Slack’s redesign suggests that keeping up with Slack is the only work worth doing.

The article’s title covers everything. Slack simply serves as a form of social media for the office that reduces employee productivity.

  • @A_AEnglish
    -3•9 months ago

    2023 SEPTEMBER 14 TECHNOLOGY
    Slack Is Basically Facebook Now

    Slack’s redesign suggests that keeping up with Slack is the only work worth doing.

    By Ian Bogost

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    Illustration of an office worker with an emoji-selection interface covering his head Illustration by Jared Bartman / The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

    “Oh,” I slacked my Atlantic colleagues earlier this week, beneath a screenshot of a pop-up note that Slack, the group-chat software we use, had presented to me moments earlier. “A fresh, more focused Slack,” it promised, or threatened. On my screen, the program’s interface was suddenly a Grimace-purple color. I sensed doom in this software update.

    Slowly, over the days that followed, complaints about the new Slack started trickling into our chats. “folks I cannot handle this new version of slack and will be taking the rest of the month off,” one Atlantic staffer said. “I am reverting to sending physical memos on personal letterhead,” posted another. “all my slacks are: I hate the new slack,” slacked Adrienne LaFrance, the magazine’s executive editor. (Later on, she messaged me separately to see if I would write about Slack’s terrible new format.)

    Ian Bogost is a contributing writer at The Atlantic.