Enjoy and Connect: The Leisure Community with 14,000 Members in Alicante and Murcia

Enjoy and Connect is a platform that facilitates new connections. Founded in Alicante six years ago, it aims to connect people with shared interests. Pau Puchades is the driving force behind this community, which now boasts 14,000 members, with an average of 600 new members joining each month across Alicante and Murcia.

"When you join the 'Enjoy and Connect' community, a wide range of activities and opportunities to make new friends opens up. Here, genuine friendships form because people join without any preconceived notions. They are eager and interested in connecting, discovering new places, activities, and people," explains Puchades.

The activities of 'Enjoy and Connect' are managed through a web application, where various activities and plans are posted daily. To join, one must know an official member. Entry is by direct recommendation from someone already inside, followed by answering a series of questions, after which access to the application is granted, and the rules are sent.

For those who do not know any community members, they can contact the platform's managers via the Instagram account '@adisfrutarypunto', mentioning they have read this article and requesting access to the community.

"Years ago, we operated through WhatsApp groups, but our activity has reached incredible levels. Just last month, we organised 420 meetups, although our monthly average is around 300," explains Pau. To manage this level of activity, a "visual and intuitive" mobile application was developed, allowing members to schedule all the plans proposed by the community members.

Users can browse the calendar by day to see what plans are proposed. Before signing up, they can view the full description of the activity, including the time, location, and available spots, as many activities have limited capacity. After signing up, they are automatically redirected to a WhatsApp group created specifically for the activity, where they can interact with others who have joined.

There are other types of groups within 'Enjoy and Connect' that are not limited to a specific activity, such as those formed by geographic areas, usually from a specific region of Alicante, the city itself, or the Murcia region. There are also permanent groups, centred around hobbies like a specific sport, reading, cooking, as well as professional groups where users can offer their services.

Puchades issues a warning, stating that the platform's purpose is not to be a dating app. "Messaging someone privately whom you haven't previously met at an activity results in immediate expulsion." There are also other rules of coexistence and respect, such as avoiding political or religious debates or any that could lead to conflict. "I am in favour of dialogue and debate, but in a community as large as ours, it can be challenging to have healthy and constructive discussions."

Commitment to the activity organisers is another good practice within the community, meaning one should only sign up for a plan if they intend to attend, so as not to prevent another user from joining if spaces are limited.

In this regard, Puchades hopes to implement a system in the near future to monitor user attendance and penalise repeated absenteeism. These and other updates will be included in a future version of the platform. "Currently, 'Enjoy and Connect' is a web app. In the future, we will have an app available for download on the Play Store and App Store. Additionally, we will launch a website featuring a cultural and leisure agenda beyond the application."

Another ambitious initiative will introduce a points accumulation system (via a card) that can be redeemed at businesses and companies wishing to join the platform.

Puchades highlights the significant work and effort required to maintain an initiative like 'Enjoy and Connect', achieved thanks to the collaboration of a team composed of his colleagues Jair, Mamen, Rachel, Laly, and Carla. "Many people are unaware of everything that goes on behind the scenes. They should appreciate it to help us with important matters, such as paying attention to everything we communicate through the groups. Not doing so burdens us with more work, which could be avoided with a little more attention."