Have You Heard of Meetup? 
There are resources on the Internet that many people have not discovered. One of those is called Meetup! It is quite an amazing concept. Wikipedia’s definition of Meetup explains it clearly.
Meetup is an online social networking portal that facilitates offline group meetings in various localities around the world. Meetup allows members to find and join groups unified by a common interest, such as politics, books, games, movies, health, pets, careers or hobbies. Users enter their ZIP code or their city and the topic they want to meet about, and the website helps them arrange a place and time to meet. Topic listings are also available for users who only enter a location. The attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, was pivotal to the formation of this social network. Meetup co-founder Scott Heiferman publicly stated that the manner in which people in New York came together in the aftermath of that traumatic event inspired him to use the Internet to make it easier for people to connect with strangers in their community.
There are people starting Meetup’s every week, all over the world, on any subject you can imagine. And there are people meeting face-to-face, discussing topics of like interest, making friends and developing relationships. It is using the Internet to bring people together to build community. Cyber-space to face-to-face! There are many Meetups here in the High Desert – including a High Desert Bloggers Meetup!
Over the past few years I have been active in creating and attending Meetups. It has opened me up to a whole range of experiences (all good I might add). It has allowed me to connect in a more direct way with like-minded people and offered me new friendships, as well as personal and professional growth. In June, 2010 I moved to the High Desert and immediately checked Meetup to see what was going on. Unfortunately, there were not too many. Since then I see that more are being offered in a wider range of interests. But what it takes for Meetups to flourish in the High Desert is getting the word out!
Take some time to check out Meetup.com and see what it has to offer. You can do searches the world wide and see how Meetup is changing the way people connect. Then do a local search and join a Meetup or start one of your own! I am starting one myself!
Spread the word!!
Cindy Eubanks
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