Direct messages: Chat directly with a group.Spaces: A central place where people can share files, assign tasks, and stay connected.Both forms of communication work in different ways and serve different purposes: You can communicate with a group of people through spaces or direct messages in Chat. If you have a link to the space, you can join it with the link.ĭifferences between spaces & direct messages.When a space is discoverable, you can browse, preview, and join the space.Ideal for topics that aren’t limited to specific individuals or teams.Unless you're a member or invited to the space, you can’t browse for it in Chat.To join a space, a space member must invite or add you to the space.Ideal for discussion among teams, projects, and groups.In work or school accounts, you can make the space private or discoverable to everyone or a target audience in your organization. Change how you’re notified of new messages in a thread.You can use threads to track important discussions and prevent the main conversation from being cluttered. In addition to the main conversation in the space, you can reply to any message and create a separate thread. After you create a space for announcements, you can’t change the type of space.As a space member, you can only react and reply directly to announcements.Respond to space member comments on your announcement.Post announcements in the main conversation window.Use this type of space to share important news and updates with your team.You can send a message to the entire group in the main conversation window or reply directly to a message and create a thread.Everyone in the group can post, react, and reply to messages.Use this type of space for important project or team updates, or connect around shared interests such as travel or cooking.Available for personal, work, or school accounts.Important: If you use Chat with your personal Google Account, you can only create spaces for collaboration.
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Use spaces for collaboration or announcements
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Add apps to create easy workflows within your space.Share files and assign tasks to members.Create threads for things that require detailed discussion.Focus your conversation on a common area of interest or your projects, or make organizational announcements.For example, you can create a space to discuss timelines for a future marketing campaign. To communicate with a group of people or an organization about a topic, project, or shared interest, create a space in Google Chat.