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    <title>The Official Meetup HQ Blog</title>
    
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    <updated>2009-12-03T12:35:25-05:00</updated>
    
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        <title>Guest Blogger: Interview with Patrick Zakhm, Organizer of the Montreal Ghost Tracking Meetup Group</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/meetup/~3/DOzYNlcoEB0/guest-blogger-interview-with-patrick-zakhm-organizer-of-the-montreal-ghost-tracking-meetup-group.html" />
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        <published>2009-12-03T12:35:25-05:00</published>
        <updated>2009-12-04T09:54:08-05:00</updated>
        <summary>Aurora is the wonderful Organizer of both The Montreal Friends Meetup Group and the The Montreal Photographers Meetup Group. You may remember her previous Guest Blogger post about making Meetupers feel welcome at your Meetups. We are pleased to present Aurora's interview with Patrick Zakhm, the Organizer of several Meetup Groups including the Montreal Ghost Tracking Meetup Group. Check it out! --Meetup HQ Who doesn’t like to hear a good, spooky ghost story? More and more today, people are taking that fascination one step further and discovering a whole range of paranormal phenomena. Patrick Zakhm has personally witnessed the growing...</summary>
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            <name>Webmaster</name>
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<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><em><a href="http://www.meetup.com/members/2359334/" target="_blank">Aurora</a> is the wonderful Organizer of both <a href="http://www.meetup.com/Montreal-Friends-Meetup-Group/" target="_blank">The Montreal Friends Meetup Group</a> and the <a href="http://www.meetup.com/Montreal-Photographers-Meetup-Group/" target="_blank">The Montreal Photographers Meetup Group</a>. You may remember her <a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/2009/11/guest-blogger-making-meetupers-feel-welcome-at-meetup-events.html">previous Guest Blogger post about making Meetupers feel welcome at your Meetups</a>.</em></p>

<p><em>We are pleased to present Aurora's interview with <a href="http://www.meetup.com/ghosts-656/members/2897469/" target="_blank">Patrick Zakhm</a>, the Organizer of several Meetup Groups including the</em><em><span class="fn org" id="bannerGroupName"> <a href="http://www.meetup.com/ghosts-656/" target="_blank">Montreal Ghost Tracking Meetup Group</a>. Check it out! </span></em><em>--Meetup HQ</em></p>





<p><br />Who doesn’t like to hear a good, spooky ghost story? More and more today, people are taking that fascination one step further and discovering a whole range of paranormal phenomena. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.meetup.com/ghosts-656/members/2897469/" target="_blank">Patrick Zakhm</a> has personally witnessed the growing popularity and fascination that people have with ghosts and the paranormal. He's the Organizer for three Meetup Groups including <a class="url" href="http://www.meetup.com/ghosts-656/"><span class="fn org" id="bannerGroupName">The Montreal Ghost Tracking Meetup Group</span></a>. <br /><br />Patrick has conducted paranormal
investigations all over the world, from the Canadian Maritimes, to the
ancient pyramids of Egypt. Photos, videos and documentation from his
paranormal investigations across the world can be found on his <a href="http://www.montrealparanormal.com/">Montreal
Paranormal website</a>. His book <a href="http://www.montrealparanormal.com/the-book.php" target="_blank">Haunted Places</a> can be purchased
through his website as well.<br /><br />Watch my video interview with Patrick to learn more about the reasons he started both his <a href="http://www.montrealparanormal.com/index.php" target="_blank">Montreal Paranormal website</a> and his <a href="http://www.meetup.com/ghosts-656/">Montreal Ghost Tracking Meetup Group</a>, and for the advice he gives to everyday people for dealing with unexpected paranormal activity within their midst.</p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/efC8cb3owxw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/efC8cb3owxw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" /></object></p><div style="text-align: center;">

</div><p /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Over the years, Patrick has done <strong>over a dozen press and media
interviews</strong> about his <a href="http://www.montrealparanormal.com/index.php" target="_blank">Montreal Paranormal website</a> and his <a href="http://www.meetup.com/ghosts-656/" target="_blank">Montreal Ghost
Tracking Meetup Group</a>. <br /><br />"Ghost fever" is always at an all-time high
around Halloween, when reporters clamor to interview him for topical
reports and a deluge of regular people reach out to him for help with
"uninvited guests" in their homes. But people reach out to him all the
time. (The day of my interview with Patrick, he was contacted by someone who wanted to feature him on an upcoming televised series!)<br /><br />Patrick divides his time between Montreal, Paris and Beirut. For more information, he can be contacted through <a href="http://www.montrealparanormal.com/index.php">his website</a> and <a href="http://www.meetup.com/ghosts-656/" target="_blank">Meetup Group</a>. <br /><em><span class="fn org" id="bannerGroupName" /></em></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Aurora is the Organizer of The Montreal Friends Meetup Group &amp; <br />The Montreal Photographers Meetup Group.</em></div>
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    <feedburner:origLink>http://meetupblog.meetup.com/2009/12/guest-blogger-interview-with-patrick-zakhm-organizer-of-the-montreal-ghost-tracking-meetup-group.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>In the News:  Androids!</title>
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        <published>2009-12-02T17:34:33-05:00</published>
        <updated>2009-12-02T17:34:33-05:00</updated>
        <summary>by Adam AM New York, one of our favorite local subway papers, just featured the New York Android Software Developers Meetup Group! The article itself is all about developing software for Android, and th e trials involved in creating software for a new, mostly untested market. It's great to see people tackling these problems as a team, coming together and meeting these challenges head on! I don't know about you, but I love watching Meetup Groups charting new territory like this, almost as much as I love downloading new applications on my phone! Keep up the great work, guys! Adam...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>Webmaster</name>
        </author>
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Adam G" />
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Meetups in the News" />
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p /><table style="margin: 3px 15px 0px 10px; float: left; font-size: x-small;">
<tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/adam-g"><img alt="Adam" height="70" src="http://img4.meetupstatic.com/img/staff_pics/adam.jpg" width="70" /></a>
</td></tr> <tr><td align="center"><strong>by <a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/adam-g">Adam</a></strong></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>AM New York, one of our favorite local subway papers, just featured the <a href="http://www.meetup.com/androidnyc/">New York Android Software Developers Meetup Group</a>! </p><p><a href="http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/new-york-city-software-developers-see-challenges-opportunity-at-google-s-android-app-store-1.1628186">The article itself</a> is all about developing software for Android, and th<a href="http://meetupblog.typepad.com/.a/6a011571d38234970b012876028428970c-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="Global_6570008" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a011571d38234970b012876028428970c " src="http://meetupblog.typepad.com/.a/6a011571d38234970b012876028428970c-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px; width: 323px; height: 92px;" /></a>e trials involved in creating software for a new, mostly untested market. It's great to see people tackling these problems as a team, coming together and meeting these challenges head on! </p><p>
I don't know about you, but I love watching Meetup Groups charting new territory like this, almost as much as I love downloading new applications on my phone! </p><p>Keep up the great work, guys!
</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Adam is on Meetup's Community team.</em></div>
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    <entry>
        <title>In the News: Hiking and more in Hyderabad</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/meetup/~3/8Qkm1ryKRL4/in-the-news-hiking-and-more-in-hyderabad.html" />
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        <published>2009-12-01T17:19:46-05:00</published>
        <updated>2009-12-01T17:19:46-05:00</updated>
        <summary>by Adam Here at Meetup HQ, we like to envision a world where there's a Meetup everywhere for most everything. By the looks of things, we're already well on our way! The Hindu recently covered a few Meetup Groups in Hyderabad, India, including the movin'-and-shakin' Greater Hyderabad Adventure Club just prior to its Maulali Hill Trek on November 28. Founded in May of 2008, the group has grown to over 750 members. A peek at their Meetup Group's Calendar reveals an active membership that partakes in a wide variety of activities, from an Everest Base Camp Trek to a First...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>Adam K.</name>
        </author>
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Adam K" />
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Meetups in the News" />
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p /><table style="margin: 3px 15px 0px 10px; float: left; font-size: x-small;">
<tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/adam-k/"><img alt="Adam" height="70" src="http://img4.meetupstatic.com/img/staff_pics/adam_k.jpg" width="70" /></a>
</td></tr> <tr><td align="center"><strong>by <a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/adam-k">Adam</a></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Here at Meetup HQ, we like to envision a world where there's a Meetup everywhere for most everything.  By the looks of things, we're already well on our way! <br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;" /></p><p><a href="http://beta.thehindu.com/life-and-style/leisure/article54166.ece">The Hindu</a> recently covered a few Meetup Groups in <a href="http://www.meetup.com/cities/in/hyderabad/groups/">Hyderabad, India</a>, including the movin'-and-shakin' <a href="http://www.hyderabad-adventures.com/">Greater Hyderabad Adventure Club</a> just prior to its <a href="http://www.hyderabad-adventures.com/calendar/11928041/">Maulali Hill Trek</a> on November 28.</p><p><a href="http://meetupblog.typepad.com/.a/6a011571d38234970b0120a6f8ac82970b-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="Hyderabadmug" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a011571d38234970b0120a6f8ac82970b " src="http://meetupblog.typepad.com/.a/6a011571d38234970b0120a6f8ac82970b-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" /></a> </p><p>Founded in May of 2008, the group has grown to over 750 members.  A peek at their Meetup Group's <a href="http://www.hyderabad-adventures.com/calendar/">Calendar</a> reveals an active membership that partakes in a wide variety of activities, from an <a href="http://www.hyderabad-adventures.com/calendar/9370477/?from=list&amp;offset=0">Everest Base Camp Trek</a> to a <a href="http://www.hyderabad-adventures.com/calendar/11756108/?from=list&amp;offset=0">First Aid Certificate Course</a> to help with any bumps and bruises along the way.  How cool is that?!</p><p /><p>The fun isn't only in Andhra Pradesh, so why not take a look at what's going on in your neighborhood?  Take a look and see what adventures await!</p><p /><p><br /> </p> <p />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Adam moves and shakes on Meetup's Community team.  <br /></em></div>
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    <entry>
        <title>Meetup Holiday Parties</title>
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        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a011571d38234970b012875f2208f970c</id>
        <published>2009-12-01T10:42:09-05:00</published>
        <updated>2009-12-01T10:42:09-05:00</updated>
        <summary>by Andrea It's never too early (nor too late) to plan a Holiday Party for your Meetup Group. Maybe your members have already asked you whether it's happening (and you're thinking it over) or maybe it's already on your calendar. If you've said, 'Bah humbug, it's too hard' Take heart! There are many fun and easy ways to celebrate together. First of all, it's a great excuse for a Meetup. Holiday cheer tends to bring out the best in everyone. Plus, a Holiday Party can be as no frills as a BYOB potluck, as practical as a craft or gift-making...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>Webmaster</name>
        </author>
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Andrea" />
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Behind the Scenes" />
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Can't Miss Meetups" />
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Holidays" />
        
        
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<tr><td><a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/andrea/"><img alt="Andrea" height="70" src="http://img4.meetupstatic.com/img/staff_pics/andrea_1.jpg" width="70" /></a>
</td></tr> <tr><td align="center"><strong>by <a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/andrea">Andrea</a></strong></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>It's never too early (nor too late) to plan a Holiday Party for your Meetup Group.</p>
<p>Maybe your members have already asked you whether it's happening (and you're thinking it over) or maybe it's already on your calendar.</p>
<p>If you've said, <em>'Bah humbug, it's too hard'</em>  Take heart!  There are many fun and easy ways to celebrate together.  </p>

<p>First of all, it's a great excuse for a Meetup. Holiday cheer tends to bring out the best in everyone.  Plus, a Holiday Party can be as no frills as a BYOB potluck, as practical as a craft or gift-making activity, as silly as a white elephant gift exchange or as important as a food drive for the needy. </p>

<p>You might also consider combining activities to increase participation.  Some members may feel more strongly about giving back to the community, rather than spreading holiday cheer. </p>
<p>Here are some lovely examples of Holiday Meetups from around the world for inspiration:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.meetup.com/actsofkindness/calendar/11795167/">AOK (Acts of Kindness) Meetup Holiday Party and Food Drive</a></li>
<li><a /><a href="http://rawfood.meetup.com/461/">Genève Raw &amp; Living Food's</a> upcoming <a href="http://rawfood.meetup.com/461/calendar/11832916/">Gourmet Raw Food Thanksgiving Charity Dinner</a> and their <a href="http://rawfood.meetup.com/461/calendar/11760116/">Raw and Living Food Holiday Meetup</a> (potluck style)</li>
<li>Mega Meetup Joint Event: <a href="http://businessnetwork.meetup.com/64/calendar/11950176/">Christmas / Holiday Meetup of Meetups 2.0</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.meetup.com/social-php/calendar/11912262/">Holiday Coding!</a> at the <a href="http://www.meetup.com/social-php">PHP as a Social Activity Meetup</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.meetup.com/CharlotteRunners/calendar/11748867/">Tacky Holiday Running</a> with <a href="http://www.meetup.com/CharlotteRunners/">The Charlotte Runners Meetup</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Here at Meetup HQ we have an annual food drive.  Thanks to Erin's excellent organizational skills we made the <a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/2008/12/nasdaqs-opening-bell.html">NASDAQ bell last year</a>!  We also have a white elephant gift exchange, which generally nets participants with fun prizes like squirt guns, chocolates, a smores making machine and (my favorite) a homemade stuffed elephant.</p>

<p>What's everyone else up to?</p>

<p />

<p />

<p />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Andrea leads Meetup's Community team.</em></div>
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    <entry>
        <title>Happy Thanksgiving!</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/meetup/~3/e__6uNs_LIY/happy-thanksgiving.html" />
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        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a011571d38234970b0120a6d0ad65970b</id>
        <published>2009-11-26T00:00:00-05:00</published>
        <updated>2009-11-24T15:11:18-05:00</updated>
        <summary>by Tegan In the US, today is Thanksgiving -- a day to gather with the important people in your life, share great food, and be mindful of all of the wonderful things for which one has to be thankful. So all of us here at Meetup HQ want to take this opportunity to thank you, the Meetup Community, for all of the great things you do to make your communities better. Just look at all of these fantastic Thanksgiving Meetups: American expats from London to Perth to Bangkok will be gathering this week to celebrate the holiday with fellow Americans...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>Webmaster</name>
        </author>
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Holidays" />
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Tegan" />
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p /><table style="margin: 3px 15px 0px 10px; float: left; font-size: x-small;">
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<tr><td><a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/tegan"><img alt="Tegan" height="70" src="http://img4.meetupstatic.com/img/staff_pics/tegan.jpg" width="70" /></a>
</td></tr> <tr><td align="center"><strong>by <a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/tegan">Tegan</a></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>In the US, today is Thanksgiving -- a day to gather with the important people in your life, share great food, and be mindful of all of the wonderful things for which one has to be thankful. </p><p>So all of us here at Meetup HQ want to take this opportunity to thank you, the Meetup Community, for all of
the great things you do to make your communities better. <a href="http://www.meetup.com/LA-Veggie-Hikers/photos/#11917243" style="float: right;"><img alt="Thanksgiving" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a011571d38234970b012875d28462970c " src="http://meetupblog.typepad.com/.a/6a011571d38234970b012875d28462970c-pi" style="margin: 10px; width: 360px;" title="Thanksgiving" /></a></p><p>Just look at all of these fantastic Thanksgiving Meetups:</p>



<p>American expats from <a href="http://www.meetup.com/americansabroad/calendar/11748432/" target="_blank">London</a> to <a href="http://www.meetup.com/Yanks-In-Perth/calendar/11334499/" target="_blank">Perth</a> to <a href="http://www.meetup.com/The-Bangkok-Expat-American-Meetup-Group/calendar/11876825/" target="_blank">Bangkok</a> will be gathering this week to celebrate the holiday with fellow Americans far from home.  </p>

<p>Today, the <a class="url" href="http://www.meetup.com/LA-Veggie-Hikers/"><span class="fn org" id="bannerGroupName">Greater LA Veggie Hikers</span></a> are <a href="http://www.meetup.com/LA-Veggie-Hikers/calendar/11910473/" target="_blank">working up an appetite with a pre-Thanksgiving hike</a> together, while the <a class="url" href="http://vegan.meetup.com/85/"><span class="fn org" id="bannerGroupName">The Seattle Vegan Meetup Group</span></a> is getting together for a <a href="http://vegan.meetup.com/85/calendar/11734038/" target="_blank">turkey-free feast</a>. </p>

<p>Meetup Groups like the <a class="url" href="http://www.meetup.com/Hearts-of-the-south/"><span class="fn org" id="bannerGroupName">Great Southern Humanist Society</span></a> are coming together to <a href="http://www.meetup.com/Hearts-of-the-south/calendar/11708204/" target="_blank">provide food for the less fortunate</a>. </p>

<p>And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Meetup Groups everywhere are making the world a better place, one Meetup at a time. </p><p>Thank you for all of the wonderful things you do! </p>

<p />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Tegan is on Meetup's Community team.</em></div>
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    <feedburner:origLink>http://meetupblog.meetup.com/2009/11/happy-thanksgiving.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Meetup lights up San Francisco skyline</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/meetup/~3/PEkMm6Gzoz4/sf-photography-twilight.html" />
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/2009/11/sf-photography-twilight.html" thr:count="1" thr:updated="2009-11-25T18:15:57-05:00" />
        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a011571d38234970b012875d18b4d970c</id>
        <published>2009-11-25T10:00:00-05:00</published>
        <updated>2009-11-24T13:30:57-05:00</updated>
        <summary>by Kate As the sun set on San Francisco a few days ago, the city sparkled below Delores Park, flame dancers began their routines, and over a hundred photographers gathered to capture it all. What else could that mean but another fantastic Meetup? Sheila of the San Francisco Photography Meetup hosted an epic Twilight Shoutout that included lots of fabulous opportunities to get killer photos that could then be entered into a competition to win a laptop! Their Meetup had terrific Sponsor support, including HP and Intel as well as 10 $100 gift certificates from Best Buy. People stuck around...</summary>
        <author>
            <name>Kate</name>
        </author>
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Can't Miss Meetups" />
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Kate" />
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p /><table style="margin: 3px 15px 0px 10px; float: left; font-size: x-small;">
<tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/kate"><img alt="Kate" height="70" src="http://img4.meetupstatic.com/img/staff_pics/kate_5.jpg" width="70" /></a>
</td></tr> <tr><td align="center"><strong>by <a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/kate">Kate</a></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As the sun set on San Francisco a few days ago, the city sparkled below Delores Park, flame dancers began their routines, and over a hundred photographers gathered to capture it all.  What else could that mean but another fantastic Meetup?</p><p><a href="http://photo.meetup.com/437/photos/763893/#11918344" onclick="window.open(this.href,'_blank','scrollbars=no,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false" style="float: right;"><img alt="San Francisco Photog Meetup" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a011571d38234970b012875d18c45970c " src="http://meetupblog.typepad.com/.a/6a011571d38234970b012875d18c45970c-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" title="San Francisco Photog Meetup" /></a> </p><p><a href="http://photo.meetup.com/437/members/2712067/" target="_blank">Sheila</a> of the <a href="http://photo.meetup.com/437/" target="_blank">San Francisco Photography Meetup</a> hosted an epic <a href="http://photo.meetup.com/437/calendar/11837671/" target="_blank">Twilight Shoutout</a> that included lots of fabulous opportunities to get killer photos that could then be entered into a competition to win a laptop! </p><p>Their Meetup had terrific Sponsor support, including HP and Intel as well as 10 $100 gift certificates from Best Buy. People stuck around after the Shoutout to meet new people, network, and have fun into the later hours.</p><p>One member <a href="http://photo.meetup.com/437/members/10838325/" target="_blank">Mukul</a> said, "I had a great time, met some great people and shared a lot of information! Wonderful evening!" And there's definitely photo evidence to prove it in their <a href="http://photo.meetup.com/437/photos/763893/#11937346" target="_blank">photo album from the Meetup</a>.</p><p />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Kate is on Meetup's Community team.</em></div>
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    <feedburner:origLink>http://meetupblog.meetup.com/2009/11/sf-photography-twilight.html</feedburner:origLink></entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Mug Shot: Barcelona Meetup Organizers and Scott Heiferman</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/meetup/~3/0TI1aIpO-tU/mug-shot-barcelona-meetup-organizers-and-scott-heiferman.html" />
        <link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/2009/11/mug-shot-barcelona-meetup-organizers-and-scott-heiferman.html" thr:count="0" />
        <id>tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a011571d38234970b012875d1638c970c</id>
        <published>2009-11-24T12:27:09-05:00</published>
        <updated>2009-11-24T12:24:39-05:00</updated>
        <summary>by Andrea Our own Scott Heiferman was one of the keynote speakers at the Personal Democracy Forum in Europe last weekend. The setting was beautiful Barcelona, Spain. Check out his fabulous feedback on Twitter here. You'll also find an archive of his slideshow presentation over here. Scott hosted a Meetup on Sunday evening with the newly formed Barcelona Organizer Meetup Group (pictured above). With all this talk about self-organization in Europe at PDF (and how!), we're hoping to see the Barcelona community grow closer together and form even more wildly successful Meetup Groups. They're already in very, very good company....</summary>
        <author>
            <name>Webmaster</name>
        </author>
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Andrea" />
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Can't Miss Meetups" />
        <category scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" term="Tales from the Road" />
        
        
<content type="xhtml" xml:lang="en-us" xml:base="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p /><table style="margin: 3px 15px 0px 10px; float: left; font-size: x-small;">
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<tr><td><a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/andrea/"><img alt="Andrea" height="70" src="http://img4.meetupstatic.com/img/staff_pics/andrea_1.jpg" width="70" /></a>
</td></tr> <tr><td align="center"><strong>by <a href="http://meetupblog.meetup.com/andrea">Andrea</a></strong></td></tr></tbody></table>
<a href="http://meetupblog.typepad.com/.a/6a011571d38234970b0120a6cfabf9970b-pi" style="float: right;"><img alt="Barcelona" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a011571d38234970b0120a6cfabf9970b " src="http://meetupblog.typepad.com/.a/6a011571d38234970b0120a6cfabf9970b-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" /></a> 
<p />
<p>Our own Scott Heiferman was one of the keynote speakers at the <a href="http://personaldemocracy.com/">Personal Democracy Forum</a> in Europe last weekend. The setting was beautiful Barcelona, Spain.</p><p>Check out his fabulous feedback on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%40heif%20OR%20meetup%20%23pdfeu">here</a>. You'll also find an archive of his slideshow presentation <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/heif/scott-heifermans-at-personal-democracy-forum-europe">over here</a>.</p>
<p>Scott hosted a Meetup on Sunday evening with the newly formed <a href="http://www.meetup.com/The-Barcelona-Organizer-Meetup-Group/">Barcelona Organizer Meetup Group</a> (pictured above).</p><p>With all this talk about self-organization in Europe at PDF (<em>and how!</em>), we're hoping to see the Barcelona community grow closer together and form even more wildly successful Meetup Groups.</p>
<p>They're already in <a href="http://www.meetup.com/find/?keywords=&amp;country=es&amp;locationPickerRef=0&amp;dbCo=es&amp;dbOutsideUsLink=&amp;dbZip=meetup2&amp;zip=meetup2&amp;op=search&amp;style=&amp;radius=50">very, very good company</a>. Thanks go out to everyone who attended!</p>

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<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Andrea leads Meetup's Community team.</em></div>
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