If you are a big fan of the Slack messaging app for teams, you might want to check out Hamster Pad and their chat communities tool. The site helps users discover Slack communities and connect with each other, essentially creating a social network on top of the Slack API. The aggregate platform was created by Matt Schlicht and Adam McKenna.
Schlicht draws comparisons from the "Slack ecosystem" to 2007 era Facebook: "Slack, with 2 million daily active users, is not quite as large as Facebook was in 2007, but the opportunities are similar." Hamster Pad lets you add a chat, join a chat and see what chat communities your friends are in. The platform brings chat rooms to one place and provides basic data (the number of people online and total membership).
Chat Room Aggregates
Hamster Pad Helps You Discover Interesting Chat Communities on Slack
Trend Themes
1. Slack Based Communities - The trend of creating social networks within Slack communities is disrupting traditional online forums and message boards.
2. Chat Aggregation - Aggregating chat rooms offers a more centralized and convenient way for users to connect with others who share similar interests.
3. Api-enabled Social Networks - The ability to build a social network on top of an API, such as Slack, presents opportunities for innovative startups to create new and engaging platforms for communication and connection.
Industry Implications
1. Enterprise Collaboration - The rise of Slack-based social networks presents opportunities for businesses to embrace new channels for collaboration and teambuilding within their organizations.
2. Online Communities - Hamster Pad's chat room aggregation tool is a prime example of how traditional online forums and message boards are being disrupted and replaced by more convenient and user-friendly platforms.
3. API Development Services - Providing API-enabled social networking services, like Hamster Pad, is a rapidly growing industry with the potential for exciting and innovative new applications.