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August 1, 2008

TimeBridge – Calendar Magic

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Scheduling meetings can be a pain, especially when coordinating large groups of people. Initiating an online conversation about possible times often triggers a mountain of back-and-forth email. The organizer has to read through the replies, start a list, and weigh the options. Then, when a time that works for everyone is finally in sight, a last-minute email arrives from Tara, who can’t meet on Fridays at all. It’s back to the drawing board.

The online scheduling application, TimeBridge, makes this process much easier. Meeting attendees don’t have to be members of TimeBridge or use any specific type of calendar to make things work. When it’s time to schedule a new meeting, TimeBridge helps you propose up to five meeting times and send them to the group via email. Then, as attendees respond with their availability, TimeBridge selects the best time for everyone – and even emails you if a date can’t be found or if you’re waiting too long for responses from everyone. Once the event is booked, TimeBridge sends strategic reminders and confirmations to the group.

TimeBridge becomes especially handy when you sync it with your Outlook or Google calendar. With this functionality you’ll be able to see personal events within the web application, and TimeBridge will add new meetings to your personal calendar for you. If a meeting is still tentative, TimeBridge will hold the date in your calendar, so you don’t accidentally double-book yourself. That means a lot less brain power is needed to keep times and dates on track. For those of us who have to schedule meetings frequently, this is no small feat.

Practical Uses:

  • Schedule meetings with clients who use different calendar systems than your own
  • Keep track of meetings with others that you’ve “penciled in” and are not yet firm
  • Enable vendors or clients to see when you’re free for meetings or calls
  • Use it to plan a party for your friends on a day that works for everyone – and avoid having leftover chips and dip

Insider Tips:

  • It’s well worth the extra setup time to connect your Outlook or Google calendars to TimeBridge
  • For people you have regular meetings with, try sharing your availability for easier scheduling (your scheduled events are seen as “busy” to others)
  • If you’d like to make your availability public, you can post a link on Facebook, your blog, or in an email signature
  • If you use TimeBridge with Outlook, you can use the “reply with TimeBridge” feature to reply to an email and request a meeting via TimeBridge

What we liked:

  • TimeBridge syncs with both Outlook and Google calendars
  • The application automatically sends reminders to attendees
  • TimeBridge makes adjustments for time zone differences, so conference calls with people on the other side of the globe work seamlessly
  • Attendees don’t have to register with TimeBridge (or even know about TimeBridge) in order to participate

What we didn’t like:

  • TimeBridge assumes that every attendee must be available for a meeting to function – meaning if just one person can’t make your proposed times, TimeBridge will alert you that the meeting cannot be confirmed
  • TimeBridge doesn’t sync with some popular calendar systems, such as Yahoo calendar or Apple’s iCal

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: December 2007
  • Privately Owned
  • Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
  • Founded by Yori Nelken
  • Web site: http://www.timebridge.com

Costs:

  • Free

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