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Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

#71

Post by dmitrygr »

dartos wrote: post #63
dmitrygr wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but you might say hi if you walk past their desk No. I would never interrupt someone's flow for a "hi". What an insane take. Those like you, interrupting us for a "hi" and throwing us off a good thought process when you "walk by", is one of the main things which make us all want to work remotely, far from you, protected by a need to have a purpose for your "hi".

You sound like a joy to have as a coworker… Again… read between the lines. Think a little bit into what i said. Think about it a little critically There are important ad hoc interactions that you have in an office that you don’t when you’re remote. I personally prefer remote, but recognize that it’s easier to collaborate in real time in person.

> I [...] recognize that it’s easier to collaborate in real time in person.

Not everyone is you and not everyone agrees with that evidence-free claim

Re: Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

#72

Post by broken-kebab »

oc_elder wrote: post #68
paxys wrote: post #30

Make conversations public by default. If you use Slack, make team channels, project channels, announcement channels etc. all public. Discourage 1:1 and private communication unless really necessary, especially for engineering topics. This single change will have an immense impact on overall company culture.

I can appreciate the thinking here, but it not ideal. Different details are relevant to different people. And async is inefficient for many situations. Yes publish findings/results, but overcommunicating has a cost. Better to create different channels (sync, async, 1:1, broadcast), provide guidance and trust workers.

It's not necessary about trust, or relevancy. I believe motivation is contagious, and making communications hearable/visible for all most of the time can be beneficial because of this.

Re: Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

#73

Post by bdangubic »

paxys wrote: post #30

Make conversations public by default. If you use Slack, make team channels, project channels, announcement channels etc. all public. Discourage 1:1 and private communication unless really necessary, especially for engineering topics. This single change will have an immense impact on overall company culture.

I’d want this as much as I used to enjoy open floor plan at the office… Discouraging 1:1 and private communication in my experience would actually have 100% opposite effect of what you are describing. This is equivalent to discouraging pair-programming which while may not be everyone’s cup of tea many find extremely productive

Re: Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

#75

Post by screye »

cole_ wrote: post #39
screye wrote: post #12

If you're in similar time zones, try https://www.gather.town/ ? I've used it for remote conferences, and I like its 2D UI. Real sense of space there.

When we tried it, gather.town set an awkward expectation that team members had to stand at their virtual desk, otherwise they weren't _actually_ online / working.

That tracks. To me, gather.town is an attempt to replicate office dynamics in a remote setting. In an office, being AWOL is looked down upon. I can see how gather.town builds the same expectation.

In my experience, this expectation gets set either way. Whether that be a green light on slack or having your video on for all calls.

Re: Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

#76

Post by kentich »

Try using video meetings through virtual frosted glass via MeetingGlass (https://meetingglass.com/).

This will give you the feeling of being at the same desk, with the opportunity for quick, spontaneous conversations and collaboration.

Here you can find articles about virtual frosted glass: https://meetingglass.substack.com/

Re: Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

#77

Post by eternityforest »

WhatsApp is very common for smaller simpler projects, and I'm pretty happy with it.

My main communication related complaint is when it just doesn't happen at all.

Plans change and nobody tells me so I work on cancelled features, only one person actually knows what's happening and they're busy so you don't want to ask them about every detail, minutes are not taken at meetings.

I also would prefer calenders be managed better. Google shared calendars are amazing, I'm sure there's something similar people like for bigger projects where some people use apple... But nobody seems to really see the need for anytime like that.

Re: Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

#78

Post by lazystar »

viewhub wrote: post #47

Try to reduce the number of required sync meetings in favor of async alternatives. For the required sync meetings, make sure there is a rock solid agenda and EVERYONE knows what is expected from them going in. Make sure the meetings cover meaningful material and helpful to all attendees. Encourage everyone to speak up and contribute. If you find certain individuals not contributing or not prepared, proactively have a…

>For the required sync meetings, make sure there is a rock solid ...

What about a rock band instead?

Re: Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

#79

Post by vdvsvwvwvwvwv »

paxys wrote: post #30

Make conversations public by default. If you use Slack, make team channels, project channels, announcement channels etc. all public. Discourage 1:1 and private communication unless really necessary, especially for engineering topics. This single change will have an immense impact on overall company culture.

In addition slack search becomes a great onboarding tool.

Re: Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

#80

Post by vdvsvwvwvwvwv »

notTooFarGone wrote: post #67
paxys wrote: post #30

Make conversations public by default. If you use Slack, make team channels, project channels, announcement channels etc. all public. Discourage 1:1 and private communication unless really necessary, especially for engineering topics. This single change will have an immense impact on overall company culture.

100% this. The fact that teams does not have an easy voice channel is a disgrace.

Every team needs a one-nine (CB channel for chat/truckers)
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