Sunday, May 29, 2011

What does Doodle.com allow you to do?

This site is a neat and convenient way to schedule meetings and even shift work. The concept behind it is simple and easy to use; just about anyone could benefit from using this scheduling system.

The way that the site works is:
1) Register as a member, which is free and does not require personal information to be shared
2) Create a poll (meaning you create options to be voted on by participating members)
3) Invite the participants that are to be voting on your scheduling decision
4) Based on the outcome of the vote, schedule a time and date that everyone can agree on, and it will be accessible for all participants to view at any time


The features that I really like about this site are the functions that go hand-in-hand with the scheduling. For example, there is a calendar feature that shows you all of your appointments, meetings, or dates that you make on a monthly basis, as oppose to having them all separate in each account.

My second favourite feature is the "Meet me" option. It is free, and what it does is it allows your to show friends and colleagues your availability on a calendar view. The "meet me" feature allows you to open a page (similar to a blog) and you can post and receive comments, as well as make requests for future meetings, appointments, or rendez-vous.
Another feature that is very neat is the premium package offered to paying customers. The site has three options to choose from:
1) Solo Premium Package (individuals who want more features than the free options, but are not running a business)
2) Business Premium Package (people who own and/or manage businesses-generally small businesses)
3) Enterprise Premium Package (large enterprises that require slightly more functions to handle all of their staff - i.e. employee training)
The premium packages do cost money; however if this is a tool that you feel would help you and/or your business, it is a very effective way to manage any size of staff or simply just your personal matters.

Check out this YouTube video to learn more about how to use the site and what it is for:


Although I love the site, I do find that there are a few downfalls. The biggest two are:
1) Not all people enjoy or are comfortable with using computers; therefore liking it for yourself is sometimes not enough to encourage others to adapt to this way of scheduling
2) I'm not a huge fan of the blog section. The site encourages users to blog about the site only in regards to the performance of the site. For example, one topics was "is Doodle a calendar?" which is a little silly in my opinion.

To visit the site and explore, click on the link below:
http://www.doodle.com/

1 comment:

  1. Interesting site Carly. Judging from the name of the website I thought it was something totally different. I really like the simplicity of the site. I also appreciate not having to register to use the service. This was people who are not members can still respond or vote on existing members calenders.

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