Posted on 04/25/2004 8:23:14 PM PDT by RonDog
Monday, April 12, 2004 -- "National Conservative Townhall Meetup Day" Already, over 23,000 conservatives from all 50 states have signed up for "National Conservative Townhall Meetup Day" -- representing one of the largest grassroots organization of monthly meetings for conservatives ever, and one of the fastest growing political Meetup groups to form since the inception of Meetup.com in June 2002. "National Conservative Townhall Meetup Day" is scheduled for the first Tuesday of every month at 7pm local time -- everywhere and anywhere five or more people have registered to attend. Meetups commence at member-selected local establishments The next "National Conservative Townhall Meetup Day" is Tuesday, May 4, 2004. Register to attend and vote for a local establishment in your area by visiting http://townhall.meetup.com "By partnering with Meetup.com it has never been easier to schedule and maintain monthly strategy sessions to promote and further substantiate the national conservative agenda," said Jonathan Garthwaite, editor of Townhall.com. "We are dedicated to helping conservatives find -- and connect with -- their like-minded neighbors and we're happy to partner with Meetup.com to develop brand new ways to advance conservative ideals." "Meetup.com is a perfect platform for issue-centric organizations from either side of aisle to rally their current base and to use as a strategic tool to attract new interest," said Scott Heiferman, CEO of Meetup, Inc. "We're happy to see Townhall and The Heritage Foundation embrace Meetup as a way to energize conservatives everywhere." About Townhall.com & The Heritage Foundation About Meetup Since launching in June 2002, Meetup has become a grassroots phenomenon, with more than 1 million people signed up for monthly Meetups about more than 4,000 topics and interests. Meetup's partners include AARP, Bill O'Reilly, California Democratic Party, Capital Advantage, Convio, Howard Dean's Democracy for America, Democratic Party, eAdvocates, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Environmental Defense, Get Active, Grassroots Enterprise, Human Rights Campaign, Investors' Business Daily, John Kerry for President, March for Women, MTV & Rock The Vote, Red Hat, Townhall.com (The Heritage Foundation), The UN Foundation, among others. Meetup is based in New York City and is privately held. CONTACT: Kate Pomeroy, The Heritage Foundation Townhall.com and The Heritage Foundation Enlist Meetup.com
to Connect Conservatives Face-to-Face at Monthly "Meetups"
scheduled for the 1st Tuesday of every month @ 7pm Local Time,
Everywhere --Washington, DC -- April 12, 2004 -- Townhall.com and The Heritage Foundation today announced Meetup.com has been enlisted to help bring conservatives together locally all across the USA at monthly get-togethers -- "Meetups" -- to help spread conservative ideals through the organization's membership, readership base, and beyond.
(via vote) such as local cafes, restaurants, bars, bookstores, etc.
Townhall.com, a project of The Heritage Foundation, brings citizens, conservative public policy organizations and media, congressional staff, and political activists together under the broad umbrella of "conservative" thoughts, ideas and actions. Townhall.com is a one-stop mall of ideas in for the latest news and information from the conservative movement. Townhall.com, launched on the web in 1995, is a project of The Heritage Foundation. Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute - a think tank - whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
Meetup, Inc. (http://www.meetup.com) creates global Meetup Days for most any topic. Meetups are real world, face-to-face get-togethers that take place in thousands of cities and small towns in 57 countries at local cafes, restaurants, bookstores, and other local establishments. Meetup's mission is to revitalize community in America.
Myles Weissleder, Meetup, Inc.
(415) 332-3205 / myles@meetup.com
(202) 608-6157
See also, from www.townhall.com/meetup:Townhall.com Meetup Headquarters Townhall.com is partnering with MeetUp.com to enable conservatives to organize and meet in person at the local level. Over 23,000 conservatives have signed up making your Meetup the fastest growing topic. Groups in over 100 cities met last month.
Get together with other conservatives in your neighborhood to:
- Discuss current events and issues with other like-minded individuals
- Find support from other conservatives in your area
- Discover how to mobilize in your community to make sure the conservative voice is heard
You can make the conservative voice strong in your community! Register free today and find out where the Meetup nearest you will happen!
For more information on Townhall Meetups, visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
The next MeetUp is Tuesday, May 4th at 7pm.
Sign Up -or- Vote On Your Venue
Get a suggested Meetup agenda here.
Photos: Attendees from the December, January, and February meetings have uploaded their digital pictures.
Online Friends 'Meet Up' in the Real World
Thursday, February 12, 2004
By Laura Rich
NEW YORK — The first Tuesday of every month, Elvis fans are likely to be gathering near you. So are crochet lovers, people who want to practice speaking Portuguese and adherents of conservative politics.And they all get there by one means: the Internet.
It's the latest trend in cyberspace -- so-called social networking (search). Millions of Internet surfers are finding like-minded people online, on sites like Meetup.com and Friendster.com, then leaving their computers to get together in the real world.
"One criticism of the Internet has been that it discouraged social interaction," said Duncan Watts, an associate professor of sociology at Columbia University and the author of "Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age." "That's oversimplifying it."
Watts said better technology, such as the ability to connect faster and upload pictures, has led people to connect in cyberspace and in person.
Meetup.com launched in June 2002, but it wasn’t until Howard Dean (search) supporters started "Meetups" around the country last summer that the site's purpose of uniting people with shared interests caught on. Today, the site boasts more than one million members in 476 cities across the nation.
There are Meetups for just about every interest imaginable, including African Violet enthusiasts, Chihuahua lovers, people who enjoy making scrapbooks, flashlight aficionados, World War II history buffs, wine lovers and supporters of political candidates, the most common subject of Meetups.
The Dean Meetups make for the largest group, with 189,200 members. However, the size of a Meetup's membership isn't an indication of voter support: Democratic front-runner John Kerry's Meetups have drawn just 39,300 members.
Recently, political conservatives have also begun tapping into Meetup.com, gathering for the first time in spontaneous groups in December.
Before Meetup, many Republican supporters connected through Townhall.com, a conservative news site created by the Heritage Foundation (search). Meetup.com has helped these folks take their online group into the real world. Now, they gather monthly, and the Townhall.com Meetups have grown faster than any other group, from none to 250 around the country in two months.
“It’s the kind of thing we wanted to do for a long time,” said Townhall.com editor Jonathan Garthwaite. “But organizing grassroots meetings in all those cities would be cost-prohibitive.”
To start a new group, topics are typically proposed by someone looking for others similarly inclined. A Meetup staffer reviews the topic and sets up a regular day of each month for the meetings. There are just two stipulations: at least five people must RSVP and the meeting must be in a public place.
For Kevin Kedzierski, 57, a sound engineer in Tonawanda, N.Y., Meetup.com has transformed the first Tuesday of every month by giving him a reason to go to a local Chili’s, where he joins other Elvis fans to discuss the King's songs, movies and Graceland. About seven people usually show up, although the number and members change slightly from month to month.
“That’s the nice thing about it,” said Kedzierski. “No matter how many people show up, we end up getting together and yacking about stuff. We’re Elvis fans and we just like talking about him."
However, Kedzierski said his newfound acquaintances share more than their appreciation for the late singer.
"It doesn’t have to be Elvis," he said. "We talk about other topics, too.”
While Meetup is bringing people together around common interests, Friendster.com is drawing millions into social networks through a "six degrees of separation"-like method.
To become a Friendster member, one must be invited by someone with an active Friendster account. The site then lets people create personalized pages and connect their pages to other "Friendsters" so they can see whom they know and whom their friends know. By displaying the connections among people, Friendster members are aware of who is in their "personal network,"
Watts said Friendster appeals to a fundamental aspect of human nature.
"We're very much social creatures, influenced in about every area of our lives by the opinion of others," he said.
The site's members can reach each other through bulletin boards to solicit opinions and get advice. However, for most people, the site is just a way to create an online community.
Amy Brown, 25, a substitute teacher in Richmond, Va., said Friendster helps her keep in touch with friends and acquaintances “without this obligation to return a long e-mail or letter right away.”
And she's been surprised by the connections she's made online.
“I realized that the six degrees of separation theory was fact,” said Brown. “I have friends that I have known most of my life who, all this time, knew each other also without my ever realizing it.”
Howard Rheingold, author of "Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution," said networking online is a natural progression of the Internet -- and will only become more common as time goes on.
"People want to connect, period," he said, "and it's an assumption with anyone who uses the Internet that you can find someone who shares [your] interest."
I only recently discovered a few of them near me, but there are apparently MANY large groups of CONSERVATIVES now meeting all over the country.This would seem to be a PERFECT way to recruit future FReepers. :o)
Top Topics in Politics & Activism
- Democracy for America (>165,500 members)
- Kerry in 2004 (>99,500)
- Wesley Clark (>61,100)
- Democratic Party (>48,100)
- Townhall (>23,700)
- Kucinich in 2004 (>21,700)
- March for Women (>13,200)
- John Edwards (>12,300)
- MTV and RTV (>9,100)
- Human Rights Campaign (>8,500)
- Republican Party (>7,300)
- Fight Big Media (>6,600)
- Environmental Defense (>5,700)
- Impeach Bush (>4,700)
- Bush in 2004 (>4,200)
Compare the numbers from an OLDER article about this www.insightmag.com:
Townhall MeetUp for Conservatives
Posted Dec. 1, 2003Townhall.com is using MeetUp to help you network and organize with other conservatives in your neighborhood. The next MeetUp is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7 p.m. at a location near you. So far more than 11,000 enthusiasts worldwide have signed up.
At the MeetUp you can discuss current events and issues with other like-minded individuals, find support from other conservatives in your area and discover how to mobilize in your community to make sure that the conservative voice is heard.
For more information on the Townhall.com MeetUp, visit www.townhall.com/meetup/. To RSVP or sign up, go to http://townhall.meetup.com.
Bush Campaign Throwing 'Party for the President'
[conference call with DICK CHENEY on 4/29]
Men's News Daily ^ | April 9, 2004 | Jimmy Moore [Talon News]
Posted on 04/21/2004 8:58:14 AM PDT by RonDog
. Bush Campaign Throwing 'Party for the President'
By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
April 9, 2004The Bush campaign is organizing a "National Party for the President Day" on Thursday, April 29 at 8:00 p.m. EST to allow supporters to gather together in unity behind President George W. Bush.
"Across the country, supporters of President Bush will gather in homes, restaurants and community centers to stand up for our President," Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman wrote in an e-mail to Bush supporters recently.
The free events are scheduled to take place in cities across the country, including in personal homes and at local restaurants.
The Bush campaign has even set up a special surprise for supporters who are able to get 5 or more people to attend their party.
Mehlman said their party "will include a conference call with a senior [Bush] campaign leader" at 8:30 p.m. EST.
He added, "This special guest will answer questions and deliver a political briefing on the progress of the campaign."
Describing the purpose of the "National Party for the President Day," Mehlman explained it "is a simple, volunteer event that brings together local friends and neighbors who support the President."
People who decide to host one of these parties will receive a package of materials from the Bush campaign, including an exclusive video about the campaign, bumper stickers, miscellaneous campaign materials and a signed letter from Bush.
"These fun, informal events will help grow the President's strong base of support in local communities throughout the country and bring the President one step closer to victory in November," Mehlman concluded.
He continued, "We have a hard fight in the days ahead and the President needs your help."
Even Vice President Dick Cheney is encouraging people to join him in the "National Party for the President Day" to cheer on the president to victory in November.
"On that day, I will be joining thousands of parties across the country on a live conference call to talk about the clear choice voters face this November and the importance of the grassroots effort that will lead us to victory," Cheney revealed. "The President and I are counting on grassroots activists, like you, to act on the commitment we all share."
Cheney said he will try to call as many of the parties as possible on April 29.
The goal of the Bush campaign is to have 2004 parties commemorating President Bush on April 29. At press time, there were 2,046 parties planned for that day and nearly 4,000 overall.
CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread
I'm slow this morning.
More Than Ever, the Internet Gives People a Connection
-- and a Voice -- in Campaigns-- snip --
...Faerstein is one of hundreds of thousands of people who have turned to the Internet this year to participate in national politics, relying on a technology that is playing a central role in the way citizens are experiencing the 2004 presidential campaign.
Unlike past elections, when Web sites served more like electronic bulletin boards for candidates and causes, the Internet has evolved into a thriving marketplace of political activity, a place where the like-minded seek out new converts.
On former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's Web site, thousands of supporters post independent events they've organized to promote his candidacy, from debate-watching parties to passing out fliers outside last week's opening of the new "Lord of the Rings" movie. Clark fans used the Internet to wage a "Draft Clark" campaign, an effort the retired Army general says was pivotal in persuading him to jump into the race.
Every month, 250,000 people in hundreds of cities participate in meetups, local gatherings of political activists of every stripe who find each other online.
The result is a new form of intimacy between campaigns and their far-flung supporters, the creation of virtual political communities powered by people devoted to the candidates...
CLICK HERE for the rest iof that article
April 16, 2004CONSERVATIVE MEETUP
From the folks who helped make Howard Dean into a near nominee comes the surprising announcement this week that Meetup.com has been enlisted to bring conservatives together.
Meetup will be the facilitator for the conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation and its project Townhall.com to hold monthly meetups - "National Conservative Townhall Meetup Day" - on the first Tuesday of each month beginning on May 4.
While Meetup is most often associated with liberal political groups - and most prominently many of the Democratic presidential candidates - a check of its website shows politics to be its tamer side. Yes, there is the expected stuff - meetups for the March for Women's Lives and environmental concerns. There has been a small conservative presence - namely meetups involving conservative talk-show host Bill O'Reilly.
But among the more curious stuff posted on Meetup lately: a series of them with expatriate Americans in a number of countries; meetups for poker, stay-at-home moms, separation of church and state, philosophy, yoga, and chihuahuas - the owners' presumably.
New York PING!Lefties Don’t Know Loneliness
On the evening of Jan. 6, the Manhattan Lounge on Second Avenue and 89th Street became the amber-lit sanctuary of that rarest breed of New Yorker: the unapologetic conservative. They came from all corners of the city—and sometimes just beyond—slipping in like refugees past the plasma TV playing Casablanca and up to the smiling man waiting at the end of the bar.
"Have you come to meet some conservatives in New York City?" he asked. His name was William Finkel and he worked for Meetup.com, a free Internet service that organizes gatherings for anyone who likes to gather (Howard Dean supporters, Harry Potter fans, self-described witches).
"We’re already all right here!" joked Jay Chaffin, a 25-year-old Harvard grad turned actor, gesturing to the four early arrivals. (When he was 12, Mr. Chaffin played the slum urchin Gavroche in Les Misérables on Broadway, and he seems to have retained some of the character’s impish wit.)
It was National Conservative Townhall Meetup Day, a monthly event celebrated in more than 600 cities by Townhall.com, a "one-stop mall of ideas" run by the conservative Heritage Foundation. Since last fall, Townhall and other right-of-center groups, including the Republican National Committee, have been taking a page from their opponents’ organizing book and getting in on the virtual community-building that has become a signature of progressive movements like MoveOn.org and the Howard Dean juggernaut. In the words of Townhall.com, "The liberals like Common Cause, the Million Mom March and the Sierra Club are doing it and it’s time that conservatives got in the game."
But in New York City, where Democrats outnumber Republicans six to one, the evening seemed less like a chance for conservatives to get in the game than to come out of their closets; less like a rally, more like a support group...
CLICK HERE for the rest of that article
Posted on Tue, Feb. 10, 2004
MeetUp.com working to become a force in politics
Philadelphia InquirerPHILADELPHIA - Every election cycle brings new Internet tools to woo voters - if only the politicians can find a way to make them work.In 1996, it was e-mail. Four years later, Web sites generated the first fund-raising dollars, and for the 2002 midterm elections, political blogs (Web logs) made their first appearance.
Now, electronic grass-roots organizing appears to be the calling card of Election 2004, thanks to the popularity of MeetUp.com. And the company is trying to harness the momentum that it received from Howard Dean to establish itself as a force in state and local politics - even if the campaigns themselves don't realize it yet.
Last month, MeetUp.com designated monthly "meet-up" dates for all Senate, U.S. House and gubernatorial political candidates. Although the service normally doesn't set up events until users request them, it anticipated that people would want to attend to support local contenders.
"We heard the call," said Myles Weissleder, a MeetUp.com vice president. "We knew people wanted it, so we filled in the blanks."
The premise of MeetUp.com is simple: Set a date, time and place for like-minded strangers to gather. The events are held in coffee shops, bookstores or restaurants, which pay MeetUp.com to be included.
When the site launched in 2002, it seemed no different from www.Craigslist.org or other Web pages where people searched for friends, dates and activity partners. Pug lovers, Scrabble players, and fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer looking to meet each other earned MeetUp.com a dedicated, if small, following.
Then Dean came along...
CLICK HERE for the rest of that article
THURSDAY APRIL 29
CHECK THE BUSH/CHENEY WEBSITE FOR A LOCATION NEAR YOU AND ATTEND ONE OF THESE!
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 Sign up to host one of thousands of Parties for the President on Thursday, April 29! Join Vice President Cheney and thousands of grassroots supporters on a nationwide conference call at 8:30 PM EDT.
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