Meet Meetup

Have you ever moved to a new city and did not know a single soul? Are you currently looking to expand your social circles?

Well... I have a tool that could potentially help you find some new besties!

Meet, Meetup!

Meetup is an online social networking platform that puts you in touch with locally like-minded people who have similar interests. Meetup is a facilitator for groups to communicate with each other, plan meetups, and share info. Meetup’s main objective is to connect people to meet face to face.

Using Meetup is free, but costs $2.99 if you are the organizer of a group. There are 33 main topics with more than 1000 specific topics when searching for groups that interest you.

PROS:

·      You can make new friends

·      It's free if you’re just a user and not a group organizer

·      Meetup’s functionalities: provides tools for scheduling meetings, gathering RSVPs, having discussions within the group, adding polls, sharing files, posting photos, generating name badges, automating notices to members, assigning different leadership responsibilities, and more

·      It’s a tool for people who enjoy group activities

CONS:

·      Safety concerns: Despite the ability to report other users, you are still meeting with people who are often strangers

·      Potential inadvertent costs: Though it is free to use, some organizers will charge group membership fees