My girlfriend and I do this among ourselves and with our friends. I find it's not as calculated or insensitive as it might first appear. If it's not "on the calendar" then any surprises, efforts, or frustrations (friction) that arises is on that party. Really cuts down on those "I told you about this last month" arguments, and also from welching on friends or family events. Keeps us both honest and on the same page. Might not be high-speed, but certainly is low-drag as far as relationships go.
We do it as well. In addition all kids activities are in the shared calendar as well. So it is also easy to keep track of play dates, and sports and school activities. I haven’t gone as far as actually including other parents in these calendar items but we do (well did) for friends. Then we also include address details and such. This has saved us discussions on the exact time and place. “I thought it was next week!” or “where will we meet for pizza again?”
Recurring items with friends have proven tricky. The things that are regular enough are engrained so do not need a calendar item. Others get skipped or cancelled so very little use there.
I hear you with getting friends on board. From the luddites to the apathetic it's always a struggle getting everyone to engage with it, but as it is in all things I guess.
I don't know if it's that I'm getting old compared to the rest of Hacker News or if I have a different life but sending calendar invite to friends for events (lunch/dinner) seems fairly standard. A typical week I will probably have something scheduled most evenings, same for my friends. I wouldn't see most of them if we didn't plan for it.
I agree; was surprised that someone bothered to blog about it like it's a life hack, but there you go. I think there has been some loss in transition between the calendar we all had hanging on the fridge to doing the same in a more digital time.
