There's something that really gets me unexcited about the words, "online calendar". Yet, no less than 10, probably closer to 20 companies have recently launched online calendars. While I don't see any of them becoming viable businesses, some may find their way into the portfolios of larger internet and media companies. What does excite me about the amount of innovation in the area, is that each of these companies has a few tricks up their sleeve, which will ultimately be copied by the larger players. And maybe calendars will actually work for people. Instead of making people work for their calendars.

So, as I continue event week, I'd be remiss to ignore all of these companies that are launching ajaxian web 2.0 social online calendars. But, instead of focussing on what they all do, I'd like to highlight what each of them do that is different and useful.

The first one I'd like to highlight (picked at random) is Spongecell. Spongecell's self stated goal is to simplify the process of getting information into and out of a calendar. In this pursuit, they've developed some innovative natural language processing capabilities and the ability to text information to and from a calendar from a mobile device.

They've even launched an API so that other services can leverage their NLP:

I love our nlp so much I think everyone should use it. And they can! That's why we have an api.

There are some other calendars out there with quick entry boxes. Some even claim to accept "natural language." But there is nothing "natural" about being confined to a rigid grammar. I would never say, "10pm today come to my place for the night of your life." It just doesn't roll off the tongue. Especially not after a few green beers.

And here is how simple it is to use your mobile to update and check your calendar using Spongecell:

An easy mobile interface - appointments are created based on the content of a text message or email to sponge@spongecell.com. Users can send queries such as "today" or "next" and receive responses on their cell phone. This allows users to interact with their calendar through a known method instead of relying on a heavy local app.

Pretty nifty!