Google Apps gets better all the time, and the latest improvement, upgrade, whatever you want to call it, is for Google Calendar.
You can now create and manage appointment availability and sign up, too.
Are you available for an appointment between 2p-5p?
Mark it in Google Calendar, and people can visit your Google Calendar URL and sign-up for an appointment.
To get started, set up blocks of time you’d like to offer as appointment slots. Simply click anywhere on your calendar and then on “Appointment slots.” From there, create a single block of time or automatically split a larger block of time into smaller appointment slots.
Every Google Calendar has a personal appointment sign up page. You can embed it into your website or provide the URL, however you see fit.
You can find the URL for your appointment page at the top of the set-up page, which you can access via the Edit details link.
When someone signs up for an appointment on your personal appointment sign up page, Google Calendar creates a new shared event for both calendars.
Google Calendar is a great new way to manage office hours. Google released it yesterday, but appoint slots may take a few days before being available for everyone.
I could see this as a great tool for freelancers and those working in non-traditional work scenarios. In a traditional office situation, you can just drop by somebody’s office, with Google Calendar, you could arrange online office hours.
Will you be using this new feature?
[via Google Enterprise Blog]
NOTE: If you use Google Apps domains and you’d like to book appointments using the Appointment Slots feature, make sure that you’ve converted to the new Google Apps infrastructure. If you haven’t, just talk to your domain administrator about making this transition. [via Google Help]
Dustin W. Stout says
You can bet I’ll be using this feature as soon as it rolls out on my calendar! Awesome!
Eric Dye says
🙂
Steven Rossi says
Colleges that use Google Apps should require their professors to use this. It would be so convenient!
Eric Dye says
Yes it would!