Though I'm chronically checking in on services like Brightkite, Loopt and Foursquare, it's rare that I'll actually make an appearance at the behest of a friend's status update. For the slovenly masses that work from home, venturing out to meet friends on a weeknight can seem daunting. But rather than submit to the unkempt perils of pantless utopia, there's hope. Sponty offers us a chance to plan and prep for casual outings. ]]>
Instead of asking users to give their immediate locations, Sponty allows us to add events to a schedule. Users can add their information via the company's web interface or its newly released iPhone app. If you know you're going to be at a conference, happy hour or concert you can add the event, location and time to your Sponty calendar. From here it's easy to plan meet ups and tweet ups. Once you fill in your info, your friends are notified via the Sponty community, Twitter, Facebook, email or through an embeddable blog widget. Friends then click the "I'm down" button to express their interest in joining you. Users can cancel or bail out on events at anytime.
While you may share calendars with your closest pals, a wider circle of friends would quickly make that overwhelming to track. Sponty is a great social calendar substitute and offers users a chance to plan impromptu events without the constraints of multiple registrations. What's interesting about this service is the fact that instead of offering us real-time event updates, it's more usefully giving us a look at real-time intentions. To register and test the service visit thesponty.com.
]]>