Meet up in cyberspace

photo by Caroline Franke

Vic and Ric Erwin meet with Linda Van Kuran and a larger group of volunteers for the John Kerry presidential campaign. The group got together at Bakers-Square Restaurant after discovering their common interest at the Web Site Meetup.com.

by Erin Zabarnick
Staff Writer

Socializing in cyberspace has gone from fringe to mainstream during the past five-or-so years, but a relatively new online meeting venue has begun to take hold.

Meetup.com, with it’s promise of in-the-flesh chats among those of like interests has sparked the imagination of thousands nationwide.

While armchair analysts may debate the psychological effects of trends toward virtual relationships, Meetup.com actually brings people away from the computer and out into their own communities.

“It is great to meet people from all types of backgrounds,” said 28-year-old John Marcantonio, an Iraqi war veteran, at a recent Meetup for supporters of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry at Bakers Square in Pomona. “I found myself talking to an older woman in her 70s who had worked on many campaigns and we ended up volunteering and going door-to-door trying to get support for Kerry. It was great because I would never have talked to her had I not met her at the meet up ... it is cool to meet new people.”

With more than 4,000 Meetup topics, chances are high that you’ll meet new people at any or all meet ups,” said Myles Weissleder, spokesman for Meetup.com.

It can get young adults in college together to talk about the things they want to talk about, from issues like the presidential elections to your favorite band, he said.

Meetup.com is a Web site that organizes local gatherings of people with a shared interest.

Groups of people meet face to face usually over coffee, food or drinks. The Meetup service is free and available to anyone with e-mail.

Meetups, which are scheduled monthly for those with interests ranging from pug dogs to politics are currently going on in 612 cities including 55 outside of the United States.

“Anyone with any interest or a curiosity can now easily connect with others, who share those interests or curiosities at local establishments around the world,” Weissleder said.

Even Kerry has started offering a link from his Web site to Meetup.com. It is a strategy of his to get people together, who are in support of his campaign.

Meanwhile, back in Pomona: “The way I found out about Meetup.com was through my downstairs neighbor,” said James Swalberg a John Kerry activist from the Pomona-Claremont meet up. “We’re really into politics and he told me I should go to one of the Meet ups on John Kerry ... I have met so many people who have the same drive and interest.” After introductions were over and food was served, the host followed his agenda, announcing topics and then opening them up for discussion.

Some of the issues dealt with how to fundraise for Kerry, or volunteer your time if you can’t donate money, and some people just gave their opinion on why Bush should be out of office.

The people had a lot of fun uniting together for a common goal. This Meetup lasted about two hours, some people ended up exchanging numbers and others stated they would sign up for next month’s meeting.

“Meetup has just been a great way to get people together and reach people who have the same interest as you,” said Andrew Puruis, a Kerry Meet up supporter. “You are able to reach other Kerry supporters, who want to help in the campaign.”

There are more than 2,037 members in the Pomona-Claremont area alone meeting up on various topics. The average size of a Meetup is around 5-12 people. Local restaurants, cafes and bars pay Meetup to list them as possible places for people to have their meetings. That is one of the ways Meetup.com is keeping the free service going.

An interesting thing about Meetup is that people all over the U.S. and other places across the world meet the same day and same time to talk about the same topic, according to their time zone. The John Kerry Meetup happens once a month on Thursdays at 7 p.m. in California, New York, and China. The idea said it is meant to be a way to get a world united on the same cause.

The site is currently only in English but the Meetup.com Web site plans to post information in other languages eventually.

For those wondering how to get started: Go Online to Meetup.com. Once on the site, enter your local city. In a few seconds, an almost endless list of topics will appear.

If they don’t have your topic or meet ups in your local area you may suggest a topic.

After you’ve picked your town and topic, the site asks you to give a valid e-mail address and make a password, so you can set up your Meetup.com account.

After signing up for a certain Meet up, the site gives everyone a two-week period to vote on where they want the Meet up to be.

Once the voting is closed, they send you an e-mail, telling you where the Meet up will be, reminding you of the date and time. The sooner you vote and respond, the better the chances are for the Meetup to happen.

Meetings with less than five people RSVPing are cancelled. Meetup.com sends you one last reminder a day or two before the meet up, giving you directions.

Once you arrive at the destination, you can ask any hostess where the Meet up is being held and she can direct you to the designated area.

It might feel a little scary or uncomfortable walking into the Meet up but everything is very calm, laid back and casual.

There are people, who have been coming to the Meet ups for months and others, their first time. People are of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds.

Once you get to the venue, you are able to sit down order some food or a drink and begin talking to people. Then the host will start the meeting.

If you are interested, the Meetup.com Web site has simple and easy directions on becoming the host of a meet up.

After the Meetup is over, Meetup.com sends you one more e-mail asking you your opinion, ideas and thoughts on the meeting this way they can continually make the meetings better.

“Meetup.com is a really nice social way to gather,” said Mel Boynton, a supporter at the Kerry Meet up. You have food and local friends and the Internet is an easy way to do this. It’s great.”