#29: Calendly, status games, and alternatives. Is there a better app for you? Let's catch up.

My assistant (CC'd) will help us find a time.

A. Short on time? Here’s the TL;DR

1. It all kicked off on Jan 27 when Sam Lessin, founder of fin.com, tweeted how “Calendly etiquette is the most raw/naked display of social capital

   dynamics in business”

   

   Credits: The OG Calendly evangelist, Dr. Parik

2. Twitter retaliated: Sending someone your Calendly link gives them the power to find a time that is convenient for them. And the memes piled on! 😆

3. Earning Calendly free marketing overnight (2,500+ mentions in ~3 days

   ¹
   )

4. Bonus: This saga had the most fitting end 🤣 (see more below)

5. Finally, we wrap up with some scheduling app alternatives you’ll love 💜

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B. What’s all this Calendly buzz?

Last week was a whirlwind. Twitter went bonkers on the social dynamics of sending a Calendly link. Let’s take a look.

B.1. How it started 👀

It all started on Jan 27 when Sam Lessin, founder of fin.com and GP at Slow Ventures, tweeted this:

sam lessin @lessin

‘Calendly’ Etiquette is The Most Raw / Naked Display of Social Capital Dynamics in Business.

A few key excerpts from the tweet:

When someone sends you a Calendly link and asks you to slot yourself on their calendar, they are telling you that you are less important than them /and that ALL of their current meetings are 'more important' than whatever you need them for - it is a 'get in line' move.

…But the reality is that to properly schedule we both need to look at everything going on, evaluate relative importance of different meetings vs. whatever the issue at hand is, and then mutually shift calendars to work..

Summary: Not all meetings are equal. So, the first-come, first-serve model for picking a slot in the calendar isn’t ideal.

But probably it’s just because it is hard to like things you use every day…

sam lessin @lessin

It is hard to like things you use every day…

B.2. How it’s going 🤣

Twitter (obviously) saw the opportunity for memes.

Bobby Goodlatte @rsg

Men will rant about Calendly rather than going to therapy “Okay fine I’ll go to therapy!” Therapist: *sends Calendly link*

Alex Cohen @anothercohen

I find Calendly impersonal and don’t use it either. Instead, I send founders my fax number and ask them to fax me their availability. I then circle my preferred slots with a sharpie and send a return fax. They confirm a time and send a final confirmation fax. It’s the best

Dan Stoyan @dan_stoyan

@petergyang I’m building a web3 Calendly competitor on the Ethereum network. To book an appointment you need to pay a gas fee.

And a strong take from the other side.

Austen Allred @Austen

@lessin I actually think it's the reverse. Sending someone your Calendly link gives *them* the ability to take your time whenever is convenient for them, and lets them pick and choose when. Saying, "Find a time with my assistant" is actually far more demanding of the recipient.

B.3. What it meant for Calendly 🥳

Calendly got a ton of free marketing overnight. 2,500+ mentions in ~3 days!

Calendly @Calendly

Calendly's Content and Brand Team hitting refresh on Twitter today.

And founder Tope Awotona was classy as always 💜 (with a little bit of fun)

Tope Awotona @TopeAwotona

I'd like to personally thank the @Calendly customer community for the ❤️ re: the value we provide you, and @lessin for a huge spike in signups and for all his portfolio cos that rely on Calendly to win and delight customers. We appreciate the support 🙏

Takeaway: Build a product that solves a need so well that when someone writes a negative review, you get (a ton of) free marketing.

Also: This saga, perhaps, had the most fitting end… 🤣

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C. What else do you recommend?

First, you should figure out what you need from your scheduling app:

1. 🤝 Do you primarily need a good scheduling tool (like Calendly) OR

2. ✅ Do you need a lot more calendar functionality (e.g., to-dos, notes, planning) with scheduling just one of the many features

Generally, the more functionality you require, the more the price (anywhere from $70/year to $150/year

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)

Here’s an overview of the options:

👉 Share this on Twitter 👈

A few favorites among these:

1. 🏄‍♂️ Akiflow: To-dos, calendar, scheduling all-in-one (What I’m using currently)

2. ⚡Vimcal: Superhuman for calendar; beautiful design

3. 🤗 SavvyCal: Optimized for the receiver; allows them to overlay their calendar while booking a slot with you

4. 🙌 Cal.com: Open source and fully customizable

And Cron is the Product Hunt 🏆 productivity app of the year. It is still in early access. Expect a deep-dive soon!

Any others you’ve come across recently?

1. Source: Statistics via awario.com. (Tweeted here)

2. CommandDot also has plans for $300/year & $600/year!