Plango launches social, mobile calendar for Facebook
Targeting Generation Y, Plango launches an app that lets you plan things on the go via group messaging, check-ins, and real-time comments.
Plango is a new mobile calendar for the young and the social. The service, which launched today, addresses a key deficiency in Facebook: while you can invite friends to events on the social network, it has no calendar per se.
Petri Sakkinen, CEO of Plango parent GoAct, said he "wants Plango to be a full calendar replacement for Facebook users." Sakkinen uses the service to plan his tennis games and rock climbing adventures with his friends, but also uses it to notify them if he's running late.
Plango users log in using their Facebook credentials and can invite their Facebook friends to events from it. The app is made for mobile users and lets users check in to venues and set up events at them. Users also get a map view of their calendar, showing where they are scheduled to be, and when.
Events can be private or public, and friends can leave comments or coordination notes in event records. The calendar service isn't limited to smartphone users. Invites can reach anyone listed in your phone book; Plango sends SMS messages when necessary.
Plango is available now on the iPhone and over the Web. The company plans on building an app for Android to target a wider net of Generation Y and young professionals. GoAct just announced it has secured $500,000 in funding from Esther Dyson and other angel investors.