> I wonder what the science is behind creating a successful, sustainable meetup. I've been running meetups since ~2005/6, co-founded a few, and currently run t

> I wonder what the science is behind creating a successful, sustainable meetup. I've been running meetups since ~2005/6, co-founded a few, and currently run the AustinAPI meetup. I've found that the single most important thing is having something of value. Education and relationships are the best with food and swag far behind. People want to know that they'll go and either a) learn something or b) enjoy the other people, everything else should support those. Immediately after that is consistency. If you have a given night of the month, location, and theme, stick to it. It will help the "regulars" know when, where, and how to find you. If you shuffle around the night or location, you'll inevitably run into "well, I was there on Tuesday, where was everyone!?" (And notice that harms the relationship point above.) After that, I try to nudge the group members occasionally. If there's a group discussion list/forum, share a relevant article once a week. If there's a group twitter account, retweet that article or relevant events. When a member writes a blog post or does a presentation - in your group or elsewhere - celebrate them.