MailChimp RSVP Button: Organizer Updates and Recipient Experience
Stop the Panic - Use a Calendar Invite
Briefing Document: MailChimp RSVP Button - Update 3 Demo (Bears vs. Lions)
This briefing details the functionality and workflow of the Calendar Snack service, specifically demonstrating its integration with Mailchimp for event updates and RSVP management. The primary focus is on how event organizers can modify event details and ensure those updates are propagated to attendees who have previously responded to the invitation.
Key Themes and Concepts:
Organizer-Initiated Event Updates: The system allows an event organizer (Mandy) to make changes to an event (e.g., date, time, location) within her Google Calendar.
Calendar Snack as an API-Driven Service: Calendar Snack acts as an intermediary, processing these updates via APIs and pushing them to relevant platforms, specifically Mailchimp in this demo.
Automated Update Delivery to Attendees: Attendees who have previously received and responded to a Calendar Snack-powered Mailchimp invitation automatically receive updated calendar invitations with the latest event details.
RSVP Persistence and Reconfirmation: The system tracks attendee RSVPs. When an update is sent, attendees can reconfirm their attendance with the new details.
Mailchimp Integration: Calendar Snack seamlessly integrates with Mailchimp, allowing organizers to embed RSVP buttons directly into Mailchimp campaigns.
Most Important Ideas/Facts:
Workflow for Initial Invitation and RSVP:
An organizer (Mandy) creates an event (Lions vs. Bears) and sends the event data to countersnack.com.
This data is processed via APIs, with the Calendar Snack engine interacting with the AWS Countervite server.
An RSVP button is then inserted into a Mailchimp campaign.
A downstream actor (Zach) receives the Mailchimp campaign, clicks the RSVP button, and gets the original calendar invitation.
Zach responds to the invitation (e.g., "Yes, I'm going").
Demonstrated Update Scenarios:
Update 1: Booth Change (Location/Identifier)
Mandy, as the organizer, changes the "booth" from 983 to 1000.
This update is resent to calendarnack.com for processing.
The update appears in Mandy's Calendar Snack console.
"Any Mailchimp customer who has responded yes or no to the previous calendar received will receive an updated calendar with the changes in it."
Zach at techvador.com receives "the updated calendar invite with the changes," specifically "the booth 1000."
Zach confirms: "Yes I'm still going."
Update 2: Time Change
Mandy changes the game start time from 11:00 to 11:15.
"You saw that I actually committed the change It moved from 11:00 to 11:15."
The Calendar Snack engine processes this change.
"Zach received the updated invitation for the Lions versus the Bears."
Zach sees the "11:15 start" and is expected to say "yes."
Core Technology and Pipeline:
Organizer's Tool: Google Calendar client for Mandy.
Processing Engine: calendarsnack.com (Calendar Snack engine).
Server Infrastructure: AWS Countervite server.
Communication: APIs facilitate data transfer between components.
Notification Platform: Mailchimp.
Recipient's Action: Clicking the RSVP button in Mailchimp generates the original calendar invitation.
Update Mechanism: "The calendar snack service that services update APIs for the Mailchimp buttons."
Tracking and Confirmation:
The system gathers "data back here in the response engine for the calendar receipts from Zach's um calendar invite that is on his calendar." This indicates a feedback loop for tracking attendee responses to both initial invites and updates.
The update counter progresses, e.g., "We request that the update counter progress to three," indicating the number of updates sent for a particular event.
User Roles:
Mandy: The "organizer" and "current actor" who manages the event and makes changes. "Mandy is the organizer for the calendar snack."
Zach: An "actor downstream" and an "actor in the Mailchimp list" who receives invitations and updates.
In essence, the demo showcases a robust system where event organizers can dynamically manage event details, and the Calendar Snack service ensures these changes are automatically and efficiently communicated to all relevant attendees via Mailchimp, maintaining RSVP status throughout the process.
1. What is the core functionality being demonstrated in this scenario?
The core functionality being demonstrated is the ability to update calendar invitations dynamically for attendees who have previously responded via a Mailchimp RSVP button. This involves an organizer making changes to an event, which are then processed by a service (Calendar Snack) and automatically pushed to the calendars of recipients who originally interacted with the RSVP.
2. Who are the leading actors in this process, and what are their roles?
The main actors are:
Mandy: The organizer of the event, responsible for creating and updating the calendar invitation within her Google Calendar. She uses the Calendar Snack service to process these updates.
Zach: A downstream recipient on Mandy's Mailchimp list. He receives the initial Mailchimp campaign with the RSVP button, clicks it to get the calendar invite, and subsequently receives updated calendar invites when Mandy makes changes.
Calendar Snack: The service that acts as an intermediary. It processes the event data from Mandy's calendar via APIs, interacts with the AWS Countervite server, inserts the RSVP button into Mailchimp campaigns, and most importantly, handles the distribution of updated calendar invitations to all relevant Mailchimp customers.
3. How does the initial RSVP process work?
Initially, Mandy creates an event in her Google Calendar. This event data is sent to countersnack.com via APIs. The Calendar Snack engine, in conjunction with the AWS Countervite server, processes this data, and an RSVP button is then inserted into a Mailchimp campaign. Zach, as a recipient of this Mailchimp campaign, clicks the RSVP button and receives the original calendar invitation.
4. What happens when an organizer (Mandy) makes a change to an event?
When Mandy, as the organizer, changes event details (like the booth number from 983 to 1000, or the start time from 11:00 to 11:15), she does so within her Google Calendar. This updated information is then resent to the calendarnack.com processing pipeline.
5. How are the updates propagated to attendees?
Once Mandy's changes hit the Calendar Snack pipeline, the service updates its internal database and, crucially, sends an updated calendar invitation to any Mailchimp customer who had previously responded "yes" or "no" to the original calendar invitation. Zach, for example, receives this updated invite directly to his calendar with the new details.
6. What specific changes were demonstrated in the updates?
Two specific updates were demonstrated:
Booth Change: Mandy changed the booth number for the event from 983 to 1000.
Time Start Change: Mandy later changed the event start time from 11:00 to 11:15.
In both instances, Zach received the updated calendar invitation reflecting these changes.
7. What is the significance of the "response engine for the calendar receipts"?
The "response engine for the calendar receipts" gathers data back from Zach's calendar when he interacts with the updated invite (e.g., saying "Yes, I'm still going"). This suggests that the system tracks attendee responses to both initial and updated invitations, providing feedback or confirmation to the organizer or the Calendar Snack service.
8. What is the benefit of this system for event organizers and attendees?
For organizers like Mandy, the system provides a seamless way to manage event updates. They can make changes in their familiar calendar interface, and the system automatically handles the complex task of notifying and updating attendees' calendars, ensuring everyone has the most current information without manual intervention. For attendees like Zach, the benefit is receiving timely and automatic updates directly to their calendars. This reduces the risk of missing important changes and eliminates the need to manually track multiple email notifications or re-add events to their calendar.
https://calendarsnack.com
https://github.com/calendarinvite/calendarinviteserver/wiki/AWS-Calendar-Invite-Server-%E2%80%90HLD