NeedtoMeet: schedule and organize meetings with ease

NeedtoMeet.com is a free web service for organizing and scheduling meetings or events with friends or colleagues.

Because it uses the browser as the scheduling tool, NeedtoMeet can work in virtually any situation, removing the reliance on a scheduling software such as Outlook. It lets you propose several timeslots and dates then provides a unique URL where all your collaborators (or anyone which you email the link) can visit and indicate the times that are convenient for them (see screenshot).

Let’s say that you would like to organize a book club meeting, a social get-together for a group of friends, or say a “re-elect democrats in November” meeting. You could try to organize a time and place via email and telephone, but that’s simply way too much work and old fashioned in the age of the internet. Instead, you can use NeedtoMeet to instantly poll participants on the time that is best for them.

Here are more notes on this service:

• How it works: you can provide a list of emails to send the schedule to, or simply grab a link and email it to people yourself. The benefit of the latter approach is that you could always email it to more people later on. Users who click on the link can then indicate which times are good for them from the time slots highlighted on a calendar (see screenshot to the right).
• Recurring meetings: NeedtoMeet can be used to manage both ad-hoc as well as recurring meetings.
• Tracking users: to respond, participants have to use a unique name and password; they do not, however, need to provide an email address.
• Changing their minds: users can go back and change their initial responses as long as they remember the password they used when they made their initial response.
• Changing or editing the meeting: is possible via an admin link that is given to you when you create the meeting. You can change the meeting description, proposed time slots, or any other pertinent information.
• Google map: by entering an address for the meeting (optional), Need2Meet will display the meeting place on a Google Map.

The verdict: a really nice and easy to use service. It is also very well implemented such that it can be used casually by just about anyone regardless of how computer literate or savvy, and without requiring valid emails for registration.

Compatibility: browser based.

Go to the Need2Meet home page to start using this service.