Meetup is web-based tool filled with any and every activity and interest you can imagine, and it exists in just about every city.  The idea is to get people who have similar interests together in ways that would never have happened without the Internet.  You simply go to the Meetup website and click on “Find a Meetup Group.”  It will ask you to list your topic(s) of interest (i.e., women’s socials, coffee, running, speaking Spanish) and your location.  In seconds, you will have a list of Meetups you can look into and join!  Once you join a Meetup, you will get updates regarding upcoming activities.

Each Meetup will be set up in different ways.  Some you can join, while others require approval from the person(s) running the Meetup group.  Some may require dues or fees for the activities while others are free or some combination of the two.  Meetup groups vary in how active they are, where some meet weekly, monthly or quarterly, or less.

A friend of mine started a Meetup group called “Unleashed” with the idea of bringing together single people who love pets.  What a great idea!  She is the one who encouraged me to start a Meetup for Second Tuesday as I have been hoping to expand the Second Tuesday network, offering it to more than just my friends or friends of friends.  The leader of “Unleashed” said her favorite part about Meetup is seeing the conversations that happen among the people within her Meetup group via the online forum.

If you happen to have an interest that is not on Meetup at all or one near you, you can create your own and soon, many others will join.  Note that there is a fee for starting your own Meetup group.  The first day I started the Second Tuesday Meetup, eight women joined…without any advertising on my part.  I’ve even been invited to join other Meetup groups as a result.

If you are looking to expand your network, do fun things with others without having to plan, or just try new things, check out Meetup.  And tell your friends!!!