-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Swingle [mailto:cswingle@democratandchronicle.com]
Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 8:59 AM
To: myles@meetup.com
Subject: rochester story on meetup.com


From:
Chris Swingle, Reporter
"Democrat and Chronicle"
55 Exchange Blvd.
Rochester, NY 14614-2001
phone (585) 258-2350
fax (585) 258-2554
email cswingle@DemocratandChronicle.com

"Democrat and Chronicle" newspaper, Rochester, NY
January 2, 2003; Section=Rochester_Living; Page=1c; Page=6c;
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Making the connection

Through Meetup.com, people are enjoying common niche interests face to face

BY STAFF WRITER
CHRIS SWINGLE

The Internet has connected millions of people around the world,
electronically linking those who have the same hobby, occupation, disease or
interest. But what about finding those people in your own neighborhood or
county and talking face to face?

Ironically, a new Web site, Meetup.com, offers just that.

‘‘People watch TV and work more and are more stressed out and their lives
are generally reported as not as satisfying,’’ says Scott Heiferman of New
York City. He started Meetup.com to arrange local meetings of like-minded
folks in 500 cities around the world. ‘‘The Internet is just the vehicle. We
want to get people off their computers, out of their houses and into their
community.’’

Heiferman, 30, says he was inspired to start Meetup.com after reading Robert
Putnam’s book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
(Touchstone Books, $16). In the book, the Harvard University government
professor says the nation has suffered ‘‘a major, almost catastrophic,
decline in connectedness’’ since the 1950s, in part because of long commutes
and the pervasiveness of television.

Now groups of people are getting together to talk about witchcraft or Star
Trek or Elvis or dachshunds. Meetup.com aims to provide a safe, comfortable
way for those who share a specific interest to get together in person at
coffee shops, bookstores and other public venues.

It’s not a matchmaking service. But it can be a way to make friends with
others who have at least one thing in common.

‘‘It’s wonderful,’’ says Shelly O’Brien, 33, of Canandaigua, who recently
drove to Henrietta for her third ‘‘witches’’ Meetup session with six others.
‘‘I don’t do chat rooms, and I don’t talk to people on the Internet that I
don’t know.’’

The group sat around a couple of tables at Borders Books & Music cafe in
Henrietta and chatted about their lives, about winter solstice celebrations
and Wiccan traditions.

‘‘It’s an easy way of coming out of the broom closet,’’ jokes Peter Glaze,
44, of Rochester. The public location may be more comfortable for newcomers
than an open circle at someone’s house.

Those gathered are identified only by a Meetup sign on the table, and
nothing about their appearance makes them stand out.

O’Brien heard about the Web site at a local Pagan Pride festival and has
found Meetup a great way to meet others.

‘‘It’s that initial contact that Meetup makes possible,’’ says Barbara
Kiser, 49, of Chili, a Wiccan who signed up to meet others who follow an
earth-based, Goddess-based religion. Kiser and O’Brien have become close
friends through the Meetup get-togethers. ‘‘Now we’re like sisters,’’ says
Kiser.

To participate, you need an e-mail address and Internet access, but there’s
no fee. From the Web site you browse the topics, then sign up to attend a
session. The Web site picks the monthly meeting times and dates — and all
the meetings for one topic take place at the same hour (local time)
worldwide.

You vote online about where to meet locally, then you’ll get an e-mail a few
days in advance advising you of the location and asking you to RSVP. If at
least four people click to say they’ll attend, the meeting is on.

Not many people in and around Rochester are trying Meetup yet, however.
Several sessions scheduled in the Rochester area in December were canceled a
day or two beforehand because too few people said they would attend. Among
them: sessions for owners of boxer dogs, fans of the British band Radiohead,
Xanga (for people who want to publish stuff online) and CounterStrike (an
online game).

‘‘I don’t think the word has gotten out about it enough,’’ says Steven
Leess, 14, of Pittsford, a fan of the counterterrorist game CounterStrike
who was bummed that the December Meetup was canceled. He was looking forward
to meeting at a local cyber cafe to play the game in person with others on a
fast computer network.

Patricia Schifano-Walczak, 34, of Rochester, was disappointed when too few
owners of boxer dogs clicked to RSVP, and their December meeting was nixed.
‘‘I think it’s the weather,’’ she speculates. ‘‘Boxers don’t like cold
weather.’’

Heiferman, who created an online advertising agency when he was 22 and later
sold it, says he started Meetup.com with about 300 subjects. But almost all
of the 10 most popular ones were suggested by members.

‘‘Who would have thought witches would be so popular?’’ he says. ‘‘I thought
witches were just something out of The Wizard of Oz.’’ Witches are the third
most popular discussion subject on Meetup.com. The hottest is fans of
Slashdot.org, a technology Web site.

Meetup.com also brings together supporters and opponents of U.S. military
action against Iraq. The sides meet separately.

Heiferman’s company stays afloat with payments from the venues where
meetings take place. Members vote on a choice of three sites.

Meetup.com is still in its infancy and Heiferman believes that his role will
continue to be limited.

‘‘We are like the phone company,’’ he says. ‘‘We just provide the pipes. A
year from now, it will look a lot different. The kinds of topics will be
very different, from pets to health to political activism, and we really
want to make an impact on community in America.’’

Includes reporting by Cox News Service.

E-mail address: cswingle@

DemocratandChronicle.com

How to meet up

Among the hundreds of Meetup.com session topics: accounting, scooters,
romance novels, nursing, ‘‘thinkin’ about med school,’’ ex-Jehovah’s
Witnesses, newly single, investors, euchre, lung cancer survivors, adult
fans of Legos, Cabbage Patch Kids collectors, American Sign Language, band
parents, past pets (for people whose pet has died), tax reform, the future,
sumo wrestling and stay-at-home moms.

Only some of the groups have gotten enough signups to meet in the Rochester
area so far. Among the most popular here, according to the Web site, are
Slashdot (for computer geeks), witches (about the Wiccan religion),
LiveJournal (for online journal keepers), Fark (for people who like
Fark.com), and pagan (for the nonreligious).

For more, see:

www.meetup.com

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

The Web site Meetup.com brings together people with a common interest, like
these folks who are into witches.
ANNETTE LEIN staff photographer

A shared interest led to friendship for Shelly O’Brien (left) and Barbara
Kiser.
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Copyright 2002 Gannett Rochester Newspapers