Pings
A ping is a quick, lightweight log of any networking touchpoint with a contact. Unlike an interaction (which has audio, transcription, and a full summary), a ping is a one-tap note that simply records "this happened".
Use pings when you want to remember a small contact event without spending time writing notes.
- Saw in personToday Sarah Johnson
Bumped into her at the conference coffee break.
- Phone callYesterday Mike Reyes
Quick check-in. He's still on for next Tuesday.
- WhatsApp2 days ago Anna Lee
Sent quick follow-up on the proposal she shared.
When to use a ping vs. an interaction
| Use a ping when… | Use an interaction when… |
|---|---|
| You bumped into someone | You had a real meeting or call you want to remember |
| You sent a quick "still here" message | You took notes worth keeping |
| A meeting was cancelled and you want to mark it | You recorded audio |
| You want a one-tap log | You want a full transcript and AI summary |
Pings keep your relationship history complete without forcing you to write a full interaction every time.
Ping types
BlaBlaNote supports the following ping types:
- Saw in person — You ran into the contact (event, office, coffee, hallway)
- Phone call — A short call that doesn't warrant a full recording
- WhatsApp — A WhatsApp message exchange
- Email — An email exchange
- Cancelled meeting — A meeting was cancelled — keep the record of why the cancellation happened
- Note — A short free note about the contact that's not a conversation (saw their LinkedIn post, read their article, etc.)
- Other — Anything else that doesn't fit the categories above
Creating a ping
- Open the contact
- Tap + Ping
- Pick a ping type
- Optionally add a short note (one or two lines is fine)
- Save
You can also create a ping from:
- The contact's quick-action menu in any list
- A calendar event (e.g. mark a meeting as cancelled with a reason)
- The home feed when BlaBlaNote suggests reconnecting with someone
Viewing pings
Pings appear in the contact's timeline alongside interactions, so you see the full history of touchpoints in chronological order.
You can also filter the contact timeline to show:
- Only interactions
- Only pings
- Both
Why pings matter
Pings make your contact history honest. Without them, BlaBlaNote would only know about the meetings you recorded — and a relationship is much more than that.
Recording pings improves:
- Reconnect suggestions — BlaBlaNote knows when you last had any contact, not just recorded contact
- Follow-up cadence — Reminders to stay in touch use the real most-recent touchpoint
- Pre-meeting briefs — Briefs can mention "you sent them a quick WhatsApp last week"
- Relationship strength — Frequency of any touchpoint counts, not just formal meetings
Best practices
- Log a ping the moment something happens — it takes 5 seconds
- Don't worry about being perfect — even a vague "seen in person" is better than nothing
- Use the optional note when the why matters (cancelled meeting, important article they shared)
- Don't use pings to replace interactions when you actually had a substantial conversation
