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With Chat growing like weed, it is time to up your chatroom game with the best practices we learned. At 5 years, Chat still feels fresh and evolves quickly.
Feel free to steal as many as you like and create your own style of working - that's what working in Google Workspace is all about, after all.
Use threads wisely
Use threads wisely
Threaded conversations help you group your thoughts together and naturally let topics drift away once they are done.
Do not tack unrelated questions onto an old thread - open a new one. If someone hijacks a thread like this, copy their message into a new thread.
Do not be afraid of having multiple threads going on at the same time. They will bounce around and sort themselves out quickly.
In flat spaces, reply inline
In flat spaces, reply inline
Flat spaces do not have threads. Instead, they offer inline replies, which keep discussions contained nicely and handle notifications well.
When you are a member of a flat space, reply inline. This will help others discover the feature and keep the conversation flowing.
Name your threads
Name your threads
Give threads a title for easy reference. This helps others scan the conversation quickly. Rooms rooms retain history, so people may catch up later and have more to read. It also organizes the conversation. To name a thread, simply type the name in bold, like so:
Name your spaces
Name your spaces
Establish a naming pattern, at least for your various projects:
Project - Title
This is what we do. For example:
🤖 Project - Chat 2.0
🎅 Project - Xmas 2020
Feel free to rename spaces to impose order, people rarely challenge it.
Space names should not have icons, there is now a dedicated icon field.
Use reactions
Use reactions
Add reactions under messages. This can be a friendly way to express support or be witty. It can also be a way to vote. See the post for more ideas!
Use images and GIFs
Use images and GIFs
Because that makes work humane and fun. Especially when we're virtual.
Do you get what she did? Delivered with a wink, but you better deliver those actuals. You don't mess with Blair.
Use emojis
Use emojis
Insert emojis icons via the icon menu (or type colon :) to ornate your text.
Search for content
Search for content
Chat lets you search for your content. You can either search a space (1) or all spaces at once (2).
It sure beats asking the same question again.
Pin your favorite spaces
Pin your favorite spaces
Chat has a side panel with conversations. Go hover over a name or chat room to pin the conversation, so that it always stays in place.
Use formatting
Use formatting
*bold* (CTRL+B)
_italic_ (CTRL+I)
~strikethrough~
`block font`
```code/multi line block```
Subscribe and unsubscribe
Subscribe and unsubscribe
Chat supports unsubscribing to threads and entire conversations. Those conversations will not notify you.
Set the right level of notifications to balance signal and noise. Read this guide to chat notifications.
Speaking of subscribing - be sure to subscribe to this blog, so you don't miss the weekly tips.
Set limits and go offline
Set limits and go offline
Chat overload is real. Be sure to go offline and to set boundaries.
And for the times you want to go offline: Here is a guide on how to properly silence Chat.
This was a massive post. We have come a long way since Chat was introduced around the time this blog got started (here's Google's release, from the archives!). I hope this is useful for many people coming onto Chat for the very first time - welcome to the future, we have places to go! Thank you for reading!
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#chatPublished 2020-06-25 by Holger Matthies.Re-published 2023-06-26 by Holger Matthies.Modified 2023-06-26 by Holger Matthies.
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