Slack

Slack helps us communicate, brainstorm, ask questions and connect with members.

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DEF uses Slack both as a community and as a non-profit. There are a few distinctions between the two, which largely break down into the different types of channels we use:

Public channels (which start with a "#") are accessible to anyone who has joined Slack after signing-up as a DEF member. You can join and leave a public channel whenever you want, and they are all searchable within Slack.
- Only admins can posts in #general, not regular members.
- #general was reserved for major DEF announcements.
- Only admins can use “@channel” which pings everyone in a channel. We don’t want to ping hundreds or thousands of people late at night; late night pings are not fun!
Private channels are only available to those who are invited - DEF uses private channels (have a little lock icon) to help volunteers coordinate planning. Those channels are only open to people who have applied to volunteer and been brought on to a specific team.

You will notice that each channel has a name that is relatively easy to understand. Using the most relevant channel name, particularly among the volunteer channels, is a great way to make information easier to find, or discover existing information (either by searching or asking a question).

One of the most important aspects of Slack is using threads. Threads keep things organized by topic or question and make it easier to discover other relevant information later without inundating a given channel with information that may not be relevant to everyone.

Integrations in Slack allow us to interact more easily with important information.

MailClark + Slack

MailClark allows us to see and respond to shared email and social media accounts from within Slack.

Zapier + Slack

Zapier connects information across applications using workflows. It connects Slack to G Suite and Trello.

The rest of this page explores Slack features and capabilities.

Slack helps DEF share information and communicate openly, both as a community, and as a non-profit.

What makes Slack unique? It takes information that might otherwise be contained in an email or file folder and allows you to share and search for it across channels.

Slack is biased toward a "team first" approach, steering away from the "stovepipes as a default" approach seen in many organizations while still allow you, the individual, to manage your alerts, visibility and interactions.

Perhaps think of Slack like a modern online forum or message board, but with the ability to integrate tools and apps like Zoom or Google Drive.

Say you get a new comment on a Google Doc you shared; you can respond in a thread directly from Slack (or mark it as unread so you don't forget to go back to it later).

You can also forward emails into Slack so other can comment in a thread without blowing up each other's inboxes. Because more emails does not equal more fun.

One of the most important things about Slack, both good and bad, is notifications. We all are here to make a difference, but we are also volunteers, so where's the balance?

Check out this video from Slack for a quick overview of how to make sure you get alerted to things you care about without getting overwhelmed by pings, dings, pop-ups and messages that just aren't relevant.

Slack is a tool: make it work for you, not the other way around.

Looking for more tips and tricks? Check out the Slack links below to get started.

Slack 101Learning Slack made simple: walkthroughs, tips, and videos for how to get connected, stay organized and get to work.

Slack TipsSlack is where work flows. It's where the people you need, the information you share, and the tools you use come together to get things done.

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