Reply To: Slack…?

Can we DM? Dumb artist (me) can’t find the right button.

Just a quick overview of the advantages that I think Slack can bring:

If you think of forums as “snail mail”, meaning someone writes something and then waits until someone else logs on and reads and responds, Slack is more of a direct communication means that, IMO, sparks a lot more from a conversation, because of the real-time nature of it. And it also has the benefit of a forum in that it is persistent and ‘documented’.

You can post images and sounds, conversations can be had right then and there about the media, and it’s a hangout that you know you can always jump into, global time differences notwithstanding.

I like to think of Slack as focused, local-area social media. I am not a big user of social media, mainly because the broadcast range is too wide. This is a benefit when trying to promote yourself or your music, but I think people get lost in it when the discussions are meant to be more focused. Slack gives you all of the benefits of the wide-reaching platforms, in realtime, while being more immediate and accessible for the users.

And you can create different channels. So, for instance, one of the channels can be something like “Post your tunes” or “Tune feedback” or whatever. So Joe Blow posts his (or her) tune in said channel, and everyone can listen to it straightaway from there. And since Harry & myself use it at work, we are always within earshot of the posting. So we take a listen, and we have feedback that we give, and now JB can ask “what do you mean by that?”, or “yeah that is a good idea, and what about this…” or the infinite number of convos that could be had about the music. I think giving feedback on tunes would get more involved if there is a live back and forth that can take place. And if you didn’t happen to catch that person when they posted, leave a reply and the convo can be picked up live again at a later date.

It’s also a great platform to get info to your users. You can tag a specific user, or entire groups of users (read: ALL) and get the info out that you need, and questions or responses can be had right inline with that.

If I were setting up a Slack for SG, I would probably create a few channels:
1) a general channel for GP
2) tune feedback
3) production techniques
4) music/label discussions
5) live events
6) turtle racing, or whatever topics the group as a whole might gravitate towards.

Having a conversation about the latest Star Wars film in a forum like ours (yours) is likely not to happen. That was entertaining in 1998, but just a little slow of a feedback loop to keep most peep’s interest. But a live convo by some DnB headz about the latest Star Wars film? (or whatever)…That becomes much more enticing in terms of participation.

I know I would participate, and I know that given the opportunity to talk to you more veteran and seasoned guys, I would ask questions that I just wouldn’t ask on a forum, because I just wouldn’t expect much response. There is something unique about it being real-time or even semi-real-time.

And it’s free!

I’m happy to help in any way. I’m a bit of a digital recluse, you won’t find me talking in many other places on the internet (nearly none), but I really dig the vibe being laid down here, and above all I respect the hell out of the quality of artist and instructors around here. And when I’m into it I will help as much as I can.