Tonight we Meetup .. in HELL!

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Strange rumblings from Meetup, that seem like shockwaves descending from their chamber-pot of chaos WeWork owner.

First, there was the “All is well; remain calm!” letter from Meetup, 10/11/2019:

Dear Meetup Member,

Thank you for your support and encouragement over these past few weeks. As you may be aware, there has been significant news about our parent company, WeWork, and what this means for the future of Meetup. As Meetup’s CEO, I want to personally tell you that we’re as committed as ever to bringing people together in person.

Every day, Meetup helps millions of people share the things they love, spark new passions, and seek support for life’s changes and challenges. You are at the center of every one of these tremendous connections. As the world feels increasingly disconnected, Meetup is more important than ever.

In recent weeks, we’ve received an outpouring of responses from our members expressing their support for Meetup and their encouragement to continue our mission for years to come. We want to keep hearing from you! Tell us how Meetup connected you with friends in a new city, introduced you to a new exercise routine, advanced your career, found you support in a time of need, or simply how you love Meetup. Share your stories on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtag #meetuplove.

Thank you again for your support. We’re excited about the future of Meetup.

David
Meetup CEO

And yesterday, a letter from one of my Meetup groups:

Hey Everyone,

By now, some of you may have heard that Meetup.com is changing their pricing model, and will begin charging meetup attendees.

Well the good news is that xxxx will continue to be free for attendees thanks to xxxx being a subscriber of the Meetup Pro network, which wasn’t affected by the pricing change.

In the words of H. Duck: “This does not bode well!”

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Saw your headline, considered the possibility you were proposing an actual BBS meetup in Hell, Michigan, see that’s totally not what’s going on, and now leaving SUPER disappointed. Hell’s less than a 30 minute drive, and there’s beer and ice cream! :worried:

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I should check it out. So many people have suggested it to me.

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In a month or two, it should freeze over as well.

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Or, you know, this morning. We’ve got our first freeze warning in effect. :cry:

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As someone who runs a 5000-member MeetUp group, I have long been planning migration out, as each revision each year seems to drop featured critical for our group and its members.

I kind of like the idea that when all is said and done, MeetUp turns out to be the most valuable asset in We.

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Hm. Its value is in the established groups, organizers and users. That’s a very volitile asset when you’re in the business of selling users to users. (Ask MySpace or YahooGroups.)

Another group I belong to has existed for decades, and I rarely register for it through Meetup. (I only check there to see if the date has been shifted off the third Friday of the month.) If Meetup is trying to charge for attendees, that’s going to be a killer for using Meetup. (They have a Facebook page, but I’ll never see it.)

Are there any current alternatives to Meetup (hopefully distributed)? If WeWork/Softbank screw up, there might be a vacant market niche.

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Restructuring to see how much debt this camel can be loaded with.

Multiple reports have indicated the business is weighing sales of several of its subsidiaries, including Meetup, Managed by Q and Conductor.

Perhaps Yahoo will buy them?

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After taking a flamethrower to Meetup’s goodwill, WeWork is now trying to unload Meetup and other acquisitions. I hope buyers check carefully to see if Meetup has been turned into a toxic debt dumpster.

Meanwhile, everything is great for ex-employees, except for the ones that aren’t Adam Neumann.

The contract also asks laid-off workers to sign away their right to sue the company over workplace issues and agree to a non-compete clause. That would mean the employee cannot work for a company that competes with WeWork’s wide array of business lines under a preexisting employment contract that sources say could last for between six and 12 months.

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