Adrienne - Meetup Organizer of the Week - 3.24.08

We're in New York, heading out to Mineola, LI, for a 'candid' chat with the Meetup Organizer of the Week, Adrienne and the Long Island Photography Meetup Group

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"We Listen, We Thank, We Showboat and Review." This is the unspoken, yet incredibly effective method utilized by Adrienne and her awesome team of Assistant Organizers to create, time after time, interesting, topical and well attended Meetups.

The group's organizational team can easily gage the members preferences via the utilization of just about every bell and whistle available on her Meetup pages. Photo albums (natch), polls and the message board receive full attention from her members!

Read on - Adrienne's got this down! The group is also the subject of a recent article in Long Island Newsday - check it out on the Meetup Press Page.

You're the self-titled "Compulsively Obsessed Group Leader" of your Meetup Group -- can you put into words the 'certain something' that inspires you?

Ha - I actually asked a member how to describe me, and that's what he came up with. There are a few things really:

A.) I get a kick out of organization. I'm one of those people that squeaks with happiness in a container store. Kids to go candy stores, I go to Staples and organizational supply stores. When I leave I feel like I drank five espressos.

B.) I love looking at shots from other photographers in our group, it's incredibly motivational. I've learned a lot from so many talented photographers in our group - like Roni and Tiger, my assistant organizers.

I'm a graphic designer/art director/business owner as well, so any good design as well as photography gets the creative juices going.

C.) Coffee.

I noticed how you incorporate all of the available functionality on your Meetup page, in particular your personal message boards. Do you find the board a useful gage in planning upcoming events, members likes and dislikes, etc.

I think the boards are crucial to the prosperity of the group. Members get a visual on the quality and quantity of their membership from the boards as well as the actual Meetups. Besides what I mentioned in the next question, members get a lot of answers to their specific questions about photography and related equipment, and they feel more involved in Meetups because they had a "voice" when it came to creating the events (through online discussions and polls).

How do you go about deciding on the dates/locations/themes for your Meetups?

We've got an unspoken method being used...

We listen:
Every Meetup has been spawned by the idea from one of our members. We comb all our message threads and create polls asking members where and when they would like to go. Once the polls are closed and the outings are posted, we gather additional information via the message boards as to the specifics of each event. You'd be surprised how much members know about specific locations and how willing they are to offer insights and advice in order to make a Meetup successful.

We thank:
It takes so much to create any event - all the organizers know this. But thanking everyone involved is so crucial. Even the tiniest detail could help many people, so we try to post a summary and thank all involved members after the event is over.

We showboat:
It's easy for us to showboat because we ARE photographers. But even if your group isn't photography-based, consider bringing cameras to events. Most people love to see themselves in photos and giving members 15-minutes-of-fame in the photo albums, on the message boards, in the About Us page... keeps them coming back for more.

We review:
We try to summarize each Meetup online after the event. And since folks like to return to locations every few months, we try to incorporate everyone's input and suggestions for the re-run.

Why did you decide to start this Meetup group?

Ahh... this one is hard for me... I had a close friendship years ago; we were like two silly high school "BFFs."

Unfortunately I loaned her a few cameras and she broke them. She also claimed to win an online photo contest - with my photo. So it got ugly and the friendship ended. It took years for me to pick up a camera again because I had felt so betrayed.

Because I knew I would keep talking myself out of shooting alone, and knew I could organize a group, I formed the Long Island Photography Meetup. This way I was almost "forced" to go. But as you can see, there's no "forcing" involved here.

Would you say your life has changed or been enhanced because of your involvement with Meetup? How?

I think a lot of us would say that we're not "living the dream" in the workplace, so our photography group offers that substitution where my job falls a little flat. I work with brilliant photographers like my assistants Roni Chastain and tiger (with a small "t"!) who help me so much... I don't know where we'd be without them.

Do you have a favorite Meetup story?

I can't help but think of the first Meetup. It was Roni, Arnie, Roy, Pete as well as me. Such quality photographers attending our first Meetup, and I'm so proud to be a part of their lives. I remember coming home to my husband and telling him, "Yeah. I think this'll be good."

The other adventures that I'll never forget is when I was pregnant. members would say, "You're out here and you're pregnant???" And after I had Cole, I brought him to Meetups. One of his photos was featured on Newsday.com's home page - we were at an arboretum together.

Where do you see your Meetup headed in 2008?

We've been created a lot more intricate Meetups, including a tour up the lighthouse on Fire Island this April. We're also considering Photo Open Mic Nights and an anniversary Meetup party. So the quality of Meetups is definitely improving.

Any final words?

Well I wish Meetup would have "Assistant Organizers of the Week" because without Roni and tiger, we wouldn't be where we are now. They're excellent photographers as well as assistants and I appreciate them to no end.

Be sure to share your congrats with Adrienne in the Organizer's Forum