We all love doing Meetups and many people who have never run one before would like too but they’re not sure about safety. In many cultures some people can be less safe than others simply because of their background or who they are. This is of course unacceptable as Local Guides is inclusive and accepting of everyone but not everyone will share these views even within our Local Guides community and it is certainly possible that someone who responds to a Meetup may have nefarious thoughts.
I was contacted via Private Message by person that has organised their first Meetup but has realised that they don’t know any of the people who have responded and they are concerned. It is always valid to be concerned for your personal safety but there are some easy things you can do to ensure your Meetup is both successful and safe. It may surprise you to know that even I as a seasoned Meetup veteran do these things still.
My Meetups always include a friend or two that I invite a long so I’ve got support from people I trust
I always start the Meetup in a public highly visible place like a public park, shopping centre or other public easily observable place
I share my location with my family from within Maps so they always know where I am
I share my plans with my family so they know when the Meetup should finish and will contact me if they don’t hear from me - if I don’t respond they will assume something is wrong and use my location to alert authorities
Some people I know carry a person crisis alarm (sometimes called a rape alarm) which emit a piercing sound that attracts attention when activated
I check out the route before hand to uncover any safety concerns
Approaching the due time on the day I will share my location publicly and post it to the Meetup via an announcement so everyone in the Meetup can see where I am for as long as the Meetup lasts (this is safer for both myself and attendees)
As people arrive I evaluate them, while I’ve never had to do it I would not hesitate to tell someone who seems dodgy to leave - there have been people in my groups that I’ve either kept an eye on personally or asked another person I know to do it
These simple steps will help keep you safe or at least alert others that you need help.
As an aside if you ever are concerned by someone at a Meetup and they were in your RSVP list who does not exhibit the Core Values of Connect then create a post here on Connect afterwards “I want to report a Local Guide please contact me” and a Googler will reach out to you for more information and will take action if it is warranted. If someone on your Meetup causes an actual problem always call your local authorities.
If you have any questions or other safety tips you can mention them in a comment on this post.
@PaulPavlinovich These are all great tips you have shared. Its need to clarify about our meet up attendees keeping myself under safety. These thoughts and ideas may reduce my thinking of fear about meeting new people.
But it is about our Local guides, it is not about any feeling safety where I met hundreds of new faces during my meet up last 3 years. Local guides are grateful and so loyal too and they always attentive on learning and exploring new people. I didn’t think like you before for my fellows and their supportive minds.
This is my personal thoughts others may have some opposite thinking.
@ShafiulB You are right. Local guides are knowledge seekers and love to impart knowledge so it’s natural that they are better human beings most of the times.
@PaulPavlinovich good to see that you have covered an uncommon yet a very important aspect related to meetups. Although meetups all over are going on smoothly and people enjoy being a part of them; yet it’s a good idea to see an event from all angles before hand and remain informed. All the tips are helpful and can guide meetup participants in special circumstances. Some LGs who may be thinking of organizing meetups at remote, unique and exciting places, can get help from this post. Thanks for share.
I am looking forward to meet new members, they really need to connect with existing community, but don’t have the courage to meet existing member. so having registered meetup in connect, is one of my way to meet them.
It’s just a little hard to contact them, because sometimes they don’t regulary check their emails. The host can not put their phone number on the post, so a little kind of hard to meet in public area. Do you have any suggestion?
This is a common issue @Ddimitra and it was easier when we used social networks for our communities before Connect. I know that the Local Guides Team is listening and are thinking of ways to make this easier and more effective for us.
After I make the Meetup and share here on Connect I always blast it out with hashtags #localguides#meetup#ongooglemaps#localguidesconnect and that helps attract people.
Once people RSVP you can make up to three announcements to them with more information.
