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Today Podio was officially launched, via invitation, and has already begun gaining significant attention in the press with articles in Techcrunch Europe and other local Danish business media magazine Børsen news is spreading quickly. This afternoon, they will be holding a launch party which includes a change in name, annoucement of a new CEO - Tommy Ahlers, and fresh round of investment.

In the Techcrunch article Podio has been described as ‘Facebook for Companies’  which in my humble opinion is paying undeserved complements to Facebook and underplaying the role that Podio can potentially play in our working lives. Podio plays on three workplace trends: Perceived Control, Perceived Progress and Connectedness. 

Podio provides users with an overview of what’s happening in their team, organization, etc. and by combining key work functions into the one place the users gain a sense of perceived control. With constant streams of information hitting us from all sides i.e. updates, emails, invitations, project flows, etc. it is nice to have an overview which places all this things in on central location.

With the majority of us are looking to master a skill that enables us to perform tasks more efficiently and / or in a superior manner to others. Podio, allows users to build their own apps and skill over time, starting with something as simple as a meeting agenda and moving towards a CRM system. The ability to learn and grow gives the user a sense of progress.

Finally, Podio like others before it, allows users to connect to others, what separates Podio from many others is the ability to connect with people ‘contextually’. Meaning that users are connected to each other through the project, team or organization that they share. This feature creates sense-making for users allowing them to better maintain ‘contextual’ connections, like tagging but just with all the work history, conversations etc. included.

Finally, although the word "social" has been thrown around a little to often, with "innovative" coming in at a close second, and not putting down other start-ups in the same field, Podio has a talented team, traction and the vision to be a key contender in this growing sector. One to look out for.

If you looking for an invitation, hit-me-up via twitter or go to www.podio.com for an invite.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts?