Weekly Release: Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Tracey-

although I would not use an IM feature on Meetup, here are a couple options that may help your group chat on line.

ChatUp
Chatzy

good luck
KarenL

Thank you Karen. I will check those out. I really appreciate the references.

I would love to have more control over the description
area for my Meetup group as well as meetings. Being
able to use html, add picture right into the description,
video and audio would make me a very happy guy.

I use audio buttons on a lot of my other stuff and think
that would really add something here.

Let me use my creativity!!!

I realize that this is not a social networking website link
a ning site but if you could add the best of both worlds
it would help people to become more active.

Scott Johnson
www.Meetup.com/LifeTalk
www.52LifeLessons.com

I don't want "the best of both worlds"...

I dislike the "shouts" or greetings or whatever they call them

I am not thrilled about "friends"

when I joined meetup it was with the idea of getting out in the real world with real people

I don't want another Myspace or match.com

nor do I , as an org, wish to pay for those features

I have had "problem" members who were match.com /myspace members and brought their
"ideas" into my group (ie, endless shouts, emailing members they didn't know, adding friends they had never met, bothering people, posting comments on everything, trying to set up their own meetups on my board etc

please ...let meetup be meetup <grin> thanks

I don't want "the best of both worlds"...

I dislike the "shouts" or greetings or whatever they call them

I am not thrilled about "friends"

when I joined meetup it was with the idea of getting out in the real world with real people

I don't want another Myspace or match.com

nor do I , as an org, wish to pay for those features

I have had "problem" members who were match.com /myspace members and brought their
"ideas" into my group (ie, endless shouts, emailing members they didn't know, adding friends they had never met, bothering people, posting comments on everything, trying to set up their own meetups on my board etc

please ...let meetup be meetup <grin> thanks

The biggest reason I don't want IMs is because it's yet one more thing for me to have to police in my groups. It's bad enough watching what members are posting as greetings to each other's profiles, keeping an eye on the message boards, etc... but to start worrying about appropriate IM'ing and the people who will sit around on their computer at home watching for the 'pretty faces' to log onto Meetup just to contact them will totally turn me and most of my members off. Meetup is different than other social sites for a reason. Most of my members have left the other social sites because the connections they make in Meetup are far more valuable and real.

If MU ever did implement something like this I would HOPE that it was optional not only per group but per member as well. I wouldn't want to be forced to accept IM's from people online just for being an org as I am forced to accept emails through the Email Me link. I wouldn't want to be shown as 'Busy' either. Just let me turn it off for myself in other people's groups and not let it be an option at all in my groups.

I don't want "the best of both worlds"...

I dislike the "shouts" or greetings or whatever they call them

I am not thrilled about "friends"

when I joined meetup it was with the idea of getting out in the real world with real people

I don't want another Myspace or match.com

nor do I , as an org, wish to pay for those features

I have had "problem" members who were match.com /myspace members and brought their
"ideas" into my group (ie, endless shouts, emailing members they didn't know, adding friends they had never met, bothering people, posting comments on everything, trying to set up their own meetups on my board etc

please ...let meetup be meetup <grin> thanks

The biggest reason I don't want IMs is because it's yet one more thing for me to have to police in my groups. It's bad enough watching what members are posting as greetings to each other's profiles, keeping an eye on the message boards, etc... but to start worrying about appropriate IM'ing and the people who will sit around on their computer at home watching for the 'pretty faces' to log onto Meetup just to contact them will totally turn me and most of my members off. Meetup is different than other social sites for a reason. Most of my members have left the other social sites because the connections they make in Meetup are far more valuable and real.

If MU ever did implement something like this I would HOPE that it was optional not only per group but per member as well. I wouldn't want to be forced to accept IM's from people online just for being an org as I am forced to accept emails through the Email Me link. I wouldn't want to be shown as 'Busy' either. Just let me turn it off for myself in other people's groups and not let it be an option at all in my groups.

Yeah tis something I would like to see added, it would certainly help new members get too know others before a meeting, and agree it should be optional. Granted most poeple might not use it, but to have it there for those that do, would be great.

Instant messenger would come in very handy for our meetup site. We have a lot of very busy and young Moms who keep asking for this. We might end up switching to another domain because of this...and because I get a lot of complaints that our site is not very "user" friendly and doesn't have all the bells and whistles.

We do meet in person on a very regular basis, but our members are young and very familiar with technology...and the lack thereof.

I still think that MU is facing a very bad end if they try to become another social app. that keeps people online all day. If the purpose of MU is to "use the internet to get off the internet" then why add more apps to keep us glued to our computers even more?

Please MU, let the social apps do their thing, don't become yet another way for people to remain faceless profiles.