How to organize Pokemon Meetups for your area
USER GUIDE | Submitted by LarianAnother frustration for rural players is that when you are out hunting, gathering supplies, or hitting gyms, you are usually alone. Overall I have found the Pokémon Go community very sociable and nice, so I generally don’t worry too much about meeting strangers. But it’s still a good idea to be reasonably cautious. If you would like to meet up with other Pokémon Go players and share experiences and help each other out, this is my general recommendation.Take advantage of the Google+ Hangouts. Niantic is a Google spin off company, so they are pretty well integrated with that social media platform. Set up a hangout that is basically Town Name – Team Name.
And then start using social media such as Facebook, MeetUp, Google+, etc. to broadcast for other players. Again, using Ingress can be a good communication tool as that game has an integrated chat function.
That way you’ll also find people who have exposure to Niantic and may have additional hints for you. Before adding them to your group, try to do an interview with them to make sure you aren’t inviting sore sports, hotheads, or crazy people. Again, I have found most Pokémon Go players to be fun people, and easy to get along with (even when I run into other Team players), but your safety should be paramount.
Get your friends to help
It helps if you have at least a couple of friends or people you actually know to help you set up the group. This way you can try to work on feedback and assessing if a person would be someone you would like to have in your group. You could even have someone who isn’t local be an unbiased opinion for screening members. I know it may be a little extra work, but most people with a social media profile have a fairly substantial online footprint so you can even investigate them to a certain degree. Again, it’s about your safety and keeping your playtime enjoyable.
Once you have a hangout and a few folks in it, you can use it to schedule meet ups, supply runs, gym battles, or even just social get-togethers. Hopefully if (or when) Niantic implements trading and direct trainer battles, you will now have a good social network to interact with.
Again, I will stress, your safety is paramount. Before you share too much personal information, or actually agree to meet someone, do your due diligence to screen them. If you even just get a “bad feeling” trust that over taking any chances.
Have fun, make friends, and be safe.
