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Snack — Have spontaneous, time-restricted video conversations.
Snack is a Slack bot that matches people to have unplanned, time-restricted video conversations with ice-breakers. We help you build relationships and share knowledge with your team.
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As a remote work native, and I'm constantly seeking out products that recreate the serendipity of an office or a coworking space's culture remotely.
I've tried Snack several times now, and I love it because it helps to do just that.
@caffeinatedwes You are the best. Thanks for testing all the versions of Snack!
We've used Snack at The On Deck Fellowship and it's been entertaining. @kuizinas ships faster than almost anyone I've ever met and he's always building fun things.
By now Snack has been installed in Slack organizations ranging in size from 12 people to 5000, including organizations like Giphy, Monster Lab, Inc., Movable Inc, Jake's Jazz, and others. One question that I get asked a lot is what data we can see abd what do we store. The privacy policy covers all of that. https://aboutsnack.com/privacy-p...
tl;dr; We don't see your messages and we only store the necessary data to make the app work (use case for each data point is explained in the privacy policy).
Going to let "ice breakers" also include questions centric to the team their own or allow people to augment the question bank?
One question that I get asked a lot is what is the difference between Donut and Snack.
Snack and Donut are both Slack bots that pair people, but thats where the similarities end. They are different in when, how and what happens after people are matched:
* Donut pairs people to have planned conversations in future. Donut does not facilitate the conversation; it simply matches two people based on pre-defined rules to chat over Slack at pre-defined times.
* Snack matches people to have serendipitous conversations _now_ (when they request it). We pro-actively pair people based on their current availability and interests, host the video and facilitate the conversation with ice-breakers.
One is something you'd do once a week (Donut) and the other is something do multiple times a day, or whenever having a break from work (Snack). You should try both to see which one you prefer more. So far I've heard that Snack has a lot greater engagement than Donut (but then the feedback could be biased because it was by Slack orgs who ditched Donut to begin with!).
As every product maker, I appreciate feedback about your experience if you've tried it and publicity. If you can help with either, comment or email (gajus@gajus.com).
The part that I haven't figured out yet is how to create viral growth loops. Once people see the app, they are pretty willing to try it. But there is nothing within the app that would encourage users to promote their use of the app outside of the Slack organization. In essence, this means that app's growth depends on word of mouth and discoverability through Slack directory. On the bright side, both of these channels are proving to be pretty effective.
Loads of folks during testing asked me about the technical stack used to build this. It is all Node.js + PostgreSQL + Twilio. I didn't use any framework for Slack bot (I've learned about https://slack.dev/bolt only _after_ I've built this). The only major frameworks are express.js and Slonik. Everything else is vanilla.
This is so great! I first saw Snack on Devpost @ Global hack & already then thought this is exactly what I want → Spontaneous connections through online when I have the time!
Already installed to a Slack community that we run & loving it!
Just waiting for the native apps to randomly meet up with my friends? 👀
Sounds like a cool app. Is it only for internal organizations or can it be set up for other networks?
@marek_mscichowski It works for public Slack organizations too, and it is free for public orgs.
This is really cool! A great way to re-introduce spontaneous conversation. Been thinking a lot about this lately, but solved it in a very different way.
Great idea! It's similar to Donut, which my team likes to use, but feels like a lower commitment which is great. I miss the spontaneous conversations we would have in an office
We at Slite were looking for something to do exactly that: a simple way to create coffee breaks in a remote context. Snack comes with a simple and cool UX (I love the soft "end of call" experience) and the ice-breakers cards are just as silly and cool as it should.
@arnaud_rinquin2 Thank you Arnaud for jumping in to test Snack and for sharing feedback. All the suggestions you've shared are spot on and are already being worked on (more thoughtful topics input, moveable cards, and calls with 2+ people).
@maratlevit Focus is on Slack and MS teams. But if there is sufficient traction, then it is worth considering.
Congrats on the launch! Tried it and it looks like the right one for this period of remote working.🎉
Contra