MEETin: Difference between revisions
Iridescent (talk | contribs) m Reverted edits by 78.86.114.143 to last version by 145.97.221.65 (HG) |
Adding criticisms found online about the site and the meetings organized thereby. |
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Events can be organized by any MEETin member, or co-hosted by two members. Leaders will assist in hosting of events as necessary. Interest groups can also be established on each local MEETin chapter to facilitate specially-catered events, such as film viewing, dinner nights, and book clubs. It was specifically designed to not be a dating service. Events are created by any member by posting it on the local group's web site, and events have no fees or dues.<ref name=oregonian>{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Allman |title='MiPL' up some new acquaintances |url=http://www.meetin.org/pdfs/MIPLOR_1.PDF |format=PDF |work=The Oregonian |pages=E1, E2 |date=[[August 11]] [[2006]] |accessdate=2007-03-13 |language=English }}</ref> |
Events can be organized by any MEETin member, or co-hosted by two members. Leaders will assist in hosting of events as necessary. Interest groups can also be established on each local MEETin chapter to facilitate specially-catered events, such as film viewing, dinner nights, and book clubs. It was specifically designed to not be a dating service. Events are created by any member by posting it on the local group's web site, and events have no fees or dues.<ref name=oregonian>{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Allman |title='MiPL' up some new acquaintances |url=http://www.meetin.org/pdfs/MIPLOR_1.PDF |format=PDF |work=The Oregonian |pages=E1, E2 |date=[[August 11]] [[2006]] |accessdate=2007-03-13 |language=English }}</ref> |
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==Criticisms found== |
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Charges akin to accusing the site of an unhealthy form of double-think and double-speak can be found online. Showing up to events where you know you're muzzled from the full spectrum of human interaction doesn't leave one with a friendly feeling - so charge and imply the authors of the following criticisms: |
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"...why create an organization where people are discouraged from something so common? It's just unnatural. A group that strove to be a truly healthy and welcoming social environment wouldn't try to tell its members not to date one another if they wanted. They're adults! Get over it!..." <ref name=Unhealthy>{{cite web |last=toomuchcoffeelady |title= Unhealthy social interaction? Check MeetIn... |url=http://toomuchcoffeelady.blogspot.com/2006/04/unhealthy-social-interaction-check.html |date=[[April 18]] [[2006]] |accessdate=2008-09-17 |language=English }}</ref> |
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"...There's an orientation later this week that I've thought about going to. But I'm now wary of going for fear that it will be something akin to a Sunday School class where we're told about the dangers of necking and petting. Or where everyone has to sign a chastity pledge. I hope I'm wrong.... I don't normally go to parties with friends where's there's an implicit muzzle present. I normally wouldn't call such people real friends. They'd be rather something like cardboard automatons who are afraid to talk about the full spectrum of human relations, or to let people be who they naturally feel inclined to be - a person with sexual organs which are never left at home.... And a friend wouldn't come up to me and tell me I was forbidden from asking anyone out at a given social event. So as far as I can tell the gatherings are are about 'playing as if you are a friend' without actually being real ones..." <ref name=meetin-good-bad-unhealthy>{{cite web |title= meetin.org - good bad unhealthy? |url=http://www.loveshack.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1842399#post1842399 |date=[[September 17]] [[2008]] |accessdate=2008-09-17 |language=English }}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 19:51, 17 September 2008
Type of site | Social |
|---|---|
| Owner | MEETin.org |
| Created by | Mikey Heard |
| URL | http://www.meetin.org/ |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Free |
MEETin.org , or the MEETin group, is a web-based social community dedicated to providing a casual social environment for people without charging membership fees, or otherwise profiting from events. Founded in Washington, DC in 2003, the MEETin group now spans around 90 cities worldwide and has over 90,000 members.[1]
History
The MEETin group was established by Mikey Heard on 14 March, 2003, in Washington, DC, to connect people socially in the city.[2] As the DC chapter became increasingly active, another 16 chapters were founded in other US cities, which included many of the largest MEETin chapters to this day. Although MEETin began as a Yahoo Group, Heard soon constructed a new web site to deal with the expansion in membership and locations. This web site now defines the identity of the MEETin group and the infrastructure is still very much in use today.
The MEETin Vibe
The MEETin "Vibe" represents the general culture and attitude of the MEETin group. Each chapter is run by local volunteers with the main purpose of bringing people together to find new friends in their city. The MEETin group also help connect cities around the globe, and allows members to quickly re-establish their social network across various MEETin cities. As an integral part of the MEETin Vibe, members are encouraged to organize and participate in social events in any given MEETin city, without the pressures of business networking or "pick-up" scenes. Further, members are also forbidden to organize events from which they can profit, either financially or by gain of goods or services.
Meetin has been recognized recently in both the Washington Post[3] and Business Week[4]
Event planning and participation
Events can be organized by any MEETin member, or co-hosted by two members. Leaders will assist in hosting of events as necessary. Interest groups can also be established on each local MEETin chapter to facilitate specially-catered events, such as film viewing, dinner nights, and book clubs. It was specifically designed to not be a dating service. Events are created by any member by posting it on the local group's web site, and events have no fees or dues.[5]
Criticisms found
Charges akin to accusing the site of an unhealthy form of double-think and double-speak can be found online. Showing up to events where you know you're muzzled from the full spectrum of human interaction doesn't leave one with a friendly feeling - so charge and imply the authors of the following criticisms:
"...why create an organization where people are discouraged from something so common? It's just unnatural. A group that strove to be a truly healthy and welcoming social environment wouldn't try to tell its members not to date one another if they wanted. They're adults! Get over it!..." [6]
"...There's an orientation later this week that I've thought about going to. But I'm now wary of going for fear that it will be something akin to a Sunday School class where we're told about the dangers of necking and petting. Or where everyone has to sign a chastity pledge. I hope I'm wrong.... I don't normally go to parties with friends where's there's an implicit muzzle present. I normally wouldn't call such people real friends. They'd be rather something like cardboard automatons who are afraid to talk about the full spectrum of human relations, or to let people be who they naturally feel inclined to be - a person with sexual organs which are never left at home.... And a friend wouldn't come up to me and tell me I was forbidden from asking anyone out at a given social event. So as far as I can tell the gatherings are are about 'playing as if you are a friend' without actually being real ones..." [7]
References
- ^ "How Did MEETin Start" (HTML). About Us. Meetin.org. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
- ^ Hopkins, Joy (2006). "Group of the Month: MEETinDC" (HTML). On Tap Magazine. Five O'Clock Publishing, LLC. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ McCarthy, Ellen (June 15 2007). "Come Together" (html). Washington Post. Washington Post. pp. WE25. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Kharif, Olga (June 18 2007). "Social Networking Goes Offline" (htm). Business Week. Business Week. pp. Special Report. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Allman, Kevin (August 11 2006). "'MiPL' up some new acquaintances" (PDF). The Oregonian. pp. E1, E2. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ toomuchcoffeelady (April 18 2006). "Unhealthy social interaction? Check MeetIn..." Retrieved 2008-09-17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "meetin.org - good bad unhealthy?". September 17 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)