I have a message in my inbox from the leadership of Meetup.com thanking us for... something nebulous, from just a couple days ago. I’ve only been using meetup for a year or so but can’t recall getting a note before.
Aww that’s nice.
No, it wasn’t nice. It was buttering us up for this news.
One of the pieces of advice I’ve cherished is that if you’re going to ask someone for something, just ask. Especially if you haven’t talked in a while. Putting pleasantries in front of it just makes the whole exchange feel cheap and exploitive. If you want to ask about the kids, the dogs, the book she wrote, by all means do that afterward. Then it looks sincere, instead of like stalling.
I’m gathering nobody gave Meetup that advice, or at any rate they didn’t listen.