Meetup recently released a new claymation YouTube video and new Web site, UnplugYourFriends.com. The new tagline: "Maybe it's time for a little less face-to-screen and a little more face-to-face". Go ahead. Watch the video, then come back and read the rest of this event listing.

Beads waits patiently while you watch the 2 minute long video at UnplugYourFriends.com . . . and then find your way back to this text.

All well and good, but what about those of us who are not suffering from "Screen Addiction"? Can only people who sit in dark rooms with seven computer terminals going at once participate in Meetup.com? Is Meetup only for people who have updated their status recently?

What if you were never plugged in to begin with?

Worry not! Whether you like a little hoola, got some tail to show off, or just like to fly (whether kites or to new spiritual heights), Meetup is for you. Really! It is!

Life isn't just good for genius robotic engineers and tech-savvy soapbox orators. You don't need to know the first thing about text messaging. You don't even need to own a computer (as long as you have access to one) to participate in Meetup.com!

Nor do you need to know all that much about the Internet. Well, not much, anyway. Just how to use e-mail, and the Web, and well... oh, wait, that's a lot of complicated stuff, isn't it?

Do you know your Meetup account password? No. Your e-mail account password? Hmm...

Okay, maybe we do need to know a few things in order to be able to use Meetup effectively. Such as:

• How to get to your Meetup account without opening your e-mail.

• How to review the calendar of Meetup events that might interest you.

• How to change which Meetup groups you belong to.

• How to find other groups you might be interested in.

• How to get Meetup to tell you about new groups you might be interested in.

• How to update your profile and privacy settings.
  

This workshop is for those who want to learn how to better use the Meetup.com Web site: in particular, those who truly like the idea of meeting new people face-to-face, but who don't spend all that very much time face-to-screen.

Come learn how to use Meetup without having to climb inside your computer screen to do it!