* The Collective * - A Group Just for Meetup Organizers/A.O.

Join * The Collective * - A Group Just for Meetup Organizers/A.O.

You'll get invited to our Meetups as soon as they're scheduled!

About * The Collective * - A Group Just for Meetup Organizers/A.O.

Table of contents

Why have a Collective?

Do you ever wish you could sit down with other great Meetup Organizers in your area and exchange ideas on how to get your group more active?

Do you wish you could get help figuring out how to deal with challenging members?

Do you want to learn how to spread the word about what a great group you really have?

Still trying to figure out how to accomplish your goals with Meetup's software?

If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes!" it's time to join the Collective!

Who are we?

We are some of the hippest and most involved Orgs and Assistant Orgs in the Twin Cities Metro Area. We have groups that are well-established, and ones that are just starting out. We come from all sorts of groups. It does not matter if your group is about Pugs, Parcheesi, Parenting, or Politics. Even though the dynamics, goals and venue needs of all of our groups differ, we have much in common. We all want great groups full of involved, happy members. The point of this group is to share ideas, solutions and to learn from each other.

Tell me more.

Here are some more things we hope to do:

Learn more about the other local groups on Meetup
Experiment with new ideas
Discover restaurants and venues that are friendly to meetup groups
Propose joint ventures between groups
Discuss marketing techniques to help you promote your group
Learn how to torture Meetup's software into doing what we want
Eat, drink and be merry
Help organizers familiarize themselves with features of the meetup.com software
And more...

In addition to face-to-face meetings, we have a message board where we can discuss issues that come up between meetings, and which could provide "boardrooms" for organizers with multiple assistants to discuss sensitive issues away from their memberships.

Does this group have a membership fee?

No, we're completely free.

Who can join the Collective?

This group is currently open to all Meetup Organizers, and Assistants, and Meetup Staff. While we have no geographic restrictions for membership, our focus is the Twin Cities metro area.

Meetup Staff? What are they doing here?

This is a pilot project of Meetup's, and the Twin Cities was picked as one of the first five cities to launch a group like this. Although we are locally managed and operated, we are "supported" by Meetup.com. Alicia (Meetup.com staff) is a member of our group which allows her to hear feedback from members and in general make herself available for any questions or suggestions.

Besides, this way we can hit Meetup up for free stuff.

How often does this group meet?

Our group is a little different than most Meetup groups. We have a rotating host structure, to allow the Organizers and Assistants of each group the opportunity to show off what they have learned from their groups and their favorite venues.

Here are some examples of Meetup topics (and the hosts) of some of our past meetings:

"Introductions".

Here's a link to a recap of the event with photos! It was hosted by Hilary of the Speculative Fiction Writers Network
"Assistant Organizers and Sponsors"

How to get them, what to do with them, all that good stuff. Hosted by Kerry of the Mpls/St Paul Pug Meetup.
"Promotion"

How do you spread the word about your Meetup? We covered both promotion within the Meetup site and promotion outside of it. This event was hosted by Nicole of the Minneapolis Playgroup.
"Geek Night"

This covered all technical aspects of the site, including about pages, search engines, and how to torture Meetup's software to achieve the results you want. This event was hosted by Corey Stern of the Freedom Movie of the Month Club.
"Dinner and a Meetup with Meetup Staffer Elizabeth Busch"

Hey, ask questions of a Meetup staffer. Get free stuff and a meal on Meetup's tab. What more could you want? We're going to let Elizabeth host this one, though the rest of us plan to be there too!

How is this schedule determined? Member input. This group is a collective, meaning that it will become what the members want it to be.

What if I can never make it?

That's the beauty of the rotating host structure. If it's your turn to host, you can pick the time and day that works best for you! We will likely rotate the day through Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays to allow the most people to participate that possibly can.

Why is this group private and approval only?

Rather than hanging out your laundry out for all the world to see you can do it here privately. It's not 100% private, other Organizers and Assistant Organizers will see your discussions, but your members won't. When you join, you will be asked to fill out a profile with a few short questions. Once your profile is completed, I'll approve your membership.

Join us!

We look so forward to meeting you and learning about your wonderful Meetup groups!

Image Credits

The Colors of Spring © 2006 Dan Chusid - pbase.com/camera0bug.

"Minneapolis Cherry" © 2006 Terry Faust - faustphotography.biz.

Incredibly cute emoticons from emoticons4u.

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