Online meeting company YouDazzle has launched its latest service designed to allow anyone to meet online. Called Meet.fm, its goal is to allow anyone create and run their own personalized and information-rich meeting on any computer or mobile device. In addition, it provides users with the ability to drag and drop file presentations into meetings from various cloud file services like Box and Dropbox.
Meet.fm is entering an industry filled with online video conferencing juggernauts such as WebEx and GoToMeeting. Upon closer inspection of their pitch, you might think that Meet.fm has missed the fact that these incumbent services have mobile apps that allow users to take meetings on their mobile devices. Meet.fm’s real differentiator is that it doesn’t require anyone to install any software to run a meeting.
In 2013, the mobile workforce is expected to grow to 1.2 billion people, filled with “on the go” entrepreneurs, professionals, and corporate executives, an increase from 2010 when there were 1 billion people. Already we’re seeing services that are catering to our every mobile business need. Take a look at what Box is doing with its OneCloud service to make it possible for professionals to be productive while on the go, or look at Skype enabling instant messaging and quick one-on-one phone and video calls — these appear to only be the beginning.
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Group video conferencing is an obvious next step for mobile professionals. With Meet.fm, users are able to interact with each other by collaborating in real-time, deliver what it calls “interactive” sales presentations, train and support customers, on-board new clients and distributors, co-edit cloud files with colleagues, shop with family and friends, and even browse the Internet for fun or for work.
The company says that setting up a Meet.fm channel isn’t difficult — all a user needs to do is enter in a URL and they can be sharing from their device instantly. Already, the service has acquired businesses from a variety of industries, including GoDaddy, Faronics, Jibe Mobile, Jones Long LaSalle, CBRE, Stella & Dot, AVON, Tupperware, BYU Marriot School of Management, and UC Davis.
In addition to its platform-agnostic operating feature, Meet.fm also has a file sharing service which allows users to import presentations, images, and documents into their video channels to be shared with the audience. The service has integrated with many popular file services including Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, and Evernote.
“The bottom line is that Meet.fm allows professionals, businesses and organizations around the world to easily connect and share all types of data in real-time in order to conduct efficient virtual meetings and collaborations with anyone, from anywhere with just a few clicks,” said Cary Cole, co-founder and CEO of YouDazzle.
For those interested, Meet.fm is giving away 500 free minutes to test out the service. It is operating on a freemium model — in the free version, users may have up to three participants in only one room. For $15 per month, users have an unlimited number of minutes with up to 15 participants in seven rooms. There is also a business plan available for $39 per month with unlimited minutes, up to 50 participants, and 45 rooms. For those who need much more, Meet.fm has a Luminary plan for $199 per month.
YouDazzle is backed by Evan Goldberg (Founder and Chairman of NetSuite), Chamath Palihapitiya (Founder and Managing Partner of Social+Capital Partnership), Micky Malka (Founder and Managing Partner of Ribbit Capital), and Michael Lohner (Chairman of Stella & Dot).
Photo credit: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images
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