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About my friend, and how this network introduced us
A question about running events on a tiny budget turned into a friendship and a monthly meetup.
Two years ago I asked a question in a small space here about running community events on a tiny budget. I expected a couple of links. Instead, one member wrote a long, thoughtful reply about borrowing rooms from libraries and co-working spaces, splitting costs with other groups, and why free events still need a waiting list.
I wrote back with more questions. We moved to private messages, then to a video call that was supposed to last fifteen minutes and lasted two hours. A few weeks later we ran a small meetup together in Bishkek, mostly to test the ideas from that thread.
Today we co-organise that meetup every month and talk almost every day: about events, about our families, about whichever book one of us is pushing on the other. I sometimes think about how easily that first reply might never have been written.
That's what a good network does. It isn't the feed or the follower count. It's putting the right people in the same room and then getting out of the way. If you've been sitting on a question, ask it. Somebody here might have been waiting for exactly that.
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Comments (10)
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Last one, I promise: this is the best argument I know for building a community instead of an audience. Audiences don't introduce you to anyone.
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Thanks, everyone. Jackson Reyes, yes, please link it from the onboarding guide.
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To answer the question about the space: it was public, but tiny, maybe thirty regulars back then. I agree that size matters more than the privacy setting.
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We're also planning a write-up on how the meetup itself got started, including the boring parts: finding a free venue, splitting costs and getting people to actually turn up.
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And if you're thinking of starting something local and want a second pair of eyes on the plan, send me a message. Happy to help.
