The difference is in the (member) details. Gatherings.social puts the local members’ profile and preferences first. Standard Event offerings – sort out the event first – then try to find people to go.
The original thoughts on the need I saw were
Then I got to thinking that they can make an algorithm to match humans to each other. So why not make a site to match humans to events and let the chemistry happen from there? I also wanted it to be completely private. No swiping or hunter mentality.
I knew I had to build it. Join us!
The Create a Gathering process starts with an overview of the data you (and many others – the aggregate or collection – stats - only) have shared about yourself. The site helps to sort what you would like to do then the event host and venue operators drill down on specific member details until a gathering is proposed. An invite is sent the members the gathering was curated for. Then those who elect to go will be greeted and introduced to the others in some ice breaker games and let the fun begin!
Gatherings.social is a social club event matching platform.
But – well – yes – and mostly no. It’ll be what you make of it according to your goals.
The original impetus was to offer a more private and in person experience for people looking to meet a mate. But it quickly became apparent that the site could open a lot of opportunities for everyone looking to make new friends and join in on fun things to do.
Further along in the profile building tool there is a section which allows you to set ‘dating’ preferences for what you’d like in a match. This is completely optional.
Yes. And there are no further costs for messaging.
Members can message each other once they’ve met and have exchanged member IDs.
The homepage has a button to ‘message a member’. To message anyone, you will need to be logged in, have the other person’s Member ID and indicate where you met. An introductory message will go to the person you’re wanting to connect with. The recipient will either accept the connection or – not. Hopefully you’ll have a good time getting to know each other before you meet at your next gathering. Note that nothing about your profile is accessible except your profile photo. We take your privacy seriously. The messaging function is provided so you have a chance to get to know each other more without any cellphone reverse lookup challenges.
That’s a tough one. A notification via email and within the app will indicate there is a message waiting. We really hope there is an open and enthusiastic reply coming your way.
That may not be so.
Really the next move is up to you. We don’t list the members who will be at the next gathering you choose to go to. The potential is the next time you meet it’ll be cleared up. Or you will meet someone else you’d really like to get to know better. At least you’ll have fun doing something with other great people.
Gatherings.social is a new approach specifically for people who want to get out from in front of a screen and doing the things we enjoy or learning to do new things. Once you meet people and grow to be friends, you’re welcome to share all your social channels. For here and for now, we are only looking at the data you provide to suggest possible gatherings.
There is no algorithm that suggests you’d actually match with another person. There’s so much more to us all than computation and swipes.
In the MVP, we’re looking to see if people believe this as much as we do and are really excited about the opportunity to join the fun. As we grow, many new features will be added to increase match potentials. Wait for it – no don’t – get out there, have fun and show others who you really are!
Nothing.
They will get your first name and member ID to identify you when you arrive at a gathering. It’s not clear as we launch if we’d provide your profile pic. Probably.
Otherwise, the only thing they’ll know is the aggregate (collection of) data for all the members. From there it’s just a matter of setting criteria for the gathering and send invites to the members who meet the parameters of the event.
One of the major goals of this innovative approach to creating the many ways to bring people together is to support a better more integrated community. The social infrastructure you provide is a massive part of that. Gatherings.social will make that easier, faster and more rewarding.
With Gatherings.social the intension is to share economic opportunities to offer a platform to better market your hosted events, support you as you venture into a side gig or enhance and grow your business.
My background is all focused on community economic development. I am driven to build strong social and economic ties. I believe that this site’s offerings will only do well if you do well. I look forward to a rewarding future – together.
This is completely up to you.
And pricing is hard - trust me.
The first thing you need to consider is paying you and any staff first. Set a rate and stick to it. Then you will need to consider:
One of the first additions to the site post-launch will be a calculator to help fix your gatherings fees.
We will have a feature that will allow you to see registered event hosts or venue operators to work with. It may be possible they will charge you nothing for the venue with food and beverage costs covered. We will also make your services available to the venue operators if you choose.
We all want to work together.
As we launch, you will need to collect applicable taxes.
As a third party we’re not easily setup to help with this. We are quickly working on a solution though – hang tight.
You will also be responsible for your income tax declarations.
It’s simple. We will receive $1 for every member who attends your event PLUS 2% on the whole of your revenue after your event meets the minimum you have set as required to host the event.
Note that you are free to continue to hold the event even if the minimum is not reached. We just won’t ask for a share in your work if you’re just meeting costs.
Pretty much anything goes.
Anything that brings people together with shared general demographics, interests and goals is an event. We don’t provide the video conferencing but you are free to list virtual events as well.
Here’s the current list of activities members can say they’d like to do.
Not at all. It's your thing.
The only thing we will ask is that you clearly label your wayfinding with the Gatherings.social logo. Members will need to find you easily.
Having a visible logo with your referral ID could really add to your referral rewards as well. I mean, if I saw a bunch of people having fun and saw the logo I’d search for it online and join right then and there.
There is an option to add your offering to a list that others in your radius would be able to see. They’d select from a list and message you directly.
Barring any administrative snafu or STRIPE payout waiting period, our internal mechanism to pay your ticket costs (less our admin fees) would be 24-48 hours after the event.
You will see an account tab in your profile to see what the amount should be to verify your payment.
Let’s try to be fair and recognize that stuff happens.
When you cancel – all tickets you sold will be fully refunded.
You’ll want to consider if the minimum number of attendees is met or if you’re prepared to hold the gathering regardless. Sometimes, it just takes a few great experiences reported out on social media to get more attendees to the next big thing you do!
In the next version upgrade absolutely.
You’re also free to connect on social media about your event with a little credit to the site please! There is no issue building your following and creating more referral reward opportunities.
First – the answer provided here is not intended a legal advice. We simply cannot provide any specific answer – just a bit of general information so you’re best able to make smart decisions.
Then – the short answer is no. Gatherings.social does not provide liability coverage. Gatherings.social is in all ways not responsible for and has no liability for what members do off the platform. Further, every user of the site has agreed to our Terms and User Agreement which contains a general release of liability for any liability associated with the site and any gathering, event, activity, or trip.
As an Event Host or Venue Operator, you are very much encouraged to have a liability waiver for yourself and/or your organization. Primarily this is because we make the agreement between Meetup and each member and is not an agreement directly between an organizer and any other user. You would need to include the details of the waiver or release like date, location, and activity. Then you’ll need to secure a release containing the nature and activity plus what kinds of issues the release is meant to address. The form can be provided as members embark on whatever adventure you have in store. Keep in mind, many venues will carry insurance on people using their facility. And that liability can change depending on how you sell your skills and experience as well as the role you undertake at a gathering. This generally means that if an event host ‘sells’ themselves as an expert orienteer and takes on the role of leading a hiking group up a mountain may be subject to different liability than a non-expert.
Many sites freely offer a waiver template which you can use to ensure everyone is on the same page.
You may contact us here.
At launch, there is no free access.
As you start the registration process, a $5(US) deposit is required to nominally verify a registrant’s identity. It’s first source of the security features we will use to reduce spam, bots and scammers.
This deposit will be used to reduce fees once you choose your plan, see Pricing.
The gatherings created by the Event Hosts and Venue Operators almost always will have a charge based on their actual costs. The site is open to free things to do though. That will be completely decided by the people hosting the gathering.
As your referral rewards can be actually paid out, paying for the annual subscription could in fact mean that you pay nothing for your membership (refer 10+ people).
That said, pricing strategy is hard – especially in a startup. And quite a bit harder when a generous referral reward is offered. With a core objective of everyone doing well when Gatherings.social does well the referral reward had to be offered in a simple to understand, fair and transparent way.
I honestly hope you do very well and have many years of referral rewards to make paying for your membership worth it!
For your membership dues there is a no refund policy. Please contact [email protected] if you require more information. Naturally, you can stop using the app at any time.
Please see the Refund and Cancellation Policy agreed to as you registered with Gatherings.social
For you to cancel attending a gathering
We will return the fees collected according to this timing:
The event host or venue operator will receive the balance.
If someone else takes the seat you gave up, we will return all your initial payment.
For the Event Host or Venue Operator to cancel a gathering
All event fees will be returned to your account.
For Gatherings to work we need to work hard to get people to know about the innovation and join the fun.
When you tell people about Gatherings.social our curated events, adventures or happenings and share your Referral ID, you're helping to build the excitement and the app. This is why you will receive a Referral Reward for everyone who signs up using your ID. They will get a discount as well! See the Price List to remain aware of the rewards according to your selected plan.
This program builds in loyalty rewards too. As long as you remain a member/user and the person referred does too, the referral bonus will accrue with every annual renewal - for three years. You will be able to: CASH IN – by applying the credit to an event cost OR CASH OUT – by requesting the funds be applied to your credit card.
*Note while the loyalty rewards will be in place for 3 years, we reserve the right to end the referral rewards program without notice.
You may contact us here.
The site itself has been designed to be safe. I’m a privacy-phob – so many layers of security have been undertaken to make it as safe as possible. Essential to this is that no one can view your profile without somehow accessing your login details and defeating the 2-step authentication process.
The site doesn’t allow any random member of the public to view our members or other users of Gatherings.social. No interface has been built to see you on it. Not even by other members, event hosts or venue operators.
Vital in this is the understanding that your member ID and referral ID are very different for a reason.
I’m hoping you will broadcast the referral ID to everyone you know so you can generate referral rewards and others get a discount. If you slip up – we can change your member ID but the internet is kind of forever. If you share in a way your personal details are open to the world you may get a lot of nuisance messages, but no one will see your profile.
That’s what we’re building. Yes.
That said, being in public and meeting with new people carries with it its own set of precautions you would normally take to avoid random or unsafe things. Like most
There really is no need. Your location is only used to help geo-position you for a gathering listing. Otherwise, it is not visible. You’d have to give it to someone for it to be known.
In my humble opinion, sites that offer free membership are a haven for nefarious operators and fake profiles.
At Gatherings.social we’re developing something new and hope that those that are with us want these pitfalls eliminated too. With our site, every registrant will need to provide a credit card number to initially verify their identify. We’re aware that this is only an initial line of defense against spammers. We’re at least prepared to take the possible loss of revenue to support your right to a safer community.
And bots are just a scourge.
Scammers would have to physically show themselves – so that’s always something to be aware of in any environment.
As the site grows we will add frequently addressed solutions here.
For now – please go to the Contact Us page and select your user profile type (member, event host, etc) and ask for the help you need.