MEETin

Web-based social community

MEETin

Type of site

| Social
Owner| MEETin.org
Created by| Mikey Heard
URL| www.meetin.org
Commercial| No
Registration| Free
Launched| March 14, 2003; 22 years ago (2003-03-14)

MEETin.org, or the MEETin group, is a web-based social community dedicated to providing a casual social environment for people without charging membership fees, or otherwise profiting from events. Founded in Washington, DC in 2003, the MEETin group now spans around 90 cities worldwide and has over 90,000 members.[1]

## History

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The MEETin group was established by Mikey Heard on 14 March 2003, in Washington, DC, to connect people socially in the city.[2] As the DC chapter became increasingly active, another 16 chapters were founded in other US cities, which included many of the largest MEETin chapters to this day. Although MEETin began as a Yahoo Group, Heard soon constructed a new web site to deal with the expansion in membership and locations. This web site now defines the identity of the MEETin group and the infrastructure is still very much in use today.

## The MEETin Vibe

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The MEETin "Vibe" represents the general culture and attitude of the MEETin group. Each chapter is run by local volunteers with the main purpose of bringing people together to find new friends in their city. The MEETin group also help connect cities around the globe, and allows members to quickly re-establish their social network across various MEETin cities. As an integral part of the MEETin Vibe, members are encouraged to organize and participate in social events in any given MEETin city, without the pressures of business networking or "pick-up" scenes. Further, members are also forbidden to organize events from which they can profit, either financially or by gain of goods or services.

MEETin has been recognized in both the Washington Post[3] and Business Week.[4]

## Event planning and participation

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Events can be organized by any MEETin member, or co-hosted by two members. Leaders will assist in hosting of events as necessary. Interest groups can also be established on each local MEETin chapter to facilitate specially-catered events, such as film viewing, dinner nights, and book clubs. It was specifically designed to not be a dating service. Events are created by any member by posting it on the local group's web site, and events have no fees or dues.[5]

## Website shutdown

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In March 2021, the website indicated that it would be shutting down on April 4, 2021, with some of the activity moving to Facebook.[6]

## References

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1. ^ "How Did MEETin Start". About Us. Meetin.org. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
2. ^ Hopkins, Joy (December 2006). "Group of the Month: MEETinDC". On Tap Magazine. Five O'Clock Publishing, LLC. Archived from the original on 2007-03-27. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
3. ^ McCarthy, Ellen (June 15, 2007). "Come Together". Washington Post. pp. WE25. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
4. ^ Kharif, Olga (June 18, 2007). "Social Networking Goes Offline". Business Week. pp. Special Report. Archived from the original on June 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
5. ^ Allman, Kevin (August 11, 2006). "'MiPL' up some new acquaintances" (PDF). The Oregonian. pp. E1, E2. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
6. ^ "MEETin.org". Retrieved 3 April 2021.

## External links

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* Official website
* MEETin on Facebook