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http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/09/13/socializr-...
http://software.gigaom.com/2006/09/14/whats-new...
Nice writeup. I agree with your insights and have thrown my hand ups in evite frustration myself. It really is amazing that the site hasn't perceptively changed since it launched! Don't know if socializr is the cure, but there definitely seems to be some opportunity here.
Why does someone need to use evite profiles? The purpose of evite is to invite your friends to events. All in all, it's fine to launch a competing service, but not because of the reasons listed, and I really doubt that there's much stress involved in getting an evite invitation. So while socializr may have its merits, this wasn't a great show of what they will be... I guess it will be faster and have better profiles that I'll want to use. Cool, but not sure you solved the event problem I was having :)
And @thisisgarbage: I actually really like the new venturebeat spin - running opeds, etc. It's great that Matt is opening up these channels for investors/founders, etc.
With all the really interesting things going on in 1999, eVite floored this guy?
He must have been eleven.
Give me a break. Not sure I'd ever admit to being so parochial.
"Slow...slower...no good alternative.. wait there's one (and I'm totally biased btw). "
Now I can post about "why I hate Socializr". At least one of its investors thinks we're stupid.
Good job polarizing, though. No wonder you pray they kill evite. Well, I'd rather see evite evolving than dead, which is what you'd have wished if you didn't have an investment on oh, the alternative. Right?
And as you say, there are plenty of sites like evite - maybe you've got invites fro Socialzr because you're part of that game, after all.
Like I said, one more self promotion post like this and I'm out.
Think about this -- how come Evite decides the relationship ends after the event. Why can't it mashup with Flickr? Why can't I buy tickets ahead of time? They should be integrating tools like Flickr, Mollyguard, etc into Evite.
It's a shame they have IAC behind them because they can't compete with ticketmaster and most of the other IAC properties.
The reality is though that Evite stinks.
This doesn't read like a paid promotion, it's one man's opinion and since when do we get pissed about people being upfront about what conflicts they have?
Welcome to the Internets...
After thinking more about what was actually frustrating about this read, I think I've figured it out. It's that most readers didn't know that Auren was an investor in Socializr. I was led to believe that this was just a passionate message about wanting to make evite better. Then you get hit on the head it was all a trick.
Watch the movie "Wild Things" and you'll experience the same discomfort.
I've personally used:
just very simple and easy to use invites
- http://www.goovite.com/
a very slick app that helps you choose meeting times
- http://www.meetwithapproval.com/
more of a social network
- http://www.skobee.com/
other options or "alternatives" include:
- http://renkoo.com/login.php
- http://www.doodle.ch/
And in the name of shameless self promotion I do some ranting and raving over at http://www.lifeinlists.com
i think the piece resonates with me because evite doesn't do the trick, and it is hard to believe i haven't gotten a single invitation from any of these web 2.0 invitation/event companies -- may say something about me, though! -- and no, i'm not sure socializr is the answer either.
note that VentureBeat was the first to link to Poland's piece outing Socializr and that Polands piece isn't very friendly to Socializr.
it would be interesting to know what you relationship with Auren is.
-Andrew
Maybe a disclaimer about Auren's relationship with Socializr should be a little higher up? Just a thought.
Scandalous, I'm sure of it! Auren writing a piece about being frustrated with Evite, saying what we all think about them but don't write, and moreover, disclosing his involvement with a competitor is truly shocking and deplorable.
Auren, you are on notice! :-)
Besides, this guest article trend on people's blogs in a bit annoying--I didn't subscribe to your feed to read an infomercial. I like your writing enough to subscribe to it, not random third-party stuff. If he had written a good blog post on his blog and you had linked to it, the infomercial nature of it would have been less obnoxious...
A great article - and it resonates with me. I also hate eVite - though for slightly different reasons. Funny thing, quite recently I've wrote a post in my blog on the same topic and with almost the same title:
http://grumpytech.blogspot.com/2006/08/i-hate-e...
I am really disappointed. This isn't what I expected of VentureBeat. The reason I liked reading your blog is because of its journalistic integrity.
Regardless of the message about the quality (of lack thereof) of Evite, it is tainted by transparent self-promotion. The fact that it is in an "Op-Ed section" should not give free license to allow folks to post trash a service while at the same time promote themselves or the companies that they are invested in. I don't have a problem with VentureBeat doing guest posts where someone talks about their company if it is relevant and interesting, but this is ridiculous.
So long as you make the editorial decisions about who gets to post on the column, it is, in my view, your responsibility to manage this.
Get your head out of your.... and smell the new world.
a couple of comments:
1. I would like to offer my sincere apologies to the people of Kazakhstan. Kazaks are wonderfully fun-loving people who are very peaceful (and sit on a lot of oil). And Borat comes from there.
2. I hate Evite. sorry. i just hate them. I also hate Windows Explorer. and i hate olives too. i just don't like olives ... i'm not apologizing for that. (see my upcoming rant on VegatableBeat).
3. i don't hate Evite because i invested on Socializr. i investor in Socializr because i hate Evite. and yes, i actually prominently disclosed that i am an investor. and it was at the bottom of the piece. but you all got there and read it.
4. i still hate olives. you haven't convinced me about that yet. and i am invested in pickles hoping for the demise of all olives.
lets talk, I've got a great new pickle 2.0 startup.
-Andrew
I do not understand how getting too many eVites makes the system bad. Are you suggesting this new service you are promoting will filter things out for you?
These days I just send invites to people through Google's invite system that is hooked to its calendar. Much simplier than creating a completely seperate page and its easier for all my other google-infected friends.
I'm not suggesting that Evite is the holy grail of event systems but it is popular for a reason and the features Auren suggested - if users really want it - could be implemented by Evite in a week.
Seriously though - I just think people need to relax a little, take a step back, and laugh at your op-ed piece. And then slap themselves for getting all riled up.
By the way, I hate olives too.
Let me reiterate: DOUCHE-BAG.
come on man, your comments are totally uncalled for. As much as I disaprove of this post, Auren doesn't deserve that kind of mud slinging. Furthermore, if I were currently working on a startup I would want my investors doing anything they could to get me publicity. I don't like the fact that this was posted on VentureBeat, but it was smart on Auren's part and has probably driven a lot of traffic to Socializr.
-Andrew
(makes a big difference whether that information is available to readers *before* the endorsement vs after)
note: there are also several other evite competitor sites with products in alpha or beta. while i agree with Auren that eVite hasn't been innovating much, i don't think Socializr will be the only available option.
- dave mcclure
I think evite must have hired people to leave comments on this post....
To be clear: I have no financial or business relationship with Auren whatsoever. I'm ready to run any contributors item that comes in well-written, and helps to spark debate -- and that includes one from Evite.
Note that we've just run an opinion piece from Joyce Park, who works for a competitor to Socializr.
Shameless self-promotion does not make interesting or informative content. It's gratuitous and repulsive.
Treat your readers better. And Auren, don't quit your day job, cause you suck at op-eds.
"I was floored, impressed, and just blown-away. Now I just get bored, stressed, and have grown astray."
That's a pretty clever rhyme...talented.
Lastly anyone notice the side swipe at eBay? which is also self motivated?
Cute verbiage here and there about being founded in 1848 during the California Gold Rush, but not very much Web 2.0 going on there.
Maybe their hiding all the good stuff behind the Login curtain, but I would never know. I'm not giving up my creds just to have a look-see.
PS: Always disclose your personal interests in a clear or pronounced way at the top or bottom of your piece. Otherwise, in the blogosphere, you'll get slammed like this.
But that's not really it for me. For me I hate it because Evite is about the organizer and not about the guests. I have no problem with people using Evite for formal events where you need a head count. But it seems to me that a lot of Type A personalities use the service to force structure on social interactions that don't need or require it. It is overused. It makes me RSVP to a happy hour like I would to board meeting. It's just too top down for my tastes.
EventBrite (formerly MollyGuard) is a a very decent generic service and our own product Wild Apricot (WildApricot.com) is an example of a vertically focused one (we handle event registrations as one of the aspects of non-profit and grassroot groups management).
www.inviteforgood.com
http://venturebeat.com/2007/01/15/mypunchbowl-j...
http://www.bradvite.com
It gets the job done in a very small fraction of the time. Send invites in seconds and have responses in minutes. No logins, no email harvesting, no maybes.