Software
Slack has Instagram-like stories and push-to-talk audio calls for the pandemic era.
Slack is getting ready to integrate Instagram-like stories and push-to-talk audio into its messaging program by the end of 2020. Both additions are born out of the move to remote work during the pandemic period that we're all adapting to. Slack hopes that these features could cut down on frequent video calls or inefficient text conversations, and bring back impromptu office experiences that most people haven't encountered for months.
Although Instagram stories are built to share your daily experiences with friends and family, Slack's stories are not really about your pets' videos, favorite food, or holidays. Slack sees video snippets as a way for remote employees to check in and update their status, for example, or to set a team's daily agenda.
It's just like Instagram stories, or snapchat stories, except in Slack, said Stewart Butterfield, Slack 's CEO, in an interview with The Verge this week. There was a joke that all the software would soon have it, and I thought it was amusing at the time. But particularly during the pandemic, and the difference in how we as an organization are approaching work means that it's the feeling that the time has come.
Instead of making this 15-minute stand-up meeting every day, can we record the video sooner ... And get rid of the 15-minute meeting, huh? Asks to Butterfield. Slack is still experimenting with and prototyping how stories can show up, but these short videos can appear alongside channels, enabling people to use them as a way to check in with each other or as a means of status updates. It's a little more of a human way of giving updates, says Butterfield, and a more casual and flexible way for people to engage in meetings without having to host a dedicated one.
Video conferencing has never been a key aspect of Slack, and the company's direct video and audio calling capabilities have not been a strong point either, just as Zoom has reached the mainstream. That leaves Slack adapting to this new age, where all of a sudden, everyone hops on more video calls for work and even social events.
Slack collaborated with Amazon earlier this year to migrate to Chime for voice and video calls, and is now experimenting with functionality outside conventional video calls.
Obviously, video conferencing isn't going anywhere, but I think it's a result of the last 20 years of unified communications as a category, explains Butterfield. I think over the next 20 years , particularly considering what happens to our mobile devices as users, I think we need more space than just video conferencing as a way for people to connect through voice and video.
Alongside the latest story features, Slack is also preparing to add instant audio. It will work in a similar way to push-to-talk, as a function that facilitates casual calls inside channels with co-workers.
The idea is that we already have outlets ... Starting a call or scheduling a call can feel very intense, whereas when we were all in the office leaning over or crying out to someone a few desks away with a question, it feels quite light, so we're trying to recreate it, says Butterfield.
This always-available audio sounds like it's going to work like a Discord call, where there's always available voice channels that people can hop in and out and watch online co-workers chat. "The idea is that the call is not something that begins and ends, it's something you reach and exit, and the call is still permanently connected to the channel," Butterfield explains.
It seems to be a perfect function for smaller , more agile teams where you need to huddle and address a project or concept quickly, without scheduling time for a full video call.
It's not something that 's going to creep into people, it's meant for very specific involvement, says Butterfield. It's meant for generally small teams that work very closely with each other on a specific issue. Voice can also convey more nuance than a typical text-based Slack conversation can.
All of these latest audio and video features are still in the testing process at Slack, but Butterfield says they should arrive perhaps this year. With just a few months left in the year that is 2020, it's fair to assume that these features will certainly arrive soon, but they may be called beta or rolled out gradually.
