We tried the new video-messaging app that could make Zoom obsolete

Faster than a speeding email, more powerful than a boring typed-out status update. No, it’s not a bird or a plane, it’s Loom – the app that’s trying to make working from home a little easier. Ladders put it to the test so you didn’t have to.

G2 defines Loom as simply “video messaging for work.” This is essentially the case; with Loom, you can record your screen, voice, face, or all of the above to create a video that you then share with your coworkers. Loom touts its usefulness everywhere “from onboarding new employees, troubleshooting customer issues.” Loom even provides services for educators who need to record lesson plans.

Loom serves over 10 million clients over 120,000 companies, everything from Visiting Angels to California Institute of Integral Studies. The Wall Street Journal reports that superfans of Loom like Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Systrom of Instagram, and messaging titan Slack have invested in Loom, and their Series B funding was secured in May of 2020, resulting in the company’s value being estimated at $350 million.

Loom’s pricing plans are seductive, with a free starter pack serving unlimited creators, with room in your library for up to 100 five-minute videos and screenshots.

Along with a personal video library, you also get a team library and viewer insights. Loom for Educators is also free, but provides 45-minute videos, fitting the length of many classes below the college level.

The business plan, available for $8 per customer billed annually (or $10 monthly) also serves unlimited creators, but also provides unlimited videos and screenshots, unlimited recording length, video drawing tool, calls-to-action, custom branding, and engagement insights. The most expensive plan, the enterprise plan, offers all that the business plan does, but includes advanced security features like SSO (SAML), SCIM, private content, and, if the beta testing goes well, Salesforce integration. The price is determined case-by-case.

So, I tried Loom

When you open up the Loom app, which can be downloaded as a program or simply used as an extension on your Chrome browser, on the left-hand side you’ll see the menu. This lists your personal video library, your shared video library, and your team video library. In the center of the screen, you see whatever video library is selected, complete with two tabs, one for videos and the other for screenshots. There’s already one video from the Loom Team in your library, that of co-founder Joe Thomas explaining some of the perks of the platform.

“If somebody is asking for feedback,” Joe explains, “if somebody sends a link to me, instead of typing out the laundry list of feedback, I just record a quick loom and send it to them.” Rather than sending out an email in preparation for meetings, Joe recommends sending out a Loom in advance, either screenshots of your project or a video of yourself explaining certain points.

Joe emphasizes the necessity of “building supportive trusting relationships between teams and teammates” through the power of verbal communication, “explicitly… in moments of appreciation and recognition” and “implicitly… as communication is more human, transparent and kind.” This seems to be the core belief of Loom; to re-humanize the world of remote work.

A little sidebar pops up on your screen to record your webcam feed, which shows up in a circle on the bottom left-hand side, and the rest of your screen. As you’re recording, you can draw over the video, pause the recording, restart it or stop it using a sidebar on the left.

The video is automatically imported to your video library and opened in your browser. These videos can be played back at normal speed, or faster than normal, trimmed, and records everything happening on your screen, including typing or pop-up notifications. They’re working on a transcription feature that will add captions to the videos, but it’s still in the beta stages.

You can download, save and share your Loom in a number of different ways, even if the recipients don’t have a Loom account. You can either copy and paste the URL, share it on Loom, embed it on a web site, or download an MP4 of your video for uploading on Dropbox, Youtube, or Google Drive. Others can also comment below your video, and even respond with emojis.

Pros of Loom

Loom is one of the most user-friendly pieces of software I’ve ever tried. There’s no learning curve, the design is sleek and friendly for clients of all ages, and Joe’s video adds a cute, personalized touch for new users. The tools are easy to identify and use, and the process of making, editing, and sending a video is streamlined to an impressive degree.

The amount of beta features on the app is also reassuring, as it’s great to know they’re looking to scale out and innovate. Their settings indicate a certain thoughtful level of customization, the pricing is incredibly affordable, especially for teachers, and the engagement feature provides an interesting insight, especially for those interested in taking attendance.

While I didn’t use it, as the interface was so simple, the customer support section covers a lot of ground, and they have also a contact form that allows customers to submit direct inquiries.

Cons

For one thing, there is a bit of a lag when one draws over their screen in any of the different colored virtual pens available, but that could just be because I have a working journalist’s amount of Chrome tabs and Word documents open. There also aren’t a lot of extra features in the recording software itself, like how Google Meets has selective screen sharing or something that allows one to type over one’s screen.

However, as mentioned, there seem to be a lot of beta features in the works, so it’s hard to imagine that Loom innovators aren’t in the lab, chipping away at chances for improvement every single day.

Additionally, one of the key selling points of Loom is the human connection – having verbal, personal feedback is apparently a softer way to deliver sometimes disheartening blows about someone’s performance, and the lack of subtext in typing can fail to communicate sarcasm, jokes, or even excitement when a job is done well.

That being said, it’s possible that some humans are just not nice, whether they’re typing in an email, being recorded in something reminiscent of a YouTube video for office feedback, or in a comment on aforementioned office feedback video, leaving a tasteless emoji or dry witticism. While Loom might be able to help expedite the annoying, excessive back-and-forth of confusing, unnecessary emails, they may not be able to help already burned out workers be less irritated by each other with video messages alone.