The 10 Types of Slack Users You’ll Encounter in Tech (As Told By GIFs)
Slack. The cloud communication tool that many companies can’t live without. And for good reason. It’s easy-to-use, intuitive, useful, and comes with a nifty little favicon (red dot notification) feature making it so you’re always working… I mean, “so you won’t ever miss an important message from your teammates.” 😁
Speaking of teammates. Slack has revolutionized communication in the workplace — making it easier than ever to send messages, share files, collaborate, and get stuff done.
And like with all new forms of communication, naturally, new types of user personalities emerge. User personalities that are native to the platform and common across teams of all types. You may recognize some of these from your own Slack team, or maybe you fit into a few of these categories yourself.
Either way, here are the 10 types of Slack users I’ve come to love over the last few years in tech.
The “Slack-trovert”
These are my favorite kind Slack of user. These people are all over the place in Slack — chatting it up with a everyone from engineering to people to marketing. Then comes the day when you meet them for the first time IRL…
Silence.
The “Won’t Let Email Go”
I love these people because they’re holding it down for the original communication tool… email. Slack’s just too much. Too fast. Too noisy.
They’d rather sit back with a warm cup of joe and respond to messages at their own pace. Good for you, email champion.
The “Reaction Virtuoso”
Like Bob Ross getting ready to paint a masterpiece, the “reaction virtuoso” treats every new message as their own blank canvas. Before you know it 20 shimmering reactions line the bottom of the message as we all watch in amazement and awe.
The “Share Every Article I Read”
It’s like having your own personal news curator delivering content right to your door. Everything from the latest #GoT spoilers to internet’s best gluten-free muffin recipes… they’ve got you covered. The only thing you’re left wondering is — where do they find the time?
The “Leave You Hanging”
Brian is typing…
That’s all you ever see.
It’s enough to drive a person mad I tell you!
The “Always Online”
This Slack user has earned the office reputation of can-doer. No matter what time of day or day of the week it is, they write back within 5 minutes. Either they really are the hardest working person on the team or they have mobile and desktop notifications turned on. 🤔
The “10-In-A-Row-Er”
No other Slack user can make your stomach drop faster than the “10-in-a-row-er.” You log onto Slack, happy as a clam, and see the little red dot with the number 10 in the middle next to someone’s name in your direct messages. It’s your boss.
Your first thoughts: “Oh gosh, what did I do? Well, I had a good run at it. I guess I could always move back in with my parents!”
Turns out they just wanted to wish you a happy weekend.
The “Team Yoda”
Having a bad day? Looking for some relationship advice? Purchasing a home? How about some investment strategies? No worries, “Slack Yodas” are a fountain of information and have your back. They’re always there with timely advice no matter the subject or situation (even when you didn’t ask).
The “@channel@here Tagger”
Just when you thought you’ve cleared out all of your unread messages in Slack the “@channel@here tagger” swoops in with a lovely surprise.
Tag, you’re it!
The “Slack-bassador”
“Slack-bassadors” are an inspiration to us all. They know all of the shortcuts, have contributed at least 10 unique reactions to the team, are in 5–10 different Slack groups, and haven’t touched email since 2009.
We see you, Slack-bassadors.
Did I miss any of your favorite Slack users or personalities? I’d love to hear them in the comments below. v2 of “Slack Users” coming soon!
Brian Peters is the Digital Marketing Strategist at Buffer
