/automating-web-scraping-text-calendar-notifications

Challenge: Extract session details from the conference's HTML-based schedule, structure the data for use in Google Sheets, and automate reminders via calendar invites and SMS notifications.

Primary LanguageJupyter Notebook

Automating Conference Schedule Notifications

Case Study

Client: Non-Profit Organization Supporting Tech Education

The non-profit organization **Techsgiving **needed a scalable and automated solution to manage its event schedule for an annual conference. The challenge was to extract session details from the event’s HTML-based schedule, structure the data for use in Google Sheets, and automate reminders via calendar invites and SMS notifications.

Objective:

  • Extract and parse session details from the conference schedule webpage.
  • Organize the data into a structured Google Sheet for easy management.
  • Automatically create calendar events and send SMS/email reminders to attendees who opt in.

Impact:

  1. Streamlined Data Management: Eliminated manual processing of session schedules.
  2. Improved User Engagement: Automated reminders ensured attendees were informed and engaged.
  3. Enhanced Accessibility: Enabled users to integrate schedules seamlessly into personal calendars.

Solution Overview

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Workflow:

  1. HTML Parsing: Extract session details from the event webpage.
  2. Data Structuring: Organize parsed data into Google Sheets.
  3. Automation:
    • Create Google Calendar events for sessions attendees plan to attend.
    • Send SMS/email reminders for confirmed sessions.

Implementation Details

1. HTML Parsing and Data Extraction

The schedule HTML was parsed using regular expressions to extract key session attributes such as:

  • Date
  • Start and End Time
  • Session Title
  • Track
  • Speakers
  • Description
  • Location

Technical Features

  1. Regular Expressions: Used for precise data extraction from HTML.
  2. Google Apps Script:
    • Managed data in Google Sheets.
    • Automated Google Calendar and SMS functionality.
  3. Scalability: Capable of handling schedule updates and additional notifications seamlessly.

Results

  • Reduction in Manual Effort: Session details and reminders were handled automatically, saving hours of manual work.
  • Higher Attendance: Timely reminders led to an increase in attendee participation.
  • Reusability: The solution can be adapted for future events or other non-profits.

Future Enhancements

  1. Error Handling: Improve resilience to malformed HTML or missing fields.
  2. Customization: Allow users to select specific sessions of interest.
  3. Integration: Extend functionality to integrate with additional communication channels like Slack or WhatsApp.

This case study demonstrates how technical automation can empower non-profits to focus on their mission by reducing operational overhead while enhancing user experience.