Amazing Apps: Picniic Launches Circles

Picniic recently launched Circles, allowing parents to create personalized, digital “communities” in the Picniic app, for the purpose of sharing photos, calendars, announcements and more with outside family members. With Circles, you no longer have to blast family photos to your Facebook wall for hundreds of friends to see –  you can share images of your baby’s first steps in the Cousins Circle, share grocery and to-do lists in your Caretaker Circle, or plan the pick-up and drop-off of your child in a Co-Parenting Circle with a divorced partner.

I had a chance to email founder Michael Cole to learn more.

What was the inspiration behind adding the Circles feature?

The inspiration behind Circles came from our existing Picniic users and their families. We've had thousands of families ask for the ability to share some information with others, but not their full Picniic account. A perfect example of this is when a divorced mom or dad needs to share calendar dates or medical information with their former spouse or partner, but may be hesitant to grant them full access to their Picniic account.

Circles allows users to select what they want to share, and with whom. It can be used by co-parents, extended families, babysitters and sports and school teams. It’s an easy way to organize groups that are tied into family life.

What sets Picniic apart from other community or networking apps?

First, Picniic is focused exclusively on family life and second, the activities are tied to organizing and streamlining communication between families and the groups they interact with on a daily basis. 

Why is it more helpful to use Circles instead of more far-reaching networks?

Circles within Picniic is the first of its kind. We are dedicated to making a family’s home-life run more smoothly, while minimizing some of the day-to-day stressors often caused by disorganization and miscommunication.

Circles allows you to share schedules, upcoming events, messages and to do list in a unique Circle. These Circles are created by the organizer and individuals can easily be added to them. One family may have multiple Circles where they can:

·         Share specific information with a co-parent

·         Dates and to dos for a babysitter

·         Plan a trip with sister or brother and their children

·         Share photos with all families on the school sports team

No platform gives you a Message Board, Calendar, To Dos Lists and Photo sharing capabilities all in one app designed for the family, like Circles.