Slack's latest feature is adopting the worst part about LinkedIn
Slack Connect's latest feature is a useful tool that could backfire.
What you need to know- Slack Connect is introducing a new DM feature that lets users reach out to individual Slack members.
- The feature is meant to help foster working relationships between employees at different organizations.
- Unfortunately, the feature isn't being met with praise, with fears that it could lead to unwanted spam messages.
Slack is on the move again. As one of the best messaging apps for phones like the Samsung Galaxy S21, Slack always looking for ways to improve its product. Slack Connect is part of the messaging platform's growing desire to upend email and become your all-encompassing work communication tool. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy about its latest feature.
Slack Connect launched last year, allowing businesses to create shared channels to help foster collaboration. Today, Slack is taking it a step further with a new feature that allows users from different organizations to send private DMs to anyone on Slack. By entering someone's email, you can invite them to into a conversation. The idea is to promote faster, more streamlined communication between partners or even friends within different organizations outside of the back-and-forth that comes with the more traditional email.
It sounds good in theory, but many Slack users are already expressing concern for the new feature. Many fear that it will lead to an influx of spam messages, which LinkedIn is often associated with. A line from Slack's blog post about the new feature even mentions how "a salesperson can form a direct line of contact to prospects." There's also a fear of harassment, something that many feel the app isn't equipped to handle, given its seeming lack of blocking and reporting features.
well that was easy as shit to abuse
- Menotti Minutillo (@44) March 24, 2021
- send invite with nasty language
- slack emails you w/ the full content of the invite
- can't block the emails because they come from a generic slack address that informs you of invites
- abuser can keep inviting w/ abusive language https://t.co/Mw9W5L251a pic.twitter.com/dWEAD7ccRO
DMs are completely opt-in, although that doesn't seem to address potential harassment that users could experience. Slack ensures that it's working on implementing policies at the admin-level to help moderate phishing and spam. However, many of these will not be available until summer and will still leave individual Slack members with little recourse to address the problems themselves.
At the moment, the new Slack Connect DM feature is available for paid members, although it will eventually roll out to free users as well, a move that could further exacerbate any potential problems if not handled properly.