Turning to the Web for Social Interaction
By Elizabeth Thompson
Meeting strangers online is nothing new. Match.com and other dating sites have been around for years now, but new sites are changing the way others interact online, extending interaction beyond romance.
Web sites, such as going.com, couchsurfing.com and meetup.com, not only promote social interaction, it is their sole purpose. They encourage users to interact with others on the site and then meet up in the real world.
The site that uses this trend of social interaction through the Internet the most is meetup.com, launched in 2001 by founders Scott Heiferman, Matt Meeker, and Peter Kamali. The site lists various events for every topic imaginable to more than 3,000 cities across the globe. Whether someone is interested in politics, sports, partying, reading, or anything in between, meetup.com offers a group for whatever their interest is.
The Web site was developed when the founders were disheartened by the lack of human interaction in modern society. “Scott Heiferman started it after he read ‘Bowling Alone’ by Robert Putnam, which is basically about the isolation in modern American society. He wanted to start a Web site to do something about it,” said Karina Van Schaardenburg, a research analyst for meetup.com,.
From that, the site took off. It currently has 4.7 million members and 102,000 “meetups” every month. These “meetups” range from The Detroit Chinese Language & Culture Meetup Group to the Downtown Los Angeles Hiking Meetup Group.
What separates meetup.com from the dating sites before it is the variety of social interaction that it offers. “When they started meetup, they were thinking that fan groups and bands would be really popular…people didn’t want to meet about that stuff at all. The groups that are really popular are political groups…there’s also a lot of moms and parenting groups,” said Schaardenburg.
Jane Galland, who organizes the New York City Beatles Meetup Group, said that her greatest experience as a member is “meeting so many like minded people and being able to build a community of fans. Sometimes it feels like a family. In New York City, where so many people are away from their families, that can be a good thing.”
Meetup.com also has evolved into a place where those searching for employment, specifically those in the entertainment industry, can network. Entertainers are turning to the site to find other artists they can relate to.
Sassi Keegan, a stand-up comic, started the New York Stand-Up Comedy Happy Hour Meetup group. She wanted to have a place for comedians to perform for one another. She describes it as “a supportive group.”
Every week the members meet at the New York Comedy Club in Midtown Manhattan for a 5:30 p.m. showing. Some of the members are comedians who craft their art during the meetup, while others are simply there to sit in the audience and enjoy a free comedy show.
“I think it’s a great idea. It’s good people in the industry and business help and support each other,” said Vic Martino, a member of the group.
Video: How Meetup Works
Going.com is a Web site that represents cities from all over the United States. All the user needs to do is join the Web site, enter his location, and then he will be presented with hundreds of events happening throughout his city. Whether someone is looking for a high-end nightclub for cocktails and martinis or a dive bar for cheap beer and shots to spend their night, they will find it all on going.com.
The human interaction comes in the form of private messages, invites, and friend requests. Users can simply research various topics and discover others in their city who share their same interests. Users connect online and then connect in the real world in a park, bar, club, restaurant, etc.
Couchsurfing.com takes the idea of promoting social interaction via online and moves it a step forward. Couchsurfing.com is revolutionizing the way people vacation. It is a Web site for travelers sick of the same old hotel routine. It allows users to connect with others from all over the globe who are offering their home and couch.
How it works is: a user decides he would like to travel to a specific location but wants a new exciting experience. The user searches the site for other users who live in the area he would like to visit and connects with a few of them via private message. Once the user has found the perfect match, he will go over the details. Then when he is ready to go on his vacation, he stays at someone’s house as opposed to a hotel. The site allows travelers to truly see a city through the eyes of a local.
One of the main concerns for a site like this is safety. Couchsurfing.com is continually working to ensure the safety of their users. There are different levels of verification – which prove that the users live in the location they are claiming.
According to Crystal Murphy, a media team leader at couchsurfing.com, the site has been running since January of 2003 and there has only been one incident of wrong doing on the part of a user. A man was caught stealing items from the houses he couch surfed in. But the entire community banded together to have the thief caught and promptly charged.
Murphy stated that 98 percent of the users are happy with their experience. As she said, “Most of the complaints we have are personality clashes. One person wants to spend the whole night partying while the other wants to stay home. That is really the main problem that we have but that is understandable.”