Winter 2025 - Cutting out the bluster / explaining the slider

"It cuts out the bluster." 

That's what one employee at a client company said to one of their colleagues to explain what Accordion does. I happened to overhear the comment and absolutely loved it. People who use your product have a wonderfully direct and fuss-free way of describing what it does.

Never has the "bluster remover" power of Accordion been more useful than in re-versioning video webinars in a way that enables a viewer to get all the key information in way less time than it would take to watch the full original (and whilst still maintaining that source version's tone, structure and feel).

In our recent work for the OFWAT Innovation Fund project 'Enabling Water Smart Communities' (Anglian Water / CIWEM) we have applied Accordion to two series of 1 hour long webinars. Our project lead at CIWEM asked us to give them an idea of what affect the Accordion process would have on the webinar at the different lengths available to choose from on the slider bar. We had a good call discussing the nuances, and they found it useful to be able to recommend the ideal stop on the slider bar to people depending on their needs.

Looking at the slider in this level of detail is an interesting example of the power and usefulness of Accordion, so I created the infographic below to illustrate.

Each webinar has guest speakers reporting back on different elements of the project (usually two or three) followed by a Q&A. Part of the client's brief to us was that the speakers and their updates were the most important and the Q&A was something additional for people who wanted more detail.

This kind of clarity is so useful when building an Accordion and helped us make sure that each stop on the slider served a very deliberate purpose that matched the client's needs.

Look at the image below to understand what - in this specific video webinar Accordion project - each stop on the slider bar delivers...

All video meetings have non-slick moments that get annoying if you have to re-watch the full recording. Internet drops. "You're on mute" moments. "Next slide please" (you will find the code "NSP" in the Accordion software for the very purpose or removing these). So these are removed in all versions, even the longest (the final stop on the bar). So even if you want to watch the whole thing, watching on Accordion will be a lot nicer experience.

The shortest possible version is nearly always the most popular on every Accordion we make. That backs up the guiding insight behind the product itself. People are getting more and more time-poor. But they still need the information. The voice in our head shouts out "Just give me the short version" many times a day, especially in work hours. And AI summaries don't cut it. Compare reading a few paragraphs ChatGPT spits out about a webinar vs watching the shortest possible version on Accordion. It's night and day. I believe you actually waste more time reading the summary - you might get the absolute bare bones of the info... but you miss the context, the style of delivery (and in the case of video webinars, the images on the slides and expression, passion and emphasis of the person presenting). The information doesn't really make sense or "go in" with an AI summary. It does with Accordion.

As you work your way up the slider bar, more detail gets added in and the different length versions reflect the client's priorities. So on these Accordions, the best bits of the Q&A only start to kick in once the full detail of the speakers' presentations is included. 

...And if you just want a taste of the Q&A (let's face it - some questions are always more relevant or urgent than others) then there's a version to suit your needs too.

And the great thing about every version? No non-slick moments. Video webinars without the bluster - that's the power of Accordion.

Andy - CEO, Accordion Innovation Ltd