I just got back from an exhilarating, week long Automattic company meetup in San Diego. We've now done 9 full company meetups over the last 6 years (plus dozens of smaller team ones), and I wanted to write down some tips on how to run a company meetup while it's fresh in my mind:

1. Focus on connecting people: We call our get-togethers meetups - instead of off-sites or retreats - because our primary goal is to get everyone on the team to meet and to get to know each other better (not to get away or retreat from our office).