Cyans is an internal asynchronous communication tool designed to maximize productivity, focus, and efficient collaboration.
Learn how to use Cyans, including opening/closing topics, linking topics/cards, uploading files, reacting to messages, using Slash commands, and managing your inbox on the Cyans help page.
Teams that use Slack typically have a few long-running channels with a large number of members that discuss a variety of topics, making it easy to lose track of essential information, decisions, and knowledge. In addition, valuable information held in 1-on-1 chats is likely to never surface.
In contrast, communication in Cyans happens in topics. Topics are similar to channels, with the following differences:
Most chat apps have poor notification management, causing distractions and hindering focused conversations. Cyans promotes asynchronous communication by placing conversations in team members’ inboxes instead of immediately notifying them.
In addition, Cyans eliminates unnecessary indicators like “Joe is typing…” or “Online” status, fostering distraction-free discussions.
In typical chat, valuable information often gets lost. Cyans introduces topics as containers of knowledge, providing a coherent context from question to answer and allowing easy sharing for future reference.
Once a topic has run its course, it is summarized and closed, making it a record of how a discussion concluded. Team members, even ones not involved initially, can search closed topics to retrieve background on a current challenge or view a topic’s outcome.
Cyans topics (open and closed) benefit technical writers when documenting ‘undocumented’ knowledge since they provide background usually lost in long-running channels, 1-on-1 chats, or emails.
Sometimes it can be frustrating waiting for our team members to finish their thoughts in a chat. With Cyans, this problem is avoided by encouraging coherent messages.
By default, multi-line input is supported, allowing you to express complete thoughts and ensure clarity in the conversation. Moreover, because there are no notifications for each communication, the thought is more likely to be fully formed by the time it is read.
Smaller topics are more focused, making it easier to answer specific inquiries or solve specific difficulties. They are also easier to comprehend, enabling more effective collaboration and decision-making. Additionally, small topics encourage concise and clear discussions, reducing the chances of information overload and improving overall communication within the team.
Rather than inviting a large number of team members to the topic, invite only those who can drive and close the topic.
Prefixing the @ symbol to your teammates’ usernames when addressing them in a Cyans topic sends them an email notification. We strongly discourage using mentions (the @ symbol) when sending low to average priority messages because it can result in notification fatigue and distract team members working on deep-focus tasks.
Only use @mentions when addressing your teammates on a high-priority matter, such as a time-sensitive issue or a security-related problem. Otherwise, highlight lines, words, or teammates’ names you want to draw attention to by using bold text (or code fences if you like color). Putting a teammate’s name in a Markdown heading can feel like you’re yelling at them, but nothing’s off the table; do that if you need to.
Cyan topics should be intended to be closed. Topics are kept short-lived to encourage timely action and to keep them from lingering or becoming stagnant.
This promotes a sense of progress and momentum because the team can transition from one issue to another while remaining focused on current priorities. Also, short-lived subjects allow teams to have a dynamic and up-to-date knowledge base, ensuring that content remains relevant and correct.
By keeping discussions focused and dedicated to a single topic, it promotes clarity and reduces confusion. Each topic can receive undivided attention, allowing team members to address specific points, share relevant information, and reach well-defined conclusions.
Opening a new discussion instead of running multiple discussions on the same topic prevents conversations from becoming fragmented or disjointed. Suppose there is a need to diverge from the main topic; the /offtopic slash command can be used to initiate a separate discussion while keeping the original topic intact. This approach ensures organized and effective communication within the team.
Asynchronous communications guide