Tungle – an interesting scheduling tool

I just got an email from Tungle that goes like this:

Hi Danny,
On June 1st, we’re launching Tungle.me - a first in click-to-meet technology. 
Similar to click-to-call services that put voice calls a “click away,” Tungle.me now makes scheduling a meeting just as easy.  Tungle.me is also being released with a Facebook and a web widget to enhance any online profile.
If you’re interested in learning more about Tungle.me, email me.  Or better yet, take Tungle.me for a spin and set up a short call with Tungle CEO, Marc Gingras – http://tungle.me/Marc (It’s quick and no signup is required).
Best,
Erin
--
Erin Lariviere, Marketing Analyst, Tungle
erin@tungle.com

I am not sure how I got on their list, but it is a timely email.  I went to the site and it looks interesting.  It is very different from AgreeADate, TimeBridge, and that other one I didn’t like.   It looks as though it permits one to post their Outlook, Google Cal, or other schedule online and allow people to schedule meetings with them during their free time.   It will worth following Marc’s link to see his calendar.

Comments

[Danny]

As I look at it, my first reaction is this: I don't want to let people schedule into my block of open time; rather I want to create windows of time to let people schedule in to. My view of the world seems to be opposite of Tungle's.

They will say, "simply block out all of the other time." I could do that, but I don't know that I want to - I'd have to create a separate calendar for doing so and then it won't synch to changes in my real calendar.

Another issue is that I want to let different people schedule with me differently. For example, I might give one window set to my students, another to my advisees, another to my research partners. These sets might overlap, but each would see different sets of free time. That's how I want to run my life.

[Danny]

I've created an account out there now. It actually has some very nice features. I like that I can create an easy URL so people can go to a website to see my calendar.

Other issues and policies that require continued development:
- Address book management is weak. I synched with my gcal address, so it put all my gmail correspondents into an address book. This includes LOTS of spam and unwanted addresses. I went to delete them all, but there is no utility for multiple deletions - I have to delete one at a time.
- I care about the above as the system encourages me to make my calendar available to everyone in may address book, and if I say yes it will send out an email to all of them.
- Tungle has a clear policy that they WILL use my information for marketing purposes (at least they are clear about this and permit opt out. Tungle is silent about what they will do with my correspondent email addresses. They should be clear about this.

[Marc]

Hi Danny, talk about peeling the onion and getting to learn about Tungle. Please do let me know how I can be of service in this discovery process.

Here are few points that I wanted to highlight.

1. First and foremost you won’t receive emails from Tungle that are not directly related to your meetings, with the exception of our monthly newsletter, and occasional email communications, which you can unsubscribe from at any time.

2. We won’t email your contacts without your permission. We will send the meeting and sharing invitations you set up, but never anything else to your contacts. In addition, we don’t use checkboxes, or hidden terms to trick you into giving permission. You have complete control.

3. You are right that we don't allow you to mass delete contacts in your address book - good idea for a future release. That said, if you mass delete them in your GMail account, they will no longer show-up in Tungle.

A short version of our privacy policy can be found here: http://www.tungle.com/Home/Security.htm

Finally, I will be more than happy to walk you though our service. As the email mentioned, just use my Tungle.me link and Bob's your uncle.

Looking forward to connecting.

Regards,

Marc
CEO & Founder of Tungle.

[Tariq Vora]

The feature I like is allowing the other recipient to select the free time. There have been countless times when I schedule a meeting and they propose a new time and we go back and forth. This allows me to say, here is my free time I can meet, so please pick the time its good for you.

[Chetawat (Jay) Vekavakayanondha]

I think Tungle.me has a very creative idea branching out from other scheduling tool by allowing others to schedule our schedule. However, in real world I don't think that's gonna work since it is not flexible for us to let other control our time table but it is a very good idea though. I totally agree with Danny that I also don't want other people to run my life too.

[Raj Luxmi]

Tungle seems to be an interesting scheduling tool. I created a Tungle account and I liked how they have an option to sync MS Outlook, Google Calendar and Apple Ical. That ways we can merge all the calendars we have and not have to look at them individually. I also liked the organization of the steps while creating an invitation such as add meeting details, invite people, propose time, preview and send. Also, when you are creating a meeting, it displays the entire calendar below and you can just click on the time slot you would want to schedule a meeting. Makes like much simpler! Moreover, since its available online, we can access it from anywhere as compared to carrying a detail book of schedule with you. However, I am not quite sure how much Tungle will be successful in attracting its customers as there are so many options available out there. Honestly, I came to know about Tungle from this post only otherwise I would have not known that such tool even exist out there. I prefer to use the traditional way of maintaining my own planner rather than using online planner. Hence, I feel that this tool is amazing but how well it will maintain its position in today’s competitive world is tough to comment about.

[Mohammad Bin Hussien]

It is really interesting to see how many tools and software are being developed and released lately that deals with scheduling. I’m really following this very carefully as it is the topic of our team.

It seems that the web 2.0 effect is seen clearly in scheduling and calendar software, due to its social nature. A number of features are becoming a standard in most new scheduling tools; synchronization, integration, mobile support, and not requiring installation are some of those features.

At first, Tungle seems similar to other tools such as TimeBridge, however, it seems easier to use with an easier interface. I’ve used TimeBridge, during this quarter to schedule meetings with team members, however, Tungle needs a longer test, to determine all its advantages and disadvantages.

[Eric Kurbat]

Perhaps I am one of the only ones that will say this, but this is the way that I am used to scheduling meetings - someone sends me a meeting time that fits into my calendar in Outlook. Now if the other users aren't on the same Exchange server, it's impossible. This seems to bridge that, which is kinda nice.

[Miodrag Zagorov]

I believe this to be an ok tool to schedule correspondence between people and organizations but Google meeting calendar which is free via gmail does the same without going yet another software to for a collaborative technology. This class and my work have opened my eyes to how many collaborative technologies exist to collaborate. People like myself look to the major players such as Google just for pure convenience of finding the technology and not having to look up the hundreds of software applications I have on my desktop to figure out what they do. The only way I would do so if the application were extremely good at what it did thus remembering it. Tungle for me would be good enough to be noticed but not good enough to be utilized. Sorry little late in the game unless it ends up being amazing. I agree as posted by Eric Curbat My Outlook calendar does fine and the hundreds thousands or companies and vendor I work with email calendar does me just fine. Otherwise I use Google for personal and school related invites.

[Georgina Brandon]

I think Tungle is a very cool tool for people that don’t have time to schedule meeting. At the same time I don’t think I will let someone pick a time that they want to meet with me. I feel if you cannot meet that day you will let me know. And also I will have to create another calendar to show what I have on my other calendar. I think it’s too much work for me.

[Yonel Larose]

I would love to have other people look at when I am available to meet (when I am free during work hours). I think, the availability in itself should only allow someone else to create a tentative meeting with me which will operate just like outlook. I should get an invitation and then accept the meeting request, not just add it on my schedule.

[Supapong Ngernpisutsilp]

In my view, this is the simplest way to schedule a meeting with someone. When someone wants to meet, all I do is give them my personal URL and it’s up to them to propose times that are convenient for them – without having to sign-up. The interesting part is that I get to have the final say on the times proposed, and as soon as I pick a time, both my calendar and my contact’s calendar get updated. I have been waiting for this capability for quite some time. I am also excited about our Facebook and Web widgets. Our users have asked us to find ways to make their online profiles more useful, and we figured that there was no better way than to bring the Tungle capability to them. Now, right from someone’s profile, contacts can see a real-time view of their availability and easily schedule a meeting with them.

[Farooq]

Its good to find a application where all the updates are directly synchronised from as soon as i sent my time of availability. This was the thing that i was looking from a couple of months. So, Tungle is very enormous which provides large band of spectrum and is also simple user interface.

[Michael Howard]

This is certainly not my thing. Only one person has access to my personal calendar, and that is me! If someone needs to schedule something, they can always send me an invite, and I will accept or decline based on my schedule.

[Mustapha Oluwa]

I think this is a good tool for everyone to have like most people had commented earlier. Regardless of the important and features of this tool, it is also important for everyone to plan their schedule. I will want to schedule my meeting myself and I do not think I will plan people schedule.

[Alla Trakhtengarts]

I think this looks like a good tool to use and browsing through the features, it is interesting to see that it is able to share calendars across companies and environments. At my company we use Lotus Notus for email and scheduling and I like the fact that you can check other people's schedule and schedule meetings. You are also allowed to see their calendar and they can accept or decline meeting invitation. The problem that I have is scheduling meetings with vendors that are from other companies and don't use Lotus Notes, so I am not able to view their calendars. We basically have to pick time slots and sent emails back and forth to each other regarding their availability. I think it is a good tool that it allows you to have that feature.

[Michelle Trunda]

Sounds like a good idea, but I agree about peeling an onion - so many layers and may make me cry! ;-) I'm fine with sharing open blocks of time (although I like Danny's suggestions of multiple options) - I can always decline the appointment if I choose. I only keep one calendar ("work"), which I schedule personal appointments in as they would affect my work schedule (or occur in off hours, which wouldn't matter). The calendar syncs to my mobile, and I have access to it through my company's Webmail which allows me to view/change it anywhere. So, while consolidation isn't important to me, it is great to know it's out there and can integrate friends/family into the scheduling process (won't they be thrilled!).

[Eric Knox]

I think the Tungle concept could be great for people who need to schedule many meetings with others who don't work for the same company. Within our company, we all have Lotus Notes and can see when our coworkers are free. I need to schedule a lot of meetings with customers and other vendors, though, and I don't have that ability. Something like Tungle, if we were all using it, would save on the numerous (sometimes VERY numerous) emails and phone calls that sometimes go into just finding a meeting time. I am curious to see if they plan a more corporate type tool that might integrate with Notes, Groupwise, Exchange Server, etc...

[Zackary Webb]

My reaction is simply "geez, not another scheduling tool." I have used a variety of scheduling tools over the years, especially Lotus Notes and Outlook, but I long ago learned to block out my calendar so that people need to explicitly ask me for my time. All it takes is a quick IM, email, or phone call. Better yet, walk over to my desk and ASK ME IN PERSON. For me, this personal touch is essential for creating the relationships that hold teams together and move them forward. As for scheduling meetings with external clients, it's always a negotiation anyway. I personally would not want my clients seeing any aspect of my calendar - that just gives them an opportunity to question my use of time. When we need to meet, we need to negotiate the optimal time for all parties. As frustrating as this may seem at the time, it is a part of the process of growing business relationships through communication.

[Li Yue]

I agree with Chetawat Vekavakayanondha. This site is so cute and sweet. It is so creative. Tungle has a very good idea and so different from other sites which make it so distinctive.
I can make a joke through it like giving a wrong schedule sometimes especially on April Fool's Day. I also can give my friends sweet reminders in special days. This function is funny but sometimes tricky.
Also, as a another side user, sometimes I don't want others to run into my life and know every thing of my life. Keep a secret time and do some thing myself. Time is money and I want to enjoy it flexibly.

[Joya Fountain]

I have to agree with Michael Howard on this one, I understand that inter office employees being able to see my calendar while setting up a meeting. Furthermore what concerns me about the tungle environment is their security procedure and having to "obtain certifications to further enhance the security of the Tungle environment", shouldn’t this be in place already. Having user link their personal information in an environment that’s needs to improve on security doesn’t seem so secure after all.

[Mujtaba Safdar]

The developers of Tungle.Me may find the following open source scheduling software API from Prague Technical University in the Czech, called TORSCHE Scheduling Toolbox for Matlab. TORSCHE is written in Matlab and the scheduling algorithms are developed using techniques from Operations Research (OR), which is the appropriate way of doing scheduling (ie, via OR). TORSCHE is so advanced where it can be used in complex task as industrial machine scheduling for instance. Their papers on the TORSCHE algorithms are also available freely from their site.
I’ve used Timebridge before and liked it. Tungle.me though, I’m not so keen on the name. Perhaps the service is good but I feel awkward about the thought of sending a “tungle” anything to a client. Sure you could say that about “Google” or any number of companies. Still, Tungle just doesn’t sound professional, no matter how catchy of a web name you think it is or not.

[Michael Lafferty]

sounds like a really interesting tool, really the way to go, if you are in a profession where people can just go in and signup for a meeting. i'll give it a shot when the time comes!

[Jarmila Alanez]

My own experience with Scheduling tools is positive. I work better with an organized schedule that tells me where to be, when doing what, so I don't worry about my activities anymore.

Although, I don't like to show my schedule to anybody either. I don't want other people to have any power over my free time. I rather a meeting scheduling that shows only the hours that you set as free time for other people to schedule a meeting. Timebridge does a pretty good job with that.

[Thaddeus White]

This is so cool. I agree that it does need more separation and security design in the model, but there are business models out there that are looking for appointments to be scheduled by their patrons. I could vision a hungry customer searching for a restaurant via Bing(or Google), clicking on the link sends you to their restaurant, Tungle a reservation, and GoogleMap the Location. The same could apply to the following:
Hair Salon
Health Spa (Massage)
Dentist, etc.
Just a thought.