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)
Phonevite is a new free invitation and RSVP service that turns your Web browser into a personal assistant of sorts, letting you call a large group of friends, family, or contacts without having to spend all day on the phone. Instead Phonevite provides an asynchronous solution, giving you an easy way to record a personalized invitation message using your computer's microphone, and send it out to a list of hand-picked phone numbers. From there you can send out the "invitation" right away, or schedule it in for a later date.
When an invitation goes live, Phonevite will call all the numbers you've given it simultaneously. Your recipients (if they're there) will hear your name and recorded invitation and get the option to reply yes, no, or maybe. You can also enable an option for them to record their own voice message that you can listen to via Phonevite's tracking page. That same tracking page also lets you see whether or not the phone call was a success, the recipient's response, and an option to resend the invitation in instances where it failed.
The real Achilles heel of this service is how it handles voice mail. The response feature only works on live calls. Users still get your message, but not a way to respond without having to call you back. Luckily the service spoofs your number, so responding to the voice mail actually sends the call straight to you. Ideally, Phonevite could provide each user their own callback number that would give invitees the option to respond at their leisure.
Phonevite is a really simple service to use. It took me no time to record a message, and begin adding contact numbers (for Outlook buffs there's also the option to import them from a .CSV file). One caveat is the need to use Internet Explorer, as Phonevite's recording and message playback features require an ActiveX plug-in. For calling small- to medium-size groups of people (10 to 25) this service is a great way to garner a quick response. As for providing more publicly available information about and event, like an RSVP list, and Web map, I'd stick to Evite and MyPunchbowl.
Once your invite has gone out, you can keep track of who got it, who didn't, and listen to their responses right in the browser.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
CircleUp, the RSVP-like service that launched at Demo 2007 a few months ago, has announced a partnership with e7 Sports, a management service for small sports teams. CircleUp will be added to the list of tools coaches can use to elicit responses from a bevy of parents and players about things such as uniform sizing and carpools. It's the mailing list re-done, this time with a centralized way to see other people's responses.
If you find yourself trudging through massive e-mail threads and having to hit reply-all, CircleUp would likely be more helpful. The service provides some simple tools to organize and syndicate responses to any question you create. You can choose how you want people to respond, with one of several templates such as yes or no, multiple choice, or fill-in. When you're done crafting your question, you can send it out to contacts by e-mail, instant messaging, and SMS.
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CNET Networks)
What's great about the CircleUp is that answering a question doesn't require your recipients to register with the service. No matter what platform you've delivered the message, they just need to click on a link and fill in their answer. Once a recipient has answered, they can view how everyone else has responded. There's also the option to go back and change an initial answer if they see something that changes their mind.
CircleUp doubles as a business tool. You can export the results to an Excel spreadsheet, which is especially helpful if your question employed forms (useful for collecting people's personal information for a mailing sign-up or a directory). There also are some placeholder graphics for printing, e-mailing, and exporting to services like Google Calendar and Jotspot--things that will be added to CircleUp later down the line (the service is currently in alpha).
Group decision making can be really tough, especially coordinating groups more than four people. While it's easy if you're all in the same place and can talk about it, more than likely you're trading e-mails. Despite Google's Gmail handing the reply-all phenomenon really well with "conversations," it can still get a bit ridiculous. CircleUp is fairly easy to use (my Mom would have no problems), and the results can be taken offline using the Excel functionality.
We lightly covered CircleUp's demo announcement in January. See also Evite and MyPunchbowl for event invitation services.
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.
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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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