Swap Facebook Events for Google Calendar

One of the strengths of Facebook is its ability to identify what other digital companies do well, and then either design its own similar features or flat-out buy the company.

One of the company’s latest products falls into the former category. It’s called the Events From Facebook app, and it’s a new calendar-based app loaded with social media features and functionality. There’s little doubt it was created to compete with Google Calendar.

Here is a quick look at what Events From Facebook is, how you can make the transition from Google Calendar, and whether you should do so in the first place.

Events From Facebook Basics

Just as it sounds, Events From Facebook focuses on the events you and your friends are interested in or plan to attend. Put another way, it’s a calendar app that integrates your social media presence — most notably Facebook.

Using the app, you can quickly browse events your friends are interested in, as well as events hosted by brands, people and companies you have liked on Facebook. You can also use the app to sift through recommended events based on a variety of factors, including location, time of day or week, and general interests.

Why You Should Get Events From Facebook

There is a good chance you already use Facebook’s Events feature — 650 million people around the world do, including 100 million that use it every day. For that set, the new Events From Facebook app will conveniently streamline your experience.

The app is basically a way for Facebook to highlight the events promoted on its own platform, but it also allows you to upload your own calendar and scheduling data so you have all potential plans in one place.

For Facebook, the app is a good way to get people and event promoters to use its Events feature. In fact, with the new calendar features, some might even be willing to pay to promote various events.

For users, it’s an augmented version of the already-popular Events feature. If you’re already prone to looking at the Events page on Facebook to see what sort of things your friends have coming up, the new app is an even easier and more feature-rich way to do so.

Why You Shouldn’t Get Events From Facebook

The key question, then, particularly for those already committed to Google Calendar, is whether Events from Facebook is for you. It may sound like a cop-out, but the answer depends on you.

First, as users of both Google and Facebook likely already know, there are already ways for you to integrate Facebook Events into your Google Calendar. So what it really comes down to is which digital ecosystem you prefer to operate in.

If you constantly use Google Calendar, are completely embedded in it and don’t know what you’d do without it, then Events From Facebook might not be worth it. We’ve already mentioned that there are ways to get Facebook Events updates on Google, so the best bet may be sticking with what you’re already comfortable with.

On the other hand, if you’re constantly on Facebook and have been looking for a calendar app that easily integrates with the social site, this is, by all means, made just for you.

The key factor is that it does much more than keep you updated on actual Events posted on Facebook. It also includes all of the features you would expect from a calendar app, such as event notifications. So, if you’re already much more comfortable working with Facebook’s apps, this new app is the way to go.

Even if your life is embedded in Google Calendar, the new offering from Facebook is still useful. But which app you lean on more — Google Calendar or Events from Facebook — boils down to which works best for your individual needs.