I'm based in Europe and often organize online meetings with participants from around the globe. I've been using .ics calendar invitations, but I've noticed that many people outside of Europe and the US seem to handle these invitations differently. For example, some don't respond to the invite and just show up while others make mistakes with time zones and arrive at the wrong time. It seems like they aren't checking their calendars because they miss updates, like Zoom links added after the initial invites. This isn't true for everyone outside these regions, but it seems like a significant number of them aren't using their calendars effectively. Do people in other parts of the world prefer a different calendar format? Is there something else I should consider using for better communication?
5 Answers
I usually accept work invites, but honestly, I get so many that I sometimes just skip it. For personal invites, I rarely bother with them at all. Maybe that's a trend among some users?
It sounds like many people don't integrate with .ics calendars. Some systems just don't show that kind of link. It might be worth checking what tools your contacts are using.
With .ics events, updates to the event only reflect on the attendee's calendar if you send an update after making changes. Not everyone realizes that, so they might miss important info you add later!
Honestly, I get .ics files from my kids' school all the time, but I’ve never used them. At work, our emails are blocked from sending .ics events anyway, so I just skip it.
In my experience, we only use encrypted email links for security, and a lot of my colleagues don't rely on Microsoft products. If people are using .ics on Gmail or Outlook, it should work, but not everyone uses those platforms.
Exactly! I think most people I work with do use Gmail and Outlook, so .ics should generally be okay for them.