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There have been many before them, see Flowdock, Campfire, IRC, going back as long as we've had the Internet. What sets Slack apart is they've executed it better

There have been many before them, see Flowdock, Campfire, IRC, going back as long as we've had the Internet. What sets Slack apart is they've executed it better than anyone. They took the industry by storm overnight, it seems.

ThomPete 12y ago
Thats not really en explanation. There are several reasons why they are doing well and they have much less to do with execution than with the right people getting involved.
- volaski 12y ago
  "right people getting involved" IS execution
  - fnord123 12y ago
    That's an important clarification. Most people think execution is the inherent quality of the product. Obviously execution is having the correct people involved to open doors.
  - ThomPete 12y ago
    With the right people getting involved I am talking about the investors. That has nothing to do with execution but to do with access to distribution and press.
    - artursapek 12y ago
      Have you actually used Slack? Where I currently work, we have gone through two other chat products in the past two years: Campfire followed by Flowdock. They all fizzled out and died - people just stopped using them for some reason. Then we tried Slack, and it's the first time the entire team has adopted 100% and maintained it. Slack mobile has even replaced text messaging/GroupMe for a lot of us as well. Don't hand-wave away their success by giving credit to investors. It makes you sound bitter and insecure, or at least uninformed. They've done a great job building their product and deserve the position they're in. Whether or not $2.8B is an accurate valuation is beyond me, but it does seem like they're minting money over there.
      - ThomPete 12y ago
        I have not only used slack i am running a 600 people channel, use it for work plus several side projects. I am a huge proponent of Slack and I have used them since very early on. I am not disputing the quality of the App. But it's not just an execution game as many would like to claim.
      - fps 12y ago
        Campfire and Flowdock are both pretty awful compared to Hipchat (the previous market leader) and Slack. I think Hipchat is feature-wise mostly on par with Slack, but has a much more approachable interface. Hipchat is also learning from slack on how to make integrations easier to install and configure. Slack surged into the space by marketing to companies that were using nothing - not by winning people away from competitors. I'm not sure that Hipchat can take the space back from slack without a major new killer feature, but Slack's marketshare is hardly guaranteed.
ethanbond 12y ago
So you're making my argument for me: you don't believe in Slack's longevity because they're satisfying a permanent need. You believe in it because it executed well. Nothing prevents anyone else from executing better. The permanence of the need doesn't point, in any way, to the permanence of this particular supply.

ThomPete 12y ago

Thats not really en explanation. There are several reasons why they are doing well and they have much less to do with execution than with the right people getting involved.

volaski 12y ago
"right people getting involved" IS execution
- fnord123 12y ago
  That's an important clarification. Most people think execution is the inherent quality of the product. Obviously execution is having the correct people involved to open doors.
- ThomPete 12y ago
  With the right people getting involved I am talking about the investors. That has nothing to do with execution but to do with access to distribution and press.
  - artursapek 12y ago
    Have you actually used Slack? Where I currently work, we have gone through two other chat products in the past two years: Campfire followed by Flowdock. They all fizzled out and died - people just stopped using them for some reason. Then we tried Slack, and it's the first time the entire team has adopted 100% and maintained it. Slack mobile has even replaced text messaging/GroupMe for a lot of us as well. Don't hand-wave away their success by giving credit to investors. It makes you sound bitter and insecure, or at least uninformed. They've done a great job building their product and deserve the position they're in. Whether or not $2.8B is an accurate valuation is beyond me, but it does seem like they're minting money over there.
    - ThomPete 12y ago
      I have not only used slack i am running a 600 people channel, use it for work plus several side projects. I am a huge proponent of Slack and I have used them since very early on. I am not disputing the quality of the App. But it's not just an execution game as many would like to claim.
    - fps 12y ago
      Campfire and Flowdock are both pretty awful compared to Hipchat (the previous market leader) and Slack. I think Hipchat is feature-wise mostly on par with Slack, but has a much more approachable interface. Hipchat is also learning from slack on how to make integrations easier to install and configure. Slack surged into the space by marketing to companies that were using nothing - not by winning people away from competitors. I'm not sure that Hipchat can take the space back from slack without a major new killer feature, but Slack's marketshare is hardly guaranteed.

ethanbond 12y ago

So you're making my argument for me: you don't believe in Slack's longevity because they're satisfying a permanent need. You believe in it because it executed well. Nothing prevents anyone else from executing better. The permanence of the need doesn't point, in any way, to the permanence of this particular supply.