About a year ago, many of my clients became sick of email and asked me to join them over on Slack.
What is Slack? Well, it’s basically inter-office-email plus AOL instant messenger plus storage for files. You can do emoji, and there are folders called “channels.”
So it pretty much feels like email 2.0 to me.
I’m a writer, and I will abuse whatever the hell platform you put in front of me. Instant message? Text? Email? Don’t tell me you’re sick of hearing from me. You can always turn off your phone, but I can’t turn off my brain. And I have something to tell you, dammit.
There are other things you can do on Slack besides interact with your colleagues. Nothing earth-shattering. For example, you can integrate an app into Slack and order a pizza or an Uber.
Or, as always happens, you can let some HR technology vendor ruin the fun.
As we speak, there are probably a hundred different HR vendors on Slack trying to ping you on everything from mood to motivation to wellness. If someone applies for your job, an ATS will notify you in Slack that you have resumes to review.
So now you have to ignore your email, push notifications on your phone, and Slack.
Thanks, HR Tech! That’s super helpful!
I’m interested in Slack as an organized way to manage projects. But I’m more interested in someone else using Slack to organize my projects and just keep me up-to-date on things. It’s amazing what happens when you get older. Technology is great, but it’s better when other people use the technology for you.
And I’m also interested in Slack as a tool to reach people quickly without having to make eye contact. Sometimes it’s too hard to talk to people. I ask a question and have to endure 20 minutes of chit chat and emotions while the hamster wheel spins. Let the hamster turn on your own time and get back to me when you have an answer, bucko!
If you’re curious about Slack, you don’t need permission to get started. Just go in there, create a team, and invite some friends to make small talk with you throughout the day. Or you can join my Slack demo site at punkrockhr.slack.com/ by sending me an email. I’ll add you. You can learn how to use Slack by interacting with other readers over there.
It’s really that easy.
How do we connect if we already have Slack through work?
You can belong to multiple teams. The URL is unique and it’s almost like joining a different chat group — like another open window — with your same username.