Are most interested in helping people connect with you, or in helping them connect with one another?

by Douglas Rushkoff | September 13, 2011 | (1)

SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS ARE MORE ABOUT WHO MEETS US THAN WHO SHOWS UP. Back in 1999, I spoke at decidedly counter-culture conference DisinfoCon, hosted by the media hacker and social commentator now behind DangerousMinds.net, Richard Metzger. Optimistic, early cyber-era, mad folks were there, from Mondo2000 editor RU Sirius and conspiracy author Robert Anton Wilson to comic writer Grant Morrison and performer Genesis P-Orridge. There was a wonderful, reinforcing audience of people—gathered together for the first time.

I gave an opening keynote called “Find the Others,” based on a then-obscure comment by acid guru Timothy Leary. In 1968 during a post-talk Q&A at Berkeley, a young woman in the audience asked Leary what to do now that she had “seen” the truth on LSD. He told her, “Find the others.” 

My theory: that the then-emerging Internet was the perfect tool through which we could find like-minded individuals (“the others”); that there were lots of people out there who shared our interests and concerns; that the Net would give us the tools to reach out, connect and then—hopefully—meet in the real world; that the Internet was worth nothing if it didn’t foster the flesh relationships eroded by a century of alienating, market-based mass media. 

They loved the message, and a friend of mine in attendance—Scott Heiferman, who had just sold his dotcom advertising firm for good money (this was still the heyday)—was inspired to act. Ready to do something good with the Net, he thought: Why not create an online utility that lets people find each other and quite literally meet up? Use the Internet to re- and connect people, rather than simply make disconnections more convenient. And thus Meetup.com was born—the Google Groups for groups who want to connect in the real world. (Full disclosure: I was asked to be on the advisory board and I agreed to serve, as much to help the effort as to get to meet former governor and New York Knicks professional basketball star Bill Bradley, who is also an advisor.) 

And so, as most of you know, there are now meetups for pretty much anything people are interested in meeting about—dog breed meetups, activist meetups, breast-feeding moms meetups. 

This year, the site is trying something new: MeetupEverywhere. You set a day (like the opening day of your next big event), and encourage people anywhere-everywhere to hold meetups about its topic or theme. Or you don’t set a day—you set an agenda, like Seth Godin did for his book, Linchpin. He set up a page and invited people to engage in mutually supportive conversations applying the theories of his book. 

MeetupEverywhere could be a good adjunct to live events, but it’s tricky—as I’m learning with my own Contact conference. I decided to use MeetupEverywhere to reach people who can’t fly all the way to New York for the event. The new tool allows them to connect in their own cities around the world, watch streaming media of our speakers and conduct their own breakout groups. They can report the results of their sessions to the same bulletin board used by the people at the “real” conference. They can join the extended online family and share in the discussions that follow. 

Of course, the potential downside is that the meetups make it easier for people not to come at all. If I can meet a few dozen people of like minds and industries in my area and then connect to hundreds or thousands via the Net, why waste the time, money and jet fuel to get to the “main” event? Then, creating a network of international meetups looks like bad business strategy. 

Maybe, but I’m hoping not. In theory, the existence of local alternatives to big events creates a larger total community. If some percentage of that greater community shows up, it could mean better attendance. The local meetup groups can even gather in advance of the event, strategize and publicize on your behalf. You have created more value for those who do come, by launching a community of interested people for them to go home to. 

Finally, offering people the ability to MeetupEverywhere demonstrates that you are more interested in servicing members of your community than you are in selling tickets. And even if it does take a toll on attendance, there are other metrics to take into account: more members, more constituents, bigger brand.

The real choice it will force you to make is whether you are most interested in helping people connect with you, or in helping them connect with one another. One+

Douglas Rushkoff

DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF speaks and writes about communication, values, culture and organizations. His latest book is "Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age." He can be contacted via www.rushkoff.com.

TAGS: One+ September 2011 , column , business value of meetings , meetings , connections