MeetupReviews 500

Without a doubt, one of the very worst, most incompetent front-end re-designs I have experienced in two decades. The administrator responsible for this disaster should be fired, immediately.
I maintain the meetup site for 2 or 3 meetups here in Portland, and it was easy to post new events on the old meetup.com site. But this one was useless: non-working tabs, wouldn't let me upload photos, half-finished events would disappear and I would start over, etc, etc. Absolutely the worst.

Why is it now necessary in this new Meetup system to download the attendance list for each event in order to get a print out of those attending? Another antiquated idea that's been incorporated into this new system which seems to have re-evolved from 2002. The previous system worked very well and everyone seemed happy with it. Now as an organizer all I hear are complaints from my membership. Speaking of membership, any new membership has basically come to an abrupt halt. Since the new site roll out, in the last 3 week I have 2 new members. The previous 3 week total was 18. I think that says it all.
What happened to the message board announcements? We used to get alerts on the main page when a new announcement was put up.----------

Since writing this review of the new Meetup, I've come across an alternate solution to the Meetup dilemma, it's called "The Groups Place". I started a new group on this new format and so far I am very impressed. Now I have something to fall back on when and if I remove the 3 Meetup groups that I organize. Give it a try, so far it's free to both members and organizers.

It's hard to believe that a company cares so little about the customers--the folks who write the checks--as to perpetrate such a mess. But they know we hate the changes--and them--and yet persist in disingenuous comments such as "we want our organizers to love the application" and "we made the changes to help the organizers." Nonsense. Email not getting to members? They don't care. Strip away the ability to put a note on the calendar? Apparently not a problem to them, after all the web app doesn't even have a calendar. A fixed aspect ratio for photos in the event descriptions that trashes many photos? Who cares. Maybe it's time they cut all the bull$#*! and give their true vision for MEETUP. Apparently, a smartphone-only app that has no group organizers, just folks who post ad hoc meeting notices open to anyone nearby.

I signed up to host a group for one month on Meetup.com, for $14.99. While checking my credit card statement the next month, I noticed that I had been charged again for another month of hosting. I did not sign up for this, or if I did, it was because something was snuck in with fine print. Anyway, I wrote to them and asked them to refund the second month. No reply. I just wrote to them again today. The next step is that I'll have to contact my credit card and file it as a fraudulent charge. This site is a waste of time and I suspect they expect people to not notice these recurring charges. Shame on them. Besides this, many people on the site never actually go to meet ups.

Meetup is going through a transition and things are not good.

I have been an organizer or assistant organizer for multiple Meetup.com groups over the past five years. It's a great way to meet new people who have similar interests, it's usually a safe way to meet new friends, and it can offer new experiences at events to teach you a new skill.

That said, Meetup was sold in late 2017 and they have been undergoing a re-programming of the website and it has been a disaster. As an organizer, I find it harder and harder each day to use either the website or the mobile app because links are broken, tools I used to use are no longer working or missing, and members of my group are being dropped from event without their permission.

Meetup corporate has changed their phone number and emails to their team are bouncing back unanswered. The few people who used to be there to help with web problems are gone. I'm still paying almost $200 a year for the ability to use Meetup with my group, but getting more frustrated each week as more problems arise.

It's not that we organizers cannot learn their new system. It's that the new system does not work as promised. If anyone is checking reviews and thinking of becoming an organizer and using Meetup my advise would be to wait 4-6 months and not sign up right now. You will pull your hair out waiting for things to be fixed. If I didn't have so many events already on the calendar I would walk away from Meetup today.

Update 2/28/18. Website is still not usable. I and my members are fed-up with the lack of support from Meetup management. This week I told Meetup I will not renew when my group comes up for the next payment.

This is the age of social media and Meetup is the new way to supposedly "meet" people. Although it is easy to sign up, some groups are excessively exclusive to join. Some group leaders also suffer from mental problems or drama and will block/remove you from their group for unexplained reasons. Some groups are just plain phony where you pay to attend an information seminar and the hosts are just charlatans who use it as their way of making a living.
Meetup has not helped me find real friends, yet there have been some good free events worth attending. Your Mileage Will Vary.

By and large it has turned into a way for businesses and people to make money off members who are looking to expand their social circle. Service businesses hold "learning" sessions to sell their services. Restaurants advertise "social events" to get you to come in and buy food and drink. Trips are advertised at rates that are higher than if you did them on your own. "Self-help" and "self-improvement" retreats are offered by individuals to make money that prey on lonely, desperate and troubled people.

Wherever you are going just make sure you travel safely back and forth, also what is the difference between making friends at meetup or anywhere else? Be your own best friend and go to meetup or out with friends to benefit yourself, and meet likeminded people, you can meet strange people or users at work or old school friends can change whatever! It makes no difference, there is a world full of people, as long as you are careful (which is obvious anyway) you should be fine, you could know someone for 40 years and find out they've done something terrible, you could know someone 1 day and they could be lovely!

I wanted to go an Ableton Users meeting(Ableton is a music creation platform). This particular meeting was intended to give artists a chance to play their music. There was about twenty people there and only one other person played their music. The rest of the people there were organized into cliques, and would openly make fun of me, a new comer. Heh, it was actually funny to see them attempt at looking cool, all while hiding their insecurity about their own stuff. I mean, they want to be gangsters, but turn out to be really preppy. Don't go.

A few years back i use to be a part of a groups that brought the cultures of black and Asian together, while having fun and making friend. I've only been to three meet-ups and there less than amusing, there were huge age gaps more men are older than the women in the group(some are teens! Ew). Most the women act slutty around the already pervy, socially awkward men, everyone's shallow and kinda jerks, thinks its for dating. I waited some years later and wanted to re-join to see if there any changes, and i was denied because i didn't have a profile pic(for privacy reasons), this group is a joke! I never any friends in that group and if your not thin or pretty they treat you like crap and ignore you.One of the Asian male organizers were really rude to me for no reason. They think their challenging stigma or some crap.