Video, Conference, Chat & Collaboration Tools Roundup

Video, Conference, Chat & Collaboration Tools Roundup

by | Jul 16, 2020 | Blog, Roundup

Updated November 1, 2021. See this twitter thread for details.

Yes, there are alternatives to Zoom

I often joke that people spend the first few minutes of any online meeting discussing usability oddities of the collaboration tool itself. There are many solutions out there for online meetings, video conferencing, chat, and other modes of collaboration.

The myriad of challenges presented by COVID-19 has spotlighted technologies that enable remote, distributed, synchronous, and asynchronous communications for groups of people in both personal and business contexts.

Some features found across these various solutions include:

  • Video conferencing for personal groups or work teams
  • Webinars and Events
  • Education and classes
  • Chat messaging
  • Screen sharing
  • File sharing
  • Enhanced security options
  • Custom hardware plus software solutions

The Airtable list below compiles solutions ranging from simple consumer software products, to open source initiatives, to enterprise-grade and hardware integrated solutions.

If I missed anything, please get in touch via email or on Twitter.

Curious About The Broader Community Ecosystem?

If you are thinking beyond video and chat services for your team or work, here’s a list covering the larger spectrum of Community management and events tools.

Illustration: Video Conference by supalerk laipawat from the Noun Project

Teach Your Way to New Users

by | Dec 1, 2013 | Blog

"In Gox We Trust" educating consumers on Bitcoin and other technologies

“In Gox We Trust” educating consumers on Bitcoin and other technologies

OK, I admit it, I wrote this primarily so I could write the caption above. Overall, I’m taking a neutral-to-skeptical view on Bitcoin. However, Tibanne Co.’s launch of Bitcoins.com as an attempt to popularize its adoption, is quite notable. Many publications have already covered this in detail. I’m more interested in what it represents for technology marketing.

Popularizing nascent “invisible” technologies

Example of explaining concepts on Bitcoins.com

Source: Bitcoins.com

Educating the broader population, about brand new technologies that catch on after they incubate among ‘early adopters’, is no small feat. For technologists and marketers, there’s a lot to learn from these recent efforts. What’s challenging about platform-type technologies like Bitcoin or Twitter, just to name a few, is their ethereal quality. You can’t put a Bitcoin in your wallet.

I’ve been marketing software for many years, and I’ve always envied companies that create physical products. Apple can simply place a perfectly photographed iDevice on their homepage, and that’s almost all that’s needed to produce a pavlovian response in gadget lovers. Selling software and services requires different tactics, and I think we’ve yet to find a predictable framework for doing so. Mobility and expanding options in “channels” only increases the complexity (and opportunity) of this task.

Teaching to the Trend (more…)