Slack releases its platform road map on Trello for the world to see

By Lulu Chang April 10, 2016

A person using Slack on a Macbook. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ever wanted to take a peek inside the mind of a fast-paced tech startup? Slack is obliging in a pretty unique way. Late last week, the messaging app used by companies around the world to keep employees in the know decided to keep its users in the know, opening up its platform roadmap for all to see. That’s right — you can now access Slack’s Trello board, and check out exactly what’s next for the team in the San Francisco based company.

In a Medium blog post, Slack noted, “We know that being a developer is hard, and building on a platform is not a decision to be made lightly. Many platforms have burned developers and we frequently see that risk highlighted. This is our response.” Now, the general public has been clued into the company’s roadmap, which contains five main verticals — Near Term, Mid Term, Long Term, Ongoing Improvements, and Released. Currently, there are no projects listed in the Released column, though there are plenty of other things to follow in the pipeline.

Recommended Videos

“An ecosystem in its healthiest form creates a virtuous cycle,” Slack writes. “This is our success as a platform — when the value of the businesses built on top of us is, in sum, larger than we can ever be.”

Calling it “a small step in equipping you to claim this opportunity with us,” Slack’s decision to release its product roadmap allows you to get up close and personal with what’s yet to come on the mobile and desktop app. Everything from an Events API to app ratings and reviews and support for more file types can be found on the Trello board, and the company has also released its Ideaboard , described as “a list of useful ideas that could be built into Slack apps per conversations we’ve had with our customers.”

So if you want your voice heard in the Slack community, consider this your moment.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.