We are HUGE Slackers at Kova. Beyond just IM, we use Slack every day for group conference calls and screen sharing. I’ve recently discovered a couple of new features that make me love the app even more. So, let me count the ways….

1. Posts – Slack posts are a way for you to write long form content (I am writing this via a Post). The interface is super-clean – no fiddling with font and format (my favorite distraction when writers block strikes). Posts (files) are automatically saved online, and can be shared with team members on channels (group channel or DM). Further, you can create a public link to share with others not on Slack. The comment feature allows you to comment on someone else’s post.
   Super easy to create check-lists, bullets and indicate code-blocks. You can also Star important posts. The one feature that is missing is a way to tag posts, for easy categorization and retrieval (search is very robust, but I guess I just like filing things under categories). Sent feedback to Slack, and soon enough a friendly person (bot?) responded that she has added this suggestion as an item for internal discussion.
   Move over Google Docs, Slack Posts are way cooler.
2. Snoozing Reminders in Slackbot – I run my life with reminders via the SlackBot. These just-in-time reminders ping me to jog my memory. However, they sometimes ping me at inconvenient times. Slack recently introduced a snooze button that lets you postpone completing for an hour or day. So I can safely snooze the reminder, knowing that it will pop back up at a more opportune time. Sure I can use Reminders on my phone, but the Slackbot is equally, if not more handy.
3. Slack apps. There is now a Slack app for almost everything! So recently, Apple introduced an Machine Learning Blog ( a first, given how little information Apple reveals about their thought process). However, there isn’t a way to subscribe to the blog. I guess, in true imperious Apple fashion, they expect that folks will come back to check periodically. So I wrote to them asking for an RSS feed. Soon enough they obliged. I was mulling over the best medium to receive the feed – via e-mail OR download a Mac app. And then I thought to go look up Slack Apps. Sure enough, there is an app call RSS (appropriate) that will RSS content from any site to any channel that you choose.

There you have it – three additional ways that Slack is “Where work happens” Happy Slacking…