MEET UP Brainstorming Thread

Floppage

Floppage

True Beginner
Silver Member
JoeyA proposed the idea of using MEET UP to help encourage more active participation in pool. If you have some ideas along these lines I think we'd all like to hear it.

The types of people we'd want to reach out to:
- First timers who know nothing about pool
- People with home tables not getting much use out of them
- Experienced players willing to mentor

I'm sure there are many more.

This probably gives local bars, instructors and leagues a great chance to spread the word. It might also give us a chance to talk about pro events that are streaming online and encourage some new fans of the sport.

I have already mentioned this to the local academy here and have initial buy in so now its just a matter of figuring out the best way to spend our time, money and effort.

Has anyone tried something like this already? If so, what were your experiences.

This could be a great way to extend our community. Thoughts?
 
Meet Up is a website where you can join a group or start a group.
To get an idea about what MEET UP is all about click here.

I am starting a Pool-Billiards Meet up Group here in New Orleans. It will cost about $200 a year. The pool rooms will fund this project and recoup their investment by the people who come to play at their pool room. It's a good way for anyone to find kindred spirits.

Looking forward to good ideas on how to form this group and what the mission statement should be. (That might vary from one place to another)

JoeyA
Floppage said:
JoeyA proposed the idea of using MEET UP to help encourage more active participation in pool. If you have some ideas along these lines I think we'd all like to hear it.

The types of people we'd want to reach out to:
- First timers who know nothing about pool
- People with home tables not getting much use out of them
- Experienced players willing to mentor

I'm sure there are many more.

This probably gives local bars, instructors and leagues a great chance to spread the word. It might also give us a chance to talk about pro events that are streaming online and encourage some new fans of the sport.

I have already mentioned this to the local academy here and have initial buy in so now its just a matter of figuring out the best way to spend our time, money and effort.

Has anyone tried something like this already? If so, what were your experiences.

This could be a great way to extend our community. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
 
JoeyA said:
Meet Up is a website where you can join a group or start a group.
To get an idea about what MEET UP is all about click here.

I am starting a Pool-Billiards Meet up Group here in New Orleans. It will cost about $200 a year. The pool rooms will fund this project and recoup their investment by the people who come to play at their pool room. It's a good way for anyone to find kindred spirits.

Looking forward to good ideas on how to form this group and what the mission statement should be. (That might vary from one place to another)

JoeyA
Click to expand...

My dad had a pool table for years and never used it so he got rid of it. Then, recently, he decided to try pool again and so I sent him Max Eberle's Zen Pool book and he got half way through it before telling me "Damn! I wish I had kept that table." That's all it took to trigger his interest.

I wonder how many pool tables it in garages, basements and other rooms of the house gathering dust. All it might take for those owners to get more out of their purchase would be a better sense of a Pool Community in their area.

I really want to reach out to not only the bars but the local place that sells pool tables. I'm thinking about making a flyer about the MEETUP group in our area that they can take with them when they setup a new table. If the homeowner isn't interested then just throw it away.
 
Great Idea

Floppage said:
JoeyA proposed the idea of using MEET UP to help encourage more active participation in pool. If you have some ideas along these lines I think we'd all like to hear it.

The types of people we'd want to reach out to:
- First timers who know nothing about pool
- People with home tables not getting much use out of them
- Experienced players willing to mentor

I'm sure there are many more.

This probably gives local bars, instructors and leagues a great chance to spread the word. It might also give us a chance to talk about pro events that are streaming online and encourage some new fans of the sport.

I have already mentioned this to the local academy here and have initial buy in so now its just a matter of figuring out the best way to spend our time, money and effort.

Has anyone tried something like this already? If so, what were your experiences.

This could be a great way to extend our community. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

This came up months ago when I was still working. Its a great idea. Im glad you guys are bringing this back up. I can be interested in something like this in North Carolina and may be able to get some local interest in it.
 
That's a GREAT idea! Send me a copy of the flyer when you complete it.
Thanks,
JoeyA

Floppage said:
My dad had a pool table for years and never used it so he got rid of it. Then, recently, he decided to try pool again and so I sent him Max Eberle's Zen Pool book and he got half way through it before telling me "Damn! I wish I had kept that table." That's all it took to trigger his interest.

I wonder how many pool tables it in garages, basements and other rooms of the house gathering dust. All it might take for those owners to get more out of their purchase would be a better sense of a Pool Community in their area.

I really want to reach out to not only the bars but the local place that sells pool tables. I'm thinking about making a flyer about the MEETUP group in our area that they can take with them when they setup a new table. If the homeowner isn't interested then just throw it away.
Click to expand...
 
336Robin said:
This came up months ago when I was still working. Its a great idea. Im glad you guys are bringing this back up. I can be interested in something like this in North Carolina and may be able to get some local interest in it.
Click to expand...

Let's stay in touch on this. This could be the answer to getting new people involved with pool.

I have the money already promised from the second pool room in town and waiting on the third to respond.

It's a can't lose situation for the pool rooms or any sports bars.

My local group of organizers will be hand-picked and will have to be givers not takers.

We have to overcome the fear that people have of going into pool rooms.

If we educate them correctly, they will have a good time. There will be some ground rules for our group.

If you have some ground rules that you think should be followed, let me know what you recommend.

I think most people that don't play pool are intimidated by the whole pool room atmosphere.

The Meet UP group will provide a layer of protection and information that they can't get without belonging.

JoeyA
 
I suggest that anyone who is interested in building a customer base should look at this MEET UP website very carefully. A Premiere membership is about $40 a month and will eventually provide a form of promotion to send people to your group. We are going to start at unlimited membership for the half price discount going on right now.

That's $180 a year.

To me, that's a very small risk factor. It's almost negligible when you think about the return on the investment.

JoeyA
 
JoeyA said:
I suggest that anyone who is interested in building a customer base should look at this MEET UP website very carefully. A Premiere membership is about $40 a month and will eventually provide a form of promotion to send people to your group. We are going to start at unlimited membership for the half price discount going on right now.

That's $180 a year.

To me, that's a very small risk factor. It's almost negligible when you think about the return on the investment.

JoeyA
Click to expand...

I will be checking this out and yes I do have some ideas about some policies and practices that might make this sort of thing work for new people to pool. In a short period I might even have a publication I've been working on designed to make pool a little more understandable especially for new people to the game.
 
How often?

What kind of meeting schedule were you thinking about?

Once a month, once a week or just schedule as you go?
 
Floppage said:
What kind of meeting schedule were you thinking about?

Once a month, once a week or just schedule as you go?
Click to expand...

I was thinking to start, once a month, on a Saturday. As time goes on, the membership may want to have a meeting at one of their close locations and another part of the members might want a different location. Essentially, I am going to schedule as we go.

I like the idea of having a flyer to tell people what Meet UP "NOLA Pool-Billiards" is all about. We could post it on the FB Groups that we belong to and could organize the content of the meetings based upon the needs of the particular group.

JoeyA
 
JoeyA said:
I was thinking to start, once a month, on a Saturday. As time goes on, the membership may want to have a meeting at one of their close locations and another part of the members might want a different location. Essentially, I am going to schedule as we go.

I like the idea of having a flyer to tell people what Meet UP "NOLA Pool-Billiards" is all about. We could post it on the FB Groups that we belong to and could organize the content of the meetings based upon the needs of the particular group.

JoeyA
Click to expand...

I create the flyers and maintain the site for the local academy (it was not good before I got involved) so I was going to mock something up this weekend. I am thinking both a printed 8.5 x 11 flyer for table installs, local pool halls, etc. and then a smaller version with a graphic and the basic information to put on Facebook, Google+, etc..

Once I'm done I'll share the mock-ups and I'll donate some time to making them for other MEETUPs if people want and they don't need too many changes. It doesn't take long to swap out text on a photoshop file.
 
Floppage said:
I create the flyers and maintain the site for the local academy (it was not good before I got involved) so I was going to mock something up this weekend. I am thinking both a printed 8.5 x 11 flyer for table installs, local pool halls, etc. and then a smaller version with a graphic and the basic information to put on Facebook, Google+, etc..

Once I'm done I'll share the mock-ups and I'll donate some time to making them for other MEETUPs if people want and they don't need too many changes. It doesn't take long to swap out text on a photoshop file.
Click to expand...

That's really cool for you to share the flyers and offer help.

Hopefully, if we have a modicum of success, others will join in the effort. Right now, I am thinking it won't take a great deal of time and if you like meeting new people, this is a good way to do it. Works both ways. :D
The interesting thing is a lot of the members of the photography group are new to town and interested in meeting new people who like photography. The same thing would apply to pool.

The way I am looking at Meet Up for POOL-Billiards, is it may have its own fuel to drive this. WE'll see, that's for sure. :)

JoeyA
 
Joey,

A local room here in the KC area has been using Meet Up for a few months. I helped them with some instruction and trick shots the first couple of meetings. It's an interesting way to bring people together. The first meeting had about 10 people from various backgrounds. A few had just moved into the area and one was a pretty serious player. The 2nd meeting had around 15. He is still doing them. It brings in new potential clientele and he informs them about leagues and other info about his business.

I thought it was an interesting "out of the box" way to promote his business and the sport.

Darryl
 
Hi Darryl,

Do they have any advertising flyers for the Meet UP Group? If so, could you get me a copy? I'd like to know how formal or informal the Meet Up actually is for pool in other parts of the country.

Is there any special manner in which they run or do they even have an informal Meet Up meeting (monthly, weekly etc)?

We have three nice pool rooms in our area and I think the members would enjoy going to all three and learning where they fit in, what they like, what each pool room offers and finding other people with similar interests.

I was thinking that the pool rooms should just invest the money and that the group should be run without their input, since it is the members which will actually self-run the Meet Up group, dictating what and where they want to go. That way, we have a larger Meet Up Group without the bias of one pool room. We're doing this for pool in general and simply want the most number of people participating in this one group for our area. It would be a waste to have a very small group compared to a very large group and it would be most likely fun for the members to travel to the different rooms as a group. At the particular Meet Up meetings the pool room owners could let them know what all is available to the members.

Thanks.
JoeyA


dardusm said:
Joey,

A local room here in the KC area has been using Meet Up for a few months. I helped them with some instruction and trick shots the first couple of meetings. It's an interesting way to bring people together. The first meeting had about 10 people from various backgrounds. A few had just moved into the area and one was a pretty serious player. The 2nd meeting had around 15. He is still doing them. It brings in new potential clientele and he informs them about leagues and other info about his business.

I thought it was an interesting "out of the box" way to promote his business and the sport.

Darryl
Click to expand...
 
Floppage said:
My dad had a pool table for years and never used it so he got rid of it. Then, recently, he decided to try pool again and so I sent him Max Eberle's Zen Pool book and he got half way through it before telling me "Damn! I wish I had kept that table." That's all it took to trigger his interest.

I wonder how many pool tables it in garages, basements and other rooms of the house gathering dust. All it might take for those owners to get more out of their purchase would be a better sense of a Pool Community in their area.

I really want to reach out to not only the bars but the local place that sells pool tables. I'm thinking about making a flyer about the MEETUP group in our area that they can take with them when they setup a new table. If the homeowner isn't interested then just throw it away.
Click to expand...

I'm in Oakland and I've already met a few guys in the area from AZB and either see them at the local pool halls, or plan a time to meet up for a few games. I think this idea would have great potential for all types who want to play casual pool. I'm not sure serious players would be as interested, but I could be wrong.

For people who don't like gambling, or league/tournament play, a MEET UP style event that occurred with some regularity would be a great idea.
 
galipeau said:
I'm in Oakland and I've already met a few guys in the area from AZB and either see them at the local pool halls, or plan a time to meet up for a few games. I think this idea would have great potential for all types who want to play casual pool. I'm not sure serious players would be as interested, but I could be wrong.

For people who don't like gambling, or league/tournament play, a MEET UP style event that occurred with some regularity would be a great idea.
Click to expand...

Galipeau,
I think you are precisely correct. Meet Up will hopefully appeal to that group which are casual players and who don't want to be hustled every time they enter a pool room and want to feel comfortable going into a pool room regardless of who is there or what they are there for.

Pool is a fantastic game as all of us know. Some who have seen the negative side of pool fear even walking into a pool room I believe if the casual players are educated about the pool maze they will become comfortable hanging out with other Meet Up kind of players.

Hopefully, others around the country will think about this and start their own Meet Up groups for pool.

JoeyA
 
Meet Up Pool Clubs

JoeyA said:
Galipeau,
I think you are precisely correct. Meet Up will hopefully appeal to that group which are casual players and who don't want to be hustled every time they enter a pool room and want to feel comfortable going into a pool room regardless of who is there or what they are there for.

Pool is a fantastic game as all of us know. Some who have seen the negative side of pool fear even walking into a pool room I believe if the casual players are educated about the pool maze they will become comfortable hanging out with other Meet Up kind of players.

Hopefully, others around the country will think about this and start their own Meet Up groups for pool.

JoeyA
Click to expand...

JoeyA,
As you know we have discussed this somewhat. I wrote a letter to a room owner yesterday and he isnt the kind of guy that is computer savvy so he didnt really see the value in the Meet Up Pool Clubs that I do so....this is what we know.

We know that right now the join up fee is $200 and its regularly $400.

Even if lets say we as individuals decided to put up the $200 and make the Pool Club happen once a month or whatever times we decide on that is something that we as players can do, $ 200 will not break most of us.

Its a leap of faith that we have to take if we want things to change in our respective areas. It just would not be so bad to go the $200 and try it for a year and if we get people coming in well put out a box with a hole on the top and take a few donations when people show up for Pool Club to defray your costs.

I think that really what we all need to ask ourselves is: Do I want to do something about bringing people into the pool scene in my area? Do I want to have some new people to hang out with talk to and coach along the way.

If the anwer to that is yes....well $ 200 isn't going to break you. It's a leap of faith and yes it's still $ 200 but you have the hope that you will show the Room Owner that some good could come out of it and you might add to your local group of guys that show up at the pool room. Camaraderie is a good thing. If we can't share the love of the game then its going to keep paring back and we might not have a great situation for the game itself on the local level.

Of course saving pool is not our jobs alone and there is nothing that says any one of us has to do it but, we can do a little and when someone else comes along we can pass the responsibility for having the meeting and setting the jar with a hole out on top of it to someone else this week and maybe we will be back next time to join the fun.

I'm assessing my dedication right now to take the plunge. It's a question we all have to ask ourselves. It's always a little easier when you have some help but you may not get any like I don't think I will but.....what I will get if I decide to do this is some new buds to meet and play pool with.....and that is likely worth the $200..not to mention it may also come right back to you.
 
I live in a retirement community with 160 homes at this time and a lot more to come. We have at least 12 tables owned, maybe more and only 3 or 4 used. The social center will open next year with two tables. I'm hoping to get a local instructor to help interest in something like this.

I'll follow this thread for ideas. What's funny, while nobody here is hurting for money I can't see too many that would pony up $200. I've tried to get interest in a group school with Scott Lee, but no luck, so far.
 
Buzzard II said:
I live in a retirement community with 160 homes at this time and a lot more to come. We have at least 12 tables owned, maybe more and only 3 or 4 used. The social center will open next year with two tables. I'm hoping to get a local instructor to help interest in something like this.

I'll follow this thread for ideas. What's funny, while nobody here is hurting for money I can't see too many that would pony up $200. I've tried to get interest in a group school with Scott Lee, but no luck, so far.
Click to expand...

Buzzard,
Room Owners can be a funny lot but what really surprises me is this particular guy acts like he hates pool players. I expected how he acted, the way I look at it is this: He has no way of recruiting bar customers and not everyone plays pool so when you recruit anyone you have a chance at making a bar customer....but thats just me. I could definitely do the 200 but for that guy I'm sure I will. I would take it somewhere else though and pay the 200 but not for the guy that wont talk to pool players.
 
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