New Mmhmm app seeks to improve Zoom or Google Meet

A new app in beta testing called Mmhmm seeks to vastly improve video call experiences through Google Meet or Zoom. The core of the idea is that current call platforms do not have an efficient way for users to switch between their web camera and their computer screen. In professional settings, being able to flip between those video sources is crucial. Think about needing to present your PowerPoint to the rest of your team or to your supervisors. Mmhmm founder, Phil Libin, wants to make that experience much better than it currently is.

The way Libin wants to achieve a better call experience is through picture-in-picture. While this feature isn’t new to video streaming apps or platforms, it’s never existed in the video call space. With Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, your face is either featured on the camera, or you can switch to sharing your screen. Picture-in-picture mode would allow you to feel like a news broadcaster. It allows your screen source to virtually float in the air behind you.

Is this useful?

I see two major benefits to a feature like this. First, the ease of use. As Libin mentions in the video, when you currently want to switch to screen sharing, there isn’t a clean way for you to make sure it’s worked. You have to ask your co-workers and break the flow of your presentation. With this feature, you’d be able to glance at your own video feed to ensure your slide show appears behind you. The second benefit comes in the psychological effect of seeing you at the same time of seeing your slides.

One thing we’ve all had to try to do through the unique times of the 2020 pandemic is make our interactions feel as normal as possible. In my day job as a tutor, we’ve tried to make our video interactions with students feel as close to a normal face-to-face interaction as we can. That’s just the current reality we’re living. An app like Mmhmm attempts to do just that. In-person presentations feature both the speaker and their materials. The speaker doesn’t disappear out of sight while talking about an element on their slides. Part of taking in that data as a listener is absorbing the slide and watching the speaker’s explanation. Body language, facial expressions, hand gestures–all these elements go into communication. Those elements are retained in a video call through the features Mmhmm is promising.

Importance Of An Add-on

As I saw the headlines about this product roll in, my first thought was wondering how solid Libin would be able to make the actual video calling, especially compared to the longtime players in the area (the above-mentioned Zoom, Meet, Teams). I was thinking he was building an entire video chat app. What I think helps make this a viable solution is the fact he is building it as an add-on app for current video platforms. That takes a huge amount of pressure off Mmhmm’s shoulders. It isn’t doing the heavy lifting in terms of video calling infrastructure, building a user-base, etc. It can simply show up as an extremely helpful tool and hit the ground running.

I’m curious to know just how widely adopted this will be by video platforms. In his demo, Libin mentions Zoom and Google Meet specifically with no reference to the widely-adopted Microsoft Teams. There’s always the risk that one of the big players will simply make their own native version of this. Even if they tried, though, he’s got a decent head-start on them.

Must Be Easy

The ultimate barrier for this product when it actually launches is the ease of use. Watching Libin click around to different video scenes and input sources, it looks simple enough. But he’s the creator, so it should appear easy while he’s doing it. In the hands of a common person, this app needs to be simple and intuitive, or it’s going to be just another layer of complexity that distracts more than helps. As long as it’s not more difficult to bring up and manipulate the video sources than it is to actually share your screen, this app looks to add a huge benefit to video calling moving forward. I have signed up for the beta, which is invite-only at the moment, and will update you if I get my hands on it.