The Rise of Video in the Workplace: Google Vids and the End of the Slide Deck Era?

Google's latest addition to the Workspace suite, Vids, marks a significant shift in how we communicate and share information at work. This article explores Vids' potential to dethrone the long-reigning slide deck as the go-to tool for presentations and communication.

From Text to Video: A New Collaboration Paradigm

For decades, the trinity of documents (Docs), spreadsheets (Sheets), and presentations (Slides) has dominated the work landscape. Vids seeks to disrupt this status quo by introducing a user-friendly platform specifically designed for creating collaborative and shareable videos.

Focus on Simplicity: Video Creation for Everyone

Unlike traditional video editing software, Vids prioritizes ease of use. Google's vision is to empower anyone who can build a slide deck to create a video. This democratizes video creation, making it accessible to a broader range of users who might have previously felt intimidated by the technical aspects.

Transforming Slides into Videos: A Familiar Workflow

The core functionality of Vids mirrors that of Google Slides. Users assemble assets like text, images, and videos in a timeline format, building a narrative instead of a static presentation. This familiarity lowers the learning curve for existing Workspace users.

The Power of AI: Storytelling Made Easy

Vids integrates Google's AI technology, Gemini, to streamline video creation. Gemini can craft a storyboard, generate scripts, provide text-to-speech narration, and even create visuals – essentially building a first draft for you. This empowers users to focus on the core message while AI handles the technical aspects.

Collaboration Beyond Sharing: A Dynamic Workflow

Similar to other Workspace apps, Vids fosters collaboration. Shared Vids allow viewers to comment, leave notes, and even edit the video directly. This fosters a dynamic workflow where teams can refine and iterate on video content together.

Beyond Vids: A Saturated Market for Video Creation

Vids enters a crowded space already occupied by video messaging tools like Loom, editing suites like Descript, and productivity platforms like ClickUp that are integrating video features. Even Vimeo has pivoted towards offering tools for creating quick business videos.

Google's Advantage: Integration and Ecosystem

Google's strength lies in its ability to seamlessly integrate Vids with its existing suite of products. Tight integration with Drive, Docs, and other Workspace apps streamlines content creation and management. Additionally, Google plans to introduce mobile support and further integration in the future.

A Deliberate Separation: Vids vs. YouTube

Interestingly, Vids remains distinct from YouTube, Google's video-sharing platform. While they share some underlying technology, Google emphasizes the fundamental difference in target audience and use case. Vids is a professional tool for internal communication, while YouTube caters to a broader audience for public video sharing.

Early Signs of Success: A Shift in Communication Style

Vids' early beta testers are already demonstrating its potential. Videos tend to be concise, often under three minutes, and cover a range of communication needs – pitches, training materials, updates, and team acknowledgements. This shift towards video communication allows for a more personal touch, as exemplified by the positive feedback received for video recaps replacing email updates.

Vids: A New Era of Information Sharing

By launching Vids as a standalone application, Google emphasizes its significance as a new paradigm for information sharing, not just another presentation tool. While the future of any Google product remains uncertain, Vids has the potential to join the ranks of Docs, Sheets, and Slides as a fundamental element of the modern work ecosystem.