It may seem unnecessary to have multiple ways to communicate with co-workers if you have already connected by the use of a work media tool like Podio. However, having a short-out of context discussion can be very helpful, and there is no need to have messages like “Are you coming to the meeting?” or “What’s Carla’s last name, again?” placed into the company stream or sent through an email. As a result, Podio has added chat:

Notice the green ball as a presence indicator. The chat feature is integrated with messaging, so if you attempt a chat with someone who is not online, they will see it when they log in. And these and other updates appear in the new Notifications area. This is available on all supported devices.

Podio has also announced that it will be rolling out audio and video this summer.