I have talked before about Tungle, the easy-as-email online calendaring application from a cool startup based out of Montreal. My Tungle account goes everywhere with me, and is literally an integral part of my professional and personal life.
Thanks to Tungle’s integration with Google Calendar (and my android phone), I can mashup my personal, work and other calendars and let Tungle sort it all out. Overbooking is a thing of the past, and people can literally get in touch with me any time that fits their schedule.
I use it at work in recruiting (life-saver), to manage my volunteer time at the charter school I work with, and for just setting/keeping appointments or even lunches with buddies I am trying to connect/reconnect with.
But, life would be easier if there were people in my life that used Tungle and let me just jump online and connect with them. So, that’s my Wishlist item of the week–The 5 People I wish Would Tungle:
- My Hair Stylist – Yes, it’s a pain for me to call the salon and we play the phone tag game of “when are they available?”, “let me check”, rustling of papers, “it looks like they’re not working tomorrow, have a few slots on Thursday, and a few on Friday….” and the back-and-forth continues. Really? I know my stylist uses her iPhone more than water—get on Tungle!
- My Doctor, Pediatrician or Dentist – I can bet that, if there’s something urgent, I should call in. But, if my doctor’s office allowed me to jump online and suggest times in advance for a physical, teeth cleaning or a well-child check-up—I might actually DO that once in a while.
- Repair Men/Women– do you see a theme here? Yes, I think anybody in the services space should be tungling (I just invented that word, and I don’t mean the seminary). Psst — Comcast? I’m not your customer any more, but remember when I would call and wait on hold to talk to someone in a call-center who would schedule someone to come visit me within a four hour window? Let me schedule it myself, please!
- Sales people and Account Managers – Hey, who isn’t busy? I know others are not like me, but I would actually connect more frequently with the various sales people in my life and account managers if I knew I could jump on and schedule a meeting with them when the thought crosses my mind. Hint: I don’t reply to cold-calls often, but I will nearly always accept a Tungle invitation from a sales person because it means they respect my way of time-management.
- My kids’ teachers and school administration – I try to be involved in my kids’ education, and I want to help out where it makes sense at my kids’ school. It would be great if teachers, faculty, or even our school board members had Tungle accounts so I could proactively work with them or volunteer at times that work for both of us.
Others I think should look into Tungle:
- Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners— This makes perfect sense, as you’re ramping your business and looking to make connections, I think a Tungle account is perfect. Last year, I recruited for FamilyLink.com who uses a certain well-known online email/calendaring service that Tungle integrates perfectly with out of the box.
Someone like Paul Allen who regularly, openly shares what keeps him awake at night could leverage Tungle to the hilt with his internal employees and external partners. Paul’s employees are typical of many in the startup world these days. They are digital nomads, living and working from various locations—across time-zones or continents—engaging in real-time collaboration. They are digerati and the faster they can connect and make things happen, the better.
Also, many entrepreneurs are on LinkedIn to make connections. Tungle turns LinkedIn connections into actions.
- Job Seekers — If you’re looking for a job, even if you’re “tip toeing” to see what might be out there, don’t you want to be contacted? Wave your great big availability flag by leveraging Tungle to allow recruiters or potential hiring managers to reach you and book appointments on-the-fly. I’m pretty sure a job-seeker’s Tungle address would be a killer addition to their email signature or resume. Who knows what interviews will just trickle in because you’re doing something interesting and cool (and you could be protecting yourself and your privacy at the same time)
- Non-Profit Groups or Volunteer Organizations – What if your local food bank had a way for you to schedule time to come in and donate your time right online? What if your favorite charity, Parent-Teacher organization, non-profit or church-based group used Tungle to coordinate committees, meetings and functions. Would that speed things along in a world where everyone’s life is busy and other-focused the rest of the time?
Who else should use it?
Robert Merrill 
Nice. I could probably name a couple of hundred others that could use it. My wife, any website that has scheduled down time, restaurants, etc.
Lol re your wife, but that’s actually pretty smart!
Nice. I could probably name a couple of hundred others that could use it. My wife, any website that has scheduled down time, restaurants, etc.
Lol re your wife, but that’s actually pretty smart!
Students, for organizing their group projects. I hate those doodle.com invites, with their hundreds of stupid 30 min slots you have to click on. nYes, students would not go premium, not the most profitable customer. Until 3 or 4 years later when they get a job as a hair dresser, pediatrician or full-time job seeker. Please Tungle, be a doodle-killer, quick
@briac Good idea. Oh, how I hated scheduling for group study in college! Also, schools could put their study rooms on Tungle, too… schedule with your classmates and get the room to meet in, too. Killer! nnAlso, no other scheduling/calendar app comes close to tungle’s UI. Finally!
Who else should use Tungle for calendaring? Marketing Public Relations or Analyst Relations people or anyone whose job it is to be social generate/make conversations.
Students, for organizing their group projects. I hate those doodle.com invites, with their hundreds of stupid 30 min slots you have to click on.
Yes, students would not go premium, not the most profitable customer. Until 3 or 4 years later when they get a job as a hair dresser, pediatrician or full-time job seeker. Please Tungle, be a doodle-killer, quick
@briac Good idea. Oh, how I hated scheduling for group study in college! Also, schools could put their study rooms on Tungle, too… schedule with your classmates and get the room to meet in, too. Killer!
Also, no other scheduling/calendar app comes close to tungle’s UI. Finally!
Who else should use Tungle for calendaring? Marketing Public Relations or Analyst Relations people or anyone whose job it is to be social generate/make conversations.
Pitched my stylist on Tungle last week — she loved the idea. We’ll see how it goes.
Pitched my stylist on Tungle last week — she loved the idea. We’ll see how it goes.