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TIL that Slack is an acronym: “Searchable Log of All Communication and Knowledge”.

Discussion  6 comments

Michael Bester

I’m just speculating, but that sounds like they made it an acronym after they came up with the name Slack in order to make it sound more highfalutin.

Rex Sorgatz

Hm, seems more like a backronym

Michael Bester

Thanks for the reminder of the word backronym!

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Jim Whimpey

I’ve worked at slack for 8 years. Backronym confirmed.

Chris Montrois

I worked at slack for 7 years. Jim confirmed.

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Jason KottkeMOD

From a series by two early employees, here's how Slack got its name.

We undertook a roundabout search for alternatives to the name "Slack," mostly while bullshitting before or after a meeting. (Much of this bullshitting happened in our own product, which was already clearly labeled Slack.) Like all startups, we needed something that was memorable and available. Like all people with a more squishy liberal arts bent, we wanted something evocative and vaguely metaphorical.

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