Running Meetups using Social Networks

Running Meetups using Social Networking Tools
@nathanlon
How we started with LondonWeb

The beginnings
Pub meetings
Enthusiastic people
Auckland early 2005
Grew to the largest meetup in New Zealand with 180 people a month and international speakers

The Requirement
To network and keep sane
An appropriately sized venue
Quiet and private venue
Location - that is central and close to tubes
Charged a flat rate (not required drink minimum)
Provide or have access to drinks

Set up
Don’t start a community, hook into one that already exists
LondonWeb was originally London Web Design Meetup – already had a following, but only 4 people turning up on the night
Focus on a process and map it out – then change it as needed
A lot of time went into working out everything from introductions, to introduction emails

Early Methods
Calling web developers using the phone book
Having a clear agenda
A good URL – meetup.co.nz
A better name “Auckland Web”
Get a core team and discuss what works
Venue is key – we played off two universities at one point
Ask for involvement and who wants to share

Newer methods
Ask for re-tweets by the speakers
Use speakers twitter names when twittering – they will re-tweet
Supply and demand – release of tickets is an art form

Social Networking sites
Meetup.com
http://www.meetup.com/londonweb/calendar/14226645/
Ning.com – failed
http://webscale.ning.com/
SocialGO.com
http://londonweb.socialgo.com/
Facebook – group – started with a
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=382749332752
Plancast.com
http://plancast.com/p/2xm2
Lanyrd.com
http://lanyrd.com/2010/londonweb-september/

Gathering Community
Write good content
Detail the way to get there:
http://www.prospertechnologies.com/images/hoxton/
Get sponsorship to grow the venue

During the meetup
Set up a twitter hash tag #londonweb
Retweet talk using the meetups twitter account @london_web
Thank the sponsors
Ask the speakers for feedback
Tell people where to find slides
Advertise the podcast
Don’t go too late

URLs and a great domain
Even if you ask for loan of the domain – so you don’t have to pay high prices
Redirect to a domain you own if it’s not yours:
Londonweb.org redirects to londonwebmeetup.org
Use bit.ly with a custom shortener and track
http://bit.ly/moz-london-web-cruise

After the event
Always thank sponsors
Put the slides on slideshare and lanyrd
Rate the meetup online
Get the podcast on both iTunes & vimeo (youtube only allows 10 minutes)
Send out a message about the podcast being available

Supply and Demand
Create urgency, but be careful
If you release too early, people forget or find something else and stay RSVPd
If you release too late, people don’t get warning
Use sponsors to allow pre-release with their network

Running Meetups using Social Networks

by Nathan O'Hanlon

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