This is my first entry for the WannaDo dev blog. I’ve been working on WannaDo for almost a month now. It’s the first personal project I’ve stuck with this long, so I’m kind of proud of myself.
I used to really like Meetup, but it’s gotten so bad over the last few years. Between the ads and the ever-increasing price, I just don’t see it as a viable way for people to actually do what the site was built for anymore.
The group I started over 10 years ago now has 1,244 members—though realistically, maybe 100 have ever shown up to anything. In practice, the group is about 25 active members, but Meetup holds me to the 1,200+ number when billing. People can’t actually meet up if fake or inactive accounts count toward your “pay-for-it” tier.
When I started, Meetup was about $100 every six months, or ~$16/month. Now it’s $178 every six months, or about $30/month. On top of nearly doubling the price, they’ve put more features behind the “Meetup Pro” paywall. And to twist the knife, they advertise to everyone attending events.
On top of that, their systems are broken—a problem they admitted to last year (source). Features don’t work, they run two different mobile apps (one for users, one for organizers), and four servers are doing the work one app should handle. It’s pretty clear Meetup is drowning in tech debt. I get it—I’m an engineer, I know the pain—but forcing users to pay for bad management? That’s just shitty.
So to summarize: charge organizers more, remove features, and force ads on end users.
So I said: FUCK MEETUP.
That’s why I started WannaDo. I think I can improve on Meetup’s core concept—and with the help of AI, I can move fast. Right now, I’m focused on the MVP (minimum viable product): the basics, just enough to get the app in people’s hands.
MVP Features (in progress):
- Basic branding
- Users & Auth
- Create, Edit, Find, and Attend events
- User feedback system
I started on Aug 8th, and I’m already close to my MVP goal. At this rate, I think I could start advertising the MVP by the end of September. A lot of features are still “vaporware,” but:
- Users & auth = done (a big pain, glad it’s out of the way)
- Event create & edit = done
- Event find screen = nearly done (enough for MVP)
- Next up: attendance system
I also need to rope in my graphic designer friend, because the lack of a logo and color scheme is a problem. Before launch, I want some kind of user feedback system too. I’m not putting in heavy testing right now—this is very much a “build the plane mid-flight” project until there are enough users to justify otherwise. Everything also needs to be mobile-friendly, since the mobile app will come later, after the web app is stable.
Roadmap
MVP – Users & Events (September)
- Event categories system
- Organizations (groups, businesses, nonprofits)
- More event features (repeatable events, RSVP deadlines, attendee limits, guests, additional hosts/speakers, attendee questions)
- User interests system
- Credits system (for users & groups)
- Subscription system (for businesses & nonprofits)
Unlike Meetup, WannaDo will use a credit/token system for users and groups.
How it works:
- Credits can be earned (by verifying email, attending an event, reviewing reports, etc.—basically proving you’re human and helping the community).
- Credits can also be bought (but affordably—e.g., $1 per credit). If you just want to post one event a year, you shouldn’t have to pay $30 for a monthly subscription and remember to cancel auto-renew.
- Credits can’t be sold, but can be donated to groups.
Credits will also shape user behavior. If you sign up and do nothing, you’ll be treated as nothing. That should help solve the “1,200 members, 25 active” problem Meetup has.
Examples:
- Posting an event costs a credit.
- Reporting content costs a credit (which gets held until the community reviews the report).
- If others agree with the report, the reporter gets the credit back, the offender loses a credit, and the event is removed. Reviewers who help validate get fractional credits.
I want the mechanics to encourage good behavior and discourage bad behavior.
On top of credits, I also want to add badges. Some would be penalties:
- Ghost badge for no-shows (penalties stack over time—ghost enough events and you’re blocked).
- Gaslighter badge for jerks who stir up trouble.
- Troll badge for spammers/offensive posts.
- Karen badge for chronic false reports.
- Bot badge for… bots.
Likewise, reviewers could earn positive levels—your credibility increases if you consistently align with consensus, decreases if you don’t.
Beyond users, groups, and tokens, I’ll also offer subscription tiers for nonprofits and businesses.
- Nonprofits: heavily discounted, since they’re the backbone of real communities.
- Businesses: they’ll get listed regardless, but if they want control over listings, they’ll need a subscription. (Similar to Google Maps’ “Is this your business?” feature.)
Eventually, I may add new user restrictions (e.g., can’t post until you attend an event or verify ID), but that’s a “later” problem.
Lots of ideas, but the focus right now is MVP and first users. Once people are using it, I can prioritize their needs alongside my roadmap.