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'Speed friending' events

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Re: 'Speed friending' events

#71
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've often thought about having a 'meet' tab in the top bar, alongside 'ask' and 'show' and 'jobs', where people could post meetups. HN has connected a lot of people over the years, both with each other and with significant opportunities. It would be nice to foster more real-world connections. Edit: not a new idea - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1310849

Sounds good, or we could also try having an automatic thread on the 1st/14th(?) of the month, like the hiring ones.

This is a terrific idea and I’d love to see it.

The format of a regular post wherein people could post which city (or virtual space) they’re in and up to meet in x place at y time open to replies would seem to feel the most in HN spirit.

The regularity of a post and the lack of a formalized format would go a long way to make it casual and low effort. This is important as I think the more formal meetup with PowerPoint in company office looking to hire is not something I’d like to see repeated. This could be something different.

Re: 'Speed friending' events

#72
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds good, or we could also try having an automatic thread on the 1st/14th(?) of the month, like the hiring ones.

Yes, that would be a more organic way to start.

I attended a Hacker News-adjacent meetup event at a pizza place in Osaka a few years ago. I'm not a "hacker" but it was a nice way to meet smart/lonely/bored people in a region where they are isolated enough to make meetup events really meaningful. I hope this kind of thing sees a resurgence post-COVID.

Re: 'Speed friending' events

#73
post #60
post #20

Over the past few years on HN I've periodically seen a nice exchange between people saying "if anyone is in Austin and wants to get a beer, let me know." There's normally a response or two. I wonder how many of these people actually meet up? And is HN good (or not) for this purpose? Seems like readers/commenters here could easily have a lot in common, so why couldn't HN be used as a platform for 'speed friending.' Bu…

I've often thought about having a 'meet' tab in the top bar, alongside 'ask' and 'show' and 'jobs', where people could post meetups. HN has connected a lot of people over the years, both with each other and with significant opportunities. It would be nice to foster more real-world connections. Edit: not a new idea - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1310849

This sounds like it could provide a lot of value to many users, would love to see something like this! I had a service once that I tried to get a few people to use for this purpose, but having a lightweight one on the website itself would definitely be the best option imo.

Re: 'Speed friending' events

#74
post #20

Over the past few years on HN I've periodically seen a nice exchange between people saying "if anyone is in Austin and wants to get a beer, let me know." There's normally a response or two. I wonder how many of these people actually meet up? And is HN good (or not) for this purpose? Seems like readers/commenters here could easily have a lot in common, so why couldn't HN be used as a platform for 'speed friending.' Bu…

Just responding to say that I'm down to meet up with anyone in Austin, check out my profile/website to see if you may be interested!

Re: 'Speed friending' events

#75
post #20

Over the past few years on HN I've periodically seen a nice exchange between people saying "if anyone is in Austin and wants to get a beer, let me know." There's normally a response or two. I wonder how many of these people actually meet up? And is HN good (or not) for this purpose? Seems like readers/commenters here could easily have a lot in common, so why couldn't HN be used as a platform for 'speed friending.' Bu…

I wouldn't have thought HN would be particularly good for this purpose. That said though, we just came out of a 77 day lock-down today, so if there's anybody in south-east Melbourne...

Inner West / CBD Sydney here...

Re: 'Speed friending' events

#76
post #64
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Literally enslaved? What do you mean by enslaved?

Yes. Sponsored to work in this country by his sister. The brother in law owned a few restaurants. My dad was made to work by family pressure. It was reported he was making x amount to the government to keep him here but he never saw the money. He 'worked' for a few years like this He was driven to various Indian restaurant locations in southern California. Forced to work more than eight hours a day, then driven back…

Dam that's brutal, to think that slavery can still happen here and now via essentially blackmail.

Re: 'Speed friending' events

#77

I've always wanted a "friending" site. Basically a dating site, but to make friends. I work from home, have a couple of online friends that share the same interests as me, but none of my real-world friends do. I tried a couple of these apps, but I always felt the "friend" had ulterior motives. One friend I connected to, tried to sell me on investments, another I'm fairly certain was trying to hook up as if this were…

This is Meetup.com. (Or was before the pandemic; most groups I've looked at still haven't resumed, and who knows when the hysteria will ever subside.) It is easier to find people that share your interests and make them friends, than to make your friends share your interests. Meetup and perhaps local Facebook groups are the way in to that.

Meetup events (at least the ones I've been to) seems to be coming back online (UK Brighton area). Shameless plug for Flock #10 for anyone around Shoreham - one of the reasons to like it is the "No Selling!" rule.

[0] https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/helloflock/

Re: 'Speed friending' events

#79

What is it about us and society that has moved us in a continually more isolating direction instead of getting better at forming connections. Aren't we more connected now by many orders of magnitude than all previous generations? Are we not able to handle these quick/cheap interactions and do they cause harm instead of satisfaction? Have we replaced meaningful, non-work human interaction with apps that seem to do the…

There’s too much easy entertainment. People who were bored often had other people as their primary form of entertainment, now it’s much easier to turn on the tv or go to something on the internet. This has been happening for a hundred years, and younger generations increasingly lose the habits of their elders.

Also architecture of our houses and cities does not favor that kind of social interaction. People sacrifice space for cost but that just makes the cost per area go up.

Re: 'Speed friending' events

#80
post #20

Over the past few years on HN I've periodically seen a nice exchange between people saying "if anyone is in Austin and wants to get a beer, let me know." There's normally a response or two. I wonder how many of these people actually meet up? And is HN good (or not) for this purpose? Seems like readers/commenters here could easily have a lot in common, so why couldn't HN be used as a platform for 'speed friending.' Bu…

There were definitely a bunch of HN gatherings in the early days with great turnouts.
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