Slack Clips aim to replace meetings with video messages

Slack is launching a new 'Clips' feature that allows users to record video messages in Slack channels in a bid to cut down on meetings.

The Clips will be able to be shared in a channel or through a direct message, and the company hopes it will make it easier for teams to communicate regardless of their time zone or location. Clips can be up to three minutes in length and users will also be able to share their screen when recording. The feature is currently being rolled out to customers on paid subscriptions.

“Clips are a way to record yourself on your screen. And the idea is that a lot of the meetings shouldn’t require us to be together in real time,” Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield said at a Dreamforce press event yesterday, as reported by TechCrunch.

“It’s easily shareable with people who weren’t in attendance, but [still] get the update. It’s available in the archive, so you can go back and find the answers to questions you have or trace back the roots of a decision,” he added.

Slack is also making improvements to Slack Connect, which lets partner organisations work together in Slack. It is now extending this to companies that aren’t on paid Slack plans yet, according to The Verge. From this autumn, Slack Enterprise Grid customers will be able to invite any colleagues to use the platform and communicate with them.

Lastly, the company is also launching GovSlack in 2022, a version of Slack that runs in a government-certified cloud environment. This version complies with additional US federal government requirements like DoD IL4 certifications.

In June, Slack announced a new “Schedule Send” feature that allows users to queue up messages to send at specific dates and times. The function, which is currently available on the platform, appears as a drop-down menu that pops up when users click on the “send” arrow in the chat box. Users could choose from both pre-filled options, like “tomorrow 9am”, as well as a custom date and time to send the message.