Meetups

[visualkei]

The other day I was surfing the internet when I ran into a website: meetup.com. I knew websites like these existed but I was still very surprised by the vast diversity of interests and people who congregate on their specific interests. More to make friends, I believe, than to simply discuss their specific common interest. I think I need to make more friends, and now that I'm out of college and working, I kind of don't know where to start.

I'm tempted to join one of these social circles, but I'm still weary of the idea of meeting a group of strangers up in a restaurant or what not. I have a cousin who goes onto car forums, and since he's sort of a leader in his little car realm, often gathers with folks and strangers that have similar interests. He's able to obtain a pretty extensive social network, which I partly credit to his meetups. So, it seems pretty common to me to go to a "meetup."

I'd like to know your opinions and experiences on this. Should I open up my mind and attend a meetup? How did your meetups go? Have you met any interesting people, or was it a waste of time?

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy] Whoot! First reply to this post Oh yeah look who's back *sigh*

Well, while I've never been on one of those sites I did do a meet up with a friend of mine who lives in Troy (Small town in Upstate New York) which is a four hour drive from where I live in Rochester. I met her off of 4Kids.tv before it got even dumber that it was before. My friend and I did a lot of IMing on AIM and YIM and that's when we found out we were only four hours apart. After a lot of crazienes, job losses, and the like we met up in Syracuse along with two of our friends about a year after we started chatting on the phone.

The visit seemed to go pretty well since we met up at the Carousel Centre mall in Syracuse which is a halfway point (kind of) between our two cities. And wse kind of creeped out our friends by acting too much like eachother including buying identical shirts and having our friends abandon us.

But even though this visit went well and we met up again in October (gas prices, job schedules and the fact that it's a four hour drive to get to either of our hometowns) I do advise people to be cautious when meeting someone online. Always meet in a public area and I'd also advise doing what my friend and I did the first time we met up and bring along a friend of your own. You know because of the whole safety in numbers thing. [/color][/font]

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]My friend actually uses Meetup.com for ghost hunting around here. We live in a very religious and anti-ghost, anti-fun area so we have to dig really deep and do really desperate things to find people to explore local "haunted" houses. I say "we" because I've been on a few hunts with him. The only thing we found was a really old wine cellar. We brought a bunch of bottles back, and my friend is seeing if they're worth enough to go get some of the rest.

My friend said that he's only met up with one person found on the site and he was a pretty cool guy, but there's always weirdos out there, so you can never really know.[/font][/size]

[Konata]

Let's see... Well, I have met two online people at an anime convention. Since this is [i]Otaku[/i]Boards, a recommended place would probably be an anime convention. It's very public and what not, and it could be pretty fun.

I'm pretty active on other forums, so eventually, I met two other girls at an anime con of 2005 that were from one of them. And later, at this more recent anime con, one of them needed a place to stay, so I offered her my hotel room, haha. We also had dinner, met others, etc. It was all good game.

So yeah, be cautious though. There's a lot of bad things on the Internet, and likewise, there are a lot of bad people on the Internet too. So meet ups might not be as good as they plan on being. That's why I take extra precautions =P

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]I haven't met anyone from the internet, however I plan to go to otakon next year and hang out with the Megatokyo forum group who get together at the con yearly.

The closest I've come to 'meeting' anyone on here is talkng to Goodbye, Face over Xbox Live XD. If my Gears of War skillz weren't completely waned, I'd play him again.[/COLOR]

[Odin M Yggdrasi]

So far I have met one person in reality that I know online, my present GF actually. We started talking by IM after first contacting each other through the RP section of a forum (Konata knows which one actually since she is a member there too.) and eventually made the arrangements to meet.

Our first meeting was in a pet shop in a fairly busy plaza, on the grounds that such a place would have people and police around and would also have security measures in place to prevent theft etc, which would be to our benefit if either one was not who they said they were.

I got lucky though, she could very easily have been very different from who she said she was and I would not have gotten home in one piece. Common sense is your best friend, and yes it is definitely a good idea to bring a friend of your own with you in case of trouble.

As for the actual subject at hand, that of these social networking sites- I don't like the idea. While they can be good for people who are too shy to meet people in reality and it is possible to connect to people who you would otherwise not know they existed,I just don't like the idea of a site just for meeting people.

Meeting someone you know from a forum like this though in my opinion is a good deal safer, though you still do need to be careful.

And I agree with Konata, meeting someone from a forum like this at an anime convention isn't too bad of an idea. Just be careful, especially at a larger convention security and safety might not be as good as one might think.

[Lia]

To be honest, I don't really go on the internet to look to meet random people.

Having said that, I will now contradict it with facebook. Every college student's best friend (or well, most that I know of). I joined my university's network with my school e-mail, and it made it so much easier to speak to people that were in my classes before even starting each semester. We'd meet up for coffee, and it was very convenient. I felt relatively safe meeting people that way, as well... You can't join a university's network without a school e-mail. And I guess yea, there could be pedophiles there too, but I'm the type of person that assumes the best in everyone. Possibly a bad quality, but I met quite a few good acquaintances to entertain me during my breaks between lectures.

[Heaven's Cloud]

[quote name='ssj chic']but I'm the type of person that assumes the best in everyone. [/QUOTE]

[color=indigo]It is a far better trait than expecting the worst in everyone. That would just be a sad way to spend life. Kind of like life without Jessica Biel?soooo hot?want to tou? ?ahem? sorry. I have seen Billy Madison far too many times.

I have actually made plans to meet up with a few people from the OB, but the plans usually fall through due to my work/travel schedule. Still, I don?t really see meeting someone from online as being any more or less dangerous than meeting up with someone you met at a bar, party, or set up with on a blind date.[/color]

[Korey]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]Never met anyone online, but I do plan to. Me and another OB member who shall remain nameless have been friends for a long time and I plan to see her graduate from high school, granted I can the time off from work and have enough cash.

I don't really mind people hooking up over the internet and then meeting with them in real life....however, you have to know what you're doing to prevent possible disaster. Here's my handy dandy survival guide for meeting people online....

1) Bring a buddy
2) Meet in a very public place, like a mall
3) Do not go to a bar or someone's house (Especially theirs)
4) Don't let you two be alone for extended periods of time
5) Try to lure off sexual advances with small talk

That's what I do with people I meet in general. It's not the nicest way to meet someone, and I tend to trust that people have better judgement...but I've seen the good and bad sides of online hookups through people I've known. It got pretty bad too. So just remember to exercise good judgement and you'll be fine. [/FONT]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]I've met three people from online before across the years. It was pretty fun and interesting. People, if not lying about their identity, are pretty much people. It is more personal in real life, but the interactions between you are usually pretty similar to your conversations online, lol.

I have intermittently planned to attend Anime Expo in California for years now only to blow it off. Eventually perhaps I will take my much needed vacation to California and see the Otakus who attend the convention.[/color]

[Nerdsy]

[color=deeppink]I have met two people from OB.

The first was Cruiz. This was several years ago, when I was around 15 or so. In hindsight, not the brightst move (although I never actually told him where I lived; Shift decided that he would divulge that information on his own), but I wasn't raped and murdered so I gues it turned out alright. It was fun.

More recently, I metup with Shy and that was amazing. We bought comic books. [/color]

[Justin]

And I was two days late for that meeting at the comic book store; where I intended to both rape and kill both Nerdsy and Shy.

But hey, there's always next time. And thanks to the websites that offer free background checks on anyone, I can now track Nerdsy and Shy to their respective homes to rape and kill them.

But seriously, I'd be wary of meeting anyone IRL from online. Not because I'm afraid for my safety, but simply because I imagine it'd be incrediby weird.

-Justin

[Japan]

[SIZE="1"]So far I met two people from the internet. One is a good friend from a MUD called Achaea. The other is....I can't remember his screen name but his AIM is like Airmen something or other and his name is Will. I kind of wish I didn't meet him because he spent the entire time playing video games and I just followed him around.

I might be going to the Sakura Con. If I do I hope to meet Panda.[/SIZE]

[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='Heaven's Cloud'][color=indigo]Still, I don?t really see meeting someone from online as being any more or less dangerous than meeting up with someone you met at a bar, party, or set up with on a blind date.[/color][/QUOTE]I agree, meeting someone from online isn't that much different really. You have to be cautious no matter what the situation since that person at a party or from a blind date can be a bad thing, just as meeting someone you met online can be as well.

Anyway, I've never joined any type of site specifically geared towards meeting other people, but so long as your cautious I don't see a problem with it. Going somewhere that's more public is definitely a good idea. That's how I ended up meeting SunfallE, we both went to the Anime Convention that was held in SLC earlier this year.

I've only gotten together with a few people that I met on the internet first and so far all of them have been positive experiences. In the end, I've had more negative experiences from those meetings at parties and blind dates than I have from online meetings, though to be fair those have been more common occurrences since I don't make a point of meeting people I know online. I haven't met enough people from the internet to make a valid comparison.

[visualkei]

[quote name='Kam']But seriously, I'd be wary of meeting anyone IRL from online. Not because I'm afraid for my safety, but simply because I imagine it'd be incrediby weird.[/QUOTE]
That's exactly what's holding me back. It's not so much the potential danger that could entail, but sitting around with a group of strangers you've never met before, and chances are, most of them know each other or someone there-- calls for an awkward situation. Meaning, you might feel even lonelier attempting to make friends. =]. But I don't want to bring along anyone so I could fall back on them if I feel rejected by a new crowd. hehe. I guess one of the main reasons why I'm considering going to a meetup is to help myself grow by being less reserved.

I think I'm gonna start another topic that's somewhat related to this now...

I noticed that many of you have posted about meeting people one-on-one. It's related, but what I really mean is meeting up a group of people, not so much someone I've had a more personalized online friendship with. Such as folks you've briefly talked to online. For instance, I've posted on here a few times, recognize some of your ID's, and an example would be meeting you guys up. And really, you all don't know who I am and I haven't really left any "deep" impressions on anyone, and you probably wouldn't recognize me if I told you my ID in real life. Yet, I may consider meeting you guys up. Would you?

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[quote name='Kam']
But seriously, I'd be wary of meeting anyone IRL from online. Not because I'm afraid for my safety, but simply because I imagine it'd be incrediby weird.

-Justin[/QUOTE]

[color=#9933ff]I know what you mean, I am incredibly nervous when I meet anyone new for the first time, or talk to them over the phone. But once you take a few deep breaths and realize that everyone else is as equally or even more nervous than you are you tend to relax a bit.

I'm extremely nervous about meeting one of my guy friends in a few months, but hey he's coming here to my home turf and if he tries anything I know where to hide a body so they'll never find it. :animesmil Just kidding. [/color]

[Claire]

[FONT="Arial"]Last July I met my best online friend. Another friend of mine first met her on an AOL message board in 2004, and the since the two of us had similar interests, the friend had us talk to each other.

Unfortunately we live about seventeen hours apart, so up until last July I wasn't ever expecting to be able to meet her face to face. We've mailed each other packages, and that was the closest I thought we'd get. Then my family decided to vacation in Maryland/Washington D.C., and somehow I managed to convince them to devote a whole day to driving to New Jersey so I could meet this friend.

It was a really surreal experience, and now whenever I think about it I feel almost sick with excitement. Now I think we'll meet again whenever the opportunity presents itself, and I really can't wait. :][/FONT]

[pooperson]

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]The last time I met someone online resulted in [B][URL="http://otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=801135&postcount=21"]this[/URL][/B].[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[lea]

I've met a few people from online here and there, but the few that I have met I've spoken with online for quite a while, and they were from here.

[Adam]

I was very pleased to find this thread. Very pleased

meetup.com is an NYC based startup that's become a huge success story online

I personally have had good luck meeting people online, at conventions, etc

That's all I'll say--

Adam

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][quote name='visualkei'] And really, you all don't know who I am and I haven't really left any "deep" impressions on anyone, and you probably wouldn't recognize me if I told you my ID in real life. Yet, I may consider meeting you guys up. Would you?[/QUOTE]Probably not. Though I have no issue with services like mentioned in the beginning of the thread, I tend to rarely meet people I've met online. Mostly because I have no interest in it, especially if it's a large group of random people I hardly know.

I have of course met a few individuals, like SunfallE last year at the Anime Convention here in SLC. But I had been talking and working with her online for several years before we ever met. And Rach was there as well, though that worked out well and now we end up getting together to do stuff on a regular basis. Heh.

Anyway, probably the only meet up of a group of strangers I would consider going to is if a horde of members from here got together at something like an Anime Convention. Then it's possible, otherwise, only a few who I've talked to enough online that I actually feel comfortable with would I meet.

Like Des, Shy, James and BKstyles. Though I'd probably jump BK given the chance so he just might avoid me. :p[/COLOR]

[Shy]

[size=1]I'm very fortunate that I live in a part of the world that people want to visit on a regular basis. Thanks to this (and my own travels) I have managed to meet a number of OB-ers over the years: Juuthena, Babygirl, Solo Tremaine, Nerdsy, Raiha and a couple of others. Each experience was a lot of fun, and I've always been careful enough to make sure that I didn't have a bad experience.

Despite our obvious personality conflicts, Raiha and I have become good friends in real life as a result of meeting from online. She lives only a short drive from my house, so we end up hanging out on a somewhat regular basis.

-Shy[/size]

[Syk3]

[quote name='Shy'][SIZE=1]I'm very fortunate that I live in a part of the world that people want to visit on a regular basis. Thanks to this (and my own travels) I have managed to meet a number of OB-ers over the years: Juuthena, Babygirl, Solo Tremaine, Nerdsy, Raiha and a couple of others. Each experience was a lot of fun, and I've always been careful enough to make sure that I didn't have a bad experience.[/SIZE][/quote]
Oh thanks, Shy, you don't bother mentioning [I]me[/I]! :p Of course, this was quite a while ago. I think we met in June of 2003 when I was on vacation in California with my family, and Shy's job at Disney Land at the time made things quite convenient. lol So we hung out, snuck into rides, took random pictures, and just had a good time.

I believe the only other people I've met from OB were Mei, Sere Tuscumbia[U],[/U] and Luminaire. I saw Mei and Sere in November 2003 (yeah, I was busy that year) when my family and I went out to visit some family friends in Oklahoma. We met at an art museum, which turned out to be kinda boring actually, but we had fun for the most part.

Luminaire went to the anime convention Otakon in August 2005, so I met up with her there. Baltimore is fairly close to where I live, plus I was staying with a friend who lives even closer, so it was nice actually meeting someone in the proximity. haha

I've had ambitious plans in the past to meet up with all sorts of people on the boards, but seeing as I've become a lot less active in the past few years, that's kind of fell through. On the rare occasion that I go on trips, however, I do tend to look up OB friends in the area. lol

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Oh yeah, Lea lives around here. We hang out intermittently, and she works where I work on my breaks.

She seems nice online, but I have observed her devour an entire child on a whim. Terrifying to the core.[/color]

[conpiracymonki]

[size=1]
I've met Kenji (I dont know what he goes by anymore lol) twice and Juu once in real life. But unlike almost everyone above, my meetups were in my city (pretty much under 3 miles from my house) so I wasnt exactly having to go out of my way to see either of them. Was definitely cool though; apart from the initial surrealness it felt like hanging out with my regular friends lol.[/size]