Behind the InstaMeet: Grammin’ the ‘dam with @p_d_y

In this series, we hear from the Instagrammers organizing InstaMeets in different parts of the world. To view more photos and videos from Amsterdam’s Worldwide InstaMeet, browse the #giveadam2014 hashtag and follow @p_d_y on Instagram.

For Phil Yisrael (@p_d_y), an Amsterdam Instagrammer originally from Sydney, Australia, InstaMeets helped him make friends and meet people in the Netherlands. In May, he assembled a team to organize an InstaMeet in Amsterdam focused on bringing people together across the Netherlands and further afield in Northern Europe. Over the course of the weekend, more than 150 Instagrammers came together for one of the biggest InstaMeets the country has seen.

Inspiration

“One of my first InstaMeets was actually a Worldwide InstaMeet (WWIM) in 2013 about 18 months ago in Amsterdam. There were about 30 people, and I loved the experience. I met people who I had been following for so long but never met previously, and that made it quite special. I had never organized one before but, based on my experiences at previous InstaMeets, I had a good idea of what I wanted to add to the Worldwide InstaMeet 9 (#wwim9).”

Organization

“I talked to Manuel Pita (@sejkko) in Portugal (he had organized the big #twinbridgesmeet InstaMeet in Lisbon) and his advice was invaluable—it led to me forming a great organizing team of Nadia (@nedijee), Cristina Munteanu (@crisam), Joyce de Lange (@onahazymorning) and Andres de Lange (@andresdelange).

"I would recommend creating a Facebook chat message with all the organizers so communication is open. Make sure everyone is a team player working towards the same goals. Also, name tags! You must have name tags for everyone attending.

"If I organized this meet for WWIM10, I would not try to cram too many activities into one day. It puts a lot of pressure on keeping people moving from one thing to the next, rather than enjoying a more relaxed day with some downtime. I would certainly include sponsors again as I feel they can add a lot of value to the InstaMeet.”

Reflection

“One of the things I learnt from Manuel is you cannot please all the people all of the time, but that you should develop a goal and theme for your meet and stick to it—no matter what.

"What was achieved in Amsterdam this last WWIM would not have been possible without amazing, cohesive teamwork, that brought together Instagrammers from all over the country and a few from abroad. We delivered two great InstaMeets and sent everyone home smiling and richer for the experience. I’ve seen other InstaMeets pop up in Amsterdam since our meet that are organized by people who attended our WWIM9, and that’s great to see. If you have the opportunity to attend an InstaMeet, no matter how small, I say you should go for it! See you on Instagram or in Amsterdam!”