Slack Is Gossipy Email With Push Notifications

Like the open-plan office, Slack has become a controversial fixture of white-collar work. The company behind this workplace instant messaging software, Slack Technologies Inc., is preparing to make its stock available for the first time on exchanges in a quasi initial public offering.

For the uninitiated, Slack is emailish, but instead of an inbox it has “channels” open to a few or many co-workers. It’s like getting a window into your colleagues’ email inboxes that shows only the stuff you care about. Slack also ties into other software so a manager can see a Word document, scan tech support requests, and approve a worker’s vacation in one place.