Meetup.com helps people with similar interests, hobbies find each other

By SUZANNE CROW HAGGERTY
For the Madison Spirit

Meetup.com helps people find others in their area who share interests and hobbies. Most groups gather regularly at events called Meetups.

While Meetup.com doesn't charge users to create an account, join a group or attend events, each group's organizer is responsible for a monthly fee, which can be split among members or paid through a business or organization sponsorship. The three price plans are $72 for six months, $45 for three months or $19 a month.

The Madison/Huntsville area has almost 50 Meetup groups listed, and around 100 Meetup alerts, which notify users when groups they're interested in joining are created.