5 Slack Channels Every Company Should Definitely NOT Have
When our CTO Jamon Holmgren wrote the very insightful and uplifting 5 Channels Every Company Needs, I enjoyed it. However, I felt it was far too useful. 😆 Someone might accidentally think we’re normal.
As a fully-remote team of creative developers, designers, and whatever our CEO Todd Werth does, we build a pretty entertaining workspace. That’s why I’d like to share 5 Slack channels that we have, but not everyone should. Let’s jump right in.
TL;DR version
- #this-is-why-im-fat
- #beat-poetry
- #stupid-adorable-cute
- #stocklife
- #who-said-it
#this-is-why-im-fat
You’ve seen these neato animated recipes right? They even have their own subreddit. Someone posts one right before lunch, and suddenly you have to get the drool mop.
These tempting animations are so much fun. And every so often… we actually try to cook these crazy things. We share what we made, good or bad.
Ever make cheese stuffed onion rings? They actually came out pretty good!
We added the #this-is-why-im-fat channel for fitness. FITNESS WHOLE PIZZA IN MA MOUTH! Also, it’s a great place for food-related humor.
You probably shouldn’t have this channel without also having some kind of mandatory health channel you should also join.
#beat-poetry
We don’t write beat poems. Some channels we have like #home-and-garden create the strangest conversations. Those conversations are short and stochastic. When read properly, they turn into beat poetry. For our purposes, beat and slam poetry are combined into a single genre.
Without anyone really knowing it, beat poetry finds a way.
Can you read the above and imagine it performed like Mike Meyers here?
There are plenty of opportunities to screenshot some poetry. We simply find it in everyday conversation and post it in the #beat-poetry channel.
As an added bonus, last year we had some live readings. We put Frank von Hoven on the bongos, and others performed for us. The following video was “Don’t Poke the Bear” read by design’s illustrious Justin Huskey.
Let us know if you’d like to see some more beat/slam poems collected by Infinite Red. We’ll share it with you at the low low cost of you recording yourself performing them.
#stupid-adorable-cute
You know that chemical that gets released when you see a cute puppy making howling noises or a cat jump through a box? Maybe it happens when you hear a baby goat bleat, or a baby owl hoot. Yeah!?
Yeah!? THAT FEELING!
You could use more of it. It’s like a natural pick-me-up; better than coffee!
If people at your company have pets they can share, or just enjoy cute pictures of doggos/squeak-loafs/pupperoos/meowfluffs. It’s a welcomed distraction that puts a smile on everyone’s face. #stupid-adorable-cute is set to “notify always” for me because it’s always worth the click.
#stocklife
Why are stock photos such a trainwreck? You should know because in #stocklife it is our job to figure out why. Is it fun to caption where these stock photos would make sense? … *spoiler alert* it is!
I don’t know who’s buying these photos, but I can tell you who are laughing at them. We are.
WARNING: Some stock photos are so bad they are NSFL (Not safe for life)
There are several fun places you can go to get the extra crazy stock photos served up to you. The challenge is making them make sense again.
#who-said-it
“Some quotations,” said Zellaby, “are greatly improved by lack of context.”
― John Wyndham
When everyone is laughing at something, it’s probably a good time to note what was just said. A few days later… it’s either still a good line, or it’s completely crazy out of context. Both are still funny.
#who-said-it is a place to collect those moments and preserve the group’s odd history.
Maybe it reminds everyone of a terrible movie you all watched:
Or maybe it’s just a strange iconic moment:
Writing quotes down in the channel is a good-natured collection of overheard banter. Again, once a year we have fun re-reading and even guessing who said what. The number of times I’ve been quoted and didn’t know it was my own quote is alarming.
Next?
Some of you have some pretty interesting chat-rooms at your own companies. I want a tour. Add them in the comments, or maybe even write your own “5” post and share it! Enjoy.
Gant Laborde is Chief Innovation Officer at Infinite Red, published author, adjunct professor, worldwide public speaker, and mad scientist in training. Clap/follow/tweet or visit him at a conference.
