What does Upcoming.org do better than Facebook, Google+, and Meetup.com?
Upcoming created the model for an events site tied to a social network, and since it was first, you could find almost any kind of event from a personal party to a stadium rock concert there.
Upcoming had very broad capabilities for tagging, geotagging, searching, following, and being notified about public events. It really shone for aficionados of particular music scenes in geographic areas, and for people who liked going to tech conferences. And knowing the events your friends are going to - or even thinking about going to - also helped catalyze attendance.
Lots of other products found niches that had special needs (for instance, Lanyrd or EventBrite), and Facebook completely owns casual events like barbecues and stuff. But nobody's done an events site that had quite the same mix of community and capability. Most of the sites who wanted to grab the Upcoming-esque market were focused on monetizing through profiling users, and then selling ads, or special offers for tickets. Seems like it should work, but it doesn't seem to have panned out. (Also, I know this may shock people, but Ticketmaster is really difficult to work with.)
However, it's not the tech capabilities that people really miss, it's the community. And probably most people are betting on Andy Baio. He is a well-trusted person who is a passionate fan of independent art and culture, and has a history of creating wonderful communities - like Upcoming, KickStarter, and XOXO.
Many people are looking for ways to be less dependent on FB and Google+. If the Upcoming folk shape this the right way, both in product design and pitch, they will capture people who are tired of creepily pervasive social networks but still want to set up events easily.
Every time there is some event, other people chide them for not having a Facebook, "Oh, you are too snobbish to have a Facebook, how do I even invite you to this.". If nothing else, upcoming.org seems like it would solve that problem -- specially if it allows stuff like easy event imports from Facebook.
There are also sites like creative loafing (Atlanta) or various other city paper like publications which have local events. They tend to be pretty "artsy". Facebook certainly isn't the only place to find these events. These sites/publications have appeal beyond just being an event calendar.
I believe their hope is that they can capitalize on whatever name recognition they have left. Maybe they'll pull it off, this guy has obviously had success in the past.
There are events your friends want you to show up. Whether that message is sent via Facebook, email, text, paper, or face to face is irrelevant. If you are wanted there, you will be there.
There are events you want friends of friends to show up. Facebook facilities this quite well, and if you don't have a Facebook account to do so but they still want you there, well, you'll likely be there.
Then there are events you want strangers to show up. Facebook serves this quite well. If the events require a ticket, Eventbrite's got that covered. If it's a business event then your Gcal or Outlook has it covered.
In this landscape, where does upcoming.org, where does an anti-Facebook solution stand? And is it enough to cover payroll?
Because snobbishness aside--I don't own a TV because TV atrophies your brain when I can create art because I'm artist--this... really isn't a problem anymore.
Over the years I experienced this first hand many times (regrettably, also a lot of "can't go, too busy working on Upcoming"), but I haven't seen anything since that's provided the sort of social+interest-based serendipity that Upcoming did in its heyday. A lot of times in the past few years when I've been traveling I've wish there was something like Upcoming that could recommend the most interesting things to do in a city that night (like 4SQ or Yelp for events).
So I am definitely looking forward to Upcoming's return.
Facebook is pretty limited for broad event promotion.
Google+ - really? who is looking for events there?
Meetup.com - expensive and really only for small-medium groups, not events