
How to run a Meetup – Lessons learned running React Vienna for a year - nik-graf
https://medium.com/@nikgraf/how-to-run-a-meetup-297ef448d157#.yllwz3hqf
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musha68k
I sneaked into ReactVienna for the first time in mid 2015 and it has been the
most inclusive and lively meetup I've experienced to date.

I remember well, how on a correlating (free) workshop Nik Graf and Andrey
Okonetchnikov in particular were getting out of their way to teach us on how
to go about that crazy webpack/react/redux development stack.

The folks from ReactVienna are also very well connected, so we had the best
very special meetups this October - amazing talks featuring Sean Grove,
Richard Feldman and David Nolen talking about what's new regarding Reason, Elm
and ClojureScript respectively.

I've been wanting to emigrate from Austria ever since university but the
current vibes here in Vienna do make me feel like wanting to stay in the EU
for the first time in a long time.

Of course, contributing to that is the fact that there have been other great
meetups happening regularly at Sektor5 (super welcoming co-working place) over
the last couple of years: viennajs, viennarb and cljvie only to name a few
that interest me.

As pointed out in the article - ReactVienna and all the other meetups are
collaborative efforts and I'd like to applaud the _teams_ \- thanks for
showing up, Vienna has become so much more interesting thanks to you <3

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herge
The key to a meet up or a community's longevity is consistency. If you can
consistently schedule events like the second Monday of every month or every
two months, people can remember that and plan around those events, as opposed
to waiting for an announcement.

Also, a meet up does not have to be long. A couple of presentations for a
total of a hour is a fine excuse to meet at the bar afterwards and talk
technology. Finding speakers for events is hard, so even alternating between
'talk/presentation' nights and just bar nights can work, especially to keep a
'every month' rhythm going.

~~~
macintux
> A couple of presentations for a total of a hour is a fine excuse to meet at
> the bar afterwards and talk technology.

Speaking as someone who rarely drinks and doesn't like trying to listen to
conversations in loud environments: organizing a short meetup as a prelude to
retiring to a bar isn't necessarily going to be the most inclusive strategy.

~~~
Eridrus
I don't drink either, but sadly there's not a tonne of good alternatives to
bars. And not all bars are loud, finding a quiet one isn't that hard,
especially on a week night.

~~~
jdironman
Quiet little 'mom and pop' italian restaurants are the best choice, especially
if something goes wrong.

~~~
philh
You have to factor in that a lot of people might not want a meal. If there's a
large group of which only about half are eating, I'd be more comfortable
taking them to a bar than a restaurant.

Though if the restaurant is fine with it, go ahead.

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olegp
That's a good and concise summary. If you're considering running a meetup but
want more info before diving in at the deep end, check out this series of blog
posts I've started writing on the topic:

[https://blog.toughbyte.com/what-is-a-meetup-and-why-
should-i...](https://blog.toughbyte.com/what-is-a-meetup-and-why-should-i-
care-7bd567b278b6)

The blog series is still ongoing, but it is based on a talk I gave earlier
this year, which you can check out here:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNZTLcutqKk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNZTLcutqKk)

PS. If you're looking for a platform geared towards technical meetups, take a
look at Meetabit which we're working on at Toughbyte:
[https://meetabit.com/](https://meetabit.com/) \- your feedback would be
really appreciated. We're currently available in only a few cities, but would
be happy to add more cities if there's enough interest.

------
yeraydarias
I totally agree with the author on the importance of the motivation, though in
my experience money as a motivation in the creation of a local group or meetup
is not a very good idea. Not profitable or easy to get money at least.

I prefer to focus on side benefits like community improvement, a point of
meeting for professionals and so on.

~~~
cableshaft
I've been paying a Meetup groups fees for over two years because I think it's
good to keep the group going and not have it worry about generating funds, and
I can afford the $180 a year. We do sometimes put out a collection jar during
a meetup which tends to bring that down to about $130 a year usually, but I'd
still pay it even if we didn't get any money, just so people have a group
where they can post local geeky activities on.

I met the vast majority of my current friends through that group, so I feel
like it's worth keeping it going.

I see a lot of other local Meetups shutting down after Meetup.com raised their
prices last year, though. I'm a little surprised they're actually making more
money after doing that, because I saw a loooot of groups shut down because of
it.

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lowglow
I know meet-up organizers and members are going to want to post about their
meet-ups here! Reply back with a meet-up and what is cool about it, we can get
a list going.

~~~
vmorgulis
Good idea :-)

We are starting HN meetup in Paris (France):

[https://hn.silexlabs.org/](https://hn.silexlabs.org/)

~~~
lexoyo
nice!!

~~~
vmorgulis
Yes ;-)

