Social Networking

Meetup.com is a social networking tool where people can meet others in person after registering on the site and joining groups. It was founded in 2002 by Scott Heiferman, Matt Meeker, and Peter Kamali which was inspired by the book “Bowling Alone.” The founders of Meetup.com were upset with how people didn’t really know others within their own community because they would spend time having online only friendships.

By using Meetup.com you can simply just enter in your zipcode and many different kinds of groups will show up. You can also narrow down the groups by your interests and hobbies etc. Once you find a group you like, you hit a join button and usually are instantly accepted into a group. Some groups though have you say something short about yourself and why you want to join the group before you are accepted in. Once you are a member, you can RSVP to events you want to go that you can get emailed to yourself, or can just view when you go to long on at Meetup.com.

In the Wikipedia article on social networking, Ferdinand Tonnies said social groups link people who share similar beliefs. Meetup.com does just that, and makes it incredibly easy for people to meet others with common interests. You can pick and choose events you want to go to, and can form offline relationships with others. I believe it would be a great idea for someone who just relocated to a new community where you do not really know many people. Because the website also has a career section, many people use Meetup.com as a tool for carreer networking. There are often happy hour mixers or dinners for people from certain careers to meet each other and to possibly use each other for a reference.