Meetup.com Will Be Charging Group Fees

[hippiechick]

Here is the text of an email I just got from Meetup.
I also PM'd everyone thru the DU Meetup Group.

We can either:
a/ pay thru donations, current rate for 2005 is $9/mo
or
b/ cancel the Meetup.com DU group and just organize here
or
c/ any other ideas ????

Please let me know your thoughts ASAP.

http://www.meetup.com/changes/?a=a&m=147422&s=5039dc

"Dear Meetup Community,
I'm proud to announce that thousands of Meetups are growing and becoming a vital community resource. In fact, the number of Meetups is up 50% this year so far! We couldn't be more excited about the potential for more great Meetups, including yours.

Everyone asks "How does Meetup.com pay its bills?" That question is even more important as we plan new ways for you to grow your group and have better Meetups. To get there together, we are introducing a required small monthly Group Fee to be paid by Organizers.

Do all members pay? No. Organizers pay the Group Fee to Meetup.com and may ask their members to chip in. It's up to the Organizers. The fee is per group, not per person.

How much & when? The regular Group Fee is $19/month, but Organizers of current groups get a special 2005 rate of $9/month if they pay now.

Why a fee? Because we want to be most focused on the people. Nobody else. As Bob Dylan said, you "gotta serve somebody." Well, if we gotta serve somebody, we prefer it to be you. We're here to help you succeed at growing great Meetups and trust you to understand that 'there's no such thing as a free lunch.' This is all we do, so our success is tied to your success. We intend to earn this fee.

Why use Meetup.com? Nothing compares to Meetup.com. There's no better way to start, run, and grow a long-lasting local interest group with real-life Meetups. Your group gets an incredible website, gets more people involved, and gets connected to the other Meetups for support and strength.

Any new benefits? Yes. All members of groups get 1-to-1 email! Plus, we'll ship (mail, not email) materials to Organizers, customized for your group, to help you attract more members. Also, groups get new tools to pool their money to make better Meetups.

How was this decision made? We polled thousands of Organizers, met them in many cities, and listened to you online. We chose the path that keeps Meetup.com most focused on you."

[Ian David]

1. Yahoo! groups are still free

Although I hate Yahoo! for various reasons.

Can't MeetUp (which sucks) find some other way to make money?

All it would take now to bury MeetUp is a free Java script that people can add to their website to do all the things MeetUp does.

[SpeedwayDemocrat]

5. Yahoo is blocked by many filters

Yes, Yahoo has groups, but many internet filters and spam blockers block anything coming from a Yahoo address. Just mentioning it as a consideration; are there other options out there?

[kliljedahl]

2. I'd be willing to chip in, dues or whatever

if the majority thinks it's worth it. I really have no preference one way or the other. There are other ways to communicate besides Meetup.
We can talk about it at this month's meeting. Hope to see you all there.


http://www.kliljedahl.net

[salin]

3. I'd be willing to donate

the cost for an organizer doing so is quite a bit less than a group. I would be willing to kick three months worth of dues in - pass it on in April - and then we could pass the proverbial hat at each meeting to help cover future months costs.

[SpeedwayDemocrat]

4. I'd kick in for MeetUp..

While I'm disappointed that MeetUp feels the need to charge, we probably need to pay -- at least until somebody comes up with a better "mousetrap." I predict the number of MeetUp groups and members will plummet very quickly. How could they (the "owners" of the Meet Up service)put something like this together without a working model for profitability (like advertisers, sponsors, etc.)?

[Ian David]

6. This is the third time they've changed their entire business model

I don't think now is quite the time for them to start passing the hat around.

Most of the groups I want are empty or dormant.

They need to wait until they're actually providing a consistent VALUE before people will be willing to pay.

I already paid into the system to become a moderator back when THAT was their business model. And I was still sorely disapointed.

If you build it, they will come. And once enough of them come, they will pay to stay.

Not enough have come yet.

[Jdemsindiana]

7. Ouch

man that sucks