Meetup: Difference between revisions

}}

'''Meetup''' is a service used to organize online groups that host in-person and virtual events for people with similar interests. It was founded in 2002 by Chairman [[Scott Heiferman]] and four co-founders. The company was acquired by [[WeWork]] in 2017 and remains headquartered in [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://craft.co/meetup|title=Meetup company profile - Office locations, Competitors, Financials, Employees, Key People, News {{!}} Craft.co|website=craft.co|access-date=2019-04-25}}</ref> WeWork sold it to AlleyCorp, an early stage NY-focused venture fund and incubator, in March 2020.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://social.techcrunch.com/2020/03/30/wework-sells-off-social-network-meetup-to-alleycorp-and-other-investors/|title=WeWork sells off social network Meetup to AlleyCorp and other investors|last=Perez|first=Sarah|date=March 30, 2020|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref>

 

==History==

 

Meetup groups are run by approximately 140,000 organizers.<ref name="Toledano 2017 pp. 597–604" /> Any Meetup user can be an organizer.<ref name="journal" /> Organizers set up groups, organize events, and develop event content.<ref name="journal" /> They also pay a fee to run the group, under the expectation of sharing the cost with members that attend events.<ref name="Toledano 2017 pp. 597–604" /> Meetup has policies against organizing meetups around a commercial interest that are not compatible with their usage policies, hate speech, or groups that do not meet in-person.<ref name="Toledano 2017 pp. 597–604" /> Their policy regarding commercial activities has generated some confusion with some claiming that no commercial activities are allowed, even going so far as to claim that a free event that has a sponsor for food and drinks is against Meetup's policies.<ref name="journal" /><ref name="Toledano 2017 pp. 597–604" /> But purely commercial activities are clearly allowed in their policy, as long as they are, in essence, a Meetup style activity. That is, a winery could organize an wine tasting event through Meetup charging commercial rates, but not use Meetup to simply promote their wines or only sales portal.

 

==References==