Tokbox makes video calling a breeze

I recently wrote about 12seconds, a service that let's you record and post short updates about what you're doing -- much like Twitter, but for video. I've also recently been playing around with Tokbox, another new video service, but with a different and very singular focus: making video calling as easy as possible.

Tokbox has 2 main offerings:

• Video calling, including conference calls
• Video mail, which makes it easy to record and send videos to friends and family in an asynchronous way

Video calling is a direct attempt to take on a major part of Skype's business. Easy asynchronous video mail is something I've been looking for for a while now, since my family (1) lives very far away and (2) is the lowest common denominator when it comes to tech-savviness! But before I get to that, first some thoughts on the user experience:

• In the spirit of most Web 2.0 sites we see these days, the site is clean, fast, friendly, and singularly focused. When you log in, you choose if you want to call someone or record a video mail. There is virtually no way to get confused about what the site is about.
• Video calling/recording is as simple as it could be. Similar to 12seconds, as soon as you click on an option, it starts your camera and you're ready to record.
• For video recording, there are no extra steps to send your mail, TokBox sends an email on your behalf. You can add email addresses on the fly, or drag & drop "Friends" that you have added previously (again, taking on Skype functionality, but with a narrower and simpler focus). The recipient gets a link to the video (no large attachments!!), which they can view even if they're not registered with Tokbox.
• A new feature allows you to make your recordings public, which wanders into 12seconds territory, but I personally don't think this is something Tokbox should pursue. The danger in a simple, great idea like this is that the developers can get feature-happy, and very quickly clutter up a very clean experience to the point where the site loses its focus (and its users). This is something 12seconds should be careful about as well, as they continue to add new features almost daily.

The ultimate usability test for any online application is always very simple for me: can my mom use it? And I'm happy to report that she embraced this site in a way that surprised me. I haven't used it for video calling, but since my family is in a different time zone 8 hours ahead, that's not what I need this for. I think what sets Tokbox apart is not their video calling, which most IM applications now do as well, but I believe their marketing and branding should focus on easy-to-use video mail. If you start with that, and make it really open, users will always find a way to use the service in ways you never imagined. And so, without knowing it, they will give you ideas for monetisation...