- Don't Be a Jerk on Virtual Collaboration Platforms
First the good news: Collaboration and communication services like HipChat, Trello, Slack, and Basecamp have made it easier than ever to quit email yet remain in constant contact with your coworkers. Now the bad news: Collaboration and communication services like HipChat, Trello, Slack, and Basecamp have made it easier than ever to remain in constant contact with your coworkers, opening a new universe of boorish behavior. Here are some tips to ensure you don’t commit the next-gen equivalent of the accidental reply-all. —Jason Tanz
Business in the front, party in the back
Want to jawbone over last night’s Americans episode? Dying to share a sad-hamster GIF that totally captures your mood? Go for it! But don’t clog up the #launch_event channel. That’s what Slack’s #random channel is for. Also, keep it focused—don’t mire a productive discussion with corny riffing and painful puns.
Use your real photo
That Ren & Stimpy character may express your irreverence, but you’re here for honest, constructive conversation. Using your real photo will help you all feel like part of an actual team of actual people—collaborating in a virtual space.
Tag sparingly
You’d think twice before texting a coworker on a Sunday, right? (We’ll assume you’re not a jerk and said yes.) Don’t tag them either, unless you really want that alert to ding while they’re cuddling their newborn.
Stay on top of things
If you don’t want to subscribe to all the rooms or channels where the big projects are being discussed, that’s fine. But be sure to set keyword alerts so you don’t miss pertinent info.
Assign work tactfully
Nobody likes being told what to do—and they particularly don’t like seeing a task pop up on their to-do list out of the blue. Give them a chance to volunteer by posting the task in a well-populated channel, or at the very least tag them and ask politely.
Read the room
The more people in a conversation, the higher the bar for your involvement. If 95 folks have already weighed in, your two cents are likely worth just two cents.
Think before you type
When you use one of these platforms, you are writing for the ages—creating a record so that future employees can know how decisions were made or products were created. So be clear, go with common, searchable terms, and try not to use soon-to-be-dated slang like “normcore” or “bokay.” Bokay? Bokay.
- Good Gear = Happiness
The stuff your company provides will never delight you. To attain job nirvana, you’ll have to assemble a collection of real objects d’work. —MEGAN LOGAN
- Evernote Will Bring You Mental Peace
It’s weird how much I love Evernote. I mean, it’s just note-taking software. But for me, the power of Evernote lies in how fast and easy it makes off-loading absolutely everything. It’s a dumping ground for all my random ideas, professional and personal to-dos, screenshots, links to stuff I’ve read (and want to read), photos, quotes, fleeting memories, obscure references by coworkers that I pretend to get but actually need to Google later. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Evernote brings me mental peace. It even helps me sleep better. As long as I know it’s stored somewhere, I can put it out of my mind. I can deal with it later. —ERIC STEUER
Typography by Crispin Finn
