Showdown at the Seattle Meetup Corral (4/2005) |
credit: photo Michael Hanscom, Tags/PS: MakeYouGoHmm [enlarge photo]
Last night was the first Seattle blogger meetup since meetup.com had announced the new price increase. There wasn’t a huge amount of tension in the room, although the general consensus from all who were polled was that this sucked. Meetup.com doesn’t really offer that many features that make it worthwhile to pay for their ’service.’ The pictures don’t quite do the situation complete justice.
Ok, well, maybe some of the pictures do.
I also learned from Chris Pirillo that the Gnomedex registrations are filling up fast. I told him that this is our family vacation time of the year so I don’t know if we’ll be in town, but if we are in town and the registrations aren’t already full, then I’ll be there. We talked a bit about the situation with Dave Winer keynoting and also he informed me that Adam Curry is keynoting too; it’s a dual keynote!
The last time Chris visited MakeYouGoHmm he made sure to point out that there would be plenty of power strips to go with the Wi-Fi. Sounds good, Chris!
My personal take on Meetup.com and I vocalized this to the group is that we could build our own event/organization website relatively quickly, but this would of course require volunteers and organization to pull off. The advantage of having our own meetup area would allow better exposure for all the bloggers among the group, easier sharing of OPML (containing RSS for the entire group attendees), perhaps even a shared aggregator that aggregates all Seattle bloggers blog entries, also easier blogger meetup registration and much, much more. It wouldn’t be very expensive to have hosted, and perhaps we could even get some Seattle-area hosting company to donate the necessary hosting in exchange for advertising on the site.
However, in the short term at least, the consensus seems to be that we are sticking with Meetup.com and several of us pitched in $2 USD to go towards the tip jar to cover the upcoming meetup.com fees. I very much do not think that the organizer should have to pay a dime to put these events on — after all, they are doing the work organizing the events. I have no problem donating time or money to the project to help out.
Now here’s a thought …
If anybody else is interested in helping to build a custom Seattle events/organization area (or possibly making it open to others beyond Seattle group) then please post in the comments area here along with what skills you could bring to the group. I believe we can build our own custom website area in the background and if Meetup.com pulls any more garbage, then it would be easy to switch the group over. The costs would be minimal, although time and volunteers would be required.
These are the positions / project specs that I feel would be necessary to accomplish this type project:
- 15-25 hrs. programming
- 10-15 hrs. design / graphics
- 5 hrs. promotion / advertising
- a domain for the project with unique IP address.
- professionally managed website hosting with these preferred specs: Linux-based Apache server, SSH, PHP, XML dom, MySQL database, at least 1GB of bandwidth a month, at least 1 GB of storage, a few POP email boxes for organizer/admins of the website
These project specs are off the top of my head and rough estimations only of the committment that would be required. Please keep in mind that at the present time I’m only throwing this out for discussion and that this isn’t a confirmed or even approved project by the group; it’s merely expanding on option #3 proposed by another Seattle blogger Meetup attendee (option #3 being that we build our own website).
If there is enough interest and enough willing volunteers, we could register a domain, acquire hosting, and start knocking this out. I am willing to help organize the technical aspects of this project and donate some of the programming hours/time via my company. The additional programming time, graphics and design, promotion, advertising, etc would be up to others in the group to step up and volunteer to provide.
Interested? Anybody? Bueller? Please use the comments and/or trackback to discuss this.
Update 4/24/2005: Myles from Meetup.com did not seem to appreciate my satirical photo captions and called our group “belly achin” in a post on the meetup.com press blog. Next, after feeling the brushback, he stoppped by and apologized, sort of (see below). He was then followed by Hillary from Meetup who apologized for Myle’s poorly vetted words (Thanks Hilary!) and said she loved the photos and captions. This morning Dylan stopped by to say that Myles apologized again, but when I stopped by he was still making excuses: “The photo was wrong.” Too bad Myles can’t seem to take a joke. Without laughter what would life be like? This blog is titled: Things That … Make You Go Hmm. This situation definitely made me go hmm. Dylan has some really good thoughts on corporate blogging and PR and I wanted to make sure to add his URL to this original post. He’s now wondering how long and/or if the Seattle Times will pick up on this story. Hmm …
tags: seattle, webloggers, meetup, seattlemeetup
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Belly-Achin’ Bloggers in Seattle
According to this image from the Make You Go Hmmm Blog, some of the good folks at the Seattle Blogger Meetup chipped in a few bucks and helped Anita Rowland with the nominal fee for the Seattle Blogger Meetup Group. Guess this Meetup was worth their t…
Trackback by Meetup Watch — April 21, 2005 @ 3:14 pm PST
OK TDavid if you can take this national with a bloggers focus I’ll pitch in. I’ve got plenty of server space that meets your specs and can certainly register whatever domain you might need… Let me know and I’ll hit you up in chat at http://www.scriptschool.com
Comment by FranciscoIV — April 21, 2005 @ 3:50 pm PST
TDavid - I could provide gratis graphics skills - photoshop/illustrator/VR/3D/Final Cut/iMovie and some audio skills (podcast?) as I’ve got a fairly complete audio software/hardware setup. Also got years of graphic design and publishing to back up the offer. I’d be a willing member of the team and with AIM/iChat and email we could all to this pretty fluidly from where we are.
Comment by Chas Redmond — April 22, 2005 @ 12:07 am PST
I’ve got a good domain… IM me or email me for the idea.
Comment by Chris Pirillo — April 22, 2005 @ 1:01 am PST
That sounds most excellent, Chas!
I’ve my various IM info below.
FranciscoIV, I’ll talk to you later today before or after the radio show.
Chris, I don’t know what IMs you use or your name (I can do some digging around over the weekend though on your sites) but here’s mine below so please add me to your list for whatever IM program(s) you use:
Skype - TDavid
ICQ - 16588266
AIM - TDavidsdotcom
iChat - tdavids at mac d0t com
Yahoo - MakeYouGoHmmDotCom
Please help spread the word. The more folks we can get involved in helping with this, the faster it could become a reality.
Comment by TDavid — April 22, 2005 @ 9:33 am PST
My belly’s aching now to say
This was going to be an odds ‘n’ ends post, but then I check Anita’s report on Wednesday’s weblogger meetup. Some quick background: The Seattle Webloggers Meetup (Weblogger Meetup No. 1) has been around for a number of years. (I…
Trackback by Client and Server — April 22, 2005 @ 7:44 pm PST
As the idiot who stated we have three options… I’m pretty agnostic. I am willing to offer my web dev/design skills as needed, though.
Comment by dw — April 22, 2005 @ 11:02 pm PST
Meetup.com = Shut Up
[Warning: It’s raining, cables out, very long post coming] When you were little, nobody ever complained that your lemonade had too much sugar in it nor did anyone complain in your face that $.10 was a rip off.
Trackback by The Post Money Value — April 23, 2005 @ 7:43 pm PST
Belly-Achin’ in Seatlle
It’s tough to be a customer these days. Companies just don’t seem to want them anymore.
First Verizon’s CEO, Ivan Seidenberg, starts insulting his customers and probably sends the “Can you hear me now” dude running off to cry in a corner.
“W…
Trackback by Wombat Mobile — April 23, 2005 @ 9:52 pm PST
TDavid and company -
I just sent an apology to Anita — figured I’d post it here too.
First off, sorry if I offended anyone by inferring that Seattle Bloggers were “belly achin’.”
“Belly achin’ “ was merely an observation based on annotated photo #3 that implied the following was being said by the group:
“Meetup? Yeah, they suck”
“I could use the power of print to produce fliers that say Meetup Sucks”
“Meetup? Yeah, sounds kinda greedy”
If you ask me, these comments really come across that there WAS a whole lot of belly achin’ going down.
However, at the end of the Meetup, people DID end up chipping in right? $2.00 to hang with some of the best bloggers on the planet! Not a bad deal. Not all that sucky. Maybe we ought to request the photo annotations be toned down so it doesn’t make you guys look like y’all were belly achin’ …
I’m stepping up to say sorry if the comment rubbed the wrong way. Wonder if anyone in Seattle will step up to say that those photos were probably a little too over the top and not representative of the group. Maybe someone will step up and say, “Hey — $2 bucks ain’t all that bad considering…”
If not, no worries. That’s OK. Glad to being having this conversation with you nonetheless. Maybe, as requested elsewhere, I will visit Seattle and stop by your next Meetup…
/m
Comment by Myles — April 23, 2005 @ 10:13 pm PST
I’m not yet part of the Seattle Blogger Meetup group, but I would be willing to provide some architecture/PHP/MySQL dev time. My schedule is extremely crazy, so I can’t *guarantee* any solid hours but I am willing to put in as much as I can.
Comment by LJ Kyser — April 23, 2005 @ 10:18 pm PST
Thank you to those who have posted with offers to help. I will be contacting all of you directly at the contact information provided above so that we can take this to private channels and move to the next step.
Myles - Thank you for stopping by as well, but it’s too bad this wasn’t your first stop (instead of last). I was wondering when you’d get over here after seeing you refer to me as ‘artist’ on at least one other blog (I do have a name and it’s nice to see you finally use it here). I wasn’t going to comment any further on this situation because I felt the original post speaks for itself and it’s rather obvious who wasn’t — and still isn’t as best I can tell — completely getting the original message.
But now I have to ask, what on earth do you mean by this: “Maybe we ought to request the photo annotations be toned down so it doesn’t make you guys look like y’all were belly achin’…”
Assuming you speak for Meetup.com, then tell me please: what is meetup.com trying to be? Part of the thought police or something? Please come down from the clouds!
Meetup facillitates meetings through a website, nothing more, nothing less. Meetup.com certainly doesn’t control what people’s First Amendment rights are before, during or afterwards and/or on their blogs. Strap it on and learn how to take some criticism from your customers. Do you take offense when watching The Simpsons too? Sheesh.
It’s painfully obvious to everybody else reading that these annotations were overblown and overhyped. Check out the one with one-year-old Anabel (and look at the expression on her face) and please buy a clue: “I think I’ll throw up the next time somebody says ‘Meetup’.”
If one has to explain what something like this means, then it ruins the humor in it! Sorry, if you didn’t find it funny but people who cannot laugh at themselves need to lighten up … a lot.
Myles, reality check: people at the meetup weren’t really saying any of those things, just as Homer doesn’t mean any of the crazy things he says and does in the Simpsons household. Nor does a one-year-old possess the ability to speak (yet). It’s called satire, Myles, satire.
You didn’t read all the annotations in all the pictures, nor have you seen any past annotations I’ve done here before (which had absolutely zero to do with meetup.com), have you? The fact of the matter is that you got pissed, overreacted and brushed back the absolute wrong party: your own customers!
Now you’re enjoying (not) the reaction to the reaction. That’s the blogosphere. Predictably, now, you sort of see the error of your ways and are out in damage control mode.
As for showing up at a future Seattle blogger meetup?
I’m sure you’d be welcome at one of them. Everybody is welcome there as far as I can tell. It’s a friendly bunch and I don’t think I’ve ever heard or seen anything get out of hand there yet. Even the other night when bloggers in attendence — every one of them that I spoke to — thought these new meetup.com price increases for the organizer were poorly realized and executed. I saw on your site where you said you did studies and focus groups with other organizers and the consensus was what you did, but nobody in our group that I spoke with seemed to agree with this, anyway.
As for being harsh? Believe me, if I had truly wanted to be harsh, then I wouldn’t have bothered with satirical captions and pictures, I’d have just spelled it out in black and white. Haven’t read my blog very much at all or you’d know better. Maybe it’s time to subscribe
Might help with the context.
Have a good one, Myles. It does say something positive that you are out here, taking the bullets and apologizing. Please just use my name and I’ll use yours.
Comment by TDavid — April 23, 2005 @ 11:33 pm PST
Myles,
What you have to understand is that “the conversation” right now is NOT spinning in Meetup’s favor. The annotations in a silly little photo should be the least of your worries. You’ve lost a lot of supporters, and a lot of influencers, with your move.
Personally? It seems that you’re charging the wrong folks in this equation - the people who evangelized you, the people who brought you these micro audiences. They shouldn’t be bearing the brunt of this new financial obligation to Meetup - your sponsors should, your venues should.
The efforts discussed in Seattle were inevitable.
Chris
Comment by Chris Pirillo — April 24, 2005 @ 12:45 am PST
Belly-Achin’ Blowout
In the weblog meetup report I posted here, I ended with a note about a post on the Meetup Watch PR blog. Jack first noticed the post because there was a click-through to my site from there, but I’d have found it soon after because there was a trackbac…
Trackback by Anita's LOL — April 24, 2005 @ 2:01 am PST
TDavid –
Hi, it’s Hilary from Meetup, and one of your biggest fans. As you know, I love the name of your blog (how can I not, considering my initials!) and the wonderful annotated photos you do. I have told Anita previously that I wished that I had someone like you to blog my Meetups!
Now, about the photo. I loved it, and the humor. Please do not think that the reaction Myles had is representative of all of us at Meetup.
As for the belly achin’ comment — I am very, very unhappy that this comment was made about your group’s earnest discussion of the fee process. Please accept my sincere apology on behalf of the Team at Meetup.
Your fan,
Hmm
Comment by Hilary Moon Murphy from Meetup — April 24, 2005 @ 2:03 am PST
[…] ss opportunity for a Seattle-based hosting company to step up and be the ultimate home for the project discussed here. We’ve had server space volunteered and I have some server space an […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » Still looking for a Seattle-based Web Hosting company — April 24, 2005 @ 9:44 am PST
OK, I drop in to say that Myles has apologized in the thread of the original rant.
http://clientandserver.com/archives/001031.html
And TDavid, I must object to your slanderous picture — Annabel doesn’t hurl, she spits up.
Comment by dw — April 24, 2005 @ 12:50 pm PST
Just a heads-up — there already *is* a shared aggregator for Seattle blog entries, at seablogs.hellbent.org.
Comment by Michael Montoure — April 24, 2005 @ 4:59 pm PST
TDavid -
Can I please have permission to post that photo onto the blog from whence this discussion began?
Comment by myles — April 24, 2005 @ 7:11 pm PST
The power of the blog… Well TDavid I think you should next be expecting a call from Verizon???
Comment by FranciscoIV — April 24, 2005 @ 11:54 pm PST
Myles - no, a link here should be more than sufficient.
Comment by TDavid — April 25, 2005 @ 12:21 am PST
I have a hosting co. and can donate the space and bandwidth discussed above without any problem. I am a new member and didn’t get to come to last weeks meeting since I was whale watching in Puget Sound… Pretty awesome pics to be shared later
I just need to know what domain name to set up for the account and who to give access / send usernames and passwords to.
I think it is the right thing for the newest member to do.
You can contact me easier through my site at http://treefreepublishing.com than the hosting site. just use teri at the treefree domain email address and I will see any messages the quickest.
Happy to help…
“techie” teri
Comment by Teri — April 25, 2005 @ 12:43 pm PST
Hi Teri
Welcome to the group! if you are serious then please contact me at our office when you get a chance: (253) 321-7367. Just ask for, me, TDavid 
Thank you.
Comment by TDavid — April 25, 2005 @ 1:09 pm PST
TDavid — I’m responding over here to get this off Anita’s site.
I’m still up for helping, though my time is still pretty crunched with a one-year-old daughter underfoot. It’s hard to get an hour of coding time in when it’s in 45 second snatches continually interrupted with “ANNABEL GET OUT OF THERE ANNABEL PUT THAT DOWN ANNABEL STOP TRYING TO BUILD A CYCLOTRON IN THE LIVING ROOM!”
Also, I work at a place that, well, I could be fired for posting here right now. So I’m kind of hard to get hold of. But drop me an e-mail.
My main skills are with XHTML/CSS/ASP/PHP, user interface design, and a bunch of other web stuff. I’m also a PM and consultant, so I can help organize as well.
Comment by dw — April 25, 2005 @ 2:42 pm PST
Excellent dw, thanks. Please watch your email. You should be hearing from me at some point in the next week. Same goes for everybody else that responded to this thread with interest in being part of this project.
Comment by TDavid — April 25, 2005 @ 6:05 pm PST
I’ve got two domains: seattleblogs.us and seattleblogs.net
I’m a member but never make meetings due to conflicts!
Comment by kathy — April 27, 2005 @ 2:13 am PST
[…] ot shared by others, as there was immediate (and predictable) backlash from groups such as these Seattle bloggers who were appalled that they had to pay upwards of 8 quarters a piece to organiz […]
Pingback by andrewteman.org » Blog Archive » Meetup Says: “STOP WHINING” — April 27, 2005 @ 5:09 pm PST
[…] n” by Myles from Meetup.com (who has since apologized three times) in response to my satirical portrayal of our last meetup and now this Caputa fella is giving his three rusted pennies of […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » Roasting Seattle bloggers — April 27, 2005 @ 8:02 pm PST
[…] I thought after last year’s Meetup subscription debacle, that they were destined to fail and it did impact their number of active groups to the tune of losing about 80%. So why am I talking about them? Because eBay has jumped in with other and bought a 10% stake in them: Founded in 2002, Meetup first gained national attention for launching Howard Dean’s brief Presidential candidacy during the 2004 elections. The site had 54,000 Meetup groups listed last May, when it began charging a small subscription fee of up to $19 monthly to sponsor the groups. Since then the number of groups has dropped to just over 10,000. […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » eBay and others buy 10% stake in decaying Meetup — March 11, 2006 @ 9:35 am PST
[…] I doubted ever using the meetup.com website again after they went off haphazardly on our blogger meetup group last year. The idea to develop something else never went anywhere though (probably more my fault than anybody elses) and I stopped going to meetings pretty much thereafter. Not because we didn’t get something else going but because I got more involved in other things. Retrospectively, it’s strange how one negative situation can impact a positive one. I saw the coordinator, Anita Rowland, of that meetup at Northern Voice 2 in Canada and mentioned that I’d like to start going to the local blogger meetups again. […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » Second Life to Real Life business intersections — July 28, 2006 @ 12:48 pm PST
I am blogger from New York City.
I only found this page because I was Googling for: register domain for meetup.com group
I am thinking of registering my own domain name for a group, and then just pointing it to (forwarding the domain to) the group’s page on meetup.com
This would keep everything very low maintenance for me, and yet I could tell people, “Just go to UbuntuUsers.com”, or whatever…
ANYWAY, my comment to you:
It is my opinion that with Meetup.com you are NOT paying for the technical features of the thing.
You are paying for the MARKETING that they do.
Many groups simply would not exist without it.
Or, they might have 3 members instead of 163 members.
It belongs in the group’s MARKETING budget.
Comment by Bruce Wagner — March 24, 2008 @ 7:08 am PST