I often see artwork of pekingese and love to collect it. This smoky blue pekingese
piece is one of the most unusual and unique that I've seen in my search;)
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Blue Smoky Pekingese
I often see artwork of pekingese and love to collect it. This smoky blue pekingese
piece is one of the most unusual and unique that I've seen in my search;)
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Scott Heiferman, the CEO/Founder of the MeetUP Groups, came to our Pekingese Meetup on March 22, with Forbes reporter and photographer
Forbes
Nice to Meet You Chana R. Schoenberger 04.23.07
Meetup's Scott Heiferman
Meetup.com helps people with common hobbies and quirks find real-world pals. Now it wants to introduce them to marketers.
A group of 110 scuba divers met in a Manhattan bar at 7 p.m. on a recent Thursday. The divers, part of a group of 684 scuba lovers in and near New York City who congregate intermittently, swapped stories about diving trips and looked at pictures of sea horses taken by nature photographer Amos Nachoum. That same evening, across town in Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people )'s office, seven techies sat around a conference table and yukked it up over tales of using Linux open-source software to do cool things like creating a homemade TV recorder.
These groups were only 2 of as many as 400 gatherings that evening in Manhattan that were facilitated by Meetup.com. The company helps kindred spirits--Scrabble buffs, atheists, origami lovers--around the world connect online and plan real-world restaurant meals, bike rides and such. It has 3 million registered members who belong to one or more of its 24,000 groups, some with as few as three members, others with several thousand. "We're in the support-group business," says Scott Heiferman, cofounder and chief executive of the privately held New York firm.
Now Meetup is looking for some assistance. The five-year-old company, which became known after Howard Dean used its site to mobilize Democrats and raise money for his 2004 presidential campaign, is starting to court marketers interested in paying to sponsor certain Meetup groups. After snubbing marketers for two years, Meetup last month began approaching car companies, financial services firms and packaged-goods makers about sponsoring groups that might be interested in the products these companies sell. Meetup plans to talk to marketers with brands that already have a fan base on Meetup in groups such as the Linux lovers, Toronto's Toyota (nyse: TM - news - people ) Prius & Hybrid Meetup Group and Mayfair Games' board game Settlers of Catan, with fans in several cities. It also plans to offer marketers access, with the organizer's approval, to hobby groups like the Houston Cruiser Bike Meetup Group (67 members) and New York Beer Pong (41 members).
Meetup is even taking the next step toward commercialism by offering to help companies with popular products find passionate fans by setting up brand-focused Meetup groups. Douglas Atkin, a former ad guy who joined Meetup as chief marketing officer last January, cites General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people )' Saturn as one likely candidate for a company-created Meetup. "Brands can insert themselves when it's most relevant," says Atkin, who in 2004 wrote a book called The Culting of Brands. "If you're a dog-food brand, it's good to go to those people while they are talking about and playing with dogs."
Marketers like the idea of face-to-face access to potential customers. Already, Intuit (nasdaq: INTU - news - people ) offers free downloadable tips for 20,000 small-business Meetup members in 375 groups. Hearst's Redbook magazine sponsors 20 walking-related events through Meetup. Investor's Business Daily hosts 300 groups for investors. Heiferman, 34, won't say what he's charging: "We want to make it affordable enough for the local dog walker, but we want big marketers to spend millions of dollars annually on this if it proves out."
This year the company plans to introduce software to help potential sponsors find groups that want patronage, much the way Google links advertisers to relevant sites. In 2006 ads from Google's AdSense network started appearing on Meetup pages so that, for example, vegans get a link to someone selling animal-free marshmallows. Those ads will represent 10% of Meetup's revenue this year.
For years marketers have approached Heiferman about buying access to his powwows, which members organize on its Web site using message boards and other online tools. Until recently Heiferman was so squeamish about accepting page advertising--much less giving marketers access to the groups--that many Meetup members believe it is a nonprofit enterprise.
The company, whose investors include Sen. Bill Bradley and Ebay founder Pierre M. Omidyar, pulled in $5.5 million last year, but it didn't make any money. Heiferman says it almost broke even in the first quarter of this year. Hiring a bunch of employees in part to help it woo marketers will keep it from turning a profit this year, he says. The pressure is on: Since it started, competitors, including Zanby and Eventful, have come on the scene. Last year six investors, including Ebay and Allen & Co., paid Meetup a reported $5 million for a 10% stake.
In a test Heiferman agreed a year ago to let Clorox sponsor 15 stay-at-home mom Meetups around the country. The company gave the moms a gift bag filled with Clorox products. He says he was surprised by their enthusiasm. "We said 'Do you want this package of free stuff?' The Meetups said to us 'Hell, yeah!'"
Initially, the company tried to collect fees from restaurants and other venues that hosted groups. That backfired when group organizers complained about limited meeting times and spaces, and restaurants griped that those who gathered were more interested in gabbing than spending money. In 2003 Heiferman tried to make money selling annual memberships for $36. That also bombed. Two years ago the company started charging $19 a month to groups who use the Web site to organize meetings . At the time it was reported that these fees would help Meetup make money by the end of 2005. That didn't happen.
This latest move may rile some Meetup members. It's unlikely that a group of "freegans," consumption haters who meet to retrieve usable items from dumpsters in New York, will embrace Meetup's new plan. Groups that don't want exposure to marketing won't get it, Heiferman says.
Other members say they welcome corporate patrons. Debra Shields, a 33-year-old Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) account executive in Denver who belongs to three Meetup groups for folks who are interested in Brazil, says she hopes support from marketers could help her group support causes, like conservation in the Amazon (nasdaq: AMZN - news - people ). "Sponsorship that could ensure better events--that would be great," says she.
By the Numbers
Meeting Up
Because technology cuts down on face time, many people crave real-world connections.
4,386 Number of people in New York's largest Meetup group, Lower Manhattan Democracy for America.
20 Number of Meetup groups for Harley-Davidson (nyse: HOG - news - people ) enthusiasts.
15 Percentage of Meetup gatherings held at a Starbucks (nasdaq: SBUX - news - people ).
del.icio.us Digg It! My Yahoo! RSS
Nice to Meet You Chana R. Schoenberger 04.23.07
Meetup's Scott Heiferman
Meetup.com helps people with common hobbies and quirks find real-world pals. Now it wants to introduce them to marketers.
A group of 110 scuba divers met in a Manhattan bar at 7 p.m. on a recent Thursday. The divers, part of a group of 684 scuba lovers in and near New York City who congregate intermittently, swapped stories about diving trips and looked at pictures of sea horses taken by nature photographer Amos Nachoum. That same evening, across town in Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people )'s office, seven techies sat around a conference table and yukked it up over tales of using Linux open-source software to do cool things like creating a homemade TV recorder.
These groups were only 2 of as many as 400 gatherings that evening in Manhattan that were facilitated by Meetup.com. The company helps kindred spirits--Scrabble buffs, atheists, origami lovers--around the world connect online and plan real-world restaurant meals, bike rides and such. It has 3 million registered members who belong to one or more of its 24,000 groups, some with as few as three members, others with several thousand. "We're in the support-group business," says Scott Heiferman, cofounder and chief executive of the privately held New York firm.
Now Meetup is looking for some assistance. The five-year-old company, which became known after Howard Dean used its site to mobilize Democrats and raise money for his 2004 presidential campaign, is starting to court marketers interested in paying to sponsor certain Meetup groups. After snubbing marketers for two years, Meetup last month began approaching car companies, financial services firms and packaged-goods makers about sponsoring groups that might be interested in the products these companies sell. Meetup plans to talk to marketers with brands that already have a fan base on Meetup in groups such as the Linux lovers, Toronto's Toyota (nyse: TM - news - people ) Prius & Hybrid Meetup Group and Mayfair Games' board game Settlers of Catan, with fans in several cities. It also plans to offer marketers access, with the organizer's approval, to hobby groups like the Houston Cruiser Bike Meetup Group (67 members) and New York Beer Pong (41 members).
Meetup is even taking the next step toward commercialism by offering to help companies with popular products find passionate fans by setting up brand-focused Meetup groups. Douglas Atkin, a former ad guy who joined Meetup as chief marketing officer last January, cites General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people )' Saturn as one likely candidate for a company-created Meetup. "Brands can insert themselves when it's most relevant," says Atkin, who in 2004 wrote a book called The Culting of Brands. "If you're a dog-food brand, it's good to go to those people while they are talking about and playing with dogs."
Marketers like the idea of face-to-face access to potential customers. Already, Intuit (nasdaq: INTU - news - people ) offers free downloadable tips for 20,000 small-business Meetup members in 375 groups. Hearst's Redbook magazine sponsors 20 walking-related events through Meetup. Investor's Business Daily hosts 300 groups for investors. Heiferman, 34, won't say what he's charging: "We want to make it affordable enough for the local dog walker, but we want big marketers to spend millions of dollars annually on this if it proves out."
This year the company plans to introduce software to help potential sponsors find groups that want patronage, much the way Google links advertisers to relevant sites. In 2006 ads from Google's AdSense network started appearing on Meetup pages so that, for example, vegans get a link to someone selling animal-free marshmallows. Those ads will represent 10% of Meetup's revenue this year.
For years marketers have approached Heiferman about buying access to his powwows, which members organize on its Web site using message boards and other online tools. Until recently Heiferman was so squeamish about accepting page advertising--much less giving marketers access to the groups--that many Meetup members believe it is a nonprofit enterprise.
The company, whose investors include Sen. Bill Bradley and Ebay founder Pierre M. Omidyar, pulled in $5.5 million last year, but it didn't make any money. Heiferman says it almost broke even in the first quarter of this year. Hiring a bunch of employees in part to help it woo marketers will keep it from turning a profit this year, he says. The pressure is on: Since it started, competitors, including Zanby and Eventful, have come on the scene. Last year six investors, including Ebay and Allen & Co., paid Meetup a reported $5 million for a 10% stake.
In a test Heiferman agreed a year ago to let Clorox sponsor 15 stay-at-home mom Meetups around the country. The company gave the moms a gift bag filled with Clorox products. He says he was surprised by their enthusiasm. "We said 'Do you want this package of free stuff?' The Meetups said to us 'Hell, yeah!'"
Initially, the company tried to collect fees from restaurants and other venues that hosted groups. That backfired when group organizers complained about limited meeting times and spaces, and restaurants griped that those who gathered were more interested in gabbing than spending money. In 2003 Heiferman tried to make money selling annual memberships for $36. That also bombed. Two years ago the company started charging $19 a month to groups who use the Web site to organize meetings . At the time it was reported that these fees would help Meetup make money by the end of 2005. That didn't happen.
This latest move may rile some Meetup members. It's unlikely that a group of "freegans," consumption haters who meet to retrieve usable items from dumpsters in New York, will embrace Meetup's new plan. Groups that don't want exposure to marketing won't get it, Heiferman says.
Other members say they welcome corporate patrons. Debra Shields, a 33-year-old Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) account executive in Denver who belongs to three Meetup groups for folks who are interested in Brazil, says she hopes support from marketers could help her group support causes, like conservation in the Amazon (nasdaq: AMZN - news - people ). "Sponsorship that could ensure better events--that would be great," says she.
By the Numbers
Meeting Up
Because technology cuts down on face time, many people crave real-world connections.
4,386 Number of people in New York's largest Meetup group, Lower Manhattan Democracy for America.
20 Number of Meetup groups for Harley-Davidson (nyse: HOG - news - people ) enthusiasts.
15 Percentage of Meetup gatherings held at a Starbucks (nasdaq: SBUX - news - people ).
del.icio.us Digg It! My Yahoo! RSS
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
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