MeetUp Spaces Presentation

MEETUPGARY HENKLEDAN YANGGRACE HONG

SPACES

OWNERHAS VENUE

NEED GUESTS

ORGANIZERHAS GUESTS NEED VENUE

CURRENT SITUATION

BUT I DON’T KNOW YOU EXIST

AND YOU DON’T KNOW I EXIST

CURRENT PROBLEM

WE CAN EXIST

AT MEETUP

SOLUTION

OWNERPROMOTE venue SEARCH for events/organizers CONTACT event organizers COORDINATE booking events

ORGANIZERPROMOTE needs for venue SEARCH for venue CONTACT venue owners COORDINATE booking venue

GOALS TO CONNECTYES

YES

SPACE OWNERS: • MEETUP IS UNSURE OF WHETHER OR NOT TO CHARGE THEM • MEETUP IS UNSURE OF WHETHER OR NOT THEY CAN CHARGE ORGANIZERS A

BOOKING FEE.

ORGANIZERS: • MEETUP CHARGES THEM AT DIFFERENT LEVELS BASED ON THEIR NEEDS. • THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FINDING/BOOKING THEIR OWN SPACE. • THEY CAN CHOOSE TO CHARGE GUESTS ATTENDING EVENTS.

GUESTS:• MAY OR MAY NOT BE CHARGED WHEN ATTENDING EVENTS.

ASPECTS TO CONSIDER

PROCESSSURVEYS TOPIC MAPPING INTERVIEWS PERSONAS COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS SKETCHING REITERATION

WIREFRAMING PROTOTYPING TESTING X 2 REITERATION X 2 CURRENT PROTOTYPE NEXT STEPS

• In the last 6 months, how many professional and social group events have you attended?

• In the last 6 months, have you paid to attend any professional or social group events?

• Where have you attended professional or social group events?

• In the last 6 months, how many professional and social group events have you organized?

• In the last 6 months, how many times have you rented out your property/space for a

professional or social group event?

• What apps/website have you used to create/attend professional or social group events?

SURVEY QUESTIONS

VERY ACTIVENOT AT ALL


Attending Events

Organizing Events


Renting Event Space

50 Participants Surveyed:

10 Interviewees Chosen

ACTIVEto

VERY ACTIVEInterviewees

SURVEY RESULTS

TOPIC MAPPINGSetting the foundation for interview questions

FIELD RESEARCH • Interviews took place throughout New York City• Contextual Inquiry done of Local Events and Small Event Venues• Deeper insight to pain/pleasure points of Organizers and Venue Owners

AFFINITY MAPPING(INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM INTERVIEWS)

• PAIN/PLEASURE POINTS • OVERLAPPING THEMES • EXISTING VOIDS • POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITIES

KEY PHRASES FROM AFFINITY MAPPING FOR PERSONAS

WORD OF MOUTHIS VIEWED AS RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY.

LAST MINUTE PLANNINGHAPPENS REPEATEDLY AND IT CAN BE FRUSTRATING.

LOCATION MATTERSLOCATION AFFECTS GUEST ATTENDANCE.

LEARNING CURVENEW EVENT/NEW VENUE REQUIRES TRAINING.

ORGANIZER

FIND VENUES THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH, FROM THEIR OWN KNOWLEDGE AND PREVIOUS

EXPERIENCE WITH VENUES, ONLINE SEARCHES, AND COLD-CALLING.

OWNER

FIND INTERESTED PARTIES THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH, THIRD-PARTY LISTING SITES, AND COLD-CALLING.

PAIN POINTSFROM AFFINITY MAPPING FOR USER STORIES

PERSONASAND

USER STORIES

Age 28 Director of Student

Programming at Hilly Mountain College

ZANE

HMC

WANTS: Zane wants to improve the quality of events hosted at HMC. He would like to connect the varying student organizations at HMC with currently trending speakers and popular entertainment to promote more engagement on campus. He wants to build a relationship with hosts/agencies so that coordinating future searches/bookings goes smoothly and quickly.

NEEDS: He needs a convenient way to search and contact these interesting speakers and popular entertainment. He also needs a way to filter through and screen groups that are looking to book venues within the HMC campus.

EXPECTATIONS: Zane is expecting to gain a list of excellent candidates for guest speakers and entertainment to contact/book that have been reviewed by other organizations.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLES: He may potentially be overwhelmed by the large number of options and have trouble narrowing down his choices. He could also be overwhelmed by the work involved in coordinating multiple events simultaneously. There is also the possibility that he will find only a small selection that aligns with the reputation of HMC.

POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES: He could save time and energy during his search for speakers/entertainment and establish long-lasting relationships with quality hosts/agencies.

Age 40 Associate Manager of

LaBraka Museum

MICHELLE

WANTS: Michelle wants to maintain a strong relationship with her current vendors. She would like to increase the diversity of guests and groups who attend LaBraka events. The increase in staff hirings due to large weekend crowds requires additional staff training.

NEEDS: Michelle needs a way to reach a larger and more diverse audience. She also needs to find a way to prioritize guests and maximize existing space for the busy weekends.

EXPECTATIONS: Michelle expects access to a wider audience. She expects a way to manage guests and minimize overflow on weekends while gaining attendance on weekdays.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLES: Michelle acknowledges that people might not want to come out on weeknights. Additionally, LaBraka has a solidified image in the community and diverse audience groups may be not be aware of LaBraka’s efforts to change it.

POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES: A wider and more diverse audience for the museum. Opportunity to keep fill the venue on weekdays while maintaining the weekend crowds.

LaBraka

Age 32 Interior Designer of SPAM

Architecture

VINCENT

WANTS: Vincent wants to book a venue at the last minute, usually about five days or less before the event is to take place. He would like the venue to be able to accommodate a large party of guests, one that feels familiar and comfortable to him, and he doesn’t want to exert any extra effort because of his busy schedule

NEEDS: When planning an event, Vincent needs face to face interaction with a point person at the venue, one who is willing to do a lot of hand-holding throughout the process. While generally comfortable with technology, when in a time-crunch he works better with a low-tech solution. In the absence of a point person, he would need a reservation system that is simple and requires as few steps as possible.

EXPECTATIONS: He expects the venue owner or salesperson to guide him in a friendly and non-aggressive manner, with no hard sells or financial pressures. The location needs to be close to his friends and family in a yuppie neighborhood, and he would like the venue to have nice amenities. He doesn’t mind if other parts of the venue are open to other guests while his event occurs.

POTENTIAL OBSTACLES: No venues that meet his expectations are available at the time he needs them. Bookings are more expensive when made at the last minute.

POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES: Access to an online directory of venues where he can search for last-minute availability.

SPAM

KEEPING ALL THREE PERSONASIN MIND, WE LOOK TO PROVIDE…

VISIBILITY TRANSPARENCY SIMPLICITY

for owners and organizers on meetup.com

in owner and organization

goals and communication

in owner and organization finding each other and maintaining communication

http://meetup.com

COMPETITIVEANALYSIS

ANALYSISFOCUSED ON THE FOLLOWING:

• FEATURE OFFERINGS • PRIORITIZATION OF SEARCH FILTERS • PAGE LAYOUTS

COMMON AND DISTINGUISHING FEATURES FOUND AMONGST COMPETITORS

DISCOVERY PATHS AND

SEARCH FILTERS

SEARCH FILTERS

PRIORITIZED

Venue Type

# AttendingBudget

Date

PriceSize

Image

Venue TypePrice

Inquire

Inquire

InquireImage

Image(s)

Map

Map

Favorite

Favorite

SKETCHES

Adding Extra Button to Homepage

Subcategories

Display of filters: sliders, checkboxes, calendar

Adjusting User Flow of Owner from Homepage

USER FLOWSVENUE OWNER

START

FINISH

Version 1

START

FINISH

Version 2

WIREFRAMES

QUESTIONSBALANCING SIGNIFICANCE OF NEW FEATURE (PROVIDE SPACE) WITH MAIN PURPOSE OF EXISTING SITE.

INITIAL HOMEPAGE WIREFRAMES

REITERATIONPROVIDE BUTTON LESS SIGNIFICANT THAN EXISTING BUTTONS: FIND, LAUNCH

EDITED HOMEPAGE WIREFRAME

REITERATIONCOPY EDITED, BUTTON MOVED TO TOP RIGHT CORNER, BUTTON IS SMALLER- MORE ALIGNED WITH BRAND GOALS

CURRENT HOMEPAGE WIREFRAME

INTENTIONS: • Provide user with a dashboard to

give control of Meetup experience

VERSION 1: VENUE OWNER DASHBOARD

USER TESTING: • Too focused on external viewers • didn’t act like a dashboard • “Listings” confused some users • “About” seemed unnecessary

CHANGES: • Simplified to “Bookings” and “Messages” • Removed “Listings” to Header


USER TESTING: • Messaging notifications caused confusion • “Bookings” is odd wording • Still a lot of information about yourself


CHANGES: • Simplified information displayed about user • Moved to Header

• “Bookings” changed to “Booked Events” • More prominent notifications in messages

NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE READING GROUP

New York, NYFounded May 6, 2007

ORGANIZERS

BonnieJohn

GlennSid

TammyPHillip

INTERESTS

Performing ArtsTheatre

Performance ActingActing Workshops

LiteraturePlay Reading

MembersUpcoming MeetupsPast MeetupsCalendarGroup ReviewsGroup Rating

GROUP PHOTOS

83512294

42

EVENT PHOTOS

UPCOMING MEETUPS PAST MEETUPS

JOIN GROUP

VENUE NEEDED

SEND INQUIRY

NY Shakespeare Reading Group is

currently in need of two large event spaces for the

month of April to showcase modern performances by

John Glenn & Tasia Jakobsen.

MORE DETAILS


NY Shakespeare Reading Group is currently in need of two large event spaces for the month of April to showcase modern performances by John Glenn & Tasia Jakobsen.… more.









VENUE TYPE:VENUE SIZE:MAX CAPACITY:OTHER VENDORS:





ORGANIZERS

BonnieJohn

GlennSid

TammyPHillip

INTERESTS




ABOUT US

GROUP DETAILS

VENUE NEEDS RATINGS & REVIEWS







SEND INQUIRY

SEND INQUIRY

NY Shakespeare Reading Group a

collective of actors, writers,

comedians, musicians, artists, and dancers that are interested in getting together

to read Shakespeare's plays out loud

and collaborate on performances.

FOUNDEDMay 6, 2007

NEW YORK, NY

835 MEMBERS

UNUSED WIREFRAMES - 1


New York, NYFounded May 6, 2007

ORGANIZERS

BonnieJohn

GlennSid

TammyPHillip

INTERESTS




MembersUpcoming MeetupsPast MeetupsCalendarGroup ReviewsGroup Rating

GROUP PHOTOS

83512294

42

EVENT PHOTOS

UPCOMING MEETUPS PAST MEETUPS

JOIN GROUP

VENUE NEEDED

SEND INQUIRY

NY Shakespeare Reading Group is

currently in need of two large event spaces for the

month of April to showcase modern performances by

John Glenn & Tasia Jakobsen.

MORE DETAILS
















ORGANIZERS

BonnieJohn

GlennSid

TammyPHillip

INTERESTS




ABOUT US

GROUP DETAILS

VENUE NEEDS RATINGS & REVIEWS







SEND INQUIRY

SEND INQUIRY

NY Shakespeare Reading Group a

collective of actors, writers,

comedians, musicians, artists, and dancers that are interested in getting together

to read Shakespeare's plays out loud

and collaborate on performances.

FOUNDEDMay 6, 2007

NEW YORK, NY

835 MEMBERS

UNUSED WIREFRAMES - 1

Intended for Groups to show Venue Owners that they are interested and looking for event venues.

SIDEBARMORE DETAILS ButtonSEND INQUIRY Button

VENUE NEEDS TabRATINGS & REVIEWS Tab

UNUSED WIREFRAME - 2


Intended for Venue Owners to search and filter for Events posted by Organizers

HIDDEN FILTER BAR:-FILTER SLIDERS

-DROP-DOWN CALENDAR-DROP-DOWN CHECKBOXES

MAPFEATURED EVENT MESSAGE BANNER

RATINGS



Intended for Venue Owners and Organizers to find Guest Speakers to collaborate with via

Directory format

INFORMATIONCONTACT INFORMATION

CHAT OPTION

PROTOTYPEhttp://invis.io/DY2Q1604P

http://invis.io/DY2Q1604P

MOVING FORWARD

• EXPANDING DIRECTORIES

• LEGAL & FINANCIAL CONCERNS (NATIVE PAYMENT OPTIONS)

• INCORPORATING VENDORS

• AFFILIATE MARKETING & STATISTICS

PRESENTATIONSLIDES

GARYHENKLE

DANYANG

GRACEHONG

“NEIGHBORS GETTING TOGETHER… “

POSSIBILITIES

NEW MARKETS

OWNER I have a venue for your events and guests. I need events and guests for my venue.

ORGANIZER I have events and guests for your venue

I need a venue for my events and guests.

VENUE

CONNECTING NEEDS AND GOALS

“Where it began…”

SURVEY OF LOCAL EVENT STAKEHOLDERS

TOPIC MAPPING

Setting the foundation for our User Interviews

TOPIC MAPPING

Personas emerging already: GUESTS, HOSTS, VENUE OWNERS

KEY QUESTIONS FROM USER INTERVIEWS

-Can you describe the last event you were at?

- What was the process for securing a space for an event? - The steps, the cost, the responsibilities?

- Why do you host events?

- What services/apps/tools did you use to host an event? - What were the reasons for using those particular tools?”

? ? ?

-What problems did you run into when trying to find space for an event?

-How did you find organizers to fill your event space in the past? -What problems did you run into when trying to find organizers?

FIELD RESEARCH

STARTING TO SEE …

• PAIN AND

PLEASURE POINTS

• OVERLAPPING THEMES

• VOIDS & OPPORTUNITIES

EXPLORING KEY PHRASES FOR PERSONAS

WORD OF MOUTHIS VIEWED AS RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY.

LAST MINUTE PLANNINGHAPPENS REPEATEDLY AND IT CAN BE FRUSTRATING.

LOCATION MATTERSLOCATION AFFECTS GUEST ATTENDANCE.

LEARNING CURVENEW EVENT/NEW VENUE REQUIRES TRAINING.

PERSONASPERSONASPERSONAS

ZANE

MICHELLE

VINCENT

PERSONAS

• Last Minute • PlanningOrganizer

Owner• Learning Curve

• Learning Curve • Word of Mouth

LaBraka

SPAM

OwnerOrganizer

HMC

ZANE Owner/Organizer

• Director of Student Programming • Hilly Mountain College

Age 28

Experience working in Special Events and recently joined HMC 4 months ago.

WANTS: • TO CONNECT STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS WITH TRENDING

SPEAKERS AND POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT.

• TO FILL VENUES ON CAMPUS TO GENERATE MONEY FOR STUDENT PROGRAMMING.

NEEDS: • A CONVENIENT WAY TO SEARCH ORGANIZATIONS.

• TO FILTER GROUPS LOOKING TO BOOK VENUES.

POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES: • SAVE TIME AND ENGERY.

• ESTABLISH LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS WITH GROUPS.

ZANE’S STORY

KEEPING IN MIND OUR

VISIBILITY FOR ALL

TRANSPARENCY BETWEEN

SIMPLICITY FOR ALL

KEEPING THEM IN MIND, WE LOOK FOR …

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

FINDING COMMON AND

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES AMONGST

COMPETITORS

=

=

=

E

F

Y

E F

Y

UNDERSTANDING THE DISCOVERY

PATH OF EACH COMPETITOR

SITE

=

=

=

S

E

A

S

E

A

Venue Type

# AttendingBudget

Date

PriceSize

Image

Venue TypePrice

Inquire

Inquire

InquireImage

Image(s)

Map

Map

Favorite

Favorite

S

E

A

BASED ON PLACEMENT,

SIZE, AND NAVIGATION

SEARCHHEIRARCHY

DISCOVERED OF EACH

COMPETITOR

=

=

=

S

E

A

FOCUS of Initial Sketches

MODIFY existing homepage

NEW search button(s)/filter(s)

CREATE subcategories

FILTERS New Layout

REITERATE User Flows

*ISSUES:

Homepage -Find a venue -List a venue -Owner dashboard

- How do we prioritize space and venue owners? - How do we stay true to Meetup’s primary prioritization? - Started by having equal priorities

- Meetup prioritizes guests and event organizers first - Understand what the site is based on vs a feature of that site

Venue Owner Dashboard V1 Intentions: - Provide user with a dashboard to give control of Meetup experience User Testing: - Too focused on external viewers

- didn’t act like a dashboard - “Listings” confused some users - “About” seemed unnecessary

Venue Owner Dashboard V2 Changes: - Simplified to “Bookings” and “Messages”

- Removed “Listings” to Header User Testing: - Messaging notifications caused confusion - “Bookings” is odd wording - Still a lot of information about yourself Issues to Address: - Prioritize information provided to user, not about user

Venue Owner Dashboard V3 Changes: - Simplified information

displayed about user - Moved to Header

- “Bookings” changed to “Booked Events”

- More prominent notifications in messages

http://invis.io/DY2Q1604P

MOVING FORWARD

• EXPANDING DIRECTORIES

• LEGAL & FINANCIAL CONCERNS (NATIVE PAYMENT OPTIONS)

• INCORPORATING VENDORS

• AFFILIATE MARKETING & STATISTICS

MeetUp Spaces Presentation

Design

social group events

events organizer

attending events

local events

quality of events

venue search

venue goals

venue need guests organizer