One of the Meetup groups I keep an eye on almost more than any other is the NY Tech Meetup, founded by the founder of Meetup himself Scott Heiferman. With enough members to fill a large sports stadium and their own website it is the largest Meetup group in the world and packs a heavyweight punch on Silicon Alley with tentacles spreading deep into the business and technology ecosystem in New York City.. and beyond.
The cross section anatomy of NYTM is a visible reflection of the wider tech community and because of the size of the ‘organisation’, three different tiers of membership are now on offer, Basic offering access to job postings and creating profile on Meetup, Supporting which offers quarterly online workshops with experts and discounts on posting jobs ($5 per month) and the Leadership Circle which guarantees access to the monthly Meetup as well as exclusive private events and further advertising discounts.
NYTM is a lot more than just a monthly get together and in 2010 officially became a not for profit organisation whilst also securing regular sponsorship from Google, Facebook, Bloomberg and Microsoft amongst others which helped balloon the group to more than 40,000 members.
The network which NYTM has generated allowed them to commission a report along with Google and the Association for a better New York called the “New York City Tech Ecosystem” which is a detailed 74 page document complete with appendices which dives into financial and economic analysis of technology in New York as well as public policy.
Report commissions and top table networks do not mean the group has forgotten how to hold a great monthly. Most important are the live demos and January provided a feast of start up action to whet the palate including
- https://www.concertwindow.com/ – I think this is such a good idea! Musicians post online when they are going to be performing live and listeners pay to tune in, watch and listen. I’d say you gotta be a pretty good musician to make this work..
- http://www.bodylabs.com/ – If you do nothing else, have a look at the Body Labs site. Hailed as the most advanced tool for tracking, recording and analysing 3D body shape in order to create the largest database in the world for human bodies.
- http://www.ocho.co/ – Someone is going to crack the gap between photos and video on social media, that is to say.. short video messages with voice overs and editing capability.. something is happening in this niche area.. someone is going to create a beast.. I think.
