Meetup Megathread (April 13) - Hedgehog Day Event News

[Ogilvie]

Index of Meetup Groups and their Sites

Index of Upcoming Meetups

Tips from Helen of Sonic London on how to form, promote, and successfully manage your meetup groups!

More tips from Tanner "Ogilvie" Bates on planning meetups!

Alright, I decided to start a general purpose megathread for Sonic meetups and the groups that organize such meetups. I feel status updates and signatures as a means of promotion doesn’t really do the topic justice. It also avoids possible spam from separate topics, as everyone can simply come to a single topic to browse meetups or arrange ones of their own.

Feel free to simply inquire if anyone would be up for a meetup or even decide to schedule one. I’ll add you to the list in the OP so anyone who visits the thread can quickly look you up in the index. Feel free to share any websites, Facebook groups, etc. that you may have and I will also put that in the Index.

You may see the words "Sonic Social" and "Sonic Revolution" thrown around a lot; they are separate but intertwined organisations, with Social handling grassroots organisation and casual meetups, while Revolution focuses on more organised, structured conventions.

I’m hoping that working together we can put Sonic meetups in the map all over the globe!

You know what they say, the more the merrier!

Edited April 13, 2014 by Ogilvie

[Ogilvie]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SonicSTL/

At the request of St. Louis residents in Sonic Social who were unsure about being the group admin/organiser, I started the group. I'm serving as an admin in caretaker capacity (being that I live in the desert) and am willing to hand the reins over to whoever wants to run the group; all one needs to do is ask. The current description/banner/etc. are all placeholders and naturally whoever takes over as admin is free to alter them.

If you're afraid that joining and requesting this on Facebook will let me know your real name, I posted the same thing in the actual group, so I won't be able to make the connection.

I've also sent a request to Helen of Sonic London to interview her about forming and managing meetups (so as to help newer organisers, including myself, get advice from a veteran of the subject); in the meantime I'm going to go promote this elsewhere!

[Lhancat]

How do we go about hosting such a meetup, and assuring the right people come along and not random gatecrashers?

 

I ask this because I'd like to see a Sonic meet up in Australia sometime, but am worried I won't get any Sonic fans coming at all.

[JoeMD]

How do we go about hosting such a meetup, and assuring the right people come along and not random gatecrashers?

 

I ask this because I'd like to see a Sonic meet up in Australia sometime, but am worried I won't get any Sonic fans coming at all.

 

I'd love to see that as well. There seems to be a decent amount of Sonic fans here in AU, but they also seem to be spread out. I think any gathering would start small and then grow from there. Travel could also be an issue given the country is so vast. I'd be interested in discussing ideas.

[Ogilvie]

I'll be able to give professional input shortly once HelenBaby gets back to me; she's organised Sonic London through no less than eleven successful meetups over the last two or three years. I think she could give some really awesome advice for all us hopefuls.

 

How do we go about hosting such a meetup, and assuring the right people come along and not random gatecrashers?

 

I ask this because I'd like to see a Sonic meet up in Australia sometime, but am worried I won't get any Sonic fans coming at all.

 

From what I can gather... (I'll definitely be asking HelenBaby all these)

 

To start one needs a choice of venue. It could be a free one like a park, or a place where you can buy stuff like an arcade or restaurant or movie theater. If you've got the money you can always rent a place as well; lots of places rent out rooms for as little as twenty people to countless thousands.

 

Alright, once a venue is set up you need to actually announce the event. Then it becomes an issue of promotion; for this reason I suggest setting up a meetup group first, and then picking a venue for your event.

 

Really that's all there is to setting up a venue. Presumably gatecrashers won't show up given they likely won't know about it.

 

Beyond that I assume it's largely up to each organiser what sort of things they want at their event. For example, I want to host one for about 40-50 people and also want to get the necessary security equipment to be able to host a Transformed tournament; failing that, I want to be able to have a Wii U so people can try out Lost World.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Ogilvie

[JoeMD]

Through the website I run, ChronicleChamber.com, I organised a gathering of Phantom fans. For the last four of five years we've meet up at the Supanova convention in sydney. Having the meeting at the con is great because 1) we all get to meet 2) it's a comic convention so there is lots of cool stuff to check out of interest to us 3) the con goes all day so there's plenty of time to do everything and we can hang out together afterwards as well. Also, people have the option of coming but not going to the con if they wish (we have out meeting and lunch outside).

 

Maybe initially, at least for Australia, meeting at a convention of some kind might be the way to go. People intersted would probably be going anyway (I saw several cosplayers at the 2012 Supanova, not that we'd HAVE to go to that con) but it also gives others more insentive to come.

 

It's been a succesful way of doing it for me in the past, so maybe something to consider?

[Lhancat]

That's a pretty good idea. But how does that work for cosplayers? I guess the meet up could work where we arrange to meet up at a certain place outside the building itself after everyone's already looked around and did some shopping. People could bring along their DS/3DS for some Sonic Rush and Generations multiplayer too.

 

Hmm...speaking of which, would it be too late to plan up a small meet right now? The EB Expo is coming up in October, so maybe we could gather a few Sonic fans that are going.

[Ogilvie]

Well I'm happy you guys were able to get the basics of something together!

 

If you create a Facebook group or otherwise find some URL (a thread even) that I can direct people to, that'd be awesome; I'd be able to add it to Sonic Social's Index and also promote it for you to help make it a success...

 

Hoping for the best!

[JoeMD]

I'm not sure what you mean by "how does it work for cosplayers." It's at a convention, you can display your heart out.

You don't want to go into organising this half cocked. Figure out what you want out of it first. As I said I'm happy to help where I can.

[Lhancat]

Hmm...then what do you propose we do? What would a basic meet up at such an Expo include? If it's there, we could arrange to show up early so we can all line up and play Sonic Lost World at the Nintendo booth, and then give our thoughts about it. Afterwards we check out other games we're interested in, and then meet back up for lunch and have a Rush/Generations tournament.

 

Depending on the numbers, we could give those show up a special "thank you" gift as a reward for showing up on the first meet?

[JoeMD]

Just messaged you via Facebook.

[Lhancat]

Just created the group! If you could all help spread this around, we'd appreciate it greatly. I hope it turns out to be a success.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/647000818652884/

[Ogilvie]

That's looking awesome, Lhancat! I'll go add it to all my indices right away.

 

I'm so glad you were able to get this working.

 

As a note, you can actually customise your URL in the Edit Group Settings page to SonicAustralia or SonicSydney or whatever you desire! It helps for people to find it since it's not a bunch of numbers.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Ogilvie

[Lhancat]

Done! Set it to Sonic Australia.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SonicAustralia/

[Crow the BOOLET]

We should all meet up in a dark alley.

[Lhancat]

Crow do you even realize how dangerous that is. >:U

[Crow the BOOLET]

Crow do you even realize how dangerous that is. >:U

WELL I UHHHHH.... LOOK OVAH DERE!

I can't make it to that event btw. Americano.

[Lhancat]

You can't confuse me. >:3 This cat is smart!

[Ogilvie]

In other news! xD

 

Pleased to announce that Sonic Wisconsin has joined our growing family of meetup groups around the world. Fans in the neighboring states are always welcome to join as well, of course!
 
Sonic St. Louis is still in need of an administrator if anyone's interested...

[Ogilvie]

Oggy of Igelstan reporting in again!

 

Besides Sonic Australia reaching 6 members (and 2 observers, as I call those not in the geographic area of a group) and that being worthy of congrats in and of itself, I have more excellent news for Southern United States fans.

Sonic Georgia was founded mere moments ago for fans in the State of Georgia area! It will most likely be focused on Atlanta but all are welcome!

[Ogilvie]

I've got a present for all you organisers who want a meetup but don't know where to begin or aren't confident in your ability to host one: an interview with HelenBaby herself, the organiser of Sonic London and host of no less than ELEVEN successful meetups!

1. How much does it cost to host an event?

Meet-ups, as opposed to conventions, can be (and often are) relatively informal events. As a result you can tailor your meet-up to your budget. Some friends of mine (Ben/Rio and Jenny Tablina) organised a pre-Summer of Sonic party at a sports bar in London the year before last with video games (Sonic ones) and everything. There was an entrance fee (as the venue had a per-person minimum charge) and had they not managed to attract the right numbers they would have had to make up the difference out of their own pockets. As things turned out it was a roaring success, however (Mike Pollock even showed up!).

I'm not from a rich background whatsoever, and have been in and out of employment the whole time I've been running SonicLondon. As a result I haven't had the finances to risk ventures like the above (although one day I hope to be in the position to do so). So I've played it safe thus far with venues like pubs and parks which have no fee whatsoever.

2. What are the best ways to set up a meet up group (in person, social media, etc.)?

The best way is probably a mix if possible. When I set up SonicLondon I already had a whole bunch of Summer of Sonic attendees and staff (aswell as other random Sonic fans) among my Facebook friends, so just created a group and invited them all. Then when they joined it would show on their wall, and their friends joined. And so on and so fourth...

Facebook's still a really good way to put something like this together (arguably the best). Forums are also a great place to draw together like-minded people. If you can afford it meetup.com is really good, but the people you'll attract may end up being more casual fans than longtime community folks.

3. Once a group is set up, what is the best way to spread the word about it, from your experience?

• Facebook (of course)

• Meetup.com

• EventBrite

• Handing out leaflets/business cards at conventions (whenever we've done this at Summer of Sonic we've always seen a surge in member numbers afterwards

• Word of Mouth. I always make sure to mention SonicLondon whenever I come across a Sonic fan. Its a good way of recruiting.

• Video game event directories (I actually run a UK one at my website 3DSBlessed, where I'd be happy to add any UK events. Not sure which US ones to recommend, just google it and try and get in as many as possible!)

4. What would you say is the best group size before considering a meetup?

Personally I would say 10. You won't have to wait forever to recruit 10 people, and if there are no-shows on the day you'll still have a happy little crowd.

5. Once it’s decided to have a meet up, where would you recommend the first meetup be?

Tough question. Here in the UK there's something of a pub culture, especially when it comes to geeky meet-up groups (talking as someone who's been to visit a fair few meetup.com groups). I was also aware that there were a lot of Sonic fans who, like me, were in their 20s, so holding it a pub was our natural choice of first venue. I believe in other countries things are a little different though. Also, holding a meet in a venue with age restrictions obviously rules out some of your potential attendees (although SonicLondon is actually 18+ regardless).

Parks are another option. As are arcades. I heard someone at the weekend say they were thinking of hosting a meet at a foodcourt, which I think is an awesome idea...

6. At each meet up, is there any particular method you use to keep the guests entertained so everyone has a good time?

Not really. I used to attend furmeets (the shame!) back in the day, and DS meets more recently, and the onus on them was for the members to mingle and entertain each other. So that’s how I initially ran SonicLondon, and certainly how I will continue to run some meets...

That said, at our 8th meet I bought a few small Sonic prizes from Forbidden Planet, and let staff member Cyburn borrow my deck of Sonic cards. He proceeded to kindly host some games of Blackjack with some of our attendees, which were very well received. At the meet gone by we expanded this so that, in addition to the return of Cyburn's Blackjack games we also had a handheld corner (with a Sonic Transformed tournament) and an art corner (again with contest). I enjoyed providing the guests with something to do and its something I'd certainly like to do again (although, like I said, perhaps not at every meet).

7. What are the hardest obstacles you’ve faced as an organizer, and how did you overcome them?

(Helen respectfully declined to answer so as to avoid mentioning other people)

8. Any extra thoughts you have on founding meetup groups, hosting meet ups, or anything of the sort?

My advice is ; if you're thinking about it, just go for it. Arranging these Sonic meets has been so worthwhile in so many ways. These include, but are not limited to ;

• Allowing me to see things -from the other side- (like I said before, I attended a lot of meet-up groups, but always wanted to experience things from the organisers' perspective. And now I have!

• More respect (both in the Sonic community and when attending meet-ups in general)

• Helped me hone my team leadership skills.

• Helped my job prospects (one of my previous jobs, which was a massive leg-up for me, was attained more or less because I had the event management skills I only acquired through running SonicLondon)

• Making new friendships and strengthening old ones. This is the reason I founded the group and is still something I treasure

• I can now say I've worked with Sega/Sumo Digital, Nintendo and Capcom (albeit in a small way)

• Allows me to contribute something back to the Sonic community where I've met so many awesome people.

[Ogilvie]

And another update from moi!
 
Sonic New York has been established as a home base for NY and nearby fans.

Sonic Florida has been established for the same purpose, albeit for those in proximity to Florida.

On more practical purposes, Sonic St. Louis has announced its first meetup! The meetup will be on September 28th; there is no formal time at the moment but this will change as others indicate the best time for themselves. The group will initially meet in front of the Pageant for nostalgia's sake before doing other things around the Delmar Loop.

I don't think I mentioned it in this thread, so just to be sure: Sonic Georgia has also announced its first meetup on September 28th! It will be held near the Anime Weekend Atlanta convention; attendees may discuss specifics on the event page.

Edited September 27, 2013 by Ogilvie

[Abominal Taz]

Sonic St. Louis is still in need of an administrator if anyone's interested...

Oh dude. Sorry I never got around to messaging back. Things got hectic and now things are 10x more hectic. I can't be an admin unfortunately because of; A.)School B.)Work C.)Fraternity Commitment D.)Tomervision E.)Motorcycle upkeep F.)Living situations. So yeah, I'm kinda pinned as of right now. Damn you adult life, stop taking tolls!

[Ogilvie]

Oh dude. Sorry I never got around to messaging back. Things got hectic and now things are 10x more hectic. I can't be an admin unfortunately because of; A.)School B.)Work C.)Fraternity Commitment D.)Tomervision E.)Motorcycle upkeep F.)Living situations. So yeah, I'm kinda pinned as of right now. Damn you adult life, stop taking tolls!

 

No problem, Taz!

 

I presume you'd still be wanting to attend sometime though, regardless?

 

I do hope you're available on the 28th for that reason; the more at the meetup the merrier.

[Ogilvie]

I'm back! Here's some highlights!

-About fifteen folks showed up!

-everyone got along great, a key element. There was some intense debate going on!

-Many of the planned video presentations fell victim to technical difficulties but we carried on regardless.

-Trivia contest went awesome even if I accidentally mixed up the score at the end! Year one errors!

As for goodies....

The raffle put a Pop Sonic figure, Sonic 20th anniversary book, and Sonic/Amy poster to three lucky attendees. All attendees received special custom buttons and posters courtesy if the Sonic Show! Also courtesy of the Sonic Show, a great gift: A recording of Crush 40's SoS 2012 performance!

Here's a photo album of this year's festivities!

Now, our special announcement....

It is tragic to report that Sonic Boom West will not be held next year.

...and much better to report we have decided to expand into Sonic Revolution, a much bigger event to be held next year!

On that note, if anyone would like to be part of Sonic Revolution's staff, we're looking for more volunteers for next year. We have The Facebook page for a start, and our website has just gone live!