Friends & social
Make plans that only happen if enough friends are actually in
Every group chat has the plan that gets suggested every month and never happens. Crowd turns "we should do that" into a number with a deadline.
The problem
Polls tell you what people like. They don't tell you who'll show up. And the organiser ends up chasing eight people individually, then cancelling when three drop out. A public threshold fixes this: the plan is on if the number fills, and off if it doesn't.
Why a threshold fixes it
- Set the minimum that makes the plan work: 10 for a five-a-side, 6 for a villa, 4 for a table.
- No app for anyone to install. The link opens in WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal or a browser.
- The deadline creates urgency. People stop saying "maybe" when they can see the clock.
- Nobody's on the hook until the target is reached, so nobody has to be the one who books and hopes.
Examples
Tap one to start →- If 10 people say yes……we'll book the five-a-side pitch for Thursday at 8pm.10 for five-a-side. Use as template
- If 6 people say yes……we'll put a deposit on the villa for the last week of June.6 for the villa. Use as template
- If 15 people say yes……we'll do the school reunion at the Crown on the 14th.15 for the reunion. Use as template
How to do it
- 1
Write the plan as one sentence with the date in it.
- 2
Set the target to the number that makes it worth booking.
- 3
Drop the link in the chat and mute the chat.
- 4
When it fills, book it. When it doesn't, no hard feelings.
Questions
- How is this different from a WhatsApp poll?
- A poll has no deadline, no threshold and no consequence. A Crowd join means "count me in if we reach the number", and the plan only goes ahead when it does. It's the difference between an opinion and a commitment.
- Can people see who's joined?
- No. Crowd shows a count, not names. If your group wants names, ask people to say so in the chat once the count is climbing.
- What's the smallest target?
- Two. The largest is 100,000.
- Does it cost anything?
- No. Crowd is free to use and there are no accounts to create.
Also used for
Ready to set a number?
One link. Anonymous. No accounts. If the number doesn't fill before the deadline, nothing happens and nobody is on the hook.