MyPunchbowl: Events and RSVPs, Party Style
Planning events can be difficult. You have to figure out who’s coming, when to meet, and if there are things to bring. Thanks to the free application MyPunchbowl, all these things are as easy as following a list. Let’s get started with a walk-through.
To form an event, it starts with naming it (we chose Web 2.0 Meet & Greet) on the Dashboard. Once you’ve been using MyPunchbowl for a while, you can access past events, check on current parties, and catch the latest “Buzz”, which keeps you in the know regarding changes to events and replies (also available via RSS). The next thing MyPunchbowl will ask you, and this is a telling feature, is whether this event is at your home. This is because MyPunchbowl is designed for home events, and though it could be used for large, corporate functions, it has been structured to support the informal gathering.
Next it will ask if you want to get input from guests on the date, and what kind of event it is. Once you have selected this there will be an option to select from one of the several hundred invite templates available, sorted by theme and color, or skip the designs (as we did) and create your own with a background of your choice and a logo you can upload. MyPunchbowl will offer some ideas, in the form of a advice column, which can also be skipped. At any point if you wish to go back to one of the earlier steps, MyPunchbowl has a sidebar on the left with all the steps, numbered and labeled.
For our event we chose to get feedback on the event date, and MyPunchbowl brought up a screen to offer selections for what time and date everyone wants to meet. As the organizer you can offer a range of days and times to your guests, and each date lets you mark whether it is the best day for you as well as comment on it. Guests can respond and let you know what works for them. MyPunchbowl calls this the “Pick a Date” feature, and has added a message board if guests would like to discuss the time or date. To add guests, you can enter them or import them through the invite or the “Address Book” tab which will save them for future invites. MyPunchbowl can import from Gmail, Yahoo, MSN, eVite, Plaxo, Outlook, Apple Mail, Excel, and .csv files. Once you have entered some guests you can choose which you would like to be VIPs, and start making your invite under the “Save the Date” tab. Upload a picture, change the background color, and write in the details for the invite. If you’re planning a wedding event or gift-giving occasion, MyPunchbowl has a link to Amazon.com for a gift registry.
Once you’ve sent the invites you’ll see a “Manage Guests” link, which let’s you see who’s viewed the Save the Date. Under the Save the Date menu item on the left is a link for Invitation, which opens almost the identical options as Save the Date (including the registry link). The difference is in a link for the host called “Checklist”. Checklist is for event planning, where you can create an online checklist for food, supplies, and anything you may need for the event. If you would like to have your guests contribute to some items on the list, clicking on the green icon next to any item on the list will place that item on the Potluck list. The “Get Supplies” step after the Invitation step shows where supplies can be found in the local area, and the “After Party” link has forms for thank you cards, photo albums, and videos of the event.
MyPunchbowl also lets organizers and guests share through Facebook (post the event on your profile or send a message) or distribute the event url on an email distribution list.
The drawbacks to MyPunchbowl are mostly related to the interface. Excellent for informal events, MyPunchbowl has few templates that appear business-like or have the seriousness one might want for a wedding (gift registry is only through Amazon). Also the Save the Date and Invitation screens are so similar that it is easy to confuse the two. Guests are also forced to sign in to view invites. That said, MyPunchbowl is an easy to use, feature-rich RSVP application, which aims to meet your event organizing needs. To find MyPunchbowl, or applications like it, you can use the Listio search events+manage.
Previously in this series: Meet With Approval: RSVP And Event List
Next in this series: Socializr: Invites and RSVPs With Social Tools
Application: MyPunchbowlListio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/MyPunchbowl/
Website: http://www.mypunchbowl.com
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Tags: events, invites, manage, organize, plan
Posted in: Party Planning | Respond
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