Keep Busy by Slack-ing Off
Find communities for your hobbies on Slack.
S lack may be marketed as a tool for the workplace, but did you know you can use this app to pursue hobbies, too? Learn what Slack is all about and how you can join a group to explore your interests with a likeminded community.
Slack is an app available on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac that businesses frequently use. You can chat with your coworkers in private messages or groups, share files and links, work on big projects in channels, and even send GIFs back and forth. Here's how to use Slack on your iPhone. You can use Slack for free or pay monthly fees for business-level features.
NAVIGATE SLACK
You can tap the logo of your Slack group in the upper left corner at any time to access more options, including your channel browser, the files you have shared, and your preferences.
Start on the Home tab. From here, you will be able to see all your starred messages for easy access, the channels you are in, and your direct messages. You can also join new channels or start new direct messages with the members of your Slack group.
TACKLE GROUP PROJECTS WITH CHANNELS
If you want to get the most out of Slack, channels will be your best friend. Channels offer a place for groups of people to communicate about their similar interests—from work projects to watercooler talk, to random stuff you want to discuss. Group admins will set channels up around different themes and invite members so that they can discuss topics and complete projects efficiently. Channels are marked by a pound sign.
COMMUNICATE INDIVIDUALLY WITH DMS
The DMs tab takes you to your direct messages, where you can talk to anyone in your Slack group or create a new message. The Mentions tab is like your notifications center. It shows you where you might have been mentioned in a channel or group message, which helps you keep track of all your projects and messages.
MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNT PROFILE
The last tab, You, helps you manage how you look in the Slack group. From here, you can change your picture, name, and status, as well as set up your notifications and preferences. One nice perk of Slack is you can set an activity status for the entire day (or week!) in case you're on vacation or home sick.
TRY APP INTEGRATIONS
In a Slack workplace, you can use app integrations to see things like your Google Docs, Creative Cloud files, and Zoom calls. The app also allows you to search for specific words you have typed or files you may have uploaded for easy recall.
And if you're a member of more than one group, you can switch between the two of them easily in the app without having to log in and out! Abbey Dufoe is a digital content strategist who lives in New Jersey. She loves traveling and hiking—taking her iPhone along for the pictures of course! Her current favorite gadget is the Apple Watch.