@kathybernard Meet-ups are wonderful. I advertised a class at my church and attendance went up 20%!

@kc_kreative – I’d heard that about Meetups starting after 9/11. That must have been wonderful for the people going through so much and now they remain such a terrific way for people to meet other people in a non-threatening way. I often think Meetups have very likely saved the lives of lonely people who otherwise would have remained alone.@amyhallbiz – Great idea about marketing church events. I lead job workshops at my church and never thought about promoting it on Meetup. Thanks for the tip.

@kathybernard

I’ve had some friends and colleagues use Meet-Ups to create a community around a given topic (entrepreneurship, permaculture, etc.) and I’ve gone to a couple as well.

Whether they’re formal “meet-ups” or something else, a physical meet up can really solidify online relationships.

Here in Portland, Maine, I’ve been involved in scheduling monthly tweetups for several years now, and there’s an active Facebook Maine group that gets together monthly, a Maine Entrepreneurs group as well, and so on, and so on.

We also have a very active Social Media Breakfast that’s well attended.

It’s important for people to realize that there’s a whole other level of networking when you get to “press the flesh” and share a cup of coffee (or beer, depending on the event.)

@supereb -  I’m glad to hear Meetups have spread to small towns and rural areas … I imagine there are lots of people there who could use the social aspect of the groups particularly in cold areas during the long winters.