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Slack – the free communication platform for businesses.
English image not yet available...Image source: Slack.com
- Dynamic News Feed
- Open and private chats
- Direct video calls with screen sharing option
- Fast document exchange
- Simple search for documents and messages
Email communication is indispensable today. Nothing has changed in this area over the past decades - time for a new way to exchange information even better and more efficiently.
Slack is enjoying growing popularity. After launching in January 2014, within six months, 120,000 people were using the new communication platform daily. Now, it's millions.
Advantages over emails
Searching through emails for specific content - be it topics or files - can be tedious. Slack is different: similar to Twitter, messages and documents can be tagged with hashtags, making them easier to channel.
There is no traditional inbox here. In the respective channels (topics) or in personal communication between users, the latest information is always displayed. This immediacy and transparency have many advantages within a company. Information is exchanged quickly – no need for email distribution lists and cc notifications. Slack works simply and informally. The obligation that an email carries cannot be replaced by Slack.
Especially small and medium-sized businesses worldwide use Slack. Even though email cannot be completely replaced, this new form of communication is now more valued internally than traditional emails.
The most important features at a glance:
1. Channels
Open channels are for all users. Here, general information can be exchanged. If you're running late in the morning, you can post a quick update here - but information about the daily lunch menu or the next company event reaches all users immediately.
2. Private Channels
Certain topics are only relevant to certain users. Whether they are sensitive issues or projects. Here, you can open a "Private Channel" and invite the respective users.
3. Direct Communication
You can send a private and direct message to any user - as you might be used to from Skype.
4. File Sharing
With drag-and-drop, various files including comments can be shared or sent in Slack. Collaboration with Google Drive, Dropbox, or Box is made possible through the link to the file.
5. Integrations
Tools like Github, Dropbox, Twitter, Asana, etc. can be integrated, so that notifications can be completely covered by Slack. This way, there's no need to switch back and forth between different tools, and Slack offers comprehensive searchability.
6. In-depth Search
All content in Slack – messages, notifications, files, etc. – can be found at any time using the search function. Even content within a posted PDF, Word document, Google docs is indexed! Information can be further channeled with the help of hashtags.
7. Apps
Through the Slack Apps, you automatically have access to all messages and archives, documents can be uploaded quickly, and notifications are immediately visible via push message.
Free Version
With the free basic version of Slack, an unlimited number of employees can be added. This model includes 5 GB of storage, and when searching, you are limited to the last 10,000 messages. The other models offer a range of special services and features.
