Cowork Frederick

Work for yourself, not by yourself.

Slack (our virtual water cooler)

Table of Contents

Overview #

Slack is basically a chat room where members can share ideas, tips, ask questions,  and communicate with each other on various topics (AKA channels). 

Why Slack? #

Because no one person has all the (best) answers. Because we want to encourage discussion among members, in a way that allows them to choose the conversations they want to participate in rather than blasting everything to everyone, which is how most email groups work. We wanted you to be able to choose to join online groups of people with similar interests and to facilitate communication when members work on projects together.

Channels #

When you join the group, you’re automatically added to several channels (topic/discussion areas):

  • #from-cowork-frederick: We use this channel to announce upcoming events, changes in operations, when new members join, etc. All Cowork Frederick members are in this channel. Only admins can post to this channel, but anyone can reply to the posts we make.
  • #member-chat-room: Anything you want: news you want to share, interesting local events, charity drives, how your day is going, etc. If you’re new to Cowork Frederick or have been out of Slack for a while, this is also a great place to introduce yourself.
  • #help-please: Ask for advice or a referral or someone to collaborate with on a problem. Post ideas, documents, links to websites, pictures for which you want feedback.
  • #nailed-it:  Celebrate your (or other member’s) successes.
  • #food-at-cowork: Food in the break room, lunch invitations, tips on the best restaurants, etc.

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There are more channels, like one with parking tips and odd/funny/interesting things heard at Cowork. Just click on “Channels” to see a list of available channels.

You can opt in or out of channels – except #cowork-announcements – as you want. Members can create new channels (you too!), so it’s useful to periodically check the list of channels to see if there’s anything of interest. Just click on “Channels” to see a list of available channels.

When you join a channel, you have access to the message history of that channel. Joining #parking, for example, allows you to scroll through the past history of parking tips.

Direct Messages #

Slack lets you also directly message other members. Trying to coordinate a group effort? You can message multiple people at once. If a guest/client arrives for you and you’re not here, we’ll notify you with a DM in Slack.

If you signed up for mail service notices about mail delivery will be sent to you via Slack, so be sure to check your Slack message often (better yet, turn notifications on).

Accessing Cowork Frederick Slack #

You should have received an email invitation to join our Slack group when you joined Cowork Frederick. If you can’t find it, see Julia and she’ll send another.

You can access Cowork Frederick Slack via the Slack website (see signing in below), but for a much better experience, we recommend you download the Slack app to your phone and/or computer and configure notifications.

Quick Tips #

If you’re not familiar with Slack, here are links to some of the more useful help topics.

These tips may also come in handy:

  • To send a message to everyone in a channel use @channel
  • Respond to other’s messages using threads helps keep discussions organized. Click on the thread icon that appears when you mouse over a message.
  • Use bots to get automated messages (see below)

Want more help? Check out “Slack 101” and other tips and tutorials from the makers of Slack.

Slack Bots #

A number of bots have been created, some fun, some useful. Just go into an Slack channel and post a message (type the word or phrase and press ENTER) and the bot will answer you.

  • “wifi password” = the current password
  • “where’s lunch?” = suggested a downtown restaurant
  • “where should I sit?” = suggested location in the building
  • “fax number” = the number to receive a fax at Cowork
  • “motivate me” = encouraging words
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