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The Myth of the Perfect Online Calendar
The Myth of the Perfect Online Calendar
Jerry Gitchel
October 1, 2012
Everyone is looking for the perfect online calendar, or mobile app, or cell phone. So when subscriber Mark Hunter asked for my help with his quest, I had to start by busting a major technology myth. There is no single "perfect" online calendar, or any other technology for that matter. The path to perfect starts by defining your goals. Read on to learn which cloud-based calendar became part of my recommendation to Mark...
This quest for the perfect online calendar came from subscriber Mark Hunter, author of  The Sales Hunter Blog. Like most tech savvy entrepreneurs, Mark is always on a quest to improve his business by leveraging technology. Well, I have good news and bad news. There is no single "perfect" online calendar, or any other technology for that matter. The path to perfect starts by defining your goals. You need to understand how, when and where you will use your new calendar before making a selection and heading to the checkout. The difference in the cost of a custom made to fit suit vs an off the rack one is huge. In software, taking the time to find the perfect fit costs no more than a one-size-fits-most solution. Mark asked a great question, because finding the perfect fit was so easy. Google Calendar is my recommendation. It's a cloud-based solution, so it plays well with others including your associates, your applications and your devices. One important concept before you go there. You will need a Google Account. Think of it as the cloud version of Microsoft Office. Your Google account is the virtual velcro that binds together all the tools like Calendar (appointments and events), Gmail (email), Google Apps (team collaboration), YouTube (video), or Google Voice (unified communications).
In the beginning, Gmail was just, well, email. Now a @gmail.com address works like a master key, giving you access to all your virtual tools. I recommend creating a corporate role gmail account so it can stretch to cover all the apps where it will be used.
For your calendar I would publish a "Public" calendar you intend to share with all the folks who need to know your public schedule. Because you can sync your events between apps, you can keep your private events in Outlook while managing your separate, public calendar.

Insight

  • When it comes to technology, "one-size-fits-most" fits no one. Trust me, go for a custom fit.
  • Get your head, and your business, in the cloud.

Resources

  • If you're situation is similar to Mark, check out the Google Links above.

Back Story

The conversation that lead to Mark's request happened exactly one month after he subscribed to Making Websites Work. How do I know? I planned for it. To build an online brand you must first build relationships, one subscriber at a time.  My newsletter campaign includes a follow up email sent one month after the subscription date. The response rate is 5 times the rate for the immediate,  "Thanks for subscribing" message. Autoresponders are the magic that allow you to send out a personal message, automatically. Mark responded to my autoresponder, I replied, and the rest is history.

Special Invitation

I've found that I learn the most while helping clients make their technology work. I can't promise you will be mentioned in a future blog post, but if need an answer to your burning technology question, all you have to do is Ask Jerry.
Category : Making Your Technology Work