Tech Meetups Networking

People talking about all the parties they throw and I'm struggling to make proper friends at Meetups.

It's just another avenue to meet people. IME, real life meetups is still better.

- There are currently no presentations. There have been discussions about adding them in the future (right Dave?).- Everyone is very social. There are usually circles of conversations going and people bounce around between them. I have never encountered anyone unfriendly. I usually meet 10-20 people and have worthwhile conversations with 4-8.- At its core its a networking event. From it, I have personally made new friends that I collaborate with and hang out with on a pretty regular basis

If you don't mind, could you share a bit about those meetups with unstructured conversation? I would like to attend something like that, some keywords to look for would be helpful.

I had the same problem. And for the meeting part if solved this problem by creating drop!in, a nearby event happening now app. An example from the other day, I was walking home from work, refreshed the app and realized there is a free Accenture-led API workshop just a few hundred meters nearby. Walked over had free Pizza and beers and had a nice chat with the local MD of the Accenture Digital Lab. This week we will meetup for lunch. So in my opinion, it's not a problem of meeting people, it

Why do we need conferences, wouldn't a meetup be better?

Can someone who has attended past meetups post some thoughts and impressions? "Great time, very friendly people", "Met lots of like-minded individuals to network with", etc.

Meeting new people is underrated.

what are the most interested things that you just learn after going to the meetup?

This sounds great, my only concern would be where can I find these meetups? How can I interact with these people?