Toronto Sun

Let's Meetup

By XANIA
Looking to meet the love of your life? Sorry, I can't help you.

What I can do is introduce you to a website that will put you in touch with people relatively close to home, with the same interests as you.

Why does this even matter? Well, some of us fall into traps where we lose touch with activities we once enjoyed and some of us are new to the community and looking for people to hang out with -- just for the heck of it, and without the stress of the dating scene.

So, if you're looking to tap into a pool of individuals who share your likes, I have a solution.

Meetup.com is not so new, but not so old. Created in 2000 by Scott Heiferman and several of his friends, it's a website that brings together people who share mutual interests. The team has done this by helping real people in the real world organize groups where they can enjoy their preferred pastimes.

Initially, I thought, "oh great, another account to maintain" and wondered, "who really joins these things anyway?"

A friend of mine told me about the site and how great it was. Sure enough, there it was, meetup.com and every single interest group you could think of ranging from Meetup moms, politicians, sporting activities and religious/spiritual groups. You name it, it was there.

The site is free for members but if you're looking to organize your own group, expect to pay a nominal $19 U.S. My friend encouraged me to come to the Toronto Photography Meetup Group (TPMG), one of the biggest groups on the site, with more than a thousand members -- and growing. I created my free account and joined a few groups, including TPMG.

NEW FRIENDS

I spent the following Sunday with approximately 100 TPMG members on a photo scavenger hunt in the downtown area. There were people of all walks of life and ages from across the GTA. These shutterbugs -- some sporting digital cameras, some film and others with disposable cameras -- arrived raring to go.

The only thing required was a genuine love or a developing love of snapping pictures. Three hours and plenty of new friends later, we headed to a local pub for a couple of drinks. I spoke to several people who were newbies like me and veterans who were members of other Meetup groups.

My experience was fantastic and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Everyone was friendly, helpful, and offered tips and suggestions to one another. I've since become a meetup.com junkie, joining any group that sparks my interest. The goal is to actively meet up -- and to ensure that happens, members receive e-mail notifications of upcoming events from each group joined.

I talked to Myles Weissleder, Meetup's v-p of public affairs in New York, regarding safety issues. "Nothing of note recently. Everyone seems to get along! Meetups are based in the real world. No hiding behind a screen." He's right. There is safety in numbers and within days, I was putting faces to IDs. The pros are endless.

I believe it's important to stay true to your passions or interests, whatever they may be. For some of us, it's a bit of a challenge to get out there and talk to strangers. This is not a dating site, but an opportunity to reconnect with yourself and others in a stress-free environment. It's as simple as that.

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