June 23, 2011

• My Tips for Organizing Meet Ups

  This weekend, I will be doing my first international trip to visit Xangans in Toronto, ON, Canada.  I’m so excited!  I can’t believe that within a couple years I have met between 120-150 people from this site, with no signs of stopping.  I didn’t imagine any of this would happen when I started writing here, but I’m glad it did.

  GodlessLiberal asked me for some advice on how to host a successful meet up.  Do I know everything there is to know?  Of course not, but I feel I’ve had enough experiences with meet ups that I can offer some valuable input on this topic.  Here are several things I’ve learned and observations I’ve made that may prove to be useful for anyone that’s interested:

  Get the word out
  First off, you want to see if there’s any interests out there.  Usually, this can be done by writing up a post or making a plug to reach out.  While this is all good for awareness, it requires a bit more effort to get people to definitely commit.  I found that contacting interested individuals personally (via private message, for example) is a better way of getting more confirmations than just a general shout out.  Be proactive!

  Plan early and update continuously
  I recommend setting up a date and time (weekends and during the afternoon tend to work out well) at least a month or two in advance so that people can put it in their schedule.  Every few weeks, and perhaps every few days as the date gets closer, I would remind people so they don’t forget.  It can still work out if you set something up relatively last minute, but that’s much easier to do when you’re only dealing with a couple people.  If you’re expecting 6+ people to come out then it’s a safer bet to mention plans earlier.  That takes me to the next point…

  Understand the scope of your meet

  

  The first picture was taken this past Saturday at a house party where I invited Bengozen and HelloKitty0809.  The second picture was taken this past April at the NYC meet.  I would consider both of them meet ups, but they require entirely different preparation processes.  Ask yourself:  “How many people are coming out?  How long will the meet up last?  What will everybody do?  What’s a general start and end time for everything?”  Figure out the extent of your meet up so your expectations are realistic.

  Who will come out?
  This is swayed by a lot of factors, but I will cover what I feel are the strongest influences (for now, let’s say we are only dealing with people open enough to attend these type of meetings in the first place).

  Location is really important.  A meet up in South Dakota is probably not going to be as well attended as, say, one in New York or California.  Try to identify locations that either more people are located or a location that people would be willing to travel to.

  The people already confirmed to go and/or host will affect the demographics of other attendees.  I am a mid 20s Asian guy that have readers from a variety of backgrounds.  However, a big percentage of my readers happen to be around my age, Asian, and female.  Thus, if I broadcast that I’m doing a meet up the people that show will most likely reflect my viewership.  For example, here are pictures taken at meet ups in California and Houston:

  

  However, the location can affects the demographics too.  Personally, I have a lot of Asian friends on here that are from CA, Canada, and NY.  With that being the case, I expect to have a large Asian representation in meets at those locations.  On the other hand, my expectations are different when I meet folks near my area (MD/VA/DC).  It just so happens that the people I know around here are a bit more mixed.  For example, here are some pictures from VA and DC meet ups:

  

  This last point I’m making in this section is rather obvious, but I figure I should point it out anyway; having more well-known Xangans attending/hosting meet ups will generate more interests than meet ups without them.  They will draw more people in through their larger network of contacts and people may come out just so they can meet them in particular.

  Make and post up a list of attendees
  People want to know what they’re getting themselves into, so if they know who will be there that will play a part in their decision making.  This will also help you when you’re figuring out the scope of your meet.

  Accept that some people will flake out
  There are going to be a lot of maybes and even confirmed folks that will drop out at the last minute due to various reasons/excuses.  To be honest, I even did that at the first DC meet up I could have attended!  I was a little shy and iffy about meeting people at the time, which I suspect is the case for many people that have never attended one of these functions.

  Have others assist you
  This was me during the NY Meet in April.  Noticed something?

  
  

  I was on the phone A LOT with people trying to find their way, which made it difficult for me to communicate with the people already there.  In hindsight, I probably should have had more people be contacts for this huge meet.  Co-hosts are a wise investment.  The more organizers, the more duties can be divided up so it doesn’t become overwhelming.

  Provide a phone number for those coming
  Use a Google Voice number if you don’t feel comfortable giving out your number.  Trust me, having a way for people to contact you over the phone will save you a lot of confusion when you’re trying to locate people and vice versa.

  Break the ice
  Nope, this isn’t college orientation but it is similar in that you will probably be meeting some new people.  Sure, it can be awkward at first, but an icebreaker to get people talking with others they don’t know will generate more friendships and interactions in the long run for everyone.  Name tags could prove to be useful in bigger groups.  I haven’t done much of that myself, but it seemed to work out okay at the Xanga Team happy hour.

  What should you do?
  Grabbing lunch or dinner works, but if you want it to be more entertaining I would go even further than that.  In the past I’ve done group activities such as sight-seeing, museums, and karaoke.  Remember that what you choose will vary depending on the crowd.  If you know that the people going would enjoy drinking and clubbing, then that’s something to consider.  However, if you’re expecting more variety in age then something like a picnic at the park would be a more appropriate setting.

  

  Finally, promise full body massages to everyone that comes!
  Just kidding.

  Sorry this was pretty long, but I’m sure many of you just skimmed through it anyway haha.  Hope that my advice made some of you more aware of what to anticipate when setting up a meet.  Feel free to suggest other tips as I didn’t cover everything, but I think I went over the major points I wanted to make.  I know these things aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but when done well it can lead to some great memories and fun times.  Many of us can vouch for that statement.

  Alright, time to venture off to Toronto!  See you after the 27th.

  • 6:05 pm
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