- =SB= Sonic Blast Community Forum
-
- ~Mobius Valley Zone~
-
- Act II: Sonic's Moonlit Realm
-
- General Sonic Fan Meetup Discussion
| ~Welcome to the Sonic Blast Community Forum~ Greetings stranger, it is an honor to have you as a visitor. Since we opened in 2006 our goal has been to offer the most authentic Sonic-themed community on the web for Sonic enthusiasts new and old. We do our best to provide the most unique features, best Sonic-themed designs, and have the latest news; always improving to cover all of your Sonic needs. Our community is full of friendly people and we hope you enjoy your brief stay but would be thrilled if you decided to join in on the fun. Being a part of our community is easy, quick, and absolutely free. Click here to join our community and enter the land of Mobius as a =SB= citizen! Citizens may log in to their account to participate in our land's conversations and access all of our features: |
| General Sonic Fan Meetup Discussion | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 7 2013, 03:53 PM (2,238 Views) | |
| Ogilvie | Sep 7 2013, 03:53 PM Post #1 |
Angel Island Act 2
|
Index of Upcoming Sonic Events Index of Sonic Conventions Index of Sonic Meetup Groups and their Pages Tips from Helen of Sonic London on how to form, promote, and successfully manage your meetup groups! More Meetup Tips From Ogilvie! Seeing the success of Summer of Sonic, the upcoming Sonic Boom West, and the repeated successes of Sonic London, I have 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 post if anyone would be up for a meetup or even decide to schedule one. In the latter case, 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. I’m hoping that working together we can put Sonic meetups in the map all over the globe! I think that’s all I can say really; I want to keep the opening post as group-neutral as possible. Please, feel free to notify me of any groups or events you know of or are organizing, or just feel free to ask around if anyone would want to meet up with you! Communication is key, and finding fans in close geographic proximity is how such grand projects as Summer of Sonic start.  You know what they say, the more the merrier! Edited by Ogilvie, Mar 31 2014, 10:55 AM.
|
| Find a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | MAKE a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | |
 |
 
|
| Ogilvie | Sep 8 2013, 07:59 AM Post #2 |
|
Angel Island Act 2
|
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SonicSTL/ Sonic St. Louis is officially online! For those fans who loved Boom and wanted to arrange more meetups, here's the opportunity for such! I'm currently serving as caretaker administrator; living in Nevada, I'm willing to give the position to whoever asks for it, provided they ask for it in the group itself. |
| Find a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | MAKE a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | |
|
|
|
| Ogilvie | Sep 9 2013, 06:52 AM Post #3 |
|
Angel Island Act 2
|
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SonicAustralia/ Just reporting in that the land down under has organized a group and has also set up its first meetup! They plan to meet at the EB Expo in October. Currently the group is focused on Sydney but I’m sure as it gets larger it will help with meetups all over Australia. |
| Find a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | MAKE a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | |
|
|
|
| Lord Talancir D'Landior | Sep 9 2013, 08:37 PM Post #4 |
~ RP Knight ~
|
and sadly, none of these is feasibly close to colorado, methinks. |
 RP Aid: So, you want to be a storyteller? A must read for any Storyteller who wants to be better at his craft. RP Aid: Combat: A Comprehensive Guide to Beating Arse By the way, I'm on skype. Search for talancir. Millstone of Time Resources
| |
|
|
|
| Ogilvie | Sep 9 2013, 09:43 PM Post #5 |
|
Angel Island Act 2
|
The closest one to you is Sonic Nevada, tis true; the good news is that more meetup groups are popping up by the day, and even if one doesn't form in Colorado, you are always welcome to try your hand at starting one; Sonic Social would be happy to promote it for you. On another note, I am pleased to announce that Sonic Wisconsin has joined our growing family in the Sonic revolution. Naturally those from neighboring states are welcome to join as well.
|
| Find a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | MAKE a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | |
|
|
|
| Vexald | Sep 10 2013, 11:24 AM Post #6 |
Character Select
|
So sad i'm in France... Maybe one day, i will have the chance to come. |
|
|
|
| Ogilvie | Sep 11 2013, 10:46 AM Post #7 |
|
Angel Island Act 2
|
Don't be discouraged, Vexald! If you can find fellow fans in France and form some sort of page to link to, I'd be happy to promote you just the same as the others. === 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! |
| Find a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | MAKE a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | |
|
|
|
| Vexald | Sep 11 2013, 12:56 PM Post #8 |
|
Character Select
|
Thank you, i will think of you if i got some news. |
|
|
|
| Ogilvie | Sep 13 2013, 07:30 AM Post #9 |
|
Angel Island Act 2
|
So I'm not leaving for California as soon as expected in that usual getting on the road taking forever schtick. As such 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!
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.
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.
• 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!)
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.
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...
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).
(Helen respectfully declined to answer for personal reasons)
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. |
| Find a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | MAKE a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | |
|
|
|
| Ogilvie | Sep 21 2013, 08:34 AM Post #10 |
|
Angel Island Act 2
|
For those of you in the St. Louis area who’d like to feel some of that magic of meeting fellow Sonic fans in person, I bring excellent news. Sonic St. Louis has finalized its meetup details for the very first meet that will be held by the group; it is open to the public and all Sonic fans who are nearby are welcome to attend. Day: September 28th Time: Noon Location: In front of (not inside, so you do not need to buy tickets for the show that day) The Pageant, Delmar Loop (the same venue that Sonic Boom 2013 was at) Overview: Being a meetup, there are no formal events planned; fans may show up when they wish and leave when they wish. Fans will meet in front of the Pageant for nostalgia's sake, before proceeding to do whatever they like. The main point of an inaugural meetup is to meet fellow fans in person and hopefully make some new friends! It will be up to those present what they wish to do. There’s no shortage of activities on the Delmar Loop, so above all, attendees are sure to have fun! It’s suggested those in attendance wear a Sonic shirt or other similar piece of merchandise so you can identify other attendees. Attendees are welcome to bring fans who they feel would enjoy the event, as well! Feel free to announce your attendance or otherwise discuss stuff related to the event in this thread! |
| Find a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | MAKE a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | |
|
|
|
| Ogilvie | Sep 22 2013, 11:26 AM Post #11 |
|
Angel Island Act 2
|
https://www.facebook.com/events/1412673555626472/ For those fans in the London area, I bring excellent news! Sonic London has scheduled its next meetup on November 30th at the Iron Duke, Victoria in London! The event will be held upstairs, which the venue owners have generously allowed to be used specifically for the meetup. As with every meetup, it's several hours of chatting, gaming, drinking, and overall having tons of fun! It is suggested attendees bring: -Money -3DSes/Vitas/iPhones or other mobile gaming devices -Drawing materials |
| Find a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | MAKE a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | |
|
|
|
| Ravenfreak | Sep 23 2013, 05:13 PM Post #12 |
Sonic and Raven! :3
|
I wish I can go to this but unfortunately I have to work that day and won't be able to make it. However I will try to go sometime in the future if we can plan another meetup date, and I would love for that to happen. Have fun to those who are going here, I don't know if there are any other members from this area here I might be the only one here. 
|
| Come check out the net's first fan forum dedicated to Mighty No. 9! We are growing every day! Fans and backers of the project are all welcome. PM me on the board if you are a backer and I'll promote you to the Backer group ASAP! We have over 3,000 posts and 141 members currently! | |
|
|
|
| Ogilvie | Sep 23 2013, 11:08 PM Post #13 |
|
Angel Island Act 2
|
No issues, Raven! I figured a lot of folks wouldn't be able to go due to short notice... I will definitely be suggesting to the admin of the group that he do as HelenBaby of Sonic London does and schedule meetups about two-three months in advance so people have plenty of notice to take the time off.
|
| Find a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | MAKE a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | |
|
|
|
Cee Jay Haych
|
Sep 24 2013, 09:29 AM Post #14 |
"I didn't use the whole thing ...."
|
Moderator note: All the 'Meetup' topics have now been combined into a single topic, If you wish to post about any new meetups then please do so here, do not create a new topic. |
|
|
|
| Ogilvie | Sep 24 2013, 04:07 PM Post #15 |
|
Angel Island Act 2
|
It is my belief that perhaps the biggest stumbling block in forming a meetup group is the initiative to actually found the “watering hole” that members can gather around, whether a Twitter, Facebook, website, etc. As for hosting actual meetups, I’m noticing a recurring trend: the democratic approach can be rather cumbersome. When time is of the essence, trying to get the attention of every member for a good time and date is rather chaotic… I think making an executive decision (possibly with the help of a few close co-organisers) on the matter is really best. It goes without saying that meetups should be announced with at least one or two months’ notice, like what Sonic London does; it allows people to take time off and allows for much greater turnout. Now, as for that first issue, I have a treat. I’ve decided to launch something I call “Operation: Springyard.” (Little pun; a spring is a succession of revolutions while Spring Yard... well, you get that one I think) Basically, rather than waiting for groups to form themselves, I’ve been starting the groups instead, all over the place; the idea is that people will find them and join, and given time, I can hand the reins over to someone else. It’s basically the equivalent of an economic stimulus for a business to get off the ground until it can become self-sufficient. To start I’ve hit three of the larger US states: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SonicTexas - Texas! https://www.facebook.com/groups/SonicIL/ - Illinois! https://www.facebook.com/groups/SonicPA - Pennsylvania! If you join, do not hesitate to invite your friends as well; the more turnout these can get the more successful they will be. Every person helps! |
| Find a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | MAKE a gathering of Sonic fans in your area! | |
|
|
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Act II: Sonic's Moonlit Realm · Next Topic » |
| Track Topic · E-mail Topic |
 4:56 PM Jul 24
|
Hosted for free by ZetaBoards