Organize a Bitcoin meet-up

The importance of involving and retaining participants

How to Create a Bitcoin Community

The importance of involving and retaining participants

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will your community be. Momentum around Bitcoin comes from holding regular meetups and events.

To make that happen, one thing is essential: keep participants engaged.

It might start with a small group of passionate bitcoiners, whose aim is to get together regularly and talk about Bitcoin. Over time, depending on each person's availability and interests, you can share certain organizational tasks with the group, or invite core members to take on specific projects. These can be unique to your community, your meet-ups or your city or even inspired by the many initiatives proposed in part 6/8 of this course. This not only fosters commitment from your core members but also helps your community grow and thrive..

As your meetups progress, new faces will appear: people who bought BTC and/or altcoins in previous cycles, tech enthusiasts wanting to deepen their understanding, or complete beginners curious about this uncensorable, decentralized, transparent, and fair payment system that works without conditions and without trusted third parties.

To make sure everyone feels included at your events, focus on two key aspects:

Social inclusion: Everyone who attends should feel welcome. Make the effort to greet newcomers, ask why they came, and introduce them to others. When people feel included, they're more likely to come back and maybe even help organize future events.
Patience and openness: This takes time and motivation. If you're speaking with a committed shitcoiner (or worse, an XRP maximalist), it can be tempting to dismiss them. But by engaging in conversation, you may clear up misunderstandings or flawed reasoning. If they're willing to listen, they might be ready to truly understand Bitcoin.

From a practical standpoint, think about the overall event experience:

Was the venue pleasant?
Was it easy to access?
Why did some people sign up but not show up?
What discussions were held? Were the discussions too technical for beginners?
Were the discussions too alcoholic?

Each participant has their own personality, goals, and interests, so experiences will vary. But when the venue is right, the crowd is open-minded, and the intentions are genuine, there's every reason for the meetup to succeed.

Building a meetup takes time but above all, it requires organization. It's a human project, and it will only work and grow over the long term if it's well planned, open, and inclusive.

Ultimately, it's up to you to decide how far "open and inclusive" should go. Just remember: a shitcoiner is often just a bitcoiner in the making.