How to Sync Facebook Events with your Google Calendar

2008 December 9

In a bit of a wild departure from my typical existential and meandering blog posts, I actually have something incredibly useful to share with you this time ’round, especially for the Facebook socialite in you.

In response to my desperate tweet, “Could someone please invent an app that’ll integrate my Facebook events with my Outlook calendar? I can’t keep things straight!” Eloy shared some great knowledge with me that I simply should not, will not, and cannot keep to myself.

Ever find yourself wondering how in tarnation you’re going to keep all of your Facebook engagements straight?  Are you double-booking yourself left and right?  Do you have friends asking you whether or not you’re going to such-and-such event that you already RSVPd for (but can’t remember doing so)?  Yikes!  I feel you.  Fear thee not, fellow Facebook Events-lovers!  Your Google Calendar can save your day, your week, and your social life!

First, you’ll need to login to Facebook and go to the Events module in the right-hand sidebar.

facebook-events-home-page

Then, while you’re in the Facebook Events module, go to “Export Events.”

facebook-events-module

When you click on that, you’ll be given a pop-up with a link.  You copy yours, I’ll copy mine, and we’ll keep them to ourselves like hands of poker.  Now let’s head on over to Google Calendar.

google-calendar-add
Hello, Google Calendar!  Scroll down to the bottom, and click on “Add,” as shown by the disco-inspired arrow above.

When the pop-up, um, pops up (why, what else would it do?), select “Add by URL.”

Now here comes the magic.  Paste the Facebook Events URL that you copied (and kept to yourself) into the box.  Oh gosh, oh gosh, presto change-o, you’ve got yourself some Facebook events on your Google Calendar when you click “Add”!

Most wonderful invention since, um, Facebook and Google Calendar, right?

Get this – it live updates as you accept or decline invitations on Facebook, too, so now you’re completely and connectedly plug ‘n play.  No more missed happy hours, no more feeling completely overwhelmed by Facebook’s endless list of things you said you’d attend, no more friends one-upping you on your own social calendar.  You are in control of your social life yet again.  And hey, so is Google, but whatever.

19 Responses leave one →
  1. 2008 December 9

    Thanks Fayza! You are awesome! :)

  2. 2008 December 9

    Wow! Really awesome post!

  3. 2008 December 9

    How did I never realize I could export to my calendar? I’m a little stupid. Thanks for the tip!

  4. 2008 December 10

    That’s very helpful, didn’t know you could do that!

  5. 2008 December 10

    And my main take away is, those are the best darn multi-colored arrows on a how-to file I have EVER seen. Just awesome!

  6. 2008 December 11

    WARNING: this post changed my life, and may changes yours, too.

    wow.

  7. 2008 December 18
    mike permalink

    does not work for facebook “page” events

  8. 2008 December 20

    I don’t actually know what you mean by that. Anything on your Facebook Events Calendar will transfer. Explanation?

  9. 2008 December 23
    Vanessa Franco permalink

    Thank you so much!

  10. 2009 January 9
    Matt permalink

    I did what you suggest and events don’t appear in my google calendar. :(
    I tried to sign out and sign-in but still nothing.

    Any clue about what could be going wrong by any chance ??

  11. 2009 January 20

    You. Are. Amazing.

    Thanks SO much for the tip and in return I promise to never say anything bad about Houston again. Well, at least until I go back to visit again. :)

  12. 2009 February 5
    Ben permalink

    Great post! However, is there a way to do the reverse? Can you export google calendar events to your facebook events?

  13. 2009 April 24
    Martinator permalink

    >I don’t actually know what you mean by that. Anything on your Facebook Events Calendar will transfer. Explanation?

    @mike isn’t talking about events in your Personal Profile

    What @mike meant was that when you set up a “Page” on FaceBook for people to “Become Fans” of, and then you create Events, on that Page, there is no way to export the “Page’s” events calendar into a Google Calendar.

  14. 2009 May 3
    Jon Sanders permalink

    how do you do it now that facebook has a new layout. I cant figure out how to do it.

  15. 2009 May 5

    It’s the same thing, except now, your Events icon is down at the bottom of your screen. See where it says “Applications,” and there are a grouping of icons? Yup, there. That’s the only difference.

  16. 2009 May 21
    rubberdown permalink

    Any word on truly ’syncing’ events back and forth? Right now, I only am able to export from FB to Google Calendar. …same question as Ben above.

    • 2009 May 25

      That’s all I’ve been able to do myself. I haven’t delved any further as of late.

  17. 2009 September 1

    Thanks for this. I used the My Calendar app on Facebook for a bit until it stopped working. Now I don’t know where I am on what day. I have one on Myspace that I use but it always displays as one day after the actual event on the calendar. Might try synchronising with a Google one as you shown above.

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