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Hey You,
The way we communicate at work is undergoing a small revolution. Emails, calendar invitations, prospecting messages… It will now be possible to add a personal and dynamic touch via video formats. Yes, this is the promise of the startup PopCorn, which is already a hit in the United States. The Passion Media team tested the tool to better understand it. Discover in this article all you need to know!
Finally some fun in the workplace communication
Popcorn, the new startup to follow. Its ambition? Revolutionize the way we communicate at work, between colleagues. No more corporate messages, no more impersonal announcements. The concept? Create an internal communication tool for companies that allows them to exchange information like a social network. Short video messages (“pops”), images, gifs, personalized emojis… In short, all sorts of formats that can replace or complete a more traditional email. Today, it is mainly on social networks that we are used to exchange creatively, much less in the professional world (complicated to integrate as an attachment in an email, no adapted tool, etc…).
Videos at the heart of the application
In concrete terms, how does the application work? Popcorn allows you to upload a short video, Swipe up is not mandatory in this case !. It then creates a link that you can easily embed or send on all your platforms. It’s a bit like a Giphy link, which integrates via a copy and paste and lets the GIF appear.
Popcorn, a revolution for prospecting
No more cold outreach messages that are totally impersonal, without form, and that nobody reads. Popcorn could totally change the way people contact each other in the professional world. A more creative side, more cheeky for some, more fun… It’s up to each one to choose the tone that suits them according to their target and the sector in which they work. It’s also a way to introduce more of the human side, to allow you to see the person, to discover more spontaneously who they are, their personality. Finally, wouldn’t this be the logical continuation of this year punctuated by visios? So, when will we really see this tool on our Linkedin boxes? When will we see the avalanche of video messages? In theory, it should happen much sooner than expected. Rumors speak of an arrival in France within a few months.
Short formats for more relevance
We remain in the professional world, the idea is not to send endless messages, and get lost in details and conjectures. Videos will be limited to 60 seconds. A way to encourage users to be concise, clear, and efficient. No room for useless blabbering. No time for endless “uh’s”. And for those who are not comfortable with the video format? It will also be possible to simply record audio. A bit like an audio whats app, but one that can be easily integrated into every business communication tool.
The origins of the Popcorn idea
Behind the concept of Popcorn, there is Justin Spraggins. He is an engineer who made his reputation in the field of consumer application creation (Looksee – best known in the US), Unmute (a social calling application equivalent to Clubhouse), 9 Count (a consumer application development store), Juju… and many others. The Popcorn project was born in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic. Blame it on the endless Zoom meetings? Maybe. Whatever the case, it could drastically change things. Their credo: just because you’re at work doesn’t mean that your conversations have to be boring.
Popcorn’s next steps
The application’s beginnings are very promising. It has already seduced many companies. The application is available for free download on iPhone, iPad and Mac. It is also available via Slack. However, in order to be deployed on a larger scale, new features will have to be integrated. Enhanced security, spam mitigation, report flow for bad actors, etc. The other key issue? Proving its revenue model. In the meantime, Popcorn has just finished raising $400,000 from General Catalyst (Niko Bonatsos) and Dream Machine (Alexia Bonatsos, previously editor-in-chief of TechCrunch).
