by: andrevanier
Total views: 2
Word Count: 606

Team meetings conference calls and virtual appointments are standard fare these days. If any aspect of your job involves coordinating with others (and whose doesn't) you know how tricky it can be to sync schedules. And if you've ever hit "reply all" to an e-mail to try and find a good meeting time, you've felt the pain. If everyone in your organization uses Outlook with the same exchange server, and makes calendars publicly viewable, you're in luck. Simply do a compare calendar pull-down in Outlook and choose the best available opening. But for the rest of us, scheduling is time-consuming. The explosion of Web and communication technologies has meant growing availability expectations. Yet, the tools to facilitate scheduling have lagged behind. That's now starting to change, and here are three new approaches involving free resources and tools being developed by Web 2.0 companies. 1. Use a polling/voting application Several startups have launched tools which use polling to determine optimal meeting times. Examples of such services include MeetingWizard and ScheduleOnce. You choose a time zone and specify the dates and time frames during which you are available. Invitees rank whether the options are possible or preferred and then input a list of invitees for that meeting. Invitees receive a link leading to a landing page and after invitees have voted, the organizer sees the most popular option. The process of choosing the ideal time can be a lengthy one during which the calendaring availability of the organizer or other participants may have changed. But for those with complex coordination requirements, polling and voting mechanisms can definitely make scheduling easier. 2. Make your calendar public In the last few months, two startups have quietly launched innovative services which allow users to publicly share calendars. TimeBridge allows you to post a personal availability link or badge online such as a blog, e-mail signature or social networking page. The availability link/badge points to a web-based calendar and the service also enables users to integrate their Google calendaring applications. MeetingStarter has a clever methodology for initiating the scheduling process. It combines some of the polling/voting functionality mentioned earlier with an interface in which users broadcast their scheduling availability to selected invitees for one or more events. Invitees click a link to a dedicated landing page specific to that organizer or meeting and can schedule themselves into the organizer's calendar. These methods do require more work up-front for the organizer but can simplify the task of handling complex scheduling requirements. 3. Use a light-weight collaboration tool Time spent on scheduling usually follows the 80/20 rule. Twenty percent of meetings are difficult to schedule and the calendaring/voting systems work well. But for the other eighty percent, a lighter-weight solution is preferable. Simply taking the scheduling process from e-mail and moving it to a commonly accessible web page is a major improvement. Services such as Evite built their entire businesses on the one insight that e-mails flying back-and-forth are an inefficient way to arrange large events. The same insight also applies to conference calls, a market segment not addressed by those services. One increasingly popular approach uses lightweight collaboration tools which enable an organizer to choose a conference call time and indicate whether the timing is negotiable. Invitees are invited to respond with their availability and comment on preferred alternatives. Crucially, this scheduling process occurs on a dedicated web page which is viewable by all participants rather than over a series of one-on-one emails.

About the Author

Andre D. Vanier is the CEO of Rondee.com, a Palo Alto firm providing a lightweight scheduling collaboration tool. Vanier speaks extensively on trends in telecom and was an early co-founder of the free 411 industry. To learn about Rondee's free conference calling service, visit http://www.rondee.com

---

View PDF | Print View

---

Rating: Not yet rated

--Choose-- 0 1 2 3 4 5

Comments

No comments posted.

Add Comment

You do not have permission to comment. If you log in, you may be able to comment.
Next Article - Managing Your Energy With Biorhythms
Previous Article - Everything You Want To Know About Online Classified Ad Software

More Related Articles In This Category

1: Is Your Network Marketing Company Restricting Your Online Marketing?
2: Business Incorporation Resources Available For Incorporation
3: Effective Privacy Documentation to Empower your Organization
4: Steel Buildings Vs. Cargo Containers: 3 Things To Consider Before You Buy
5: Characteristics of Laser Engraving Materials
6: Good Accounting Practices is the Key to Your Company's Survival
7: Companies Avoid Legal Complications by Using Online Bookkeeping Services
8: Laser Engravers Make Great Attractions at Local Events
9: Laser Engraving Is on the Cutting Edge of Home Business Opportunities
10: Advantages of Laser Cutters over Mechanical Cutters
11: How Menu Clips Help You Advertise Your Menu Options
12: Managing Your Energy With Biorhythms
13: Scheduling 2.0: Three New Approaches
14: Everything You Want To Know About Online Classified Ad Software
15: Online Resource For Vital Records Can Make Your Life Better
16: Marketing Your Online Business With Classified Ads Scripts
17: Thought Creates Reality Especially When It Comes To Money
18: Find Your Important Internet Business Info
19: Promote Your Site Using Squidoo: 5 Strategies For Success
20: The Startup Costs for a Catering Business
21: Server Side PHP Classified Ads Software
22: Closed Circuit Television
23: Solutions for Retail Loss Prevention
24: CD Binders - Protect Your Media From The Elements
25: Retail Loss Prevention - Explore New Technologies

---

For WebMasters

Link This Article - HTML Code -

<a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/business/tools-and-resources/scheduling-2.0-three-new-approaches.html" target=_blank>Scheduling 2.0: Three New Approaches</a>

Link This Article - BBcode -

[url=http://americanahost.com/articles/business/tools-and-resources/scheduling-2.0-three-new-approaches.html]Scheduling 2.0: Three New Approaches[/url]

Copy This HTML Code To Put This Article In Your Web Site.

<h1>Scheduling 2.0: Three New Approaches</h1><br><br> <br><br> Team meetings conference calls and virtual appointments are standard fare these days. If any aspect of your job involves coordinating with others (and whose doesn't) you know how tricky it can be to sync schedules. And if you've ever hit "reply all" to an e-mail to try and find a good meeting time, you've felt the pain. If everyone in your organization uses Outlook with the same exchange server, and makes calendars publicly viewable, you're in luck. Simply do a compare calendar pull-down in Outlook and choose the best available opening. But for the rest of us, scheduling is time-consuming. The explosion of Web and communication technologies has meant growing availability expectations. Yet, the tools to facilitate scheduling have lagged behind. That's now starting to change, and here are three new approaches involving free resources and tools being developed by Web 2.0 companies. 1. Use a polling/voting application Several startups have launched tools which use polling to determine optimal meeting times. Examples of such services include MeetingWizard and ScheduleOnce. You choose a time zone and specify the dates and time frames during which you are available. Invitees rank whether the options are possible or preferred and then input a list of invitees for that meeting. Invitees receive a link leading to a landing page and after invitees have voted, the organizer sees the most popular option. The process of choosing the ideal time can be a lengthy one during which the calendaring availability of the organizer or other participants may have changed. But for those with complex coordination requirements, polling and voting mechanisms can definitely make scheduling easier. 2. Make your calendar public In the last few months, two startups have quietly launched innovative services which allow users to publicly share calendars. TimeBridge allows you to post a personal availability link or badge online such as a blog, e-mail signature or social networking page. The availability link/badge points to a web-based calendar and the service also enables users to integrate their Google calendaring applications. MeetingStarter has a clever methodology for initiating the scheduling process. It combines some of the polling/voting functionality mentioned earlier with an interface in which users broadcast their scheduling availability to selected invitees for one or more events. Invitees click a link to a dedicated landing page specific to that organizer or meeting and can schedule themselves into the organizer's calendar. These methods do require more work up-front for the organizer but can simplify the task of handling complex scheduling requirements. 3. Use a light-weight collaboration tool Time spent on scheduling usually follows the 80/20 rule. Twenty percent of meetings are difficult to schedule and the calendaring/voting systems work well. But for the other eighty percent, a lighter-weight solution is preferable. Simply taking the scheduling process from e-mail and moving it to a commonly accessible web page is a major improvement. Services such as Evite built their entire businesses on the one insight that e-mails flying back-and-forth are an inefficient way to arrange large events. The same insight also applies to conference calls, a market segment not addressed by those services. One increasingly popular approach uses lightweight collaboration tools which enable an organizer to choose a conference call time and indicate whether the timing is negotiable. Invitees are invited to respond with their availability and comment on preferred alternatives. Crucially, this scheduling process occurs on a dedicated web page which is viewable by all participants rather than over a series of one-on-one emails.<br><br> <h3>About The Author</h3> Andre D. Vanier is the CEO of Rondee.com, a Palo Alto firm providing a lightweight scheduling collaboration tool. Vanier speaks extensively on trends in telecom and was an early co-founder of the free 411 industry. To learn about Rondee's free conference calling service, visit http://www.rondee.com<br><br> Keywords: <b>scheduling, free conference calling, conference call, free conferencing, free teleconference</b> <br><br>Article Source : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles"><b>Articles Directory</b></a></br> Article URL : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/business/tools-and-resources/scheduling-2.0-three-new-approaches.html" target=_blank>Scheduling 2.0: Three New Approaches</a></br> Article Category : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/business/tools-and-resources/">Tools and Resources</a></br> Article Author : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/profile/andrevanier-1749.html">andrevanier</a>

---

Article URL : Scheduling 2.0: Three New Approaches
Article Category : Tools and Resources
Article Author : andrevanier