We had a great time with our April Fools' gag last week, in which we announced a futuristic (but fictional) creation called Prysm Avatar — a drone that would project your likeness as a 3D hologram, so you could make a virtual appearance in the office, while you worked from a remote location. 

The best part was that so many people (including my physicist father!) believed it was a real product.

We had dozens of calls and chat sessions with people who were ready to whip out their credit cards to buy a personalized drone. Inside sales reps had fun leading them on for a moment before gently breaking the news that it was a joke:  

Chat visitor:  I see you have a brand new Avatar drone technology.

Prysm rep:  Yes, we are very proud of our innovations to help collaboration.

Chat user:  Ok, so where can I find out about Avatar?

Prysm rep:  It is an April Fools' prank by our marketing team, but you can find out more details here: https://www.prysm.com/avatar/

Chat visitor:  Wow. I already tweeted it out to thousands of people who will want to know more. 

Another website visitor had some very apt questions:

Chat visitor:  Hello. Are the videos on your website actual products? Like the drone and Synapse?

Prysm rep: Yes

Chat visitor: If the drone is real and physical, how can it go through doors and walls?

Prysm rep: We work with world-class integrators and designers to drill drone-friendly holes in your workplace.

Prysm rep:  No, not really. April Fools'!

Chat visitor:  Ok. So you have drones, but they are static and there's no hologram? I can't tell what's real and what's not. 

Prysm rep:  Haha. Yeah, we currently do not offer drones.

Why office drones aren't ready for primetime

Aside from the fact that it's impossible to maneuver a real-time hologram around with the power of your mind (today, anyway), drones in the office are a lawsuit waiting to happen. In fact, we had a few mishaps during filming — a couple of crashes, for example — that made us realize that personalized drones are a few (or more) years away. 

Have a look at our bloopers reel and you'll see what I mean:

Hope you had a happy April Fools' Day, and that you'll come back next year to see what other innovations Prysm Labs will reveal!