Union Square Ventures announced today that they’re investing in MeetUp. I’m glad to hear it. MeetUp has been chugging along, innovating and growing since its start in 2002. I wonder how many dot.coms took USV money since then that are now out of commission.
Brad Burnham has an interesting post for USV and says, in part…
We agree with Tim, John, Umair, and everyone else who argues that the real impact of the web will ultimately be in its ability to organize people online to make a difference offline.
But none of these folks make the related point that for the web to have a greater impact going forward it will not only have to touch the real world, it will have to reach real people.
At USV we have been thinking about this challenge for the past several months. Our most recent portfolio company, Meetup, has been thinking about this challenge since it was founded in 2002. Organizing people online to make a difference offline has been the central mission of Meetup since the beginning. The team there has always understood that there was a difference between collective intelligence and collective action.
I take it as a good sign for our work with Front Porch Forum that a leader like USV is talking and investing in this way.
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more