Free test events in Omaha for meeting new people through organized conversations

Hi there, I'm Vlad. I'm running a series of free test events in Omaha for anyone who wants to meet new people in person, have real conversations, find others who share their interests, and make friends. The event is built around short, organized conversations that begin with something you already have in common or a prepared question.

The idea is to make connecting with people in real life easier. A lot of us would like to meet new people, but the hardest part is almost always the beginning: knowing who to approach, what to say first, and whether the other person is also open to talking. This format is designed to remove the guesswork from that first step without making the conversation feel artificial.

At the event, you choose topics you are comfortable discussing and then move through several short rounds of conversation with other participants. For each round, you receive a clear starting point: either a shared interest or a prepared question. The format helps you get to the conversation, but the conversation itself is yours.

This is not a dating event or a business networking meetup. It is a test of a social format for meeting people in a more organized way.

Below, I cover the practical details, explain how privacy is handled, and walk through how the event actually works.

Practical details

Why I started working on this

When I moved to Omaha about three years ago, I did not expect it to be this difficult to meet new people. I knew it would take time to adjust to a new place, but I thought that over time I would meet people and make friends here.

For a while, I thought maybe it was mostly because I was new here. Maybe I did not know the right places yet, or maybe I simply had not met enough people. But after talking with people in Omaha, I started to realize I was not the only one. Some people I met had lived here their whole lives, and they still described something similar. They wanted to meet new people, but it was not always clear where it could happen naturally, who would be open to talking, or how to begin without making it awkward.

That is what made me start thinking about this format. I wanted to create a real-life situation where people come with the same basic intention: to meet others and have real conversations. The structure is there to make the first step easier, so people are not walking into a room and trying to guess who to approach or what to say first. But once the conversation begins, it should still feel like a real conversation between two people.

Privacy and personal information

Because this event is built around meeting new people, I want to be clear about what is and is not shared.

The event system does not collect your name, phone number, social media, or other personal contact information. No public profile is created for you to participate in the event.

Other participants cannot see your full questionnaire answers. During a conversation, the other person only sees what relates to that specific conversation, such as a shared interest or a discussion question.

After the event, the system does not create chats, contact lists, or follow-up connections between participants. The system never has your contact information in the first place. If you want to stay in touch with someone you meet, that is something you decide directly with that person.

The sign-up form below is separate from the event system itself. It asks for your email so I can contact you about possible dates, times, and location details. The information you provide in the form will not be used during the event.

If you would like to take part

If this sounds like something you would like to try, you can fill out the short form below. Filling it out does not commit you to a specific date. It simply tells me that you are interested, so I can reach out when I have possible dates, times, and a location. If the first session does not work for your schedule, I will keep you on the list and let you know about the next one.

The form asks for three things:

[Link to Google Form]

If you have any questions, you can email me at: [my email].

If you would like to understand more about how the event would actually work, I explain the process in more detail below.

How the event would work, step by step

The section below gives a more detailed explanation of the event itself. You do not need to read every detail to understand the basic idea. I included this section for anyone who wants a clearer picture of the process before coming to a test event.

1. You receive an anonymous event badge

When you arrive at the event, you will not be asked to put your real name on a name tag, share any contact information, or create a public profile. Instead, you will receive a simple event badge with a color and a number, for example, "Blue 4." For the rest of the event, that badge represents you. This means you decide what information you share about yourself with other people, and the event app does not store your name or contact information.

2. You choose topics you would be comfortable talking about

Once everyone has arrived and is ready, you will open a simple web app in your phone's browser, so you do not need to download anything to your phone. In this web app, you will be able to choose the interests, hobbies, and topics you would be comfortable talking about with other people. To enter the app, you will use the color and number on your badge. This means you are not entering your name, phone number, email, or social media into the app.

The questionnaire is designed in a very specific way: it has two parts. In the first part, you will be asked questions that let you choose broad areas you are interested in. For example, you might see the question, "What kinds of media do you enjoy watching, reading, or listening to?" and choose "Movies and TV shows" from the options. The second part of the questionnaire is created based on what you selected in the first part. Because you chose "Movies and TV shows" in the first part, the second part of the questionnaire will show you the question, "Which movie and TV genres do you enjoy?" There, you can choose the specific genres you like. For example, you might choose Comedy, Science Fiction, and Documentaries.

Because of this structure, you only have to answer questions that are relevant to you. You can choose the areas that are actually relevant to you and then clarify them in the second part. This saves you time while still providing the specific details needed to help find people in the room with similar interests. Also, you do not need to choose every interest you have. You can choose only the interests and hobbies you would feel comfortable talking about with other people at the event.

3. The system looks for shared conversation topics

After everyone has submitted their answers, the app compares the responses and looks for overlaps. The app checks whether there are people in the room whose selected interests and hobbies overlap with yours.

Based on those overlaps, the app sets up short, organized conversation rounds between participants.

4. You get clear directions for each round

When the analysis is complete and the rounds begin, you will see specific instructions in the web app on your phone telling you what to do next.

On the screen, you will see two main things: a "conversation station," meaning a specific spot in the room, such as table number 3, and the badge of the person you are paired with for that round, for example, "Green 6." You simply go to the indicated place and find the person with that badge.

This makes it less awkward to start the conversation. You approach the person not as someone walking up out of nowhere, but as a participant following the same event instructions. You both received the same instruction, so the conversation starts in a way that feels natural and expected for both of you.

5. Each conversation starts with a shared topic or a discussion question

The web app does more than show where to go in the room and which badge to look for. It also shows what you have in common and gives you questions to discuss.

If the app finds shared interests from the second part of the questionnaire between you and the person you are paired with for that round, for example, if you both selected "Science Fiction" and "Comedies" in the Movies and TV shows category, the screen will show you that overlap. Along with it, a special prompt, called a conversation starter, will appear, for example: "Among the movie and TV genres you have in common, what titles have stood out to you, and what keeps those kinds of stories interesting for you?" This gives you a clear reason to begin the conversation, helps you understand what you have in common, and even gives you a question tailored to that shared topic. The screen can show more than one shared topic. You will be able to see all the specific interests you have in common, so you have a clear understanding of what connects you and what you can talk about without having to invent conversation topics from scratch.

If no detailed overlaps are found during that round, which is completely normal because a questionnaire cannot cover everything about you, the app will still offer you something to talk about. On the screen, you will see open-ended discussion questions. For example: "What is something you discovered completely by accident recently and now recommend to everyone?" This gives you a safe and interesting starting point, allowing common ground to emerge during the live conversation itself.

A key privacy detail: Your conversation partner sees on the screen only what relates to the current conversation. If you chose science fiction, documentaries, and comedies, but only science fiction overlaps with your conversation partner, then only science fiction will be shown on the screen. Your complete list of selected interests is not shown. Only the interests relevant to this specific conversation are visible. In this way, the system helps find a bridge into conversation without requiring you to share everything about yourself with everyone in the room.

6. You are still in control of the conversation

Once you find each other and start talking, it becomes a normal conversation between two people. You do not have to follow a strict script - the suggested question is only there to help start the conversation. After that, the conversation can develop in any direction that feels natural and comfortable for you.

7. Each round has a time limit

Every conversation has a set time limit, and on the app screen you will see how much time is left for that round. On average, one round lasts 10-15 minutes.

In most social situations, leaving a conversation that is not going well can be very difficult and awkward. Here, you do not need to come up with excuses - the round ends on its own according to the shared rules of the event. If the conversation does not go well, you can simply move on to the next round. And if it turns out to be interesting, you can choose to continue talking after the event.

8. Staying in touch is your choice

When all the rounds are finished, the event itself ends as well. At that point, the app's role is complete. The project is designed to help you while you are physically in the room and not beyond that. After the event, the system does not continue your conversations online.

The event does not create a personal archive you can return to later - no list of the people you talked with and no history of the interests you had in common with other participants. Also, because you never provided a phone number, email address, or social media links in order to participate, the system simply does not have your contact information and cannot give it to other participants.

If a conversation was interesting and you want to stay in touch, you decide yourself whether to exchange contact information in person. The important point is that the event does not create any online connection afterward: no chats are created with other participants, there are no unwanted friend requests, and you do not have to think about how to politely ignore messages from people you did not connect with. Any decision to stay in touch remains entirely your personal decision, made outside the app.

If you read through the details and would like to be included in the list of interested participants, you can fill out the form here:

[Link to Google Form]

If you have any questions, you can email me at: [my email].

Thanks for reading. I hope to meet you at one of the test events.