Meetup's Cool

There are so many social networking websites out there. I think many of them will prove to just be fads. I bet you're already visiting your Myspace page less than when you did a year or two ago. There's one site, Meetup.com, that I learned about late last year when I was working on a feature for Charlotte magazine. Meetup.com was profiled as one of the "Best Places to Meet People." It's a great list. You should check it out, if you haven't already. And Meetup.com was the only website to make the list.

I went to my first Meetup event Friday. It was an after-work social held at Loft 1523 and sponsored by the Charlotte Black Professionals, a Meetup group. That's how the site works. Someone will organize a group based on particular interests and people who share those interests will join. According to the website, Charlotte Young Professionals has 151 members. There are more than 200 Charlotte-based groups on the site. One of the largest is Good Eats! Charlotte, with nearly 500 members who love to visit great restaurants. One of the strangest is The Charlotte Paranormal Meetup Group (109 members).

I heard about the event at Loft third person. A friend from college told my brother, he told me, and he and I went out there. I guess if we were to join the Meetup group we could learn about the events firsthand. I'm not sure yet if I'll join, but I think the concept is cool. I've always felt that social networking on the Internet was too impersonal. But Meetup allows you to join a group from the comforts of your computer then meet the people at an organized event if you choose. And meeting a group in a public place should ease any fears of meeting strangers online.

It was a decent turnout at Loft. I would say about 40 to 50 people and, to my liking, mostly women (very well dressed at that). Many of them seemed to know each other, likely because they've gone to events before. I met a few new people and had some good conversations, along with a couple of good drinks, nice music, and great view of the city (from Loft's balcony). What more can you ask for?