[wenc]

As someone who used to go to 2-3 Meetups in Chicago a week, I can say that Meetups are not a good way to build connections because you almost never see the same person twice.

Friendship requires 3 elements (which were easy when you're a kid and much harder as an adult): proximity, repeated exposure and letting your guard down. Meetups are good for the first, but don't do much for the second and third.

[zamnos]

It's a funnel. If you don't make any connections, ie don't do anything for step #1, then #2 and #3 are much much harder, if not impossible.

[wenc]

They're not even a funnel. Meetups aren't the right channel for #2 and #3 -- they almost never happen based on (even pre-COVID) experience with Meetups (I went to 2-3 meetups a week for over 3 years, and despite being outgoing, I never made a single friend).

I had better luck with #1 + #2 taking classes at Second City than I ever had at Meetups. Classes give you repeated exposure to the same people every week. Repeated exposure gives people predictability, which helps them relax their defenses.

#3 is more difficult -- you have to take the extra step of inviting people out to do stuff together. People are more comfortable opening up in smaller settings.