Have you ever had trouble that you don’t have an opportunity to make a new friend after started working or that you’ve studied English but don’t have a chance to try it out in practice?
This time, I will introduce you to a social event platform called Meetup.
What is Meetup?
Meetup is a free service to offers people to create and organize their own online groups that host in-person or online events with common interests and objectives. It is used by more than 35 million people all over the world.
Benefits of Joining Meetup
The benefits of Participating in Meetup depends on your purposes, but there are three main benefits:
- Expand friendships
- Get information about areas of interest
- Opportunity to Output
Expand Friendships
Meetup allows you to meet other participants with the same interests and objectives, so you can communicate easily, build relationships like friends, and have more new business partners.
I moved to New York when I started working, and I struggled to expand my friendships at the new destination. At that time, I discovered a tennis group in Meetup and participated regularly, and I got to know my friends more and more.
Get Information about Areas of Interest
Some Meetup events can keep you up to date with your area of interest, or you can actually meet experts to give lectures at the events.
With the spread of the Internet, it is becoming relatively easy to follow the latest information in areas of interest, but Meetup makes it possible to further expand your expertise.
Opportunity to Output
In addition that Meetup allows you to join groups and participate events created by other people, you can actually organize your groups as organizer and host events with it.
If you are feeling that you do not have much opportunities for output or want to gain presentation experiences and skills, Meetup will be a big chance for you because you can easily create your own events.
In addition, Meetup could be a good opportunity to practice English conversations as you have a chance to talk with people in person.
Disadvantages of Joining Meetup
I think you need to understand the disadvantages of attending Meetup events in advance.
It Might Be Uneasy If It Is the First Meeting
Meetup events are attended by people with common interests and purposes, but it is also true that people with various values participate.
In the mean of that, you might be worried if you can get along with people you meet for the first time at the event. In such a case, you may want to invite your old friends together to participate in the event you are trying to join.
Some Events Are Expensive
Meetup itself is free of charge, but depending on the event you attend, you may need to pay a participation fee.
For example, professional events that invite guest speakers can be expensive, so be careful.
You Won’t Know the Actual Event Until You Actually Participate
You can understand the contents of the Meetup event to some extent with advance announcements, but you cannot know what the actual event would be until you actually participate, and it can also happen that the event you participate is different from what you expect.
Some Events Are Alarming
Meetup is very useful for anyone to be able to organize an event, but some people use its convenience to recruit to their network business or organize events just for a dating.
Summary
This time, I introduced basic information about Meetup and its advantages and disadvantages.
After you start working, you don’t have many opportunities to build new friendships, and your communities tend to be fixed.
With Meetup, you can get to know participants with a common interest, and depending on how you use it, it will lead to career development and network building, so let’s take a step forward without anxiety and participate in the event!
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