How can an app that is a clone of so many others which have come before and are much more popular oust them and establish itself as the best app of the year? It happened with Partiful, which simplifies the organisation of events, like Eventbrite, Facebook Events and many other well-known apps for advertising shows, concerts, meetings and initiatives, both live and virtual.
Everything is done easily, free of charge and with no surprises: you create an invitation, share it on social media and messaging apps, and then count the number of registrations from friends and strangers. Nothing new, yet Partiful is the app of choice for young Americans, especially Gen Z, who appreciate its simplicity and advanced features for managing scheduled events. An element that has helped make it popular, even to the point of being named Android‘s app of the year.
Gen Z’s favourite app
Developed by the same name company, founded in New York in 2020 by Joy Tao and Shreya Murthy, both former Palantir employees, the app has a clear and intuitive-to-use interface with strengths. One of them is Party Genie, a mode that allows you to quickly design invitations and involve all potential participants by sharing a link.
Acting quickly, minimising steps and providing instantly readable content that reduces the reaction time and response time of those receiving the invitation. Who can respond without registering on the platform or downloading the app? This is also and especially why Partiful was included in Google Play’s best apps and games of 2024 list.
Birthdays, dinners, outings, sports games, and graduation parties, there are no limits to the possibility of using the platform, which, thanks to the breadth of choice and speed of execution, has seen a steady increase in users over the course of the year, before the surge of users that has occurred in recent months beyond the US borders. But already, by the end of 2023, registered users had already exceeded 1 million, so the threshold needed to be in contention among Google’s best apps.
As mentioned, Partiful’s target niche is the very young, both to create events and to confirm their presence at meetings organised by others. In addition to not having to log in to respond to an invitation, the app allows one to keep track of the guest list via updates. Those launching an initiative also find an effective avenue for fundraising, an important aspect when organising parties, as it allows all participants to provide their share and the organiser to control and manage the flow of money.
How to use
Available for Android and iOS devices, the app requires you to enter your phone number once downloaded. Then you can start using it, generating invitations for the events you want to schedule. The elements to be provided to invitees are the name and date of the event at the same time. In addition to the options on the app, you can choose any image or graphic for the cover of your appointment, including a poster created for the occasion.
Optional is the choice of entering the name of the event creator, as well as the name of the venue and its address, which is information that obviously makes things easier for guests. Also useful is the option of specifying a virtual event, as well as the number of places available, the dress code, the planned food (guests may indicate allergies or dietary restrictions), the event playlist, if any, and polls to choose a day and time convenient for all together with the guests.
Those who receive the invitation have total freedom: they can ensure their presence, refuse to respond, or leave the event pending, although in this case, it complicates the organisers’ plans. They can also comment, add GIFs and images to the event page, as well as exchange messages with other invitees.
Everyone can add scheduled events to their calendar (Google, Outlook, Apple) or discover open-invitation events created by friends. Those who are dying to make themselves known can also add a biography and social accounts to instantly shorten the distance to each guest.
