Meetup Changes: What We Know So Far...
Details
The new, European-based programming team continues to forge ahead aggressively with the revamping of the Meetup platform. There has been some curious in-production testing -- and with us as the live guinea pigs! The disappearing attendee and wait lists for non-Meetup+ members appears to be an example of one such test. After a little sleuthing by me, it seems that the programmers were tweaking things for a select group of users and then waiting to receive user feedback. This explains why some folks suddenly couldn't see the attendee and wait lists, while others had no problem. Thankfully, the programming team has now backed off on this change, as it so clearly impacts the dynamics of group events -- and not in a good way.
What's Going Away
- Event Chat. This was one recently introduced feature that I thought was actually good -- certainly better than event comments, in my opinion. Despite my encouragement, however, this feature was slow to be adopted by our group. Meetup is shutting it down after July 18 and has promised more robust event discussions and comments.
- Message Boards. Another legacy feature from years ago that I liked. It fell into disuse when Meetup made the big change years ago to push people toward the smartphone app rather than the Web browser interface. Lots of people don't even know that our message boards exist, since there is no way to get to them from the phone app. We used to use these message boards for buying and selling used gear, posting resources on bike trails, listing local bike shops, etc. These are also going away after July 18.
- Attendee Insights. A Meetup marketing term used to describe member age, gender, interests and joined groups. The attendee and wait lists now show this additional information -- but only if you are a Meetup+ subscriber.
What's Coming Our Way
- Advertisements on the Web. If you have not signed up for Meetup+ you will see ads when accessing Meetup from your computer. I confirmed this using a test Meetup account.
- Advertisements in the App: Confirmed for Android users. A major update is coming for the Meetup app, currently scheduled for December from what I've been able to learn.
- Price Increases for Organizers. I have a 12-month Meetup Organizer subscription that is billed in January and July. The annual cost, which has been $200 plus taxes for the past few years, is now being increased by $100, upping my annual outlay to $300 plus tax. FYI, organizers with an annual subscription are allowed 3 Meetup groups of unlimited size.
Membership in North Shore Bicycling for Fun will remain free!
The Current State of the Meetup Platform
Meetup has needed a major overhaul for some time; however, none of the platform's previous owners were willing to take on this rather formidable job. Consequently, Meetup languished over the years, becoming increasingly buggy while failing to deliver on many long-asked-for features requested by its organizers. Enter Bending Spoons and their aggressive plan to streamline the platform and rebuild Meetup from the ground up. It's a big job -- and an expensive one. With the new prices for organizers and the introduction of Meetup+, we're essentially being asked to help with the Meetup rebuild.
Is Meetup+ Right for Me?
It's been a free ride for many years. While you can continue as a free Meetup user, a Meetup+ subscription may make your life easier in the long run, particularly if you're an active member in several different groups and like to participate in many events each month. Check out the blog post to learn the benefits of a Meetup+ subscription. Priority notification of events is the biggie, as is priority on the wait list. And no annoying ads. Maybe you wait and see if Bending Spoons delivers on its promises.
See the photos below for a visual rundown on these changes.
Please click the Attend Button to let me know you've read this update.
Meetup Changes: What We Know So Far...