ZynkUp
What is a social calendar?
In short: a calendar for the plans you make with other people - not for your meetings at work.
Definition: A social calendar is a shared calendar built for making plans with friends. You post a plan, choose who can see it, and people answer whether they are coming. The plan lands in the calendars of the people who are going, and the conversation about it lives on the plan itself - not in a separate group chat.
Why do social calendars exist?
Most social plans start in a group chat. That works for floating an idea, but badly for everything after: the date gets buried, nobody is quite sure who is actually coming, and on the day someone has to dig up the time and address again.
Regular calendar apps don't fix this either. They are built for appointments and work - meetings, deadlines and email invites - and they don't know who your friends are. A social calendar fills the gap between the two: your friends are already there, like in a chat, but your plans stay organised, like in a calendar.
Social calendar vs. regular calendar, shared calendar and group chat
The table shows the typical differences between the four ways of planning. Individual apps vary, but the distinctions hold.
| Social calendar | Regular calendar | Shared calendar | Group chat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Plans with friends | Your own appointments and work | A joint overview for two people or a family | Talking |
| Your friends are there | Yes | No | Only who you share with | Yes |
| See who is coming | Yes, people answer on the plan | Via email invites | Rarely | Manually, in the thread |
| Talk about the plan | A chat per plan | No | No | Yes, mixed with everything else |
| Plan lands in your calendar | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Discover what's on | Yes, public events | No | No | No |
What makes a calendar social?
- Plans you share, not just appointments you store. You choose whether a plan is for a few friends, a group, or open to more people.
- People answer on the plan. You see who is going and who is interested, without counting thumbs in a chat.
- A chat per plan. Questions about the cabin trip stay on the cabin trip, not in the middle of everything else.
- Groups with a shared calendar. Group events can go straight into every member's calendar.
- Friends and birthdays. Your friends' birthdays sit in the calendar next to your other plans.
- Discover what's on. Public events nearby and from organizers you follow.
- Everything in one place. The calendar you already have can be imported, so you don't keep two calendars up to date.
When do you need a social calendar?
A social calendar earns its place when your plans involve more people than just you. Typical examples:
- The friend group that always has to "find a date" for dinner, a quiz or a cabin trip
- Couples and best friends who want to see each other's plans - see shared calendar
- Teams, choirs and shared houses with lots of joint activities - see the sports club guide
- Students in buddy week and folk high school - see the buddy week guide
- Organizers who want to reach people who actually show up - see ZynkUp for organizers
If you only need an appointment book for yourself, a regular calendar is enough. The social calendar is for everything you do with other people.
How to get started with ZynkUp
ZynkUp is a free social calendar for iPhone and Android, made in Oslo. Here is how to set it up:
- Download ZynkUp from the App Store or Google Play.
- Import the calendar you have from Google Calendar or Apple Calendar, so your existing plans come with you.
- Add friends and create a group for your friend group.
- Post a plan with +, choose who can see it, and let people answer.
Read more about the social calendar in ZynkUp, or see all features.
