For those of you curious why some Meetups fail: They tend to be boring and not well organized around a purpose or objective. Putting a bunch of people in a room together without a purpose is like gathering an army of soldiers in a gymnasium without a war or even a training exercise.

There's nothing to do. That's why some meetups fail. Whereas video game / exercise / yoga based meetups, from what I've heard, are much more successful and long lasting. People need something to do together. Not just sitting around talking to people without a purpose. That works temporarily but after 2 successive meetups without a purpose it's boring.