Google Calendar Archive

Swiss-based online scheduling tool Doodle has announced the launch of Calendar Connect. Doodle explains what Calendar Connect is, “the new calendar interface brings everything that users need for scheduling into one constantly updated place and enables them to select dates and times for meeting requests in a visual way…Also, free and busy data can be shared on Doodle with selected contacts regardless of the calendar system in use. This makes the gap between otherwise disparate calendars even closer.”

You can easily connect your Doodle calendar with Google Calendar using what looks like oAuth. Both calendars will be connected — see the video below for an example of how the new calendar connect service works.

You can also connect with Yahoo Calendar and any other calendar service that supports an ICS calendar feed.

The Doodle team is also working on a private beta of the Outlook Calendar connector. Doodle self-reports over six month users per month are using their calendar service.
Continue reading “Doodle Launches Calendar Connect” »

Google Calendar has added a new function today. Rather than setup meetings with your boss, your friend, your VC, your spouse, you can now click the "I’m Feeling Lucky" button. I was able to setup dates with Angelina Jolie and Britney Spears for this week. I am hoping that I might just get that date with Rachel Stevens – I will keep making appointments until it happens!

About 5 years ago, I wrote a paper about the amounts of data credit centers have about each one of us. Last week there was some talk about Google and their new privacy policies around search data. Coming back from SXSW, I started to think about how much information Google actually has on each of us that use their services and have a Google account. Let's take a look, shall we? The assumptions here are that you have a Google account and that they log everything. Twitter-format.

• If you use Adwords, they know your marketing plan and they know your purchasing patterns.
• If you use Adsense, they know which of your sites makes money (though we know nothing sadly), they know how to target which ads to your site, they know how much to payout and how much to keep.
• If you use Alerts, they know what topics are important to you.
• If you use Analytics, they know which sites you control and/or monitor, how those sites are doing and every trend possible.
• If you use Blogger, they know what you write about. Every word, every phrase, every out and in link.
• If you use Calendar, they know where you have been, are, and plan to be.
• If you use Catalog search/Froogle, they know what items are of interest to you and which items you actually purchase.
• If you use Checkout, they know all of your personal information: name, address, phone, credit card, ccid.
• If you use Desktop, they know what you have on your PC.
• If you use Docs and Spreadsheets, they know that you are writing a paper on 13th century france, and your checking account is $30 overdrawn.
• If you use Earth, they know where on the planet you desire to research.
• If you use Finance, they know what stocks (and other instruments) you own, which you monitor, and which trends you follow.
• If you use Gmail, they know everything. Yep, everything.
• If you use Groups, they know you have a fetish for rare steaks and love art from Paris.
• If you use Image search, they know that you like Britney Spears and you have a craving for chocolate babaka and cat photos.
• If you use Local search, they know where you are now, and what you are interested in.
• If you use Maps, they know where you might be, where you might be going, where you have been.
• If you use Search (any Google search), Google knows every search you have ever made.
• If you use Talk, they know who your buddies are.
• If you use Toolbar, they know every web site you visit.
• If you use Translate, they know that you are learning German.
• If you use Video, the same applies as for YouTube.
• If you use YouTube, they know every video you have watched, what genres you like, which naughty videos you have watched, which ones you commented/favorited on, and the videos you have uploaded.

I am sure I missed some of the services Google offers. I don't share this information with you to scare you, just to make you think about how much information and how much of the Internet moves with Google. Think about the combinations from the information above that can be generated. Seriously, take a second and think about them. Is Google evil? No. Could I see Google having to split apart into multiple companies at some point in the next few years? Yes. Do you mind Google housing all of this data about you in return for free apps?

Carl Sjogreen from Google Calendar reviewed the Calendar project and the success they have experienced.  He seemed to wonder why so many people signed up right away. Carl, same reason why people will buy a new iPod even if there is nothing different about it from the previous version. Because there is a “cool” factor in being a first-user and also because it comes from a trusted company. Below are my notes on pieces of the discussion I found interesting.

The Road to Google Calendar:

• classic google product team
• 1 project manager and 3 engineers
• origin from both customer feedback and internal interest
• seemed like a space with little innovation – nothing out there was “right”

Talking to Customers is very important for these reasons:

• Talk to real customers
• Spoke to many people, sometimes even in their homes
• Key themes emerged quickly

He feels its important to have a vision.

6 key insights that might be useful for your next product or company:

1. Easy is the most important feature
2. Know your real competition
3. Visual design matters
4. Build products for people who don’t want to use them
5. Timing launch properly — make sure it’s the right time, it is hard to do, only have one shot
6. Driving usage

Lastly he mentioned the, “akl system”. I assume he means the acknowledge system of verification for changes. If anyone can confirm, please let me know.

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