Scott Heiferman

Meetup is the world’s largest network of local groups.  Scott Heiferman is CEO and a co-founder of Meetup.  His idea is to use the internet to organize local community groups with local offline meetings.  Tim O’Reilly, in a Forbes.com post, points to Meetups when he’s citing examples of ways people are using “creativity and collaboration to address challenges facing our country and the world.”  We’ve written a slew of articles about Meetup before, check them out.

On February 17th, I conducted an interview with Scott Herferman in front of 70+ Meetup enthusiasts (details).  The topics we discussed include, but not limited to, the following:
 

~ What is Meetup? What’s the size of Meetup and how many members does Meetup community have?

~ How did the Meetup idea originate?

~ How many employees are there at Meetup headquarter?  What’s the culture like there?

~ What is a Meetup organizer? What do they need to do to start a Meetup group?

~ What is an organizer expected by the community/group members?

~ What types of Meetup groups tend to be more popular?

~ Meetup has rolled out lots of new features recently, what is the purpose of doing this?

~ What is the Meetup revenue model?

~ How was Meetup able to grow so fast in the past several years?

~ What is the main difference between Meetup and other social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter?

~ Meetup already allows its members to share photos on Facebook and Twitter.  Are there more features coming out?

~ I see you recorded a brief video at the beginning of the year with 3 tips for Meetup organizers to kick off 2010.  Can you mention them to our members here?

~ What are your insights into entrepreneurship?

~ The theme of this interview is “How to Build a Community That Lasts.”  Please give our entrepreneurs your final advice if there is anything that hasn’t been mentioned. Then we will open for questions.

Here is a video about this interview:

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If you have been following WebStudio13 for the last year, you probably already know that I organize a business networking group in NYC called NY Entrepreneurs Business Network (NYEBN).  Not only do we organize quality/free networking events for all NYEBN members, we also give seminars intended to educate entrepreneurs on how to leverage social media and other technology tools.  To my surprise, the group has been going through a major expansion in the past 8 months.  Now we have attracted over 3,200 entrepreneurs representative of a variety of industries.  In 2010, we’ve decided to implement an array of new programs to make NYEBN even a better place for all entrepreneurs and business owners.  Primarily, here are the 5 things we plan on implementing for our group in 2010:

1.  Stick to 2 networking events per month

Our networking events generally have a turnout between 300 and 600 people.  We do networking events biweekly at different high-end NYC venues.  The venues that we feature are typically made available for us exclusively from 6-10 PM on a weekday night.  Check out the last event at 230 Fifth rooftop where we had the largest turnout (about 622 confirmed RSVPs) since the start of the group.

2. Give More Seminars Related to Social Media and Technology

Last year, we had featured all types of speakers from a variety of industries, including personal development, sales, marketing, etc. Given the importance of modern technology, we decide to do more seminars in the social media and technology fields.  Check out our next startup event at Microsoft where a dozen of tech startups will give their best pitch in front of a panel of VCs.  Also I will interview the Meetup founder Scott Heiferman on the 3rd week of February.  Check it out here.

3. Reward NYEBN Members for Bringing in New Members

We’ve launched an affiliate program starting from 1/1/2010.   By actively participating in the affiliate program, there are quite a few benefits NYEBN members are able to enjoy:

• Network with a bigger pool of business professionals and build relationships with them;
• Gain more exposure in the local market for your own business;
• More opportunities to learn in a diversified entrepreneurial environment;
• More ability to attract highly qualified sponsors and partners to offer incentives for our group members and back up NYEBN so it continually provides free networking opportunities;
• etc…

4. Develop More Opportunities for NYEBN Members to Stay Connected

NYEBN now has developed several powerful alternative networks where its members can bond and stay connected.  Here are three examples:

• NYEBN on Meetup
• NYEBN on Facebook
• NYEBN on Twitter

More NYEBN networks will be formed in the future.  For now, if you wish to attend NYEBN’s free events, this one is a must to sign up for.

5. Create More NYEBN Branded Products So Our Members Have A Sense of Belonging

At NYEBN, we are always trying to create something beyond the average.  I am very proactive when it comes to creativity.  For our members, here are two NYEBN-branded products that I have created in the past.  More to come in the future.

I. NYEBN Slideshow Video

II. NYEBN Photostream on Flickr

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Digital Inspiration Resources

We all need a little inspiration every once in a while.  Thanks to various Web 2.o tools, it’s no longer a difficult task to get inspired on a daily basis.  Instead of spend big bucks going to a live seminar by Tony Robbins, you now can easily go watch his YouTube clip, without incurring any expenses.  Here, I will share 10 resources you can use to gain inspirations in the digital age.

Here are the resources:

• Videos
• Podcasts
• Twitter
• Meetup
• Amazon Books
• eBooks
• Inspirational Websites
• Design blogs
• Social bookmarking sites
• Yourself

1. Videos

There are many video sharing sites you can use to discover inspirational video clips.  To give you a quick reference, here is a list of 10 most popular sites (click here).  I’ve created another list in the past called “13 Most Inspiring YouTube Videos of All-Time.”  You’re welcome to check it out.

2. Podcasts

Podcasts are becoming more and more mainstream now.  If you load up your iTunes store, you will see tons of different podcasts.  Here is a list of some best known podcasts in the world.  To find digital inspirations, check out these ones too

• Personal Growth Podcast
• My thought Coach
• The Daily Boost | The Positive Boost You Need Everyday
• MorningCoach.com
• Law of Attraction Tips
• Meditation Station

3. Twitter

Here are 40 most inspiring users you can follow on Twitter.  In addition, you can always use the hashtags “#quotes” and “#inspiration” to find extra inspirational stuff on Twitter.

4. Meetup

We’ve written many articles in the past to cover this topic.  Simply put, attending inspirational seminars that your local meetup groups host is a great way to get motivated.  If you live in the tri-state area, you can try out our group – NY Entrepreneurs Business Network (NYEBN).  We usually host two seminars per month, all serving educational and inspirational purposes.  Here is a series of articles related to NYEBN.

5. Amazon Books

Amazon is always the place I recommend for people to get books.  I’ve done a summary before about the 10 most inspiring Web 2.0 books you should get on Amazon.  Check it out.  Of course, you can have an eReader such as Kindle or Nook if you prefer.

6.  eBooks

eBooks are convenient to download online.  The most recent eBook I’ve read is Seth Godin’s “What Matters Now.” It’s a very inspiring book. Download it here.

7. Inspirational Websites

There are many great blogs that help you become a better entrepreneur or make you a social media expert.  One inspirational blog I recommend all the time is Leo Babauta’s Zenhabits.  If you’re into personal development, you can also check out David Riklan’s SelfGrowth.com.

8. Design Blogs

People gain their inspirations through a variety of sources.  Exceptional blog designs which stands out from the crowd always serve for great inspirational purposes.  Here are 20 blogs that have the most inspiring and extraordinary designs.

9. Social Bookmarking Sites

Via a simple search on the keyword “Inspiration,” you may find an array of great bookmarked articles on sites such as Delicious, StumbleUpon, and Digg.  For your reference, here is a list of the top 10 best social bookmarking sites.

10. Yourself

All the methods mentioned above won’t work if you are not willing to inspire yourself on a daily and consistent basis.  We must serve as an inspirational role model for ourselves, and be confident and optimistic about everything coming along our way.  You will realize sooner than later that a great attitude does make a big difference.  After all, success is 80% psychological and only 20% technical.

Conclusion

If you enjoy this article, you may also like this one: 10 Tips on Self-Empowerment/Personal Development with Web 2.0 Tools.  Consider subscribing to this blog if you like what you see.  Let us know if you have other inspirational resources that you want to share with the community.

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10 Ways to Find Local Business Events

If you have a small business, you’ve probably realized the importance of networking with other business owners.  Networking is the key to success.  I think attending quality networking events on a weekly basis can benefit business owners in the following areas:

• Build up their business contacts
• Share and receive ideas to improve their business strategy
• Practice their business pitches
• Stay in the loop of what’s happening in the local business community
• Learn marketing & sales techniques at local seminars or workshops

Due to these reasons, I founded a local business networking group called NY Entrepreneurs Business Network in May, 2009.  Having organized nearly 30 events, now we are marching towards 3,000 members mark.  My advice for business owners is to find quality business events and network at least once a week.  There are 10 wonderful event-finding resources I would like to share so you are equipped with the right tools.

1. Meetup

Meetup is the world’s largest network of local networking groups.  The idea is to use the internet to organize local community groups with local offline meetings.  Tim O’Reilly, in a Forbes.com post, points to Meetups when he’s citing examples of ways people are using “creativity and collaboration to address challenges facing our country and the world”  Here is a list of the best Meetup groups that I’ve discovered.

2. LinkedIn

There are no other sites that can draw a parallel with LinkedIn when it comes to building professional networks.  LinkedIn is very business oriented. There are a handful of articles on my blog that have already covered handy tips on using LinkedIn. There are two ways you can get updates on LinkedIn events:

• I. Join a LinkedIn business group (local) and opt in its mailing list.  This way, you will receive event notifications every time a member posts a new local event within your group. Here is a good list of LinkedIn groups for business people.
• II. Search for events directly via the Event page on LinkedIn. LinkedIn site allows you to define your search terms by yourself, such as search by topics, locations, etc.

3. Facebook

Facebook is still the king among all social networking sites worldwide.  Chances are good you have been invited many times to different types of events by your Facebook friends.  On Facebook, you can find what events your friends are up to, search for events according to your needs, or create your own events.  Some people also use Facebook ads to promote their own events or networking groups.

4. Chamber of Commerce

Your local Chamber of Commerce should be one of the major resources for finding local business events.  The events posted on the commerce site are generally good in terms of quality.  Choose the events at your discretion.  To take a look at the events listed on the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, click here.

5. Craigslist

Craigslist has become a common marketplace for people who want to exchange information freely.  It’s the #1 classified website worldwide.  You are bound to find a variety of events if you check out local events classified section.  The only drawback with Craigslist is its overwhelming number of events.  Remember, anyone can post events on Craigslist.  It’s up to you to choose the events in the high quality bracket.

6. Twitter

If you are familiar with Twitter, you probably already know what I am going to cover here. Using Twitter search is a great way to help you find local business events.  For example, for a New Yorker, he/she can define the search criteria in the following ways

• “NYC Networking”
• “NYC Events”
• “Business Events + NYC”
• “Events + New York”

Of course, there are other combinations you can choose to define your search.  Since Twitter search is real time, you are guaranteed to get the most up-to-date event notifications in your local area.

7. BNI

The mission of BNI is to help members increase their business through a structured, positive, and professional “word-of-mouth” program that enables them to develop long-term, meaningful relationships with quality business professionals.  You can find a BNI chapter in your local area and start attending their events.

8. Yelp

Yelp is a popular Web 2.0 site where people can rate and write reviews for different venues in their own city.  The Yelp site is also designed to connect business people with great local events.  Just go to the site and click on the “Event” tab, and you are there!

9. Eventful

Eventful is the leading events website which enables its community of users to discover, promote, share and create events. Eventful’s community of users select from nearly 4 million events taking place in local markets throughout the world.  Eventful is another great site to find quality business events.

10. Local Business News Sites

A simple Google search can reveal a variety of local business news sites.  Most of these sites have complete local event listings.  One good example is “Crain’s New York Business.”  Not only does it bring you the continuous coverage of local business news in New York, it’s also a great resource for local events on key areas such as financial services, health care, real estate, small business and many more. Check out the event listings on Crain’s New York Business

.

Summary

This has been our complete event-finding guide for business savvy people. Is your favorite on our list?  Feel free to share with us what you’ve got.  Meanwhile, you can get our free membership at NY Entrepreneurs Business Network if you are interested in attending business networking events in NY Metro area.  Click here to read what our members say about this group.

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Being an entrepreneur myself, I’ve always wanted to build a community where people can share ideas and build strong relationships.  Back in May, I started to organize a group by the name of NY Entrepreneurs Business Network (A.K.A NYEBN).  Essentially, I’d call it a Meetup group since it’s built on the Meetup platform.  If you are not familiar with Meetup, I’d highly recommend you check out a previous post – Top 20 Meetup Groups for Entrepreneurs, Marketers, and Technology Enthusiasts.  I have to admit, I really had a great run with this group over the course of past four months.  Organizing what’s probably known as the fastest growing Meetup group, here I would like to share 9 tips that have contributed to the initial success with this group.

1. Host Interesting Meetings

Meetup.com is essentially another Web 2.0 company which allows its groups to organize people online and conduct meetings offline.  I am often asked what’s the best way to promote a group.  My answer always goes something like this – “Let it go viral!” Viral marketing (A.K.A Word of mouth marketing on steroid) has its own virtues and efficiencies.  Host the best and most interesting meetings, and let your members talk about it and spread the words for you.

2. Have a Variety of Events

People like options and variety.  As a rule of thumb, I tend to not organize just one type of event.  For example, last month, we had both networking events and seminars/workshops, both in the morning and in the evening. Next month, we are going to participate in a trade show.  The purpose of hosting a variety of events is to attract a diverse group of people who have different interests and preferences.

3. Choose Different Locations

This principle goes along  well with the last one. It is uncommon for me to use the same venue more than twice, unless it’s a venue that receives sizzling hot reviews from my members (more on this later).  Generally speaking, people like to network or have breakfast meetings in new locations. Take NYEBN for example, we have had networking/seminar events on rooftops, on the cruise, in bars and restaurants, in bookstores, and soon in banks.

4. Listen Carefully

Review on NYEBN's Rooftop Event

Remember, your members are the ones who have control on the group, not you.  Therefore, always have their best interests in mind. As a Web 2.0 company, Meetup lets your members rate your past events from a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being “Awesome“!  Typically, when a particular event is over, I would hear different voices and reviews.  Particularly keep an eye out for those negative reviews, which tend to tell you where and how you can improve your future events.

5. Don’t Be Greedy

I’ve seen countless Meetup groups fail at their initial launch phases because the organizers tried to monetize their groups right from the beginning.  This is a big no-no because unless people in your groups really see the value you offer, they are not willing to pay for something they are uncertain of.  I tend to choose the opposite approach instead when it comes to this subject. My strategies are covered in brevity as follows:

• No membership fees required to join the group;
• Most networking events are free unless I have overhead to cover;
• I always negotiate for the best drink special prices if the networking events take place in a bar;
• Avoid to charge high-premium at all for the seminar/workshop events.

6. Be There for Them

If you have a Meetup group with more than 500 members, chances are you start to get busy.  Nowadays I get email requests anywhere from 20-50, not mention to the Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter messages.  I try to answer them all.  Trust me, you don’t want to be ignorant with those messages.  If you are not there for them, they don’t care to be around you. So be responsive. Besides, you always have the option to hire a virtual assistant to help you if things are getting really crazy for you.

7. Link Them Up

In a previous post about how to increase your Twitter presence, I offered a tip headlined “Link Them Up.”  According to that post, “Since social networking sites are a dime a dozen nowadays, why not spread your Meetup links across different sites to drastically increase its public exposure?“  The 6 resources I currently highly leverage my effort on are Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Profile, my blog, and of course, my business cards for offline promotions.  Refer to my previous post for more details (Tip #3).

8. Focus on Only One Group

Unless you really have broad interests in different fields, I would recommend you start no more than two groups, with most your effort targeting one group only.  Organizing a group and promoting events at the same time is not as easy as it sounds.  It takes a lot of dedication.  Initially, I started three groups: NYEBN, WS13 Viral Marketing Group, NYCPDM Group.  As you see, most of my focus now is on NYEBN as we already have 1,300 members now.  So don’t get distracted.  Leverage your effort on the main group(s) first and benefits will come!

9. Have Fun

My last tip of the day: take ownership but not hold all the control. Most importantly, be yourself and have fun. Eventually, your group is a true reflection of you and your magnetic personality.  People join your groups because they love to surround themselves with you.  So be fun, have fun, and learn to enjoy the interacting experience with them!

Conclusion

With NY Entrepreneurs Business Network, I really have big visions and I believe we are onto something remarkable.  So if you are a business owner or if you enjoy networking and learning, feel free to check us out.  You don’t need to be physically close in order to join as we are a global community.  Let me know whether or not I left any good tips unmentioned.  If you like what you see, don’t forget to drop us a line below.  If you have a group or like to organize one, how would you like to organize your group?

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Meetup is the world’s largest network of local groups.  Scott Heiferman is CEO and a co-founder of Meetup.  His idea is to use the internet to organize local community groups with local offline meetings.  Tim O’Reilly, in a Forbes.com post, points to Meetups when he’s citing examples of ways people are using “creativity and collaboration to address challenges facing our country and the world” (Meetup Blog).  See the statistics and intro video below:

“Monthly Visitors, 6 Millions | Members, 5.7 Millions | Monthly RSVPs, 2.5 million | Monthly Meetups, 179,000 | Local Groups, 58,936 | Meetup Topics, 8,340 | Cities, 11,507″ (Meetup About)

Meetup can be used in a much different way in comparison to Facebook or Twitter.  As a huge fan of Meetup, I certainly have started my own Meetup group – NY Entrepreneurs Business Network (NYEBN) back in May, 2009.  So far, NYEBN turns out to be the fastest growing Meetup group in the business category.  As a result, it  almost becomes inevitable for me to compile this list, recommending the top 10 marketing/tech groups and top 10 entrepreneur groups on Meetup.com.  Here we go:

Top 10 Tech/Marketing/Social Media Groups

1. NY Tech Meetup – New York, NY; 10,844 Members; Founding Date: September 25, 2004
2. The SiliconValley NewTech Meetup Group [SVNewTech] – Palo Alto, CA; 4,225 Members; Founding Date: January 23, 2006
3. New Tech (Boulder Denver) – Boulder, CO; 3,925 Members; Founding Date: August 29, 2006
4. SFNewTech – San Francisco, CA; 3,817 Members; Founding Date: March 17, 2006
5. NY Video – New York, NY;  3,227 Members;  Founding Date: June 27, 2006
6. NextWeb – New York, NY;  2,844 Members; Founding Date: May 10, 2006
7. Third Tuesday Toronto – Toronto, Canada;  2,266 Members;  Founding Date: August 22, 2006
8. Colorado Green Tech Group: Boulder, CO;  1,761 Members; Founding Date: January 20, 2007
9. Entrepreneur & Small Business Academy – Berkeley, CA;  1,493 Members; Founding Date: November 2, 2006
10. New York Dot Com Hatchery – New York, NY;  1,264 Members;  Founding Date: April 4, 2007

Top 10 Entrepreneurs/Business Groups

1. The NYC Business Networking Group – New York, NY; 4,316 Members; Founding Date: January 18, 2005
2. The San Francisco Entrepreneur Meetup Group – San Francisco, CA; 2,656 Members; Founding Date: November 1, 2002
3. New York Investing Meetup -  New York, NY; 2,385 Members; Founding Date: December 16, 2002
4. Twin Cities Business Startup Meetup -  Minneapolis, MN; 2,072 Members; Founding Date: December 7, 2007
5. The Vancouver Entrepreneur Meetup Group -  Vancouver, BC, Canada; 2,005 Members; Founding Date: October 8, 2002
6. Revolve Nation’s Boston Entrepreneur Group -  Boston, MA; 1,945 Members; Founding Date: April 7, 2006
7. South Metro Denver Business Meetup Group –  Littleton, CO; 1,386 Members; Founding Date: December 8, 2007
8. NY Entrepreneurs Business Network (NYEBN) -  New York, NY; 1,200 Members; Founding Date: May 10, 2009
9. The Greater Toronto Entrepreneur Group -  Toronto, ON, Canada; 1,057 Members; Founding Date: November 22, 2002
10. The Boston Business Networking Meetup -  Boston, MA; 976 Members; Founding Date: October 8, 2007

Note: The ranking score is calculated based on the following criteria:

• The Number of Group Members;
• Whether or Not The Group Is Active;
• The Overall Rating and Reviews by The Group Members;
• The Number of Meetups That The Organizer Hosts Over A Fixed Period

Web Studio 13 now also has its own Meetup group. You can join us here.  Have you attended any Meetup meetings before?  Please share your experience with WS13 community below.

Meetup’s mission is to revitalize local community and help people around the world self-organize. Meetup believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organizing themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference.

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