Mibo

Digital product development with customers is what we do as a software company primarily. But our engineers also develop their own products. Things that just have to be there, according to us. Similarly, Mibo (formerly known as Borrel), which we created during the corona crisis.

Frustrated by the limitations, coldness and callousness of Zoom, Skype, Meet and other online meeting tools, we thought it could be better. Especially for informal gatherings. With the standard applications, they simply remain awkward and stiff. To approach the social aspects and conversation dynamics of a real drink, we have built something new: a web-based proximity chat platform. A kind of first person social, where the webcam and microphone of video calling are combined with walking around in a virtual world. This makes meeting remote with a group of people really fun.

An important difference with other online meeting tools is the loose setting of Mibo: a tropical island in 3D. Here you can wander to your heart's content, discover things and talk to other attendees. In Mibo you move around like a kind of flying monitor on which the image of your webcam is shown. So other people just see you as you are. By combining this freedom of movement in an informal environment with real-time video image, it is possible to socialize in small groups in a natural, personal way. And easy to switch between different groups. Or to just chat one-on-one with someone. You see other people present on the island, but thanks to positional audio you only hear the people who are close to you. Breakout rooms like with other meeting tools are therefore not necessary: ​​small groups automatically arise. This makes Mibo a very good virtual alternative for informal meetups of small and larger groups. An online place where you can have that real conversation.

Mibo can be visited for free with a small group of people. But the application is the most fun to use with a larger group. For example with colleagues during a Friday afternoon drink or for team building or with business partners during an informal network meeting. Teams from companies such as Microsoft, Google, Netflix, Disney, Nike, Warner Bros and Unicef are now regular customers of Mibo. Mibo is also ideal for B2B events such as conferences and trade fairs. Hundreds of participants can be divided over several (theme) islands. It is also possible to have a completely different 3D environment made other than a tropical island. The corona crisis makes keeping social meetings in real life more difficult, but with Mibo it is possible to approach that experience very well online.

Especially for office Christmas drinks, New Year's receptions and other corporate parties we have also created a virtual winter world. This new island makes hanging out with colleagues way more natural than Zoom and other video calling tools.

Mibo runs on a 3D engine in a web browser. So anyone with a computer can easily use the app and send a link to other participants. You do not need VR glasses. Underlying, we have used open source frameworks to make Mibo work properly and safely. Neither the video nor the audio is ever seen, analyzed or saved. In fact, all video conference streams are encrypted.

Barely a few months old, Mibo won a bronze Lovie Award at the end of 2020. The Lovie Awards are the most prestigious prizes within the European internet community. In the same category, 'Websites: Weird & Experimental', our video chat application also won the public award.

In the spring of 2021, Mibo won a golden Dutch Interactive Award (DIA) in the category 'new interfaces' and a silver DIA in the category 'tools'. The DIAs are awarded each year to the best online products in the Netherlands. The jury praised how the tool responds to the spirit of the times and how the small team has achieved so much results in so little time.

In the spring of 2021, Mibo spread its wings. Thanks to an external investment of 1 million euros, international growth has accelerated, so that even more people experience how much fun video calling really is!

It's best to try out Mibo for yourself. Will we see you on the tropical island?