This
last Saturday there were many 9/11 memorial ceremonies with speeches and
heartfelt gestures and rightly so.
The question arises, what now?
That question was much more important in the immediate aftermath of
September 11, 2001. Below is the
story of one reaction by the founder of Meetup.
We have
used Meetup to attract some new members to Great Books discussion groups. Great Bookies have been meeting with a
strong sense of community since 1947 and we continue to support face to face
encounters with our friends and neighbors. Please read Scott Hefferman’s email that I received last
week. To me the significant phrase
therein is “use the internet to get off the internet.”
Fellow
Meetuppers,
I don't
write to our whole community often, but this week is special
because it's the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and many people
don't know that Meetup is a 9/11 baby.
Let me
tell you the Meetup story. I was living a couple miles from
the Twin Towers, and I was the kind of person who thought local community doesn't
matter much if we've got the internet and tv. The only time I thought about my
neighbors was when I hoped they wouldn't bother me.
When
the towers fell, I found myself talking to more neighbors in the
days after 9/11 than ever before. People said hello to neighbors
(next-door and across the city) who they'd normally ignore.
People were looking after each other, helping each other,
and meeting up with each other. You know, being neighborly.
A lot
of people were thinking that maybe 9/11 could bring people
together in a lasting way. So the idea for Meetup was born:
Could we use the internet to get off the internet -- and grow
local communities?
We
didn't know if it would work. Most people thought it was a crazy
idea -- especially because terrorism is designed to make people
distrust one another.
A small
team came together, and we launched Meetup 9 months after 9/11.
Today,
almost 10 years and 10 million Meetuppers later, it's working.
Every day, thousands of Meetups happen. Moms Meetups, Small Business Meetups,
Fitness Meetups... a wild variety of 100,000 Meetup Groups with not much in
common -- except one thing.
Every
Meetup starts with people simply saying hello to neighbors.
And what often happens next is still amazing to me. They
grow businesses and bands together, they teach and motivate
each other, they babysit each other's kids and find other
ways to work together. They have fun and find solace
together.
They make friends and form powerful community. It's powerful stuff.
It's a wonderful
revolution in local community, and it's thanks to
everyone who shows up.
Meetups
aren't about 9/11, but they may not be happening if it weren't for 9/11.
9/11
didn't make us too scared to go outside or talk to strangers.
9/11 didn't rip us apart. No, we're building new community
together!!!!
The
towers fell, but we rise up. And we're just getting started with
these Meetups.
Scott
Heiferman (on behalf of 80 people at Meetup HQ)
Co-Founder
& CEO, Meetup
New
York City
September
2011
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