been doing it for longer. I’ve found that that is the best way to discover new events and what’s going on in a city. You go to three events and at each event, you ask three people what else are they going to. You’ll probably find the right venues and forums for what you want if it exists. If it doesn’t, you should start it.

Brad, it’s good advice because a lot of people don’t realize it. Let’s say they go to tech Meetup events. They’re like, “Meetup is a tech platform you can go to.” No, there are hiking and book clubs. People go to book clubs and they realize, “I could go to these other types.” There’s such a big plethora. People don’t necessarily realize the gamut of different types. Even within gaming, there are thousands of different gaming groups to find. Thank you. Great advice. Here we go, rapid-fire questions with rapid-fire answers. The first time you saw yourself as a leader, Brad?

Running my game development studio in college in 2006. I didn’t know what I was doing but I saw myself as a leader or something.

If you could access a time machine, go anywhere in the world anytime, where are you going and when?

I’m super happy with the present. I love where we are. We’re in a great time. People over-glorify the past. The future will bring wonderful things but I’m happy with where we are right here.

We’ve had over 60 episodes so far and no one has ever said right here, right now.

We got to live in the present.

What’s something on your bucket list that you could share?

I want to do a Cannonball Run.

Is that running with bulls? Is running with Cannons? I’m sure it’s something good.

It is an illegal race of how quickly can you drive without stopping from New York to Los Angeles. They set the first new record of Cannonball in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.

What’s the record?

It’s something like 28 hours to drive from New York to LA. People strategize what routes to take. When to do X and Y. They pair up so someone is always driving and someone is sleeping.

What’s keeping you from doing it? When is the next one?

I don’t know. We have to have another global pandemic or someone that drives everyone off the streets. People do believe that the 2020 record may never be broken because there was no traffic in March 2020. Some very not risk-averse people decided to jump on that. The first thing they thought of when the COVID pandemic was happening is like, “Now is the time to set the new Cannonball record.”

That is a creative person, someone I would love to have at an event one day because that person thinks differently. Last question. You’ve done so much and helped hundreds of thousands of people through the courses, Common and the events that you’ve had. It’s amazing. How do you most want to be remembered?

As someone who brings people together and around great experiences is core to my identity and who I am. Someone who looks back and says, “I went to a lot of great experiences. I did a lot of fun things. I met a lot of great people and hopefully, Brad was at the center of bringing that together.”

It’s not just about the experience. It’s about those people that you meet in those experiences and hopefully how you could continue to maintain relationships with them over time. Brad, it is a pleasure. I’m so glad that we were connected and had the opportunity to discuss this. There are many ways in which hopefully meet up and Common can work together in the future. I wanted to thank you so much for being part of the show.

Thank you so much for having me on. This was great.

—

Thanks for reading the episode with Brad Hargreaves. If you think that was a common episode, it was not but on the bump, lots of great conversation on career transitions and the importance of being willing to take a step back in your career to take 2, 3 and 4 steps forward. Also, his feedback around community building. Keep it simple. Don’t overthink it. Open your door for an event advocating for community change as part of a community. All those are wonderful lessons for every one of us to consider. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe and leave a review. Remember, let’s keep connected because life is better together.

Important Links

• General Assembly
• Common
• Thesis Driven
• At the Table

The post Episode 64: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Community Building appeared first on Meetup Blog.

ChatGPT is the hottest new thing in the world of artificial intelligence, and with good reason. This computer program is designed to simulate authentic human conversation in written form. What separates ChatGPT from chatbots of years past is the advanced algorithm through which the program continuously evolves based on user interaction, becoming “smarter” over time. 

The hype over ChatGPT is real, and it’s extending beyond the sphere of AI and machine learning. In fact, Meetup Live recently held an event on ChatGPT, which was the most attended event ever with 7,000+ attendees! 

People from all walks of life are curious about this new technology and how they might benefit from it. Since going public in November 2022, the use cases of ChatGPT have been growing rapidly. As more and more people discover interesting ways to take advantage of the program, they actually push ChatGPT’s capability to new heights. (One fun thing about ChatGPT: if you ask it how to make friends in NYC, it suggests Meetup!)  

The lightning-fast responses of this technology offer so much more than a “bot” personality to interact with. ChatGPT can be your research partner, your co-organizer, your editor, and beyond! Check out these five remarkable things you can use ChatGPT to accomplish.  

1. Host the best events in town with brainstorming and marketing  

In the recent Meetup Live event centered on ChatGPT, tech enthusiast and YouTube content creator Luigi Iacobellis demonstrates how the program can assist organizers from start to finish of the event planning process. 

In this video, you can see Luigi ask ChatGPT to generate some event ideas for a group interested in extreme outdoor sports. Within just a few seconds, ChatGPT offers up 10 different event themes with basic descriptions, such as Rock Climbing Adventure: Take the group to a nearby mountain or climbing gym for a day of challenging climbs and breathtaking views. Some of its other ideas include a mountain biking expedition, a scuba diving adventure, and a white water rafting excursion. 

Once you’ve settled on an event, you can also use ChatGPT to help promote it. Luigi asks the program to write a detailed event description—even requesting a pun in the copy—and ChatGPT generates a few engaging paragraphs with all of the important details seamlessly integrated. 

2. Fix bugs in your code and learn from your mistakes  

ChatGPT is your friendly coding guru. Whether you’re working on simple HTML lines or more complex scripts, you can input a tricky piece of code into the program and simply ask it to “find the bug.” ChatGPT will not only discover the error, but will generate a sophisticated yet digestible explanation of its reasoning. With this tool, you can learn how to code day or night with a teacher who’s always available. 

3. Discover complex research topics in a whole new light 

One of the coolest ways to implement ChatGPT is by asking it a straightforward question about an advanced topic, then getting the program to explain the answer to you in layman terms. In fact, you can just write, “Explain like I am five” after your query. 

For example, this article shows a user asking ChatGPT to explain the concept of wormholes, which could involve a lot of astronomical theory, physics, and mathematics. But the program creates a helpful and thorough analysis of wormholes that someone with no background in astronomy can easily comprehend.  

4. Collaborate on a poem, story, or screenplay  

ChatGPT’s creative juices are always flowing. You can ask it to work on a poem with you, and you can take turns contributing one line or whole stanzas at a time. If you’re writing a story or a screenplay, you can describe one of your characters to ChatGPT and have the program take on the role. Try making ChatGPT communicate like a cowboy from old Westerns or a medieval queen, and some of your dialogue will get written on the spot! You can also start a story and let ChatGPT generate the next part, creating an interactive and unpredictable narrative. 

5. Practice a new language with a tireless conversation partner 

To truly advance in a new tongue, every language learner needs immersion. Traditionally, the best ways to immerse yourself in a new language are education and travel. While not a replacement for the in-person cultural aspects of language learning, ChatGPT can be an incredible resource for anyone who wants to shore up their grammar and vocabulary, or just squeeze in a few minutes of on-the-go practice now and then. 

Practice your language skills by engaging in conversations with ChatGPT in your target language. Ask questions, discuss topics, receive feedback on your language usage, and improve your overall fluency.  

Stay up to date with the latest tech trends  

ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence technologies are going to have an even bigger social impact in years to come. The best way to stay up to date with new developments is by joining an active tech group on Meetup! 

For example, you could join Charleston Data Science, a Meetup group of over 1,000 members who’ve actually already held several events specifically about ChatGPT! Other groups even deeper in the artificial intelligence and machine learning arena include RDU Artificial Intelligence Meetup Group and Big Data & Artificial Intelligence 101, two communities that host informative webinars accessible all over the globe. There are also plenty of groups dedicated to building specific skills, like Code for KC.  

Try playing around with ChatGPT, and when you discover some awesome ways to use it, you can invite others to join you by creating your own Meetup group. 

The post Five Awesome Ways to Use ChatGPT  appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Some career paths look straightforward and predictable, like a staircase. Others are much more roundabout (and even exciting)—like a jungle gym! Embrace the fact that there is no one correct way to succeed professionally. In this Meetup Live recording, we’ll be exploring frameworks for blazing your own career path.

Watch this Meetup Live recording with OwnTrail founder and CEO Rebekah Bastian to take stock of your professional background in a way that goes beyond your resume. Think through where you want to go in your career and plan how you’ll get there. Learn to identify your soft and hard career skills to craft a narrative for your career journey that makes your next move easier. Leave with a renewed vision and a boost of confidence to reach your goals.

Timestamps:

• Rebekah’s Journey (2:56)
  • There is No Right Path (5:57)
• Choosing Your Path (12:13)
• Interactive Writing Prompts
• Reflect On Your Journey (20:17)
  • Career Goals For The Next Year (20:49)
  • Where You’ve Been (26:03)
  • Examining The Present (34:28)
  • Looking Towards The Future (39:50)
• Q&A Session (47:52)

Top Q&A Questions and Resources:

• Do you think reframing the path helps to build confidence?
  • Having a career gap or changing jobs frequently can sometimes make us feel self-conscious or embarrassed. However, it’s important to remember that these experiences are part of our journey and have shaped who we are today. When we share the full story behind these experiences, including the reasons and what we’ve learned, it transforms from something we feel self-conscious about to something we can be proud of. Embracing these aspects and being confident in our journey is essential when seeking new opportunities and convincing others to have confidence in us. So it definitely helps.
• How about when people want to make some changes, but have no idea what to do?
  • Thinking through your passions and skills and learning from other people’s stories is truly powerful. For instance, if you’ve gone through points A, B, and C in your journey so far, exploring similar experiences of paths people you know have taken can be incredibly inspiring. There’s no one right path, even if someone followed a similar series of steps to reach where you are now. They could have ventured into various directions, just as you can. These stories can spark new ideas and possibilities for you, especially when considering the identities we hold. So, actively seeking out other people’s journeys is helpful.
• How did you manage a full-time job, side hustle, family, and social life all at the same time?
  • I have a high capacity for activities that energize me. When I engage in something that lacks excitement, it drains my energy and leaves me feeling depleted. It’s important to pack my life with fulfilling endeavors. Even if it’s difficult, my side hustle should be something that brings me energy. Otherwise, why would I be doing it? If a side pursuit energizes me, I will find extra capacity for it.
  • Still, it’s crucial to acknowledge that I can’t negotiate as much with certain aspects of my life like my job and family commitments.
  • When I wrote my book, a side project, I did it during the moments when I put my child to sleep. He had a phase where he wouldn’t fall asleep unless I sat in a chair in his room, so I spent that time writing my book on my phone. Because writing it energized me, I used those precious moments to pursue my passion. It’s about identifying those pockets of time for the things that excite me and bring me energy.

Resources:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Learn more about Rebekah’s trail, here
• Create your trail, here
  • Meetup members can use the code MEETUP to get 25% off a yearlong OwnTrail membership.

The post Recording: Forge Your Own Career Path appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Make this season the summer of growth! Build a stronger community by getting your questions answered during office hours hosted by Meetup’s Community Support team.

Watch this recording with two of Meetup’s customer support professionals, Alex Marden and Colin-Pierre Larnerd, for essentials on managing your group, hosting events, and making the most out of Meetup’s features. 

Main Takeaways:

Product Update

• “Who will be there” & “About our members”
  • Organizers and Member+ subscribers can now see member insights on the group page, and attendee insights on the event page!
    • Insights:
      • How many members have recently joined
      • How many members will be attending for the first time
      • The ratio of genders
      • How many members are in your age range
      • What members are looking for
      • The interests you share with fellow members

Questions from the Meetup Community

1. “If my group is public, can every public member see all my events, details, and addresses of events? Or can they only see events once they have joined?”
   • The following information is visible to everyone who has logged into their Meetup account:
     • Title, date, and time of upcoming events
     • The location of upcoming events
     • Information will be restricted for non-members or guests visiting Meetup without logging into an account. You may change your group’s privacy settings to restrict address information.
2. “Can I start charging a membership fee now to new people that want to join (after I have 160 members)?”
   • Absolutely! There’s no benchmark or prerequisite for activating any monetization features. Test your options and see what works best for your needs and your community.
3. “I’ve linked my Zoom account and a Zoom room link to my regular monthly event. The last time no one could see the link… How can I check this ahead of time?”
   • If you’ve inserted the same Zoom link to a repeating event, that same link will be automatically visible for anyone who RSVPs to the next event in the series.
   • If a member reports that they do not see the link, encourage them to check if they’ve logged into their Meetup account and have RSVP’d to that particular event. You can always DM them the link in a pinch!
   • Any ongoing issues with link visibility should be submitted to our Support team for investigation.

Top Q&A Questions and Resources:

• Is Meetup geared more towards free get-togethers, or is it geared more toward promoting businesses?
  • Alex: I personally wouldn’t say it’s geared more one way. Meetup offers a subscription tier called Meetup Pro, which caters more to business customers. Meetup Pro was designed to provide businesses with a broader reach compared to the standard organizer subscription. Typically, with a standard subscription, you can create three groups that are locally focused around your physical location. This aligns with Meetup’s original structure, which emphasizes creating local communities. In contrast, Meetup Pro allows for a wider, sometimes global, reach. You can create an unlimited number of groups in various cities and post network events that reach all groups within that network. Meetup Pro also provides additional analytics and communication tools for administrators. While there are features tailored specifically to support businesses, the majority of organizers and groups on Meetup are likely focused on local communities.
• Is a physical meeting place is no longer required and an event can be completely virtual?
  • Alex: Yes, Meetup now supports online events, whereas previously it only focused on in-person gatherings. In the past, hosting exclusively online events could potentially lead to the closure of a group. However, with the need to adapt during the pandemic, Meetup started allowing and supporting online events.
  • Colin: I would say our search tools on Meetup are pretty good because my online yoga group has people from all over the world even though I’m located in Brooklyn. So it really comes down to the that people discover your events on Meetup.

Resources:

• Product Feature Request form
• Stay up to date on product updates
• Meetup’s Help Center
• For further support from our team or to report a bug, submit a direct request to our team using this form
•  Join the Organizer Discord Community

The post Recording: May 2023 Meetup Community Building Office Hours appeared first on Meetup Blog.

People from London to Los Angeles have turned to Meetup to meet like-minded locals, share experiences, and build lasting friendships. To celebrate Pride, we’re showcasing amazing stories of some of the LGBTQ+ groups on Meetup that are building inclusive and supportive local communities. Pride is a month-long celebration, but these Meetup groups are fostering supportive communities year-round. Read on for stories of inclusion and celebration.

Brooklyn Queer Happy Hour | Brooklyn, New York

Founded by two millennials, the Brooklyn Queer Happy Hour group launched in 2022 to bring queer women and non-binary Brooklynites together for evenings of socializing and fun. The community is less than a year old, but co-organizers Dana and Rebekah have been hosting at least one event each month to build the group’s following. By hosting frequent events, their community members can make attending Brooklyn Queer Happy Hour events a regular part of their schedule—and social lives!

Another key to the group’s success? Accessible venues. Prioritizing public parks for picnics and neighborhood bars for happy hours makes it easy for members to pop by an event, coming and going as they see fit. 

“I enjoy going to queer bars and those types of places, but I wanted something more relaxed and easygoing that allowed more space for conversation,” said Rebekah, one of the group’s co-organizers.

DC Black Queer Women | Washington, DC

After moving to Washington D.C. from Oakland, California, Donielle (Doni) Burton was having some trouble finding her social scene. The queer spaces she had found after moving were less diverse and more party focused than she was used to in the Bay Area. Doni took matters into her own hands—by starting the DC Black Queer Women group on Meetup. 

The group is designed to create a safe space for queer Black women, welcoming trans and non-binary members as well. One way that Doni has made it a more inclusive environment is by getting creative about the types of events she hosts. Instead of concentrating on happy hours, the group plans outings at sporting events, game nights, and more so events don’t always have to be centered around partying. 

“People who came to my first event now regularly come and tell me things like, ‘I’m hanging out with these other people that I met [through DC Queer Black Women].’ And so people are starting to recognize that there are options for queer women to meet other than nighttime dance parties,” said Doni Burton. 

Queer Sober Social | Chicago, Illinois (and online)

Finding new friends in a new city is notoriously difficult. One way people find their crew is by joining socializing groups, like happy hour socials. Unfortunately, the emphasis on the cocktail component of traditional happy hours can alienate some sober community members. Luckily, there are groups on Meetup specifically for sober socializing. 

Carly Novoselsky saw a need in her Chicago. The sober group she had joined to meet people had had many of its straight members couple up and leave the group. In January 2020, she and her friends decided to start their own sober social group for queer people in the city. 

100 people registered for the first Queer Sober Social event, an impressive number for a brand-new group. Clearly, the community was meeting a need that many people felt. Since then, they’ve been having weekly and monthly events online and in person. Carly’s group has become a safe space for people to come together to have fun without the pressures of substance use.

Carly keeps it simple by keeping inclusivity top-of-mind for every event she hosts. The group’s vision is clear: “Come be with your people. Come and have a good time. Come take an hour away from the world where it’s just fun and stress-free and we’re just hanging out,” said Carly. 

Zig Zag Pride | Los Angeles, California (Online)

Founded as part of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Zig Zag Pride is a social group that provides a safe space for all disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent LGBTQ+ folks seeking community, support, and great conversation. The “zig zag” in the group’s title comes from a 2019 version of the Disability Pride Flag, with bright blue, yellow, white, red, and green stripes in a distinctive zig-zagged pattern. 

The structure of the group is key to its success. The group started during the pandemic with the goal of creating an empowered space for the Disabled LGBTQ+ community. Today, it has more than 100 members and meets solely online to be as accommodating as possible. Organizers Althea and Alex able to foster a safe space by keeping open lines of communication between members and organizers while incorporating feedback and changes when it’s necessary. By listening to their group members, Althea and Alex have been able to create a community built on trust. 

“We do monthly virtual events over Zoom, which, from the beginning, was really important to me in forming the group, because it sort of speaks to accessibility. A big problem for the community is not having events, in general, be accessible,” said Alex, one of the group’s organizers. 

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