{{Short description|Social media platform}} {{For multi|a social gathering|Meeting|Wikipedia meetups|Wikipedia:Meetup}} {{Infobox website | name = MeetUp, Inc. | logo = Meetup Logo.png | logo_size = 150px | collapsible = yes | collapsetext = Screenshot | screenshot = Meetup website screenshot.png | url = {{URL|https://www.meetup.com/}} | commercial = Yes | type = Social media, membership software | language = English (default), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Dutch, Thai, Russian and Turkish | founded = {{Start date and age|2002|06}} | registration = Required to join a group | users = 60 million+<ref name=friendships>{{cite web |url=https://www.meetup.com/marketing-assets/PDF/Meetup+Trend+Report+v13.pdf |title=State of Friendships: The 2023 Meetup Measurement Report | publisher=Meetup.com}}</ref> | owner = Bending Spoons | industry = Social media | launch_date = {{start date and age|2002|6|12}}<ref name=curious>{{cite news | title=The Long and Curious History of Meetup.com | last=Jeffries | first=Adrianne | periodical=The New York Observer | date=January 21, 2011 | url=http://observer.com/2011/01/the-long-and-curious-history-of-meetupcom/ | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012051759/http://observer.com/2011/01/the-long-and-curious-history-of-meetupcom/ | archive-date=October 12, 2013 }}</ref> }}
'''Meetup''' is an American social media platform and social networking service for hosting and organizing in-person and virtual activities, gatherings, and events for people and communities of similar interests, hobbies, and professions. The service has 60 million users.<ref name=friendships/> The company has both free tiers and paid tiers.
Headquartered in New York City, the company was founded in 2002 by Scott Heiferman and four others. It was acquired by WeWork in November 2017, AlleyCorp in March 2020, and Bending Spoons in January 2024.
==History== Meetup was founded in June 2002<ref name=power>{{cite news | url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/11/07/tech/web/meetup-2012-campaign-sifry/index.html | last1=Sifry | first1=Micah | title=From Howard Dean to the tea party: The power of Meetup.com | work=CNN | date=November 7, 2011}}</ref> by Scott Heiferman and four co-founders.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/jobs/06boss.html | title=The Pursuit of Community | first=Scott | last=Heiferman | work=The New York Times | date=September 6, 2009 | url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/meetups-scott-heiferman-on-connecting-communities/219753 | last=Evans | first=Teri | title=Meetup's Scott Heiferman on Connecting Communities | work=Entrepreneur | date=June 7, 2011 | url-access=limited}}</ref> The idea for Meetup came from Heiferman meeting his neighbors in New York City for the first time after the September 11 attacks.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://archive.triblive.com/lifestyles/more-lifestyles/pittsburgh-meetup-members-use-the-internet-to-get-off-the-internet/ | last=Benz | first=Kate | title=Pittsburgh Meetup members use the Internet to get off the Internet | work=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | date=January 23, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/one-week-of-meetups/2011/09/27/gIQAFUUNhL_story.html | first=Lavanya |last=Ramanathan |title=One week of Meetups | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=October 13, 2011 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> Heiferman was also influenced by the book Bowling Alone,<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://observer.com/2012/02/interview-with-scott-heiferman-ceo-of-meetup-full-transcript/ | title=Interview With Scott Heiferman, CEO of Meetup [FULL TRANSCRIPT] | last=Jeffries | first=Adrianne | work=Observer Media | date=February 6, 2012}}</ref> which is about the deterioration of community in American culture.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/xsavesworldhowg00gord | last=Gordinier | first=J. | title=X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft But Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking | publisher=Viking | isbn=978-0-670-01858-1 | url-access=registration | year=2008 | page=[https://archive.org/details/xsavesworldhowg00gord/page/161 161]}}</ref> Some initial funding for the venture was raised from friends and family, which was followed by a funding round with angel investors.<ref name=curious/>
The early version of Meetup generated revenues by charging a fee to venues in exchange for bringing Meetup users to their business. Once enough users added themselves to a group, Meetup sent the group members an email, asking them to vote on one of three sponsoring venues for the group to meet.<ref>{{cite news |title=I'm on the List: Virtual Communities: Not Just for Loners Anymore |url=https://nypost.com/2002/12/08/im-on-the-list-virtual-communities-not-just-for-loners-anymore/ |newspaper=New York Post |first=Sarah |last=Gilbert | date=December 8, 2002}}</ref>
In 2003, Meetup won the "Community Websites and Mobile Site" Webby Award.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://winners.webbyawards.com/2003/websites-and-mobile-sites/general-websites-and-mobile-sites/community/157390/meetup | website=Webby Awards |title=Meetup | year=2003}}</ref>
Meetup was originally intended to focus on hobbies and interests,<ref name=power/> but it was popularized by Presidential hopeful Howard Dean in 2004.<ref name=power/> Meetup developed paid services to help the Dean campaign to meet with Meetup users. Dean also publicized Meetup groups of supporters in his speeches and on his website; at the peak of Dean's campaign, 143,000 users had joined Meetup groups for Dean supporters.<ref name=power/>
In early 2005, Meetup began to charge a fee for group organizers.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.inc.com/associated-press/meetup-starts-charging-fee-to-keep-users-involved.html | last=Troise | first=Damian J. | title=Meetup Starts Charging Fee in Effort to Keep Users Involved | work=Inc.com | date=February 6, 2015}}</ref> Initially, changes to the website had to be approved by two committees.<ref name=anarchy/>
In 2008, Union Square Ventures invested in the company.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://venturebeat.com/business/meetupcom-raises-undisclosed-sum-from-union-square-ventures/ | title=Meetup.com raises undisclosed sum from Union Square Ventures | first=Dan | last=Kaplan | work=VentureBeat | date=July 24, 2008}}</ref>
In 2009, Meetup started running hackathons, where employees came up with new features that would be implemented if their coworkers supported it.<ref name=anarchy>{{cite news | last=Taylor | first=Chris | title=Meetup: An office where group anarchy works | work=CNN | url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/05/06/smallbusiness/democracy_at_meetup.fsb/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513015243/http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/06/smallbusiness/democracy_at_meetup.fsb/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=May 13, 2009 | date=May 6, 2009}}</ref> In July 2009, the company was profitable and had $9 million in annualized revenues.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/09/15/leaked-shareholder-docs-meetup-hits-profitability-and-9-million-in-revenues/ | title=Leaked Shareholder Docs: Meetup Hits Profitability And $9 Million In Revenues | work=TechCrunch | date=September 15, 2009}}</ref>
Meetup had 8 million users in 2010.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/12/13/meetupcom-helps-connect-like-minded-people |first=Angela | last=Haupt|title=Meetup.com Helps Connect Like-minded People | work=U.S. News & World Report | date=December 13, 2010}}</ref>
The website was redesigned in September 2013.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/09/12/meetup-simplifies-its-homepage-to-reflect-its-mobile-only-strategy/ | title=Meetup Simplifies Its Member Homepage As It Pursues A Unified Design | first=Josh |last=Ong | work=The Next Web | date=September 12, 2013}}</ref> Meetup had 25.5 million users by 2013.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Lai | first1=Chih-Hui | last2=Katz | first2=James E. | title=Volunteer associations in the Internet age: Ecological approach to understanding collective action | journal=The Information Society | volume=32 | issue=4 | date=May 31, 2016 | issn=0197-2243 | doi=10.1080/01972243.2016.1177761 | pages=241–255| s2cid=45348475 | hdl=10356/104397 | hdl-access=free}}</ref>
In October 2013, Meetup acquired Dispatch, a struggling email collaboration company.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/10/09/how-meta-meetup-just-acquired-dispatch-which-got-its-start-at-a-meetup/ | last=Farr | first=Christina | title=How meta! Meetup just acquired Dispatch, which got its start at a meetup | work=VentureBeat | date=October 9, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/09/meetup-com-makes-its-first-acquisition-with-dispatch-will-roll-out-improved-messaging-communications-in-early-2014/ | title=Meetup Makes Its First Acquisition With Dispatch, Will Roll Out Improved Messaging & Communications In Early 2014 | work=TechCrunch | first=Sarah | last=Perez | date=October 9, 2013}}</ref>
In March 2014, a hacker shut down Meetup with a DDoS attack, the hacker claimed to be funded by a competitor.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://calgaryherald.com/technology/meetup-recovers-from-hacker-attack | title=Meetup recovers from hacker attack | work=Calgary Herald | date=March 6, 2014}}</ref> The hackers asked for a ransom of $300.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/digi-ransoms-meetup-com-latest-long-history-cyber-hostages-n44151 | title=Digi-Ransoms: Meetup.com Latest in Long History of Cyber Hostages | work=NBC News | date=March 4, 2014}}</ref>
In February 2017, Meetup created 1,000 #resist Meetup groups with the intention of coordinating protests in response to the Trump travel ban.<ref name=leap/> This caused some supporters of Donald Trump to leave the site<ref name=leap/> or call for a boycott.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/16/trump-supporters-boycott-meetup-after-company-creates-resist-groups-makes-its-politics-known/ | title=Trump supporters boycott Meetup after company creates #Resist groups, makes its politics known | first=Sarah | last=Perez | work=TechCrunch | date=February 16, 2017}}</ref> Meetup also partnered with a labor group to organize anti-Trump protests.<ref name=leap>{{cite news | url=http://www.toledoblade.com/business/2017/03/19/Meetup-com-takes-risky-leap-into-the-Trump-resistance.html| title=Meetup.com takes risky leap into the Trump resistance | work=Associated Press | date=March 19, 2017}}</ref>
Meetup was acquired by WeWork in November 2017 for about $156 million.<ref>{{Cite press release | url=https://www.wework.com/newsroom/wework-x-meetup | title=WeWork acquires Meetup | first=Adam | last=Neumann | authorlink=Adam Neumann | publisher=WeWork | date=November 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://venturebeat.com/entrepreneur/wework-acquires-meetup/ | title=WeWork acquires Meetup to host more face-to-face gatherings | first=Paul | last=Sawers | work=VentureBeat | date=November 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/story/why-wework-is-buying-meetup/ |title=WeWork is Buying Meetup Amid an Increasingly Disconnected World |first=Jessi |last=Hempel | work=WIRED |date=November 28, 2017 | url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-28/wework-to-buy-meetup-a-social-network-to-connect-hobbyists | last=Vynck | first=Gerrit De | title=WeWork Buys Meetup to Bring People Together Outside of Work | work=Bloomberg News | date=November 28, 2017 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> By that time, Meetup had raised $18.3 million over 11 years.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/meetup-was-darling-tech-industry-can-it-survive-wework-n1106676 | title=Meetup was a darling of the tech industry. But can it survive WeWork? | first=Alyssa | last=Newcomb | work=NBC News | date=December 26, 2019}}</ref> Some former employees said there was a 10% layoff after the acquisition.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://gizmodo.com/the-mess-at-meetup-1822243738 | last=Conger | first=Kate | title=The Mess at Meetup | work=Gizmodo | date=February 16, 2018}}</ref>
In 2018, Scott Heiferman resigned as CEO and former Investopedia CEO David Siegel took his place after a convincing interview with WeWork CEO Adam Neumann.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/david-siegel-how-i-won-over-adam-neumann-meetup-ceo-2022-6 | title=I was overly aggressive when I interviewed with WeWork's Adam Neumann for the Meetup CEO role — and it paid off. Here's why I recommend all leaders negotiate every detail. | first=David | last=Siegel | authorlink=David Siegel (executive) | work=Business Insider | date=June 28, 2022}}</ref> Heiferman became Chairman of the company.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/17/meetup-ceo-scott-heiferman-moves-into-chairman-role/ | title=Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman moves into chairman role | work=TechCrunch | date=July 17, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/30/wework-owned-meetup-brings-on-david-siegel-as-ceo/ | title=WeWork-owned Meetup brings on David Siegel as CEO | first=Jordan | last=Crook | work=TechCrunch | date=October 30, 2018}}</ref>
In October 2019, Meetup began to test a different pricing model in two US states, reducing the costs that must be paid by organizers of $23.99/month or $98.94/six months, but requiring users to pay a $2 fee in order to RSVP for events, leaving several users angry.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/15/20893343/meetup-users-furious-new-rsvp-payment-test |title=Meetup wants to charge users $2 just to RSVP for events – and some are furious |last=Deahl |first=Dani | work=The Verge |date=October 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2019/10/15/meetup-users-revolt-against-2-event-feeand-blame-wework/ | title=Meetup Users Revolt Against $2 Event Fee—And Blame WeWork | first=Rachel | last=Sandler | work=Forbes | date=October 15, 2019 | url-access=limited}}</ref>
In March 2020, WeWork sold Meetup to AlleyCorp and other investors, reportedly at a substantial loss, and Kevin P. Ryan of AlleyCorp was added to the board of directors of Meetup.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://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 | work=TechCrunch |date=March 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/business/wework-sells-social-network-meetup-to-alleycorp-private-investors-idUSKBN21H2K5/ | title=WeWork sells social network Meetup to AlleyCorp, private investors | first=Noor Zainab | last=Hussain | editor-first=Anil | editor-last=D'Silva | work=Reuters | date=March 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://fortune.com/2020/03/30/softbank-wework-meetup-alleycorp-acquisition/ | title=Exclusive: WeWork is selling Meetup to AlleyCorp for a fraction of its 2017 price | first=Alyssa | last=Newcomb | work=Fortune | date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
In January 2024, Bending Spoons acquired Meetup.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/11/24034564/meetup-got-acquired-by-bending-spoons |last=Roth |first=Emma | title=Meetup got acquired by Bending Spoons. | work=The Verge |date=January 11, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release | url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240124551711/en/Bending-Spoons-finalizes-acquisition-of-U.S.-based-community-building-platform-Meetup-and-announces-%2450000-Community-Fund | title=Bending Spoons finalizes acquisition of U.S.-based community-building platform, Meetup, and announces $50,000 Community Fund | publisher=Business Wire | date=January 24, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2024/1/deal-wrap-alleycorp-sells-meetup-capitalspring-invests-in-primetime-fitness-80036518 | title=Deal Wrap: AlleyCorp. sells Meetup; CapitalSpring invests in Primetime Fitness | work=S&P Global | date=January 12, 2024}}</ref>
==See also== * {{Annotated link|Mobilizon}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.meetup.com/}}
{{Online social networking}}
Category:2006 mergers and acquisitions Category:2017 mergers and acquisitions Category:2020 mergers and acquisitions Category:2024 mergers and acquisitions Category:Companies based in New York City Category:Event management companies of the United States Category:Internet properties established in 2002 Category:Internet-based activism Category:Social planning websites Category:WeWork