Meetup

Meetup was founded in June 2002{{cite web | last1=Sifry | first1=Micah | title=From Howard Dean to the tea party: The power of Meetup.com | website=CNN | date=November 7, 2011 | url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/11/07/tech/web/meetup-2012-campaign-sifry/index.html | access-date=March 15, 2018}} by Scott Heiferman and four co-founders.{{cite web | last= | first= | title=Innovator Under 35: Scott Heiferman, 32 | website=MIT Technology Review | url=http://www2.technologyreview.com/tr35/profile.aspx?TRID=151 | access-date=March 14, 2018}}{{cite web | last=Evans | first=Teri | title=Meetup's Scott Heiferman on Connecting Communities | website=Entrepreneur | date=June 7, 2011 | url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219753 | access-date=March 14, 2018}} The idea for Meetup came from Heiferman meeting his neighbors in New York City for the first time after the September 11 attacks on the Twin Towers.{{cite web | last=Benz | first=Kate | title=Pittsburgh Meetup members use the Internet to get off the Internet | website=TribLIVE.com | date=January 23, 2014 | url=http://triblive.com/lifestyles/morelifestyles/5356571-74/meetup-group-internet | access-date=March 14, 2018}}{{cite news | first=Lavanya|last=Ramanathan|title=One week of Meetups | newspaper=Washington Post | date=October 13, 2011 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/one-week-of-meetups/2011/09/27/gIQAFUUNhL_story.html | access-date=March 15, 2018}} Heiferman was also influenced by the book Bowling Alone, which is about the deterioration of community in American culture.{{cite book | last=Gordinier | first=J. | title=X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft But Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking | publisher=Viking | year=2008 | isbn=978-0-670-01858-1 | url=https://archive.org/details/xsavesworldhowg00gord | url-access=registration | access-date=March 14, 2018 | page=[https://archive.org/details/xsavesworldhowg00gord/page/161 161]}} Some initial funding for the venture was raised from friends and family, which was followed by a funding round with angel investors.{{cite web | last=Jeffries | first=Adrianne | title=The Long and Curious History of Meetup.com | website=Observer | date=January 21, 2011 | url=http://observer.com/2011/01/the-long-and-curious-history-of-meetupcom/ | access-date=March 17, 2018}}

The early version of Meetup generated revenues by charging a fee to venues in exchange for bringing Meetup users to their business.{{cite news|title=Web Site Links up Like Minds|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal|first=Helena|last=Oliviero|date=November 25, 2002|page=E.1}} Once enough users added themselves to a group, Meetup would send the group members an email, asking them to vote on one of three sponsoring venues for the group to meet at.{{cite news|title=I'm on the List: Virtual Communities: Not Just for Loners Anymore|url=https://nypost.com/2002/12/08/im-on-the-list-virtual-communities-not-just-for-loners-anymore/|newspaper=The New York Post|first=Sarah|last=Gilbert|date=December 8, 2002}} Within a few months of Meetup launching, 56,000 users had joined the site.{{cite news|title=Interest Grows in Raleigh, N.C., around Offline Social Gatherings|first=Jonathan|last=Cox|newspaper=Knight Ridder Tribune Business News|date=October 10, 2002}} In 2003 Meetup won the "Community Websites and Mobile Site" Webby Award.{{cite web|website=The Webby Awards|url=https://winners.webbyawards.com/2003/websites-and-mobile-sites/general-websites-and-mobile-sites/community/157390/meetup|title=Meetup|access-date=16 June 2022}}

Meetup was originally intended to focus on hobbies and interests, but it was popularized by Presidential hopeful Howard Dean in 2004. Meetup developed paid services to help the Dean campaign to meet with Meetup users. Dean also publicized Meetup groups of supporters in his speeches and on his website.{{cite news|title=MeetUp.com Working to Become a Force in Local, State Politics|first=Chris|last=Gray|newspaper=Knight Ridder Tribune|date=February 11, 2004|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113163315.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109070745/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113163315.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 9, 2018}} At the peak of Dean's campaign, 143,000 users had joined Meetup groups for Dean supporters. Afterwards, Meetup became a routine part of internet campaigning for American politicians.{{cite news|title= Taking America Offline|first=Maggie|last=Overfelt|newspaper=Fortune Small Business|date=October 2003}}{{cite news|title= Candidates Hope Voters Meetup.com|newspaper=Indianapolis Star|date=September 2003|page=B.1}}

In early 2005, Meetup began to charge a fee for group organizers.{{cite web | last=Troise | first=Damian J. | title=Meetup Starts Charging Fee in Effort to Keep Users Involved | website=Inc.com | date=February 6, 2015 | url=https://www.inc.com/associated-press/meetup-starts-charging-fee-to-keep-users-involved.html | access-date=March 17, 2018}} Initially, changes to the website had to be approved by two committees. In 2009, Meetup started running hackathons, where employees came up with new features that would be implemented if their coworkers supported it.{{cite web | last=Taylor | first=Chris | title=Meetup: An office where group anarchy works | website=CNNMoney | date=May 6, 2009 | url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/05/06/smallbusiness/democracy_at_meetup.fsb/ | access-date=March 15, 2018}} The website was redesigned in 2013.{{cite web | title=Meetup Simplifies Its Member Homepage As It Pursues A Unified Design | website=The Next Web | date=September 12, 2013 | url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/09/12/meetup-simplifies-its-homepage-to-reflect-its-mobile-only-strategy/ | access-date=March 15, 2018|first=Josh|last=Ong}} Meetup had 8 million users in 2010,{{cite web |first=Angela|last= Haupt| date=December 13, 2010|title=Meetup.com Helps Connect Like-minded People | website=U.S. News & World Report | url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/12/13/meetupcom-helps-connect-like-minded-people | access-date=March 17, 2018}} and 25.5 million users by 2013.{{cite journal | last1=Lai | first1=Chih-Hui | last2=Katz | first2=James E. | title=Volunteer associations in the Internet age: Ecological approach to understanding collective action | journal=The Information Society | volume=32 | issue=4 | date=May 31, 2016 | issn=0197-2243 | doi=10.1080/01972243.2016.1177761 | pages=241–255| s2cid=45348475 | hdl=10356/104397 | hdl-access=free }}

In 2013, Meetup acquired a struggling email collaboration company called Dispatch.{{cite web | last=Farr | first=Christina | title=How meta! Meetup just acquired Dispatch, which got its start at a meetup | website=VentureBeat | date=October 9, 2013 | url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/10/09/how-meta-meetup-just-acquired-dispatch-which-got-its-start-at-a-meetup/ | access-date=March 15, 2018}}{{cite web | title=Meetup Makes Its First Acquisition With Dispatch, Will Roll Out Improved Messaging & Communications In Early 2014 | website=TechCrunch | date=October 9, 2013 | url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/09/meetup-com-makes-its-first-acquisition-with-dispatch-will-roll-out-improved-messaging-communications-in-early-2014/ | access-date=March 15, 2018|first=Sarah|last=Perez}} In 2014, a hacker shut down Meetup with a DDoS attack, the hacker claimed to be funded by a competitor.{{cite web | last=Colón | first=Marcos | title=Meetup battles prolonged DDoS attack | website=SC Media US | date=March 3, 2014 | url=https://www.scmagazine.com/news/meetup-battles-prolonged-ddos-attack/article/538216/ | access-date=June 14, 2018}} In 2017, Meetup created 1,000 #resist Meetup groups with the intention of coordinating protests in response to the Trump travel ban. This caused some Trump supporters to leave the site or call for a boycott.{{cite news|title=Trump Supporters Boycott Meetup After Company Creates #Resist Groups, Makes its Politics Known|first=Sarah|last=Perez|date=February 16, 2017|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/16/trump-supporters-boycott-meetup-after-company-creates-resist-groups-makes-its-politics-known/|publisher=Techcrunch|access-date=March 16, 2018}} Meetup also partnered with a labor group to organize anti-Trump protests.{{cite web | title=Meetup.com takes risky leap into the Trump resistance | website=Associated Press | date=March 19, 2017 | url=http://www.toledoblade.com/business/2017/03/19/Meetup-com-takes-risky-leap-into-the-Trump-resistance.html | access-date=March 17, 2018}}

Meetup was acquired by WeWork in late 2017 for about $156 million.{{cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/story/why-wework-is-buying-meetup/|publisher=WIRED|access-date=March 15, 2018|date=November 28, 2017|title=WeWork is Buying Meetup Amid an Increasingly Disconnected World|first=Jessi|last=Hempel }} Some former employees said there was a 10% layoff after the acquisition.{{cite web | last=Conger | first=Kate | title=The Mess at Meetup | website=Gizmodo | date=February 16, 2018 | url=https://gizmodo.com/the-mess-at-meetup-1822243738 | access-date=June 15, 2018}} In 2018, Scott Heiferman stepped down as CEO and former Investopedia CEO David Siegel took his place. Heiferman became Chairman of the company.{{cite web | title=Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman moves into chairman role | website=TechCrunch | date=July 17, 2018 | url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/17/meetup-ceo-scott-heiferman-moves-into-chairman-role/ | access-date=November 8, 2018}}{{cite web | title=WeWork-owned Meetup brings on David Siegel as CEO | website=TechCrunch | date=October 30, 2018 | url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/30/wework-owned-meetup-brings-on-david-siegel-as-ceo/ | access-date=November 8, 2018}} In October 2019, Meetup began to test a different pricing model in two US states,{{cite web |last1=Siegel |first1=David |title=Payment test update |url=https://www.meetup.com/lp/paymentchanges?mpId=9038 |website=www.meetup.com |access-date=22 October 2019}} reducing the costs that must be paid by organizers of $23.99/month or $98.94/six months, but requiring users to pay a $2 fee in order to RSVP for events, leaving several users angry.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/15/20893343/meetup-users-furious-new-rsvp-payment-test|title=Meetup wants to charge users $2 just to RSVP for events – and some are furious|last=Deahl|first=Dani|date=2019-10-15|website=The Verge|language=en|access-date=2019-10-16}} In March 2020, WeWork sold Meetup to AlleyCorp and other investors, reportedly at a substantial loss.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/30/wework-sells-off-social-network-meetup-to-alleycorp-and-other-investors/|title = WeWork sells off social network Meetup to AlleyCorp and other investors| date=30 March 2020 }} The deal added AlleyCorp's Kevin P. Ryan onto Meetup's board. In January 2024, Bending Spoons acquired Meetup.

Meetup is an online service used to create groups that host local in-person and virtual events.{{cite journal|title=The 2004 US Presidential campaign: Impact of hybrid offline and online 'meetup' communities|first1=Bruce|last1=Weinberg|first2=Christine|last2=Williams|journal=Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice|volume=8|issue=1|date=July–September 2006|pages=46–57|doi=10.1057/palgrave.dddmp.4340552|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal | last=Toledano | first=Margalit | title=Emergent methods: Using netnography in public relations research |journal=Public Relations Review | volume=43 | issue=3 | year=2017 | issn=0363-8111 | doi=10.1016/j.pubrev.2017.03.007 | pages=597–604}} As of 2017, there are about 35 million Meetup users.{{cite web | last=Vynck | first=Gerrit De | title=WeWork Buys Meetup to Bring People Together Outside of Work | website=Bloomberg.com | date=November 28, 2017 | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-28/wework-to-buy-meetup-a-social-network-to-connect-hobbyists | access-date=March 17, 2018}} Each user can be a member of multiple groups or RSVP for any number of events.{{cite journal | last1=Zhang | first1=Shuo | last2=Lv | first2=Qin | title=Hybrid EGU-based group event participation prediction in event-based social networks | journal=Knowledge-Based Systems | volume=143 | year=2018 | issn=0950-7051 | doi=10.1016/j.knosys.2017.12.002 | pages=19–29| doi-access=free }} Users are usually using the website to find friends, share a hobby, or for professional networking. Meetup users do not have "followers" or other direct connections with each other like on other social media sites.

Meetup users self-organize into groups. As of 2017, there are about 225,000 Meetup groups in 180 countries. Each group has a different topic, size, and rules. Groups are associated with one of 30+ categories and any number of more than 18,000 tags that identify the group's theme. The most popular categories are "adventure and outdoor activities, career and business, and parents and family."{{cite journal|title=Facilitating community networks: Public relations skills and non-professional organizers| first1=Margalit|last1=Toledano |first2=Alexander| last2=Maplesden |journal=Public Relations Review|date=May 24, 2016|volume=42|issue=4|pages=713–722|doi=10.1016/j.pubrev.2016.04.005}} Most events are on a structured schedule each week or month at a local venue, typically on evenings or weekends, though more and more events are being held virtually with a pivot to allowing online events as a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between March and October 2020, Meetup had hosted more than one million online events.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/one-million-meetup-events-hosted-online-301160106.html|title = One Million Meetup Events Hosted Online}}

Meetup groups are run by approximately 140,000 organizers. Any Meetup user can be an organizer. Organizers set up groups, organize events, and develop event content. They also pay a fee to run the group, under the expectation of sharing the cost with members that attend events. Meetup has policies against organizing meetups around a commercial interest that are not compatible with their usage policies, hate speech, or groups that do not meet in-person. Their policy regarding commercial activities has generated some confusion with some claiming that no commercial activities are allowed, even going so far as to claim that a free event that has a sponsor for food and drinks is against Meetup's policies. But purely commercial activities are allowed in their policy, as long as they are, in essence, a Meetup style activity. That is, a winery could organize a wine tasting event through Meetup charging commercial rates, but not use Meetup to simply promote their wines or only sales portal.

• {{Annotated link| Mobilizon}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.meetup.com/ Official website]

{{Online social networking}}

Category:Event management companies of the United States

Category:Social planning websites

Category:Internet-based activism

Category:Internet properties established in 2002

Category:Companies based in New York City

Category:2006 mergers and acquisitions

Category:2017 mergers and acquisitions

Category:WeWork

Category:2020 mergers and acquisitions

Category:2024 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Webby Award winners