Update: Speek’s website is no longer available.
I don’t like conference calls. They suck.
And conference call systems? They tend to suck even more. They’re confusing, they’re unreliable, they rarely work right — and those are the good ones.
But then I stumbled across a new conference call tool. It’s called Speek, and I was blown away. It actually works. It’s so good, it changed the way I think about conference calls.
Speek: Conference Calls Done Right.
There are six things wrong with conference calls today, but Speek gets them all right.
1. Conference calls are too hard to join — Anyone who’s ever spent 20 minutes searching through Gmail for the right 866 number and pin to get on a call knows what I’m talking about.
Speek fixes that. Each Speek user gets a unique URL. (For instance, mine is speek.com/danoshinsky.) So if you go to that link, you can enter your phone number, and you’ll get a call a few seconds later welcoming you to the call.
Or: You can join the call directly using your computer’s microphone.
If you’re not at your computer, no problem. You can text the call organizer’s username — i.e. “danoshinsky” — to Speek’s number, and they’ll connect you.
(Or, yes: There’s also an 866 number and a pin for each user.)
2. You don’t know who’s talking during the call — or why they matter — This one’s always bothered me. I love being on calls with smart people, but sometimes, I can’t tell voices apart.
Speek’s solution is really uncomplicated. Each person’s name appears as an icon on the main screen, and when someone starts talking, their icon lights up in green.
And Speek allows you to connect your icon to your social media profiles, so when you mouse over a face, you can easily follow, friend or connect with that person without needing to leave the call.
3. You can’t get a word in edgewise — Again, here’s a simple solution. If you have something to say, click the ‘Say Something’ button, and your request will pop up on the screen next to your icon. Just imagine the civility!
4. You can’t share documents — But not on Speek. You can share a document via their drag-and-drop interface, and they’ve got Dropbox integration. Simple.
5. It’s tough to schedule a call — Most systems require a couple of clicks. Speek’s got Google Cal, iCal and Outlook integration, so you can schedule a call right from your Speek dashboard.
6. Conference call music is the worst — Speek doesn’t use conference call music! This is a win for all of us, I think 🙂
It’s a fantastic system, and Danny Boice — the co-founder of Speek — was kind enough to walk me through it last week. I’m so impressed by what they’ve built. It’s simple, user friendly and one of my favorite discoveries of 2012.
You can sign up for your own Speek URL here. It’s free.
(Danny also tells me that if you refer a friend to sign up, they’ll give you free access to Speek Pro, the premium, team-friendly version of Speek. They’re rolling out Speek Pro this fall.)
Now get out there and tell some great stories today!