Easy real-time video communication, without downloads, login, account or registration. WeSeeDo allows people to have face to face contact with healthcare professionals, customer service agents, police or local government officials, with just one click of a button on the website.
Non-verbal communication is 80% of all communication. And yet, most of what you do on the web is all verbal, meaning important visual cues like facial expressions and body language get lost in mix. The lack of eye contact and body language online is something WeSeeDo aims to fix, with an easy to use plugin for websites. No account needed, no login or extra software required, just a simple button for an instant live video feed.
Eilie Telecom
WeSeeDo, now a full-fledged company, started out as a product of Eilie Telecom. “Back in 2013, when unlimited mobile phone plans were introduced, we had to drastically change course”, founder Iebele Otten explains. “We couldn’t compete with the big companies and their razor thin margins.”
“We needed something to set us apart from the rest, and that meant talking to a lot of different people, just to get a sense of all the possibilities”, Iebele continues. “We successfully launched VoIP Analytics in December 2015 and WeSeeDo about a year later.”
Countdown
WeSeeDo uses webRTC (Web Real-Time Communication), an open source protocol, initiated by Google and can be used for all browsers. Simply put, it creates one-time video connections through web browsers like Chrome and Firefox, without any extra plugins, software or the need to create accounts. “Bigger telecom companies were focussing on things like video conferencing, but nobody was really doing anything with webRTC for things like easy and secure online video contact”, Iebele says
WeSeeDo is fast and super easy to use. So fast and easy in fact, that they had to implement a countdown timer. “It’s really funny to see the startled and surprised faces when people click on a button and there’s an instant video feed, but nonetheless, we added a timer, so people can mentally prepare and the first few seconds are less awkward”, Iebele adds, laughing. “But making something look easy, is far from easy. It was a lot of hard work to get there.”
No data is stored and privacy is guaranteed.
Virtual doctor
Two weeks ago, the online platform for video consults between doctors and patients, Hallo Dokter, was launched, using WeSeeDo’s API. “E-consults never really worked, because they weren’t personal enough. “Being able to see each other, having eye contact, is so important, especially in a medical context. A patient could say “yes” to something he doesn’t understand for example, which you wouldn’t notice by chatting or talking on the phone.”
“All you need for an online doctor’s appointment, is an internet connection basically. You can schedule an appointment on with the doctor’s assistant, you get an email with a link you use to get into the virtual waiting room, and you’ll get a notification when the doctor’s ready to see you. That’s all there is to it and it’s all perfectly safe. No data is stored and privacy is guaranteed. And the link patients get in their email is also for one-time use only, so doctors have full control over their own agenda and appointments.”
iOS and screen sharing
Aside from medical consults, WeSeeDo has lots of other possible applications. “Talking to local government officials for example, instead of having to go to city hall, or consultations with lawyers”, Iebele says.
“WeSeeDo also has a lot of potential for web shops”, Iebele continues. “Not just in customer support, but also in helping people pick out the right product, just like in an actual store. You can get far more sales with face to face contact. But that still requires some positioning for us though, before we can start focussing on web shops.”