New messaging apps gaining traction in the workplace

Looking to break out of a "messy" email situation, the nonprofit group dosomething.org recently switched over to a new way of communicating among its far-flung teams.

Moving most internal communications to the messaging application Slack with its "channels" for various teams made it easier to coordinate the group's social change projects across 131 countries, said software engineer Joe Kent.

"All the teams have their channels and anyone can jump in and see what the others are doing," Kent told AFP. "You can follow the conversation a lot more quickly."