Upcoming events near you
Despite the many (emphasis on many) praises we at GoSeeTell sing for social media, search and ecommerce there is still no replacement getting out and into the real world. Exploring, networking, conversing and socializing- while possible on the web do not produce the same levels of engagement and fulfillment that can be found offline.
Given the current popularity of sites that facilitate planning and organizing offline events online- I cannot possibly be the only person that enjoys getting out from behind the screen.
Upcoming is a localized community that allows users to search events by topic, date or popularity and even add their own to the mix. This is Yahoo’s massive calendar of events, and if you have not yet checked it out I encourage you to browse around- as you will likely be surprised with how much fun is happening in your area.
Beyond the obvious social benefits of this site, it is also a great resource to share your destination or organization’s calendar of events. By syndicating events across multiple sites (in addition to your own) a potentially new and previously untouched market is exposed to your content.
Other bells and whistles the site offers include the ability to choose to attend (RSVP) or watch events. Placing an event on a watch list is in essence putting it on a short list of possibilities to be committed to at a later date. These features matter if you are the host because you will know about your guests before they arrive and how many you should expect. Also, you can keep track of members that watched your event but then did not actually attend- great for measurement. As a guest, this is a great feature because it allows you to view fellow attendees prior to the event and remind yourself of events and activities of interest.
Upcoming, while the largest is not the only online event community, eventful is another leader and in addition to similar features as upcoming it also allows users to demand events in their area. Users demand bands that may have neglected a specific city on a current tour, speakers, specific shows or conventions and when enough members start demanding the same events they show up on the site’s homepage, which if nothing else allows users to connect with each other based upon similar interests and requests.
Likely you have already started to think about your weekend, so why not use one of these sites to plan your own fun while sharing your destination’s events with a new audience.
Let us know what you try and if you find anything fabulous – we love hearing great stories.