5 ms·

Ask HN: I have an idea that solves a problem, I hope someone does it

6 points by massarog 15y ago

TLDR: A physical invitation that has RSVP buttons built in So I came up with an idea that solves a somewhat minor, but annoying problem. I'm not going to act upon the idea but figured I'd share it with the community to see what others think. The idea may be a little far-fetched, but since I've experienced this problem several times I think it is worth a shot. Greeting cards and invitations are here to stay. They are not going anywhere. When people are having weddings, bridal showers, graduation parties, etc. they are sending out invitations to family and friends, and usually the invitations say please RSVP by X date or email us by X date to let us know if you are coming. The only problem is, I've found that MANY people forget to RSVP and never respond. The idea: An invitation that has RSVP buttons built in. You can select attending/not attending and the # of people, and it automatically (through wifi or some other means) lets the event planner know who is/isn't attending. Has anyone else experienced this problem? We had a party last year, about 15 people didn't respond so I called them up and they were like 'oh yes we forgot to respond, we will be there".

ivanbernat 15y ago
Why not simply put a QR code at the back. People scan it, open a URL and RSVP there?
- massarog 15y ago
  That is a possibility, although since it seems like making a phone call or sending an email to RSVP is already hard enough, the chances of people scanning a QR code and RSVP through the URL would be slim (in my opinion). I just feel like people look at the invitation and say "oh I'll respond later" and they forget to do it.
  - ivanbernat 15y ago
    Another idea is to have an SMS code people send to a predefined number. Each card has a "code" (think bit.ly shortened URLs) which you send to a number printed next to it. It's fast and easy to implement (with Twilio).
    - massarog 15y ago
      This could work as well. The idea I had (buttons in the card) was supposed to be a universal idea that anyone could use. I know that if my grandparents got my invitation with a code to send a text to they wouldn't because they don't have cell phones.
      - mgl 15y ago
        It's a bit too geeky, most people would prefer to text you back with some personal message and most people would like to read them more than just observe blank confirmations on a website. I believe the real problem is that people forget to RSVP and it is difficult to reach them with a reminder without calling them all with mandatory chit chat what wastes a lot of time.
    - pbourke 15y ago
      This sounds like something that would make a nice feature on an existing invite/event product. You could also offer it as a white-label service to print shops.
- davidw 15y ago
  RFID tags might also work for fancier things, like wedding invitations, and be less ugly to boot.
- Tichy 15y ago
  I wonder if it would be possible to create a QR code that only differs for very few black squares, and tell people to blacken said squares depending on their reply. It could be a see-through card - the first page shows the QR code, with holes where the answer dots go. The second page only shows the answer dots to blacken out. Would at least be geeky fun.
  - raquo 15y ago
    Or just have different QR codes for different replies.
mgl 15y ago
I guess that a quick follow-up from your side asking for final RSVP will always be more effective than any other solution located on the guest's side.
- massarog 15y ago
  Yes, that is entirely true, although such a pain to have to follow up with people who you are inviting to your event. I had this problem, so I was just thinking of the easiest way possible for people to respond without having to put much effort into it.
  - mgl 15y ago
    I'm just afraid they will forget to press your button just as they forget to call you back with RSVP confirmation. I don't think the problem is with "RSVP transmission mechanism" but with procrastination and bad memory which is part of us - our human nature. Your problem, as a host, is that it's PITA to call all these people just to confirm their presence. I would think of an automated service that will somehow force final confirmation - you are uploading list of your guests along with their e-mails and phone numbers, and the service will track their confirmations and follow-up the rest with automated phone calls and customized voice message intro from you with simple tone-based choice: 0 - can't make it, 1 - I'll be there!, or it will just send out reminding text messages. This could work.
    - massarog 15y ago
      I think you hit the nail on the head. This seems like it would be the best possible solution. An automated message that you can setup with your name/family name that just reaches out to everyone who has yet to respond. I really hope someone tackles this, seems like a great idea.
      - mgl 15y ago
        It is deadly easy to be built, especially based upon text messaging. MVP would be: You register the event (name, date/time and final confirmation deadline), upload/insert the names and phone numbers of invited guests, the service generates a set of links - one for each guest - which you should put on invitations, so once they click their RSVP will be logged. On the final confirmation day the service will text the remaining guests with a remainder. That's it. Working solution is doable in 5-10 hrs of coding including integration with sms gateway. But here a more difficult question comes: would you pay for such service? Hmmm?
Tichy 15y ago
You mean a device that automatically connects to a WLAN or mobile phone network and sends a message, and is small and cheap enough to be included in hundreds of postcards? Is that even technically feasible yet? Or would it be a recycling postcard - people would press a button on the card, then send it back? But if they can walk to a mailbox, presumably they could also send a normal RSVP?
- massarog 15y ago
  It would be the first part, but I don't know if it is technically possible yet.
  - hugh3 15y ago
    Possible? Sure! Cheap enough to make it worthwhile? Hells no. Maybe you could get the cost per invitation down to ten bucks if you really had economies of scale and the cooperation of the cell phone networks. But who wants to pay ten bucks just to invite someone somewhere? For that money I'd rather provide two more free drinks to everyone at the party.
hugh3 15y ago
One thing that facebook has taught us is that people hate RSVPing for things even when it's completely painless. Pretty much any event you'll find ten confirmed yeses, twenty confirmed nos, fifty confirmed maybes and about four hundred invitations awaiting reply.
- mgl 15y ago
  +1, this is the nitty-gritty
  - massarog 15y ago
    The thing is though, I never check my events on facebook (I'm sure many don't either).
- bconway 15y ago
  We've had 99%+ RSVP rate for any wedding, bridal shower, or graduation party that we've either thrown or been part of planning in the past decade. These are the types of important events that the OP is referring to and necessitate a physical invitation (he also cites them).

6 points by massarog 15y ago

ivanbernat 15y ago

Why not simply put a QR code at the back. People scan it, open a URL and RSVP there?

massarog 15y ago
That is a possibility, although since it seems like making a phone call or sending an email to RSVP is already hard enough, the chances of people scanning a QR code and RSVP through the URL would be slim (in my opinion). I just feel like people look at the invitation and say "oh I'll respond later" and they forget to do it.
- ivanbernat 15y ago
  Another idea is to have an SMS code people send to a predefined number. Each card has a "code" (think bit.ly shortened URLs) which you send to a number printed next to it. It's fast and easy to implement (with Twilio).
  - massarog 15y ago
    This could work as well. The idea I had (buttons in the card) was supposed to be a universal idea that anyone could use. I know that if my grandparents got my invitation with a code to send a text to they wouldn't because they don't have cell phones.
    - mgl 15y ago
      It's a bit too geeky, most people would prefer to text you back with some personal message and most people would like to read them more than just observe blank confirmations on a website. I believe the real problem is that people forget to RSVP and it is difficult to reach them with a reminder without calling them all with mandatory chit chat what wastes a lot of time.
  - pbourke 15y ago
    This sounds like something that would make a nice feature on an existing invite/event product. You could also offer it as a white-label service to print shops.
davidw 15y ago
RFID tags might also work for fancier things, like wedding invitations, and be less ugly to boot.
Tichy 15y ago
I wonder if it would be possible to create a QR code that only differs for very few black squares, and tell people to blacken said squares depending on their reply. It could be a see-through card - the first page shows the QR code, with holes where the answer dots go. The second page only shows the answer dots to blacken out. Would at least be geeky fun.
- raquo 15y ago
  Or just have different QR codes for different replies.

mgl 15y ago

I guess that a quick follow-up from your side asking for final RSVP will always be more effective than any other solution located on the guest's side.

massarog 15y ago
Yes, that is entirely true, although such a pain to have to follow up with people who you are inviting to your event. I had this problem, so I was just thinking of the easiest way possible for people to respond without having to put much effort into it.
- mgl 15y ago
  I'm just afraid they will forget to press your button just as they forget to call you back with RSVP confirmation. I don't think the problem is with "RSVP transmission mechanism" but with procrastination and bad memory which is part of us - our human nature. Your problem, as a host, is that it's PITA to call all these people just to confirm their presence. I would think of an automated service that will somehow force final confirmation - you are uploading list of your guests along with their e-mails and phone numbers, and the service will track their confirmations and follow-up the rest with automated phone calls and customized voice message intro from you with simple tone-based choice: 0 - can't make it, 1 - I'll be there!, or it will just send out reminding text messages. This could work.
  - massarog 15y ago
    I think you hit the nail on the head. This seems like it would be the best possible solution. An automated message that you can setup with your name/family name that just reaches out to everyone who has yet to respond. I really hope someone tackles this, seems like a great idea.
    - mgl 15y ago
      It is deadly easy to be built, especially based upon text messaging. MVP would be: You register the event (name, date/time and final confirmation deadline), upload/insert the names and phone numbers of invited guests, the service generates a set of links - one for each guest - which you should put on invitations, so once they click their RSVP will be logged. On the final confirmation day the service will text the remaining guests with a remainder. That's it. Working solution is doable in 5-10 hrs of coding including integration with sms gateway. But here a more difficult question comes: would you pay for such service? Hmmm?

Tichy 15y ago

You mean a device that automatically connects to a WLAN or mobile phone network and sends a message, and is small and cheap enough to be included in hundreds of postcards? Is that even technically feasible yet? Or would it be a recycling postcard - people would press a button on the card, then send it back? But if they can walk to a mailbox, presumably they could also send a normal RSVP?

massarog 15y ago
It would be the first part, but I don't know if it is technically possible yet.
- hugh3 15y ago
  Possible? Sure! Cheap enough to make it worthwhile? Hells no. Maybe you could get the cost per invitation down to ten bucks if you really had economies of scale and the cooperation of the cell phone networks. But who wants to pay ten bucks just to invite someone somewhere? For that money I'd rather provide two more free drinks to everyone at the party.

hugh3 15y ago

One thing that facebook has taught us is that people hate RSVPing for things even when it's completely painless. Pretty much any event you'll find ten confirmed yeses, twenty confirmed nos, fifty confirmed maybes and about four hundred invitations awaiting reply.

mgl 15y ago
+1, this is the nitty-gritty
- massarog 15y ago
  The thing is though, I never check my events on facebook (I'm sure many don't either).
bconway 15y ago
We've had 99%+ RSVP rate for any wedding, bridal shower, or graduation party that we've either thrown or been part of planning in the past decade. These are the types of important events that the OP is referring to and necessitate a physical invitation (he also cites them).