Web party invitation and management service MyPunchbowl on Tuesday relaunched with a new look. While mostly a new paint job, the big, new feature is the invitation designer, which has been renamed as a "studio."
Where the service's former system had users simply picking colors, pictures, and some ready-made templates, the results of using the new tool resembles a real life paper invitation. Users can still select things like the coloring and background, but there are new flourishes like colored ribbons, textured backgrounds, and various form factors that mimic proper card stock.
The new designer lets you tweak each aspect of an invitation, right down to the ribbon.
(Credit: CNET Networks)All of this amounts to little besides the invitation page people visit. It doesn't show up (much) in the e-mail, and you can't have it printed and sent out, which would make the whole experience feel a little more fulfilling. Your newly designed invitation will simply sit alongside the party details. The company is pushing the "green" aspect of this, but it's a shame you can't get your handiwork turned into a real-world good. Like Moo.com's mini cards, there's something fantastic about quirky designs for everyday things that could make MyPunchbowl stand out from competitors like Evite, Facebook, and Socializr.
Speaking of which, I think the service is still running up against bad public perception. Many people I know simply go to Evite because it's what they've always used. Also, when MyPunchbowl first launched, one of its stumbles was the e-mail invites, which were promptly being delivered to people's spam folders. Since then, it looks like the problem has been fixed, as I tried sending out an invitation to Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and my work e-mail. All went through without a hitch.
The other big hurdle, which I've pressed on in the past, is the big competition from Evite and social networks like MySpace and Facebook which have integrated events management services. For many, including myself, this is just an easier option--even if it's not a better one. To its credit, MyPunchbowl has done a great job at letting people suck in contacts from elsewhere, then turn around and advertise it at those places from the very same tool. Going forward, it's simply going to be a question of whether or not people will be willing to go through all that just to have a better functioning invitation.
Here's a video of MyPunchbowl founder and CEO Matt Douglas talking about the new design tool. It's worth noting you can't use it unless you're a registered user.
There's something to be said about Web services that have been set up to help people coordinate things in the least stressful way as possible. I dig sites like CircleUp (coverage) that offer a way to set up polls, or to solve quick logistical questions within a group, without requiring the creator or the users to agonize over the interface and execution. That's why MyPunchBowl's new checklist feature is pretty much the best addition to a party-planning service yet.
The idea is simple: you, as party creator, make a list of things you need for the party. This list is just for you, in a GTD sense. You can hit one button to add items to your "potluck" list, which is made public to all your invitees. Your party guests can then assign themselves to which items that they'll (hopefully) bring to the party, or add their own items. This helps you avoid making harassing phone calls or e-mails to coordinate the details.
The new checklist feature was launched along with several other updates. The service is continuing its foray into the world of themes with about two dozen Halloween templates and a new duplicate party feature that lets you clone and reuse a party page you've already made--which is helpful if you want to recycle things like a guest list and directions. There's also a bounced e-mail notifier to let you know if your party invitations never made it to your addressees' mailboxes.
I'm still waiting for a feature that will track your recipients' past replies to flag those who say they're coming and never do--and one that flags guests who show up without replying--to let you know when a call, personalized e-mail, or bouncer is in order.
Previous MyPunchBowl coverage:
MyPunchbowl adds themes, public events
Easy event planning with MyPunchbowl
Make a party checklist and indicate the items you want your guests to bring. They can add their own, too.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
Speaking of scheduling, the team at the slick party invitation site MyPunchBowl continues to make up for past transgressions. While the initial release didn't let people invited to a party see who else was invited, an update in March fixed that, adding features that let the organizer control visibility into the invitation list. And today's update goes even further: it helps you pick a good date for your event by throwing options out to the invited guests.
MyPunchBowl's new "Pick a Date" feature is much more than an ultrasimple group time finder like Doodle (review), though. While users can indicate which times (chosen by the host) work for them, they can also denote certain options as "better." The MyPunchBowl Pick-a-Date feature shows other invitees where the "betters" are flocking, and it doesn't show the less-liked responses. This puts a social pressure on the guests: people can see what the crowd, on the whole, prefers, and people who come late to the scheduling activity will be more likely to adjust their own schedules accordingly. However, MyPunchBowl does keep track of all the nonpreferred times, and will move an event to one of those times if it makes sense for the group at large.
MyPunchBowl's algorithm nudges invited guests toward consensus on event dates.
(Credit: MyPunchBowl)Moreover, MyPunchBowl allows the organizer to denote certain individuals as VIPs. These guests' preferences carry much more weight than everybody else's. That makes a lot of sense: If you're throwing a party for a particular person, you can denote that person (and his or her entourage, family, etc.) as VIPs, and the system will make sure their scheduling needs are met before the other invited guests.
It's also worth noting that the Pick-a-Date feature is not the same as the event invitation. I found this initially confusing, but it makes sense: before you craft your invitation, you want to get the date selected. It's part of the "life cycle of event planning," as MyPunchBowl founder Matt Douglas explains.
In sum: MyPunchBowl is damn clever. And getting cleverer.
Keep reading for a video from Douglas that explains the new feature.
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MyPunchBowl, the party planning service I covered in January, has added some neat new features, including publicly viewable RSVPs--one of the few things I griped about. The service has also added YouTube integration to let party goers share videos of the event.
Like competitor Evite, MyPunchBowl's new RSVP options let you see who has been invited, along with whether or not they're coming. You can also turn the visibility of the party's guest list on and off at any time, which is a nice touch if people start nagging you about wanting to see who's coming, or attracting party goers who seek certain company.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
The YouTube integration is fairly straightforward. Users just need to paste an embed code from any YouTube video and it will show up in a gallery similar to the picture gallery. Clicking on a thumbnail drops down a video player without taking you out of the site, which is a nice touch.
Another neat new feature is the Google map on the front page of MyPunchBowl that shows the last 100 parties planned (except for surprise parties of course). You can click on the map markers to check out the title, and even zoom in to see where it's happening, although as MyPunchBowl creator Matt Douglas told me, not "too far" to preserve user privacy.
There's still not a way to theme an invitation beyond the color and picture, but in hindsight, full-on themes seem a little gimmicky. When all is said and done, a party invitation should tell you the "who, what, when, and where," and be easy to access, which MyPunchBowl handles very well.
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