Real-world test of MyPunchBowl.com

This is in response to Robert/Chris Pirillo/Ponzi:

Thanks for giving MyPunchbowl.com a real-world test. We’re the first to admit that there are features that we want to add and functionality that we would like to change. However, I read the review by Chris/Ponzi carefully, and want to take a few minutes to clarify a few points. Most importantly, it sounds as if Ponzi did not understand the difference between a “save the date” and a “full invitation.” As you’ll read below, this is a big factor in her review of the product. I’ll take her comments one by one (my comments marked as MjD):

1) Where is the basic list of “yes”s and “no”s for the party thrower to look at and work with?

MjD: If you create a “Save the Date” you will find this list under “The People.” For a “Full Invitation”, all of the host guest list management is under “Guest List.” It sounds like Ponzi created an invitation but was looking under the “Save the Date” section. These sections are clearly marked in the left hand navigation (more info below).

2) Why isn’t it easy to add an email address to the list of “to invite”?

MjD: Again, if you want to invite more people, simply go to the guest list page and click “Invite More Guests.” From what I can tell, Ponzi was looking under save the date for the invitation information. We’ll work on making it more clear for the user: the key is that the menu items under “Save the Date” relate to the save the date, and the items under “Invitation” relate the the invitation.

3) Why when I click “the people” doesn’t it show me a list of the people coming to the party? Instead, I have to go to the message board and scroll to see if the people are coming and what they said or to the guest section. I hate to scroll. Yes – I’m that lazy.

MjD: It doesn’t show you a list because you need to use the guest list page to manage an invite. Once again, it sounds like you sent out an invite, but you are trying to use the items under “Save the Date” to manage the invite.

4) Who cares about a “party store locator” – I don’t need an invitation site to tell me where to go – I’m throwing the party; I should know where to get the supplies. Is this here to get sponsorship so the site is free?

MjD: Interesting comment– I think the key phrase is “I should know where to get the supplies.” We’ve gotten lots of great feedback about our party store locator. Most people don’t know that specialty party retailers even exist (they just go to Target/Walmart). Some people like to support local businesses– using our party store locator you can find a local party store in your area. In the future, we’re going to add more functionality including coupons and the ability to purchase supplies online. Stay tuned.

5) Photos – when I saw Flickr photos could be added, I thought that was cool. Then I thought about it – in reality, once I send an invite and have a party, I never go back to the invite. If I want to post photos, I do it on Flickr or on my blog – never back to an invitation site – when the party is over.

MjD: To each his/her own. However, one thing that our after party provides is a great place to collect all of the various photos from the party (from multiple people). You can add multiple Flickr sets, share memories, and keep this party around to reminisce. We also have a slew of new features coming in the future that we believe will make the “after party” alot of fun for hosts and guests…

One last comment: after re-reading what I just wrote, it strikes me that the transparency of the web can be a double edged sword– Ponzi was confused about “Save the Date” versus an “Invitation” and it clearly colored her review. We are here to help, and I wish that we would have had the opportunity before Scoble and Chris posted their blog entry. Hmmmm…maybe I just need to pull “a Scoble.” Yep, that’s what I’ll do….

Here’s an open offer for anyone who is using MyPunchbowl to plan a party or event and gets stuck: just pick up the phone and call my cell phone: 650-814-3393. If you need help, I’ll help you. The last thing we want is for people to use the product incorrectly and get the wrong impression of its functionality.

We want to make the best damn event and party planning website in the world– and we won’t be satisfied until everyone loves using it. Robert/Chris/Ponzi: I hope you’ll give MyPunchbowl.com another shot.

Thanks for reading.

Matt Douglas
Founder
http://www.mypunchbowl.com

I’ve commented on Chris’s blog as well…but those who are looking to do some simple party planning should try Planypus..the wiki-like planspace makes it easy to share the organizational burden with a friend or two (or ten . Have your guests vote on where and when to go, and integrate it all with rss, sms, email, gcal, whatever your geeky heart desires. And there’s no party store locator on our site because, well, we really don’t think the average user has a need for one. And if they do there is always google. Don’t know if it’s an effective revenue model but it seems like more of an annoyance than anything else to me…finding a party store is not in a user’s normal party planning workflow.

(Sorry, forgot to add the disclaimer, I’m the founder of Planypus, shamelessly plugging my own wares

I would like to plug my website Koolvite.com as an alternative to the above websites. We have taken a different approach and focussed on the quality of the invite as the key value. Koolvite lets users design their invites with rich graphics, photos and text in a highly flexible way. This personalization has distinct value for certain events such as birthdays and celebrations.

Naturally marketing this to Evite users is a challenge. However, our core value is personalization and we have multiple avenues to propagate it: Check out our eCards website Tuhee.com which uses the same personalization as differentiator but has a smaller learning curve and is fast picking up traffic.

I’d love to read the followup, as I sent a note on mypunchbowl.com to friends in an organization I’m involved with, as we’ve had some eVite issues. However, when I click on the link, I get a page that says Windows Fanatics at the top, with a search box below that says What Were You Looking For. Can someone direct me to the followup post in question? Thanks.