2024 at Meetup was marked by many changes. Upon joining the Bending Spoons portfolio in January, the team saw an opportunity to take a fresh look at the entire Meetup ecosystem to determine what was working and what could be done better. We spoke with customers, evaluated the data, and organized and attended events. At the conclusion of our research, three key areas of improvement emerged—and became the priorities that guided our roadmap for the remainder of the year: 

🎯 Boosting platform reliability
🎯 Streamlining communication tools
🎯 Improving group and event discoverability to drive greater engagement 

Since then, the Meetup team has been working hard towards our ambitious goals. As we ramp up our work in the new year, I’m proud to share an update on our progress to date and what we’re working on next.

🎯 Boosting platform reliability

As Meetup has expanded to over 300,000 groups in more than 10,000 cities worldwide, so has its technical debt—a term used to describe the adverse effects of a complex and bloated backend system. If left unchecked, this debt can lead to a buggy user experience and undermine platform stability.

The team concluded that the best long-term solution to Meetup’s technical debt was a major, under-the-hood renovation. While this work may not be immediately visible, it’s vital for the product’s future as it shores up the foundations that will support more improvements and innovations down the line. 

✅ 2024 progress

With all this in mind, addressing Meetup’s technical debt was our first priority project. Here’s how we tackled it: 

• We simplified and modernized Meetup’s backend. This involved migrating critical parts of the codebase and removing the portions of the platform that were no longer in use. As a result, the platform became much leaner and more stable, allowing us to work faster and improving your everyday experience.
• We updated key portions of the Meetup website, such as group Discussions, the Calendar and Members list, the event and group creation tool, the new member onboarding flow, and many more.
• We fixed 400+ bugs. And we listed most of them in this public tracker we introduced mid-year (and will continue to update).

🔜 What’s next?

When it comes to our platform renovation, the most challenging part is behind us. Going forward, we’ll be able to fix issues at a quicker pace and focus on second-order migrations and improvements.

🎯 Streamlining communication tools

Meetup’s communication tools play a crucial role in managing groups and events, fostering community, and sharing information. But despite having access to multiple communication features, many organizers told us they weren’t confident their messages were actually reaching members. We took a closer look and identified a few potential causes:

1. Overlapping features were creating unnecessary confusion
2. Too many emails and notifications were leading members to mute or ignore messages—without organizers realizing it
3. Long-standing bugs added further ambiguity about which messages were being delivered

With this in mind, we set out to make Meetup’s communication tools more reliable and easy to use.

✅ 2024 progress

• We set clear primary communication channels. Now, groups and events each have a designated tool: For group-wide communication, Discussions is the go-to, replacing outdated Message Boards. For event-specific conversations, Comments is the dedicated feature, replacing the redundant Event Chat. Other options—like Direct Messages, Event Announcements, and Contact Members—are still available as before.
• We then made Discussions and Comments better. Now you can format text with bold, italics, lists and links, plus pin important event comments for quick access. We also fine-tuned the notification system to make sure you consistently get updates about new messages, replies, and reactions.
• We made direct messaging more reliable. Conversation loading speed is now 5-10 times faster, with chats now updating in real-time. We reviewed our in-app notifications to ensure you know when you have a new message. Email and push notifications direct to the right conversation. Plus, we added a new message delivery status—now organizers and members can confirm that their messages are going through.

🔜 What’s next?

We’re shifting our focus to Event Announcements and Contact Members. These tools have a lot of room for improvement, so we’ll be digging into them to see where we can make the biggest impact. Stay tuned!

🎯 Improving group and event discoverability to drive greater engagement

Helping people discover groups and events they love is key to organizers’ success—and to Meetup’s success as a whole. That’s why we went looking for new ways to boost member engagement across the platform.

While our other objectives focused on specific features or issues, this one required a more comprehensive approach, and led us to refine multiple parts of the platform to enhance the overall experience.

✅ 2024 progress

We rolled out several improvements to make it easier for members to discover events and groups:

• We built a more engaging discovery experience. The Meetup Explore page on iOS got a fresh look—we updated the layout and event cards to make events more eye-catching and inspiring. The result? A 20% increase in RSVPs from the Explore page. We’re now working on bringing the same experience to Android and building a dedicated strategy for Meetup Web.
• We made event recommendations smarter. Previously, event recommendations were based on simple factors like distance and popularity. Now, our AI-powered algorithm personalizes suggestions based on each member’s interests and past activity, leading to more relevant recommendations—and more RSVPs.
• We improved search results for groups. Meetup’s old search only worked with exact keywords. Now, with AI-powered semantic search, we can deliver a broader range of relevant results. For example, searching for “food” now also returns results for groups that don’t explicitly mention the keyword in their name, like Pizza Lovers NY. These changes have already made an impact: clicks on search recommendations are up by 10%, and group joins from search results have increased by 9%.

🔜 What’s next?

We still have a lot of ideas to make Meetup even more engaging, and we’ll be tackling them from two angles: members and organizers. For members, we’ll explore ways to simplify discovering new groups and events—reducing friction, leveraging the power of social proof, and providing more upfront information about what to expect. For organizers, we’ll develop new tools and resources to understand what events members are looking for and integrate those learnings into your own events.

✨Improving organizers’ overall experience

Beyond our three main initiatives, we also rolled out several smaller—yet impactful—improvements to make Meetup more intuitive, reliable, and efficient for organizers. Here are some of the most significant updates from 2024:

• We improved Member dues. Now, all payments go through a single processor (Stripe), making collections smoother and more reliable. We also improved error handling and added payment status labels so organizers can easily see each member’s current standing.
• We made attendee data easier to access. Instead of pulling information from multiple sources, organizers can now download a single, consolidated file which includes details from the attendee list and members list, as well as responses to registration form questions (for Pro organizers).
• We optimized the member approval process. We made it easier to review and approve pending members by adding a “Pending since” date and a direct link to each request from the Pending list.
• We made network events more powerful. Pro organizers can now duplicate and monetize their network events, plus highlight a key guest using the new Speaker section.
• We enhanced Pro analytics. We migrated the Pro analytics dashboard to an in-house solution, making data collection faster and more reliable for clearer insights.
• We improved the user interface on 10+ pages. We optimized the experience of several useful tools and pages, such as Manage roles, Member dues, Organizer step-down, Create a new network (Pro), and many more.

🔮 Looking towards 2025

Throughout this article, I’ve discussed many of the next initiatives we have in mind—before I wrap up, I wanted to clearly recap our main priorities for the coming months: 

1. Bring our customers an even more reliable experience with additional improvements to Meetup’s backend technology and more bug-fixing across all our platforms.
2. Double-down on small yet impactful changes to the platform to improve the overall organizer experience. This includes a huge range of items and takes into account the feedback we receive from our organizers about how we can improve their experience. For example, thanks to your feedback, we’re already working on making the Contact Members tool more robust.
3. Drive member growth, event discovery, and engagement while also providing organizers with the necessary tools to create and host successful events. For example, we’re currently exploring how we can improve attendance tracking both before and after events.

This is just the beginning for Meetup—I look forward to sharing even more exciting updates on our progress in the months to come. I speak on behalf of the entire Meetup team when I say thank you to all our organizers. We’re so grateful that you’ve chosen Meetup as the place to build your communities, and I look forward to working with many of you in the coming year.

If you’d like regular updates on our progress, you’re welcome to join our Meetup Discord community—it’s a great way to connect with other organizers and share your experiences.

Until next time! 🚀

Chiara, Product lead at Meetup

The post The 2025 Meetup progress report—greater reliability, smoother communications, higher engagement, and more appeared first on Meetup Blog.

We recently rolled out a new personalized event recommendation model. This model uses each individual members’ personal preferences and past activity to suggest new events that align with their unique needs. At the same time, it boosts organizers’ chances of reaching the members who are most likely to attend their events. 

Here’s a quick look at how the model works, plus some simple tips for organizers to maximize their reach.

How does the new recommendation model work?

Before, Meetup used a less powerful recommendation system which based suggestions on basic parameters, like distance and event popularity. 

Our new personalized model is much more robust, considering the following key factors when compiling recommendations on Meetup:

• Event location: How close the event is to the member.
• Timing: How soon the event is based on the dates the member has specified.
• Event and group popularity: How many RSVPs and attendees similar events and groups attract.
• Event topic alignment: How much the event’s stated focus mirrors the member’s stated interests.

By taking these factors into account, we can provide individuals with a more tailored list of relevant events, resulting in a higher rate of RSVPs.

These improvements are a direct result of Meetup’s smarter recommendations, meaning organizers can take advantage of these benefits without any additional action on their part! 

With that said, below are some tips to further boost your groups and events: 

4 tips for boosting group and event visibility 

1. Craft keyword-rich descriptions. When creating event or group descriptions, include all the terms members might search for. A detailed, keyword-packed description helps your events appear in more recommendations.
2. Tag relevant event topics. During event creation, select event topics that accurately reflect the event’s themes and interests. These topics directly influence how the model aligns your event with potential attendees.
3. Set the ideal time and location. Schedule events well in advance (we recommend a few weeks ahead) to give members plenty of time to discover and RSVP. For physical events, make sure the location is as accurate as possible.
4. Keep your group(s) active. Regularly schedule events, post updates, and engage members in Group Discussions to improve your events’ overall visibility and RSVPs.

This new personalized recommendation model is all about helping members discover events they’ll love—and helping you grow your groups and events with engaged attendees. We’re thrilled with the initial results and can’t wait to see how it continues to benefit our community! ❣️

The post Personalized event recommendations that deliver—4 tips to boost your RSVPs appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Messages are a crucial way for organizers and members to stay connected. That’s why we recently introduced several improvements to Meetup’s direct messaging experience. These include greater clarity about message delivery, more consistent notifications, and an updated user interface—check out the full list of improvements below!

Product improvements 

Delivery status: Know when your message has been seen by the recipient

With the message delivery status now displayed directly in the chat, organizers and members can have peace of mind that their messages are being sent and received as expected.

The delivery status is available for everyone on Meetup.com and our iOS and Android apps.

Modern new UI: A revamped user interface for a smoother messaging experience

We’ve also revamped the previously outdated Messages interface in the iOS member app. If you use Meetup on Android, don’t worry! While the two apps might look slightly different, they have all the same key functionality in place.

The update includes many small changes that add up to give the whole experience a more modern and streamlined look and feel. Some examples include:

• A floating button to compose new messages
• Displaying commonly contacted people at the top of the list when you start typing in the ‘Add recipients’ field
• Differentiating your snoozed conversations with a profile photo at 50% opacity

The new UI is available for everyone using the iOS Meetup member app.

Reliability improvements

As we were working on improving the direct messaging experience, we observed some inconsistencies with how messages and notifications were being delivered, which contributed to an overall slow and laggy feeling while using the feature.

Following a full investigation, we identified and fixed the most persistent underlying issues. Now, messages and notifications are delivered and displayed quickly and accurately across all your devices. Here are the main improvements:

• Messages update in real-time while you’re in the chat. Previously, there was a lot of variability in how long it took for messages to be displayed in the chat after they were sent. Now, they appear in real-time as the conversation unfolds.
• The in-app notification badge is shown immediately when a new message is received and is cleared across devices once a message has been viewed. During our investigation, we saw that the in-app notification behavior differed across platforms. This included various delays in the notification badge being shown, as well as the badge not being removed once the message was viewed. Now, the red badge is shown as soon as a new message arrives and is cleared as soon as you open the relevant chat.
• Email and push notifications redirect to the correct chat. On occasion, email or push notifications were redirecting customers to the wrong page (for example, the Home page instead of the intended conversation). We’ve reviewed all the logic to make sure that you’re landing directly on the message you need to see.

The first of many projects geared towards improving your Meetup experience

Messages were our first project within a broader initiative to address the most common customer requests, fix bugs across the platform, and generally improve the Meetup experience for members and organizers alike. 

Next, we’ll be working on improvements to the Event announce and Contact members experience, the event creation process, and Pro-specific benefits, like Network events. 

Simultaneously, we’re also working on new ways to help organizers run and grow successful communities by finding effective ways to boost discoverability, manage inactive members, and reduce event no-shows.

Finally, we’re always working on squashing as many bugs as possible—you can follow our progress via the Meetup Progress Tracker.

As always please send your suggestions for how we can continue to improve Meetup directly to our team via this form. We look forward to sharing more exciting updates with you soon!

The post Snappier, more reliable messaging is here appeared first on Meetup Blog.

As of October 11, 2024, several of Meetup’s advanced features are reserved exclusively for our Meetup+ members. These include:

• Sending unrestricted DMs—contact any other member on Meetup
• Getting a priority position on the waitlist—get first access when new spots open up
• Viewing complete event attendee and group member lists—see who’s part of the community
• Viewing member’s profiles—get to know other members better with additional insights about their interests and groups

From today, these changes are live on Meetup.com, and will roll-out to the Meetup iOS and Android apps within the next week.

What is Meetup+?

Meetup+ is our premium plan for members, available as a weekly, monthly, or annual subscription. A Meetup+ subscription unlocks a more powerful Meetup experience with the following benefits:

• 🆕 Unrestricted direct messaging with other members
• 🆕 Priority position on event waitlists
• 🆕 Full access to event attendee lists and group member lists
• 🆕 Full access to member profiles
• Full access to the “Who will be there” feature for upcoming events
• “First to know” event announcements
• Exemption from service fees when RSVPing to paid events
• Ad-free experience of Meetup across all platforms
• A distinct Member+ badge
• Custom phone home screen app icons

Still, everyone can enjoy the core of what Meetup has to offer, even without a paid subscription. Anyone interesting in exploring Meetup can: 

• Discover new groups and events based on their interests and location
• Join and RSVP for an unlimited number of groups and events
• Connect with other members through public communication channels, like Group Discussion and Event Comments
• Connect with organizers and event hosts via direct messages

Accessing the Meetup+ features and benefits

• Meetup members can subscribe to access the Meetup+ features and benefits by navigating to their Account Settings, selecting Meetup+ subscription, and following the subsequent prompts.
• Starter organizers automatically have full access to their group member lists and the attendee lists for the events they host. To access the plan’s other offerings, they’ll need to start a separate Meetup+ member subscription following the same process as outlined in the point above.
• Members who already subscribe to Meetup+—as well as Standard and Pro organizers—automatically have full access to all the exclusive Meetup+ advantages.

Below, we dive into the specifics of which Meetup benefits are still accessible to everyone, and which are now reserved for Meetup+ members.

Direct messages

• All members can use the Messages feature to communicate with the leadership team members of the groups they’re in, meaning organizers, co-organizers, assistant organizers, and event hosts. Everyone also has unrestricted access to Meetup’s other communication tools: Group Discussions and Event Comments.
• Only Meetup+ members can send direct messages to other Meetup members. 
  • Members who are not subscribed to Meetup+ can chat with others via Messages if the conversation is started by an organizer or another member with a Meetup+ subscription.
  • Members who are not subscribed to Meetup+ can continue sending direct messages in chats started before October 11.
  • On Meetup, personal privacy settings take precedence. If you’ve blocked someone, they won’t be able to send you direct messages even if they have Meetup+.

Waitlists

• All members can join the waitlist for events they’re interested in.
• Meetup+ members get priority on the waitlist, meaning they have first access to any new spots that open up. If additional free spots remain, others on the waitlist will be added to the event on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Group member and event attendee lists

• All members can see the full details of members with leadership roles.
• All members can see “Familiar Faces” on an attendance list, in case they’ve attended an event with the same member(s) before. This feature allows everyone to immediately discern the people they’ve previously encountered through other Meetup experiences, before RSVPing to an event.
• Meetup+ members can see personal details of others in the group member and event attendee lists. Depending on each individual’s privacy settings, this may include full names (based on each member’s display name) and profile pictures. For other members, these details remain hidden.

Member profile

• All members can navigate to another member’s profile to see their profile picture, first name, and selection of their interests and the groups they’re part of.
• Meetup+ members can see the complete details that other members have chosen to share on their profile pages, which may include their full name, the entire list of interests, a comprehensive overview of group membership, social media links, and additional personal information in the “About me” and “I’m looking to” sections. Of course, an individual’s privacy settings still determine what others can see on their profiles.

Why did we introduce these changes?

We believe that the plans we offer to our members should reflect the different ways individuals use the Meetup platform. While the range of unique use cases is endless, we’ve identified that the vast majority of members’ needs can be separated into two distinct categories: 

• Core needs: new group/event discovery, joining groups, RSVPing to events, and communication via public channels or private chats with organizers and event hosts.
• Advanced needs: on-platform networking, private member-member communications, priority access, and more.

We’ve reorganized Meetup’s features and perks to provide everyone with access to a free community and events platform, while reserving the most powerful tools for those who choose to subscribe for a more benefit-rich Meetup experience.

You can read more about Meetup+, including answers to the most frequently asked questions in our dedicated Support article.

The post Now exclusive to Meetup+: Unlimited DMs, priority waitlist, full access to member lists, and more appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Meetup Starter offers new and would-be organizers a way to try their hand at community management in a lightweight environment. This free plan can help ease first-time organizers into the Meetup experience with a sampling of the tool’s core benefits, as follows:

• 1 group
• Up to 2 in-person events per month
• Up to 10 attendees per event
• In-app communications via Group Discussions and Event Comments

Starter vs. Standard—which plan is right for you?

Meetup Standard is still our primary plan for organizers—it includes all the tools needed to manage up to three different groups and host an unlimited number of events every month.

Meetup Starter is a simplified version of the Meetup Standard organizer experience. As it’s designed to ease new organizers into event management, it focuses on just the essentials. 

Compared to Meetup Starter, the Standard plan offers organizers greater power and flexibility. With Standard, you have the following benefits:

• Up to 3 groups
• Unlimited events and attendees
• The option to host in-person or online events
• The ability to create recurring events
• Tools for selling tickets or collecting membership dues
• Access to more powerful communication features, such as emailing group members to promote events

If you’re seeking a complete management tool, Meetup Standard is likely the better choice. 

For truly unlimited Meetup capabilities, we also offer Meetup Pro—see how Meetup Standard and Pro compare.

Fostering a richer Meetup experience for everyone

By providing new organizers with a simplified option, we hope to make Meetup’s ecosystem richer with an ever more diverse range of organizers, groups, and events. We look forward to welcoming our new Starter organizers to the Meetup community!

The post Introducing Meetup Starter—a free plan to make community building more accessible appeared first on Meetup Blog.

This blog was updated on September 19, 2024 to reflect the latest updates to Meetup’s Member Dues feature. 

Offering high-quality, dynamic Meetup events is often a top priority for organizers. These can add up (it costs to bring in speakers, technology, or equipment), and collecting membership dues is a reliable way to offset your costs.

Benefits of Membership Dues 

Foster better engagement: Membership dues don’t just assist with event costs but can also help foster more engagement and participation. Groups with membership fees have more consistent and accurate RSVPs, which is a great advantage for any organizer. These members are also likely to post in group discussions and pay closer attention to group messages.

Set flexible fees: Customize the cost and frequency of your dues to fit your groups’ needs. You can offer free trials, adjust the amount, and—if you decide that membership dues are no longer needed—remove them entirely.

Easily manage payments: Head to your Money page to keep track of payments and easily process refunds. Schedule convenient recurring renewal payments, and automatically notify members to pay or update their payment information. Plus, new members are automatically prompted to pay, freeing up your time as an organizer to focus on creating high-quality events and content. 

Simple and efficient payment processing with Stripe—now available for all organizers

Meetup’s Member Dues feature is powered by Stripe to provide you with secure, reliable, and customizable payment options. Up until recently, this service was only available to organizers based in the United States. As ofOctober 3, 2024, we’re excited to make the Stripe integration available to all organizers worldwide (replacing PayPal as the previous payment processor).

❗If you’re an organizer based outside of the United States and you were previously managing membership dues via PayPal, please be aware that we have decommissioned the PayPal integration as of October 3, 2024. Follow the instructions under the Get started now section of this article to set up Stripe and continue collecting membership dues without interruption. Learn more about this change in our dedicated article.

Member Dues are always improving

We’ve also taken the opportunity to introduce important improvements to the Member Dues feature. 

More reliable fee collection: Over time, organizers using the Member Dues feature have reported various problems with processing payments and updating member subscription statuses. Last month, we kicked off a concerted effort to address these issues—as of today, organizers can experience a smoother and more reliable payment collection process.

Better user interface: In addition to resolving many bugs and errors, we’ve also adjusted the user interface to make the process of setting up, activating, and stopping Member Dues more intuitive. 

Get started now

Interested in setting up Member Dues for your group(s)? Create a Stripe account and connect it to your Meetup organizer profile. From there, it’s just a matter of determining the amount and frequency of your fee. Use the following guides for easy step-by-step instructions:

• Setting up a Stripe account
• Setting member dues

If you have questions or would like help setting up dues for your group, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team.

The post Exciting updates to Member Dues appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Clear, consistent, and intuitive communications are key to a successful Meetup community. This is why we’re excited to introduce several improvements to Meetup’s suite of communication tools. 

Historically, Meetup has offered several distinct communication tools: Group Discussions, Event Comments, Event Chat, Message Boards, Direct Messages, Event Announcements, and Contact Members (via mass email). While some of these addressed unique needs, others overlapped significantly. So, as of July 18, 2024, we’ve streamlined our existing offering to simplify the member and organizer experience. We also released highly-requested improvements and fixes to the remaining features. 

We explore the details of all these changes below!

Unified communication tools

As mentioned above, some of Meetup’s historical communication tools had similar functions, which created confusion for Meetup organizers and members alike. For example, Event Chat and Event Comments both addressed the same need and were used interchangeably, making event-specific conversations difficult to follow. The same was also true for Discussions and Message Boards.

In response to this feedback, we’ve streamlined our suite of communication features: 

• On July 18, 2024, we removed Event Chat and Message Boards.
• Group Discussions are now the primary communication tool for organizers to engage directly with all members of their group.
• Event Comments are now the dedicated feature for organizers to communicate with members attending a specific event.
• Direct Messages, Event Announcements, and ‘Contact Members’ features remain available as before.

Not familiar with Group Discussion and Event Comments? Check out these helpful articles to get started:

• How do I manage Discussions?
• Managing event communications 

Why did we keep Group Discussions and Event Comments?

We asked organizers for feedback on which features should remain and which should be removed. The results were clear: Group Discussions and Event Comments were favored above the others, with many organizers citing them as more straightforward and easy-to-use. The usage data confirmed these trends and we decided to sunset Message Boards and Event Chat. 

At the same time, we also set out to introduce some meaningful changes to the remaining communication features…

Three important improvements to Group Discussions and Event Comments

In addition to asking organizers which communication features they preferred, we also asked them about how we could make their favorite tools even better. Looking at the list, we picked the ones that could immediately improve organizers’ everyday experience. The rest? We’ve saved those for later!

Now, you can do the following with Group Discussions and Event Comments:

1. Add formatting, lists, and links to your messages

Use the new markdown-supported formatting options—Bold, Italic, Ordered lists, Unordered lists, Links—to make your messages more expressive and clear.

Here’s how the formatting looks before and after sending it:

2. Pin your important Comments

Organizers and co-organizers can now add the most important notices to the top of an event’s Comments section. Select up to three different messages to be displayed as the first thing your members see. Simply pin and unpin messages by selecting the 📌 icon next to each message.

3. Rely on timely and consistent notifications

While the first two items on this list are new features, the last—and possibly most important—improvement to Group Discussions and Event Comments ensures that notifications for new messages, replies, and reactions are being successfully delivered. 

We recognize that inconsistent notifications have been an ongoing source of frustration for organizers. Over the past several months, we took a comprehensive look at all the possible notifications associated with these two features and systematically checked to make sure they’re all working as intended. In the case that something wasn’t behaving correctly, we quickly prioritized a fix. 

Here are all the notifications you can expect to be delivered for Group Discussions and Event Comments:

Beyond the specific investigation into notifications, we also introduced some more global improvements to the code powering both of these features. These include: 

• Migrating the Discussions feature to a new, more modern, backend platform, which significantly reduces the complexity of the feature’s design and will improve overall reliability going forward. 
• Introducing new logic to how Event Comments are displayed, making it easier to quickly scroll through comments and generally providing everyone with a much smoother user experience.

Communication is such an integral part of the Meetup experience for organizers and members—we hope these recent changes make it easier and more enjoyable to connect with your groups. Want to let us know what you think? Share your feedback directly with our team!

The post Exciting changes to Meetup’s communication features appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Hi all! It’s Chiara, the product lead for Meetup, here to share some updates with you. Today’s topics: a change in subscription pricing and the latest developments aimed at enhancing key areas of the Meetup experience.

Let’s get into it!

Subscription pricing

Starting with the trickiest topic: For the first time since 2019, existing organizer membership prices are changing. Below is a table displaying some of the updated prices before taxes.

The new prices come into effect on June 6, 2024, and will apply to all Standard organizers, as well as new Pro organizers who sign up after June 6. If you’re already a Standard organizer, you’ll continue paying your current subscription price until your next renewal date. You’ll receive an email 28 days before that date notifying you of the upcoming change.

Pro organizers who signed up before June 6 won’t be affected by this price increase.

What do the new prices support?

We believe Meetup has tremendous potential. However, given its current technological state, it will take a significant investment to unlock this potential. So while I understand that a price increase is never popular, it does enable us to invest fully in our ambitious vision for the platform. This starts with major improvements to the underlying technology and continues with making Meetup more intuitive and impactful than ever before. 

Building a stable base

To tackle pressing issues effectively and prepare for future enhancements, we’re performing a complete overhaul of the existing Meetup backend architecture. With two decades of development behind it, the technological system has grown very complex: The product is written in multiple coding languages, and the website uses four different servers. As such, the entire system needs to be rebuilt as a cohesive foundation that can support both crucial fixes and new features. Though a major engineering undertaking, this foundational work will set the stage for faster, more effective updates moving forward.

Addressing top customer concerns

In the months following our acquisition, we’ve been listening closely to your feedback and going over every aspect of the platform with a fine-tooth comb. As a result, we’ve identified ongoing issues in key areas such as communicating with members, managing attendee lists, updating event information, and joining events and groups. We’ve made fixing these issues a top priority.

Improving core functionality

Progress may appear slow at first, given our initial focus on the core technological improvements mentioned above. However, substantial advancements are quickly happening behind the scenes. And once that groundwork is laid, you’ll notice a much faster pace of improvements.

Here are the main areas we’re currently working on and will continue prioritizing in the short term:

Effective communication features. Regular and reliable interaction with your members is crucial for building your community. As such, we’ve been working hard to make Meetup’s communication features more efficient and impactful. Our goal is to help you communicate more effectively with members while investing less time in doing so.

Greater member acquisition. We’re making a major investment in bringing new members to Meetup—encouraging more and more people to discover the platform and join your communities. As a result, we expect an increasing number of people to find out about and have the opportunity to join your events.

Data- and AI-driven recommendations. To spark even greater participation in your communities, we’re introducing AI models to deliver personalized event and group recommendations. Members will receive more tailored suggestions, leading to higher engagement and more meaningful interactions.

Continued investment in platform reliability and bug fixes. We’re putting a lot of resources into making sure Meetup runs smoother than ever, for reliable service and hassle-free event organization. Even as we move forward with new innovations, we’ll continue to prioritize optimizing functionality and fixing bugs as quickly as possible.

An ongoing journey

Meetup was created to unite people through meaningful connections and shared experiences. Today, the platform supports a community of members and organizers spanning 10,000 cities, 193 countries, and countless interests and causes. As organizers, you’ve been a fundamental part of these achievements, and I look forward to reaching even greater heights together. The entire team and I are fully committed to bringing you a platform that’s faster, more effective, and always delightful to use—so you can continue bringing connection and community to people’s lives.

Thank you for choosing Meetup as the home for your community.

Chiara

Product lead, Meetup

The post New Organizer pricing, key improvements appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Earlier this year, we announced the Community Fund, a new initiative to recognize how organizers have contributed to the success of the global Meetup community and help them continue to grow. We received 2,000 applications from organizers around the world—in the end, we distributed the allotted $50,000 among ninety-seven organizers. The finalists were selected based on their excellent event track record, ambitious future plans, and commitment to making their communities better in unique and exciting ways.

Unique ways of making an impact

As part of the application process, we asked organizers to share recollections of their most memorable 2023 events, their plans for 2024, and general information about what they hope to achieve with their Meetup group(s). Here are just some of the wonderful ways our award recipients are using Meetup to make an impact in their communities.

Fostering connection through shared interests…

“We have members as young as teenagers and as old as seniors. This is an amazing gift because members get to form friendships with people they would never encounter in the normal course of their lives. I’ve seen members give [and] get job advice, relationship support, medical care, you name it…Soccer is why we all get together, but after the game is over we continue to connect in so many wonderful ways.” – Feel Good Soccer (Co-ed NYC, Brooklyn, & Queens)

“Soul Song puts [the] ‘community’ in ‘community choir’. While essentially we are a place where people can come to sing, we say that people tend to both find and lose themselves in the music.” – Soul Song Brisbane Pop Choir

“[Surfing allows for] a sense of immediate bonding during the learning process. The camaraderie that we create has made lasting friendships in, and out, of the water from the first lesson, to women who are now going on travel adventures all over the world. We also [offer private] scholarship lessons for women who use this as a wellness benefit both physically and mentally to re-enter the world after a tragic event or abuse. Surfing is the perfect level playing [field] to let go, rejuvenate, and re-energize.” – Salt Water Divas A Surf Sisterhood

…and opposing viewpoints!

“There are many Meetup groups which are dedicated to bringing like-minded people together. We love those groups. But our group has the opposite purpose: It brings people together who are NOT like-minded. The group is explicitly based on bringing everybody together based on geography (living in the same area), and NOT based on sharing other traits in common.” – Tempe Neighborhood Potluck

Inspiring people to try new things

“If you’re not familiar with bluegrass jams, it is a community (not performance) music experience based in the premise that anyone – no matter what skill level – is always welcome…People repeatedly tell us how open and welcoming our jam is and that over time they have gained confidence in their playing and ability to lead songs in the group.” – Bluegrass Jams in and around NYC

“We bring people together to help care for their local neighborhood and protect the environment from litter pollution. Our cleanups are very easy to join, people do not need any prior experience or equipment, they just sign up and show up.” – Refuse Refuse – San Francisco Cleanups

“Most Wednesdays, we invite anyone to come tour the space, bring something broken to get fixed, or a project they need guidance on. One [evening], there was a quiet teen working in the loft for a long time. We asked what had brought him to the space and he said his therapist had suggested it as a safe space to be creative and practice being around others. And I have noticed often since that more vulnerable individuals will use this Meetup as a time to come in, check out that we really are a diverse, inclusive space, and then breathe a sigh of relief that they have found community.” – Decatur Makers

Building uplifting communities

“We have to mention Jamboree, which is the week-long 2SLGBTQI+ summer camp for adults that we run each year at a summer camp north of Toronto. For many of us, it is our favorite week of the year.” – Out & Out

“We were able to have members from across the US, Belize, Europe and Africa come to share writing and positive critique that is truly magical. We laughed, connected, [and] cried from relating to moving written work.” – Colors of Light, Black People Write

“Our mission is to offer a haven for women to forge connections, share wisdom, and flourish, no matter their location. We pride ourselves on a consistent and structured approach that members find reassuring and inviting, no matter which [event they attend].” – Global Women’s Empowerment Network

Actively fighting loneliness & isolation

“We believe that providing a gathering place for seniors—who are often isolated—to get together to support and uplift each other while having lively discussions (and sometimes just having fun) is a critical service…This group is incredibly supportive. Outside of our meetings, members have helped each other with home maintenance, getting around…and simply being there in times of need…” – Events For Your Spirit

“Our mission is to reduce isolation by creating welcoming spaces that support neurodiverse people to make meaningful connections with others…Our events provide just the right amount of structure and support for neurodiverse people. This allows people to be themselves, feel less alone, and build up their social networks.” – Mneurodivergent Twin Cities

“Loneliness can be especially acute during holidays when more social activity takes place. To address this, we organize special seasonal events like Easter Egg hunts, Halloween parties, and Christmas initiatives for those who may find themselves alone during these times.” – The Great Friendship Project

Creating spaces for entrepreneurship

“We have had multiple startup companies form in our group, we mentor people that go for federal grants…and most importantly people develop confidence to start projects they did not originally think they could accomplish.” – MoCo Makers

“It is difficult to overstate the impact of belonging to a thriving community of “makers”. HackPGH is a truly life-changing place where creative exploration, professional development, and socializing are actively encouraged.” – HackPGH

“We host a monthly Startup Happy Hour where entrepreneurs can gather to meet each other and to hear the story of an accomplished entrepreneur. The peer-to-peer socializing is so important as launching a company can be a lonely enterprise. It also includes an “Ask Me Anything” session where the earlier stage entrepreneurs can ask questions from the later stage entrepreneur and then apply the answers to their own business.” – StartupSac

We’re incredibly grateful for the role all organizers have played in furthering Meetup’s mission to foster genuine human connections and for sharing their successes and ambitions with us. While we weren’t able to award everyone who applied to this year’s Community Fund, we hope to find more opportunities to work with organizers in the future.❣️

The post Meet the recipients of this year’s $50,000 Meetup Community Fund appeared first on Meetup Blog.

Watch our latest community update with Meetup’s new product lead, Chiara Vivaldi. During the live session, Chiara reviewed the key areas we’re prioritizing in the coming months: product reliability, communication tools, and event discoverability. 

About Bending Spoons

• Bending Spoons is a tech company and app developer based in Milan, Italy
• It became Meetup’s new parent company in January 2024
• Other apps in the company’s product portfolio include Splice, Remini, and Evernote
• Bonus: the name is a reference to the Matrix!

Quick recap: Top features launched in 2023

• Event feedback: view individual reviews 
• Advanced ticketing: offer special discounts
• New member profile page

2024 priorities

Boost product and platform reliability

We plan to invest substantial time and resources into this effort to unlock massive benefits down the line. We’ll do this by…

• Migrating a large portion of Meetup’s codebase
• Tackling bugs affecting core parts of the experience, like registration, event creation and payments 
• Simplifying the product (without compromising functionality)

Streamline communication tools

Customer research made it clear that there’s a lot we can improve in Meetup’s communications features. We’ll aim to improve functionality by…

• Streamlining communication features to prevent confusion
• Reducing noise from other Meetup emails and notifications

Increase discoverability of groups and events 

Event and group discovery is foundational for Meetup’s success and there’s a big opportunity to encourage members to attend events they’ll enjoy, We’ll tackle this opportunity from two sides:

• For members: Improve the suggestion algorithm and make the discovery experience more engaging
• For organizers: Leverage data and insights to help organizers create successful events

Top Q&A questions and resources

Will you add more bells and whistles? Or focus on basic functionality?
Right now, our top priority is the reliability of the platform. We’ve already started working on that. First, we want to make sure the product is solid. We’re going to tackle it bit by bit, starting with communication tools. Then, move on to everything else that drives value for Meetup.

We, organizers, are paying customers. As you improve the platform, how will you consult with us and communicate changes?
We’re huge on feedback and co-creation. We’re communicating what we do on various channels; Discord, blog, and X. It’s great when there’s unprompted feedback. We do read through it. In addition, we’re sending out surveys and doing customer interviews. Once we develop features, we will test them.

Resources

• Discord – Connect with other organizers
• Feedback form – Share your thoughts as you use Meetup
• X (Twitter) – Follow for regular updates on our progress

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