YACA

YACA Defined.

This one has a bit of promise.

But....

EVDB, upcoming.org, Trumba, Kiko, Planzo. All YACAs.  How many calendar/event listing widget startups do we really need? Are people really die-ing to share their entire schedule on the internet? And will people go to a separate website to do it?

I am glad we are coming at events from the event planners and promoter's perspective. Their needs are certainly not as evident to the average web geek "with a dream". And they have a budget and cash flow. Usually.

Comments

[Brian Dear]

Nope, EVDB is not YACA. Far from it.

EVDB's orientation is and has always been very much event-centric, not calendar centric. All along I've viewed EVDB as follows: EVDB is to events and calendars the way iTunes songs are to iTunes playlists. The iTunes music store is all about THE SONG. You pick the ones you like, you buy them, you add them to playlists.

In EVDB, you pick the events you like, and you add them to your own calendars. We don't care what calendars you add them to. We have some simple calendar tools, but you're just as welcome to take the event or events and add them to iCal, Outlook, Trumba, Mulberry, Chandler, whatever.

[Peter Caputa]

I see the difference, Brian. I wonder whether the difference matters to most people, though. I think most people view an event directory or a share-able calendar tool as filling a similar need:

1. You go to the site.
2. You find events.
3. You decide to go.

OR

1. You go to the site.
2. You add your event.
3. You hope other people find it and go.

Until EVDB's search box is on google's home page, I'd imagine that you'll be battle-ing this perception?

[Chris Radcliff]

Let me provide my own example of the failure of a YACA vs. the utility of an event database.

I visited DC for a week. Leading up to that week, I scanned about three dozen sites looking for "what's happening in DC that week that's of interest to me". Each one had its own format, timeline, and update regime. I ended up finding much better events in the local paper the day I got there, but I still missed a whole lot of good stuff.

YACA doesn't help me. I can't create a calendar of events I haven't found yet, and I'm not interested in adding my own. I want a single central search that understands events, the what, where, and when of them. One that misses NO event, be it a weekly trad session at a pub, a Smithsonian lecture, a book fair, or a flashmob.

OK, maybe that flashmob is a stretch, but there's no reason that the rest shouldn't be at my fingertips.

(Disclaimer: yes, I work for EVDB. Yes, I drank the kool-aid.)

[Peter Caputa]

Excellent points, Chris.

However, I don't think that the average person looks on the web or in the paper for something to do. The average person calls a friend.

Of course, we have no way of knowing that. So, rock on.

I appreciate what you guys were doing. About 2 years ago, we weighed doing the same thing you are. So, I think you guys are definitely on to something.

I wish I could see a bit more daily progress. I think business development (in order to get event data into your system from other systems) will be a very important part of making EVDB successful. As important as writing code and creating/supporting standard event formats.

Is that happening?

[Chris Radcliff]

Absolutely (on all counts). I guess we're just being too quiet about our updates. Of course, I see you wrote that a few hours before we launched our major revision, so I'll take it with a grain of salt. ;)

As you pointed out in a later post, EVDB is just one link in the chain. Fortunately, success in the Web 2.0 world is all about being as useful a link as possible.

[Peter Caputa]

From reading Brian Dear's blog, you'd barely know he has a company.

Do you have a blog?

A little more blogging about what you are doing, might be good.

[Peter Caputa]

The new site is awesome, btw.

[Braidwood]

I want one place to look online and search by price, place, time, and/or type of event. I am one of the friends people call and ask about events- Also, if I haven't planned anything I want something to do at a moments notice. Right now I am trying to decide between calendars for a social group I am a chair of.