It appears SOLO has good company in feeling "Fed Up with Meetup":
Fed Up with Meetup
Dear Townhall Reader:
During the 2004 Democratic primary, new online site Meetup.com gained media notoriety as it propelled the Howard Dean campaign to the forefront of the Democratic ticket. Thousands of liberals were meeting monthly to send Dean to the White House. The liberal media bias had spawned a liberal online virus. In response, Townhall.com decided to counter the liberal invasion and co-opt Meetup for its own purposes: to further the conservative agenda. Using Townhall’s resources, we promoted the Meetup groups to you - our valued Townhall.com readers. With great success, our Meetup force grew to over 25,000 people strong. Townhall enthusiasts all over the nation – and in some cases, the world - were meeting to promote conservative ideals. Regrettably, we were recently shocked, as many of you were, to learn about the implementation of Meetup group fees – $19 per month ($228 per year) to be paid by each of the group organizers. Moreover, I was notified of the change only one day prior to each of you. As a paying and longtime customer, I was not pleased about how this was handled. This is not how Townhall treats its readers and I certainly don’t want Townhall’s good name to be associated with such practices. To address this situation, I sent an email to Townhall.com Meetup organizers asking for their help in determining Townhall.com’s future relationship with Meetup.com. We considered the following options: 1. Continue using Townhall.com resources to sponsor Meetups for at least the next three months (Meetup.com now requires a 3-month contract); or
2. Build our own Townhall.com Meetup-type service and transition away from Meetup.com.
The response we received was unanimous! Effective this Thursday, Townhall.com will officially end its relationship with Meetup.com. In place of Meetup, Townhall will begin developing a custom solution to better cater to the needs of our Townhall Meetup members and organizers [Option #2]. You can expect the following improvements:
Easier and more intuitive interface.
Conservatives only! No Deaniacs, no pagans, no liberals.
Greater integration with Townhall.com.
Tools to facilitate action and coordination.
Currently, we expect to offer a Beta version of our service sometime in September 2005. If you would like to be updated on site developments, please register here.
We look forward to offering you a new and compelling service in the near future! Until then, please continue to fight against the liberal left and keep meeting with fellow conservatives! We thank you for all of your effort and dedication to Townhall.com. Sincerely, Drew Bond President & CEO Townhall.com
Conservative News and Information at townhall.com.
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