I am so glad this article was linked to in a comment. We are in the midst of forming a Cincinnati/Columbus area meetup group, and this is useful information. I am pretty impressed by how much response we have gotten. The email list is at 10 people, and we expect 8 at our first meetup.
I could use advice on the issue below, as well.
As LW-ers in non-major cities want to form meetups, I think they are likely to face the same difficulty that we are currently facing, which is that we are pretty spread out. No mid-sized city has enough by itself to establish its own meetup group (Cincinnati has the most LW-ers (of ALL mid-sized cities), with 4. Here in Columbus we have 3.) but a meetup group can be formed by combining nearby cities. I think this leads to some different methodologies in establishing meetups.
For example, a decent-sized group probably has to meet somewhere in between 2 or more cities. (A relatable hypothetical would be if NYC and Philadephia had to combine to form one meetup group, meeting in Trenton.)
This means people have to drive a relatively lengthy distance for meetups. This is made worse in that the “middle areas” in between cities are usually fields and farms, so your choices are limited. We found a middle location with a restaraunt that is slightly less than an hour away for all attendees.
The OP mentions being spontaneous, but I think it is much harder to do when hour-long drives are required. The option to be spontaneous in your own city is possible, but then you have at most 2-3 people who even COULD meet you.
I have been considering how to continue forward, if our first meetup is a success, and people want to continue on. I think a promising idea is to have monthly meetups for the whole group, and weekly meetups (and potential spontaneous gatherings) for each city. If we manage to grow a bit, then each city could then have their own group. But to get to that level, I think we might need to stay relatively combined for a while.
A worry with that idea, is that someone else would have to step up to the plate to arrange the Cincinnati-specific meetups (I am not going to organize meetups for a city I don’t live in). So if that’s something that it turns out people want to do, then I figure we will have to appoint a “leader” for each city, so they will feel responsible for taking action. Otherwise, everyone will probably fall prey to bystander effect.
I am so glad this article was linked to in a comment. We are in the midst of forming a Cincinnati/Columbus area meetup group, and this is useful information. I am pretty impressed by how much response we have gotten. The email list is at 10 people, and we expect 8 at our first meetup.
I could use advice on the issue below, as well.
As LW-ers in non-major cities want to form meetups, I think they are likely to face the same difficulty that we are currently facing, which is that we are pretty spread out. No mid-sized city has enough by itself to establish its own meetup group (Cincinnati has the most LW-ers (of ALL mid-sized cities), with 4. Here in Columbus we have 3.) but a meetup group can be formed by combining nearby cities. I think this leads to some different methodologies in establishing meetups.
For example, a decent-sized group probably has to meet somewhere in between 2 or more cities. (A relatable hypothetical would be if NYC and Philadephia had to combine to form one meetup group, meeting in Trenton.)
This means people have to drive a relatively lengthy distance for meetups. This is made worse in that the “middle areas” in between cities are usually fields and farms, so your choices are limited. We found a middle location with a restaraunt that is slightly less than an hour away for all attendees.
The OP mentions being spontaneous, but I think it is much harder to do when hour-long drives are required. The option to be spontaneous in your own city is possible, but then you have at most 2-3 people who even COULD meet you.
I have been considering how to continue forward, if our first meetup is a success, and people want to continue on. I think a promising idea is to have monthly meetups for the whole group, and weekly meetups (and potential spontaneous gatherings) for each city. If we manage to grow a bit, then each city could then have their own group. But to get to that level, I think we might need to stay relatively combined for a while.
A worry with that idea, is that someone else would have to step up to the plate to arrange the Cincinnati-specific meetups (I am not going to organize meetups for a city I don’t live in). So if that’s something that it turns out people want to do, then I figure we will have to appoint a “leader” for each city, so they will feel responsible for taking action. Otherwise, everyone will probably fall prey to bystander effect.