On the rare occasions that I’m not sitting in a chat room and writing about phones, I usually play the role of “hang-out coordinator” among my friends. You probably have too: messaging people to see who’s available, finding out who wants to eat what, getting ETAs from prospective partiers, the works. It’s a bit draining to say the least, but if you’re usually stuck with that responsibility and you have a Windows Phone, then Bing’s newly-launched “We’re In” app may be just right for you.
The process is simple: when you use the app to create an event and invite people to it, the invitation goes out via text message. Once your friends respond (either from the Windows Phone app or the mobile website), their locations will be plotted on a map, which is great for keeping tabs on that one friend who’s always late.
All the participants can leave status updates on the fly, so the first person who makes it to the restaurant can let the others know that he’s snagged a table in the back. It’s just as easy to duck out of event you’ve committed to, although protocol suggests you should leave a parting status update so as not to gain a reputation as a flake.
In a way, it almost seems like We’re In is Foursquare’s other half: while Foursquare lets you know when someone makes it somewhere, We’re In deals with all the back-end logistics of getting there in the first place. Instead of having to message individual people back and forth and try to determine who knows about what, We’re In puts all of that information in one location. The Bing team has announced their intention to bring We’re In to other devices, but sorry international partiers: it’s U.S. only for now.
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