:: jaded elegance, v.3 ::

The Betrayal Of Meetup.Com…..:P

Note: Thanks much for the link love from Green Tech Girl, who wrote about this issue more eloquently and knowledgeably than I ever could!

OK, so it’s probably not as ominous and dramatic as that, but still, I’m a very unhappy camper.

Today, I woke up to see that my beloved Meetup group had been thoroughly discombobulated.

Like many organizers on the site, I was crushed to see that the look, content, and ease of use of the group I’ve kept running (and growing) for well over four years could be decimated by the whims of a CEO looking to maximize profit without listening to the users who keep the company afloat.

Meetup never did any beta testing, usability studies, or even asked the people what they want. They simply redesigned our pages, without warning, to maximize the visibility of Sponsors (who aren’t even really sponsors, but people offering 10% off coupons), and minimize everything the organizers do to keep groups successful…as well as make the site look thoroughly unappealing to new members. It’s a slap in the face that a company that I, and many others, have supported throughout the years and credit for the opportunity to build important friendships, relationships, and meaningful experiences, would make these choices.

Worse yet, despite the fact that virtually everyone dislikes this choice, Meetup is not listening. They’re closing down threads on their “forums” that are full of thousands of people listing their complaints. They’ve closed accessibility to their customer service hotline. Concerns are not even being heard, much less addressed. An official statement from a member of Meetup HQ said:

“There are no plans to revert back to the old version of Meetup. If you have suggestions for improvements, or if you’ve come across any bugs that you’d like to report, please take a look at Andrea’s post for more information.

Because we have no plans to revert to the prior version of Meetup, we’ll be closing threads on this forum that are requesting that we do so. Please let us know if there’s anything specific that you’re having trouble with, or any tools that you’re having trouble finding.”

I think this is shameful, and I feel sad, because it’s the first step toward something that’s been an important part of my life on many levels falling apart. I did everything I was supposed to. I built a successful group that is of benefit to many people, to the community, and represents the Meetup idea well. And, still, it’s been damaged and diminished by forces outside my control.

I love Meetup, not only because of the opportunities it’s provided me to contribute to the world in some small way and grow as a person, but because of the role it’s had in my life over the past few years. It introduced me to my boyfriend of over two and a half years, as well as some significant relationships before that. It introduced me to both my present roommate, and my roommate before that, who has become one of my closest friends. It’s introduced me to not just acquaintances, but true friends that are like family to me after just a few years. It’s allowed me to meet people and have experiences, in both my own city and others, that I may not have had otherwise.

And, because I love Meetup, the way they’ve made choices that severely impact my group without consulting me is really a slap in the face. It’s a sad day for me. I feel a little bit like I’m going through a huge breakup I didn’t see coming, with an ex who refuses to communicate with me.

For anyone who cares, here’s the letter I sent to Meetup HQ, which they will never read:

Dear Meetup HQ,

Please, just bring the old Meetup back.

Organizers spend a lot of time and energy on putting together what they do. All of that is not only not appreciated, but completely undermined, by a new layout that hides the content Organizers write, overrides the designs they’ve created, and instead features Sponsors (who truly don’t offer anything except discounts off of purchases), and fosters an attitude that Organizers are unnecessary, since almost anyone can do it.

This direction that Meetup is taking is driving people away, both Organizers and community members. As someone with an active group of nearly 1500 that’s been going strong for years, I wonder why the focus on changing what works? The new layout is not friendly, not inviting to new users, and doesn’t give the impression of a community so much as a scheduling tool. That’s not what most are looking for in this site, organizers and users alike.

After nearly a decade of my group being hosted by Meetup, it is a personal affront to me that the group might be harmed by the new layout; members are leaving, I received numerous complaints by people who thought the changes were my responsibility, and people want the old functions back, like the Meetup Stars, and the ability to post comments directly from the Meetup page. Also, just because someone suggests an “Idea” does not make it a “Meetup In The Making”, and it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen…I personally don’t want it lumped in as a “future event” unless it’s something I have planned, not simply something a member suggested.

95% of the Organizers I’ve spoken with agree with me. If Meetup is supposed to be about community, why are you not listening to your community members, rather than rolling out features without asking those that pay to use this service what they think? Even Facebook allows beta testing of new features, and the ability to go back to the old version if you don’t like the changes.

People are leaving this website and investigating alternatives simply because of these changes, so I hope that the CEO and management of Meetup listen. I’d hate to see a great service die because someone took it in a direction the users did not want it to go. (see: MySpace.) Those who are loyal to the vision of Meetup will stay, but only if our interests are being served.

Meetup should at least give us the option to revert back to the old format if we’re not interested in using this new one. The organizers are essential in keeping this site going, and we should have a say, too.

Are you listening, Meetup.Com? No, I didn’t think so.

tags: anti-corporate, Atlanta, Atlanta New In Town Meetup, breakup, Meetup, protest

16 Responses

MoBill says...

Certainly agree with you 100% ! MeetUp has taken away a lot of the controls we need, to maintain control over what we wish OUR MEETUP to do.
Members can no longer just click on the page and see an event they may be interested in.
You can’t just make a comment to the club… and I see now, if I edit an event, that shows up ” MoBill changed the event ” and I can’t even remove that comment. )(*^!!)!!!
MeetUp needs to come run a 2300 member club for a while, to see the real problems we have… not just dictate to us how they are going to make us run our clubs.

” MoBill “

January 27th, 2011 at 4:12 pm

Alayna-Renee says...

BTW, for anyone who doesn’t know, the phone number for Meetup HQ is: 212-255-7327. The front desk couldn’t put me through to anyone, and suggested that I email support@meetup.com, which I’d done.

January 27th, 2011 at 4:47 pm

greentechgirl says...

I feel your pain. I’ve referenced your post in my own review and analysis here:

Alternatives to Meetup.com (Or: When Web 2.0 Goes Horribly Wrong)
http://greentechgirl.com/internet/alternatives-to-meetup-com/

January 27th, 2011 at 9:17 pm

What a thorough and insightful post about the situation! A lot of upset people in the social media world, and beyond, today. Thanks for linking!:)

January 27th, 2011 at 10:45 pm

Thanks for your kind comments! Don’t know if our posts will change Meetup’s behavior…but I’m not waiting…I have already put up my groups up in BigTent to test it out.

January 28th, 2011 at 12:25 am

Steve H says...

Actually.. they did do usability testing. If you want to call it that. I’m in NYC, and I recall when an email went out, seeking people to do the testing. I don’t recall the conditions of being selected, but one of my Asst. Org’s had recently started her own group, and was selected to test the “New” Meetup.

Here’s what she told me about their “testing”:

>>
It gets better. Two weeks ago I was actually brought in to Meetup HQ for a usability study on the new format. I was selected ‘cuz I’m a new organizer. I got PAID. But they do the study two weeks prior to release? Uh-uh, that pretty much defeats the point of the study, no? Gimme a break. I had a lot of issues with it then, and clearly they did not take the study seriously. That’s what gets me; why even bother? (Though I’m not complaining about the check, except that it’s our dues that feed them and I’d call it poor accountability on their part to pay for something they don’t take seriously.)
<<

Organizers are up in arms, nationwide.. and perhaps far beyond.. but no, they're not listening.

I don't even want them to "roll-back" to the old design. I just want them to address some piss-poor changes that were done badly, and improve them.

Here's an ongoing thread about the changes that have been found, so far – http://www.meetup.com/boards/thread/10358683

Good luck GTT.. and BTW, that was a nice write-up!

- Steve H | Craft Beers & Brews – NYC

January 28th, 2011 at 1:52 am

Paul says...

Very well put, Alayna-Renee. I was also very fond of Meetup — I met my wife and many good friends through groups there. Their attitude really is appalling — the best explanation I’ve found was quoted on one of the Meetup Forum threads (apparently the original comment had been deleted, but the quote survived):
YOUR DAYS AS AN ORGANIZER ARE LIMITED.
MEETUP HAS PLANS TO START A NEW REVENUE
MODEL THAT CHARGES MEMBERS INSTEAD OF
ORGANIZERS. THERE IS A LOT MORE MONEY IN
IT THAT WAY.
–Once you get your head around that, it all starts to make sense — why would they care what Organisers think, since their strategy is to pander to members prior to demanding their money? It’s a woefully misguided strategy — my group, like many others, is unlikely to stick around to see how it plays out.

January 29th, 2011 at 12:18 am

John says...

If you are a meetup member or organizer and want the old meetup back be one of the 4,700 + people who want to bring community back to Meetup and click here…http://meetup.uservoice.com/forums/37079-ideas-and-suggestions-for-meetup/suggestions/1417609-please-give-organizers-the-ability-to-restore-the-

January 29th, 2011 at 1:34 pm

Anonymous says...

Great post, well stated. Thank you for sharing your feelings, you are most certainly not alone.

January 29th, 2011 at 10:14 pm

Leo-X says...

I can’t believe I had to dig around the meetup site just to locate some clue/link to finding some place with some answers to what the hell went wrong with meetup.

I wake up, go to my pc, log on to meetup and holy Shit!! WTH went wrong with my site….

I want my old meetup site back please or I will go to godaddy and just set up a simpe site that does the same thing that meetup is supposed to do with the curren members I have now…..

You corporate geeks really screwed up this time… “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it geniuses!!”

January 30th, 2011 at 3:29 am

Sarah says...

I agree with what everyone has said. I guess the more important question is, which alternative will give us the closest to what we lost? I see this as a business opportunity for someone with the technical know-how – to create a “pre-change” meetup alternative. If anyone knows who has done that, a link would be appreciated.

January 31st, 2011 at 10:27 am

G says...

I feel your pain. I feel like it’s a break-up, too. They don’t understand the emotional investment. I feel I’ve been suckered, especially after promoting their site to so many people. They’ve lost my trust. Honestly, I almost feel like I should just purchase software and run it on my own domain so this never happens again. At least my business cards list the blog, not the meetup site. On twitter, some development guy contacted me and gave me http://weheardyourconcerns.com/ Using who is, I googled the guy and he does have a history as a development start-up guy. We’ll see.

January 31st, 2011 at 3:34 pm

I am thrilled. It couldn’t of happened to a more deserving person. I guess he finally met his karma.

February 9th, 2011 at 10:29 pm

I’m not sure who/what you’re referring to here, Anonymous. Are you referring to Meetup’s CEO?

February 9th, 2011 at 11:30 pm

ipod app reviews youtube says...

Iâ€™m really loving the theme/design of your web site. Do you ever run into any browser compatibility difficulties? Quite a few my weblog readers have complained about my web site not operating correctly in Explorer but looks wonderful in Opera. Do you might have any solutions to assist fix this difficulty?

October 15th, 2011 at 10:26 pm