24 comments

  • Joshua TurnerJoshua Turner, almost 6 years ago

    At first I was ready to defend Slack, saying it's so engrained in our workflow it wouldn't make sense to even entertain another solution, but the issues they brought up here are very valid.

    These are problems I'm sure plenty of us have experienced with Slack (and a hyperactive gif-loving team).

    I'm excited to see the competition and at the very least we'll be giving Twist a try in the near future.

    11 points
    • Lucas LazaroLucas Lazaro, almost 6 years ago

      I completely agree with your point, but I think it will depend heavily on how your team and company operates. For instance in my case we've adapted Slack for that instant-messaging urge and Basecamp for the "thread-like" vantage they pointed in Twist. The Slack + Basecamp synergy have proven to solve a lot of communication problems we had in projects.

      But something that captured my attention to give Twist the benefit of doubt was that it may fit well between these two needs we have and also that they have: "Guest access for clients or contractors", which may create a more direct channel with clients than the hassle of email discussions on Basecamp.

      1 point
      • Joe ShoopJoe Shoop, almost 6 years ago

        Slack has single-channel and multi-channel guests, where they can only see channels they are invited to. Not sure about basecamp though, havent used it in a long time.

        1 point
  • Aaron SagrayAaron Sagray, almost 6 years ago

    If you get beyond the comparison to chat apps, it just appears to be centralized email.

    7 points
  • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, almost 6 years ago

    i'm not sure whether this is 1. slack + threads or 2. email + channels

    either way sounds good.

    6 points
    • Rizwan Javaid, almost 6 years ago

      I think Twist matches user's mental model better for organizing conversations, which email does well. So it's familiar layout helps.

      1 point
      • Spencer HoltawaySpencer Holtaway, almost 6 years ago

        I agree. The problem I had when I used to use Slack was it was hard to find the right parts of a conversation (there was a lot of noise). Colleagues got annoyed when I created a channel per project, which was my rudimentary attempt to create threads, I guess.

        I could imagine creating a channel per project in Twist, too, with threads being about problems we're trying to solve in that project.

        Seems like a good way to communicate, will try with my team to see what we learn.

        2 points
        • Rizwan Javaid, almost 6 years ago

          Yes. Noise is a big factor with Slack. Would love to hear about your learnings after trying out Twist. Thanks :)

          0 points
  • Johan MichelsJohan Michels, almost 6 years ago

    wow...it's a forum

    3 points
  • Bugsy SailorBugsy Sailor, almost 6 years ago

    I love Slack. But long before Slack I have loved Todoist. If they can make as beautiful and clean of a product as Todoist, I would certainly be interested in making the switch.

    3 points
  • Timothy Turner, almost 6 years ago

    I'm very excited for this - it is very reminiscent of Google Wave in the right ways.

    2 points
  • Paul GasparPaul Gaspar, almost 6 years ago

    Looks cool. Basically a forum with three columns view.

    2 points
  • Hanu ManHanu Man, almost 6 years ago

    Slack could giveto its threads a similar approach. Anyway, I really like Twist!

    1 point
  • Thomas Michael SemmlerThomas Michael Semmler, almost 6 years ago

    So... basically a forum software with a different layout?

    1 point
  • Suganth SSuganth S, almost 6 years ago

    I'm on the fence here, but hear me out.

    This product is built as a better alternative of Slack. Slack is their point of reference and they are making a better product. So they are essentially going after companies which have heard of / used Slack in the past. I feel it's bit weak for a product to have that vision. Because Slack's growth was not just because it's better than the product everyone used that time (email), but because it was genuinely better for the entire team by so many ways.

    Yes the issues they mentioned here all true and I agree that I was frustrated so many times in each and every one of them, but I am not sure a team of size (150+) would be willing to move out of slack because of those reasons. New teams may be

    1 point
    • Rizwan Javaid, almost 6 years ago

      I think Twist is a great start to addressing the issues that we have been experiencing with Slack. Competition is a great motivator to change. :)

      0 points
    • Andrew C, almost 6 years ago

      To me "team" doesn't mean an entire org, but sub-divisions within it (product, sales team A, sales team B, etc) with maybe a way to share certain content broadly.

      1 point
  • Jackie Chang, over 5 years ago

    You should also include WorkDo to the list. WorkDo is more than just chat, it also has tools like HR, leave, expenses and attendance that other apps don’t have. And it does not require any integration with other apps. It’s built-in.

    WorkDo has so many tools like tasks which can be used to track project progress. It also has notes for making announcements. Events can be used for meetings and office activities. It also has CRM function.

    Please take a look and list WorkDo as one of the Slack alternatives. https://portal.workdo.co/

    0 points
  • Bilal MohammedBilal Mohammed, almost 6 years ago

    How do you ensure the threads don't get redundant — I mean, how do you curb multiple thread instances of the same topic from getting created? Which I suffered a lot with my email days because the subject is a free-text. With channels, we solved that with unique hashtags, which guarded the lane discipline.

    0 points
  • s0fa potato, almost 6 years ago

    This is basically email + channels. I would like to see more documentation and archiving features on Slack that are smarter and better than the typical email flow. The thread feature needs some work on Slack, but personally, the word "inbox" in Twist makes me cringe. I would like to get away from email metaphors that makes me feel like I can get bogged down.

    0 points
  • Vipul Malhotra, almost 6 years ago

    I think you guys should give Flock a spin. It would be great to get some feedback and improve on our existing product.

    P.S. I'm one of the lead designers at Flock

    0 points
    • pfrex ., almost 6 years ago

      Really like the concept, I'm testing it now to see if it suits the needs of my team. I have two questions if I may. is there a thread system apart from the reply in the channels? And is it possible to collapse the right menu or is it always visible?

      0 points