[SGVLUG] Promoting our group

[Emerson, Tom]

A few years ago someone started what was a neat idea at the time (and
free to boot!)  Of course, like all good ideas, this one did so well
they now charge you for the very same thing.

What I'm talking about is "meetup.com" -- somehow when I signed up, I
got assigned to "palmdale" (I guess that was the "closest" group at the
time...) so every now and then I'd get an e-mail letting me know someone
"near palmdale" was interested in forming a linux group...

I finally took another look at meetup, and as I said, the idea has been
so successful they are making money at it.  "If I want to..." I can
"start" a group by sending them $19 and they will list me -one time- as
the "organizer".  If I commit to 6 "meetings", they'll drop the price to
$12/meeting ($72 total) and point out that if I solicit donations from
the people who attend, a dozen people would bring it down to $1/meeting.

It is kind of a flawed business model -- after all, what you are
effectively doing is paying someone to e-mail you when the next meeting
comes around [we do that via this list for free!] -- on the other hand,
from the "organizers" point of view, $12 gets the word out to (at this
point) "91 other linux enthusiasts near palmdale" [err, "la crescenta"
now that I've updated my profile...]  (if it were a few hundred people,
it would certainly be worth it...)

What do you think -- is it worth between $12 and $20 to "get the word
out" that we're having a meeting (to people who have expressly stated
they are interested in "meeting other linux users")?

Tom Emerson
818-977-8828 

OTOH: since they give you room to write a 200+ character "blurb" about
yourself, I wrote that I've been the moderator of our group, with links
to our site and the fact we meet on the second Thursday of the month, so
those other 90 people (if they read the entire page) will get the info
they need to meet us "for free"... ;)

(and I also see I'm not the only one with that idea :) :) :) )