Twist was launched publicly this week. Introducing the app in a blog post, Doist said the app is meant to “question the conventional way” of doing things. Disillusioned with the promises of improved productivity that Slack and its competitors offer, the company realised the chat app it needed still wasn’t available. It set out to create its own instead, eventually building Twist.
Twist by Doist
Doist
Twist is meant to offer a “calmer” messaging experience that lets you focus on your work and avoid the frustrations of responding to team members. This goes directly against much of what Slack stands for. The product is built on the concept of real-time interactions and actively encourages the use of notifications. Twist shuns pop-up alerts, leaving it up to you to decide when to check your messages.
Doist has employed a threaded messaging structure that gives each conversation its own space in the chat. This is another contrast with Slack which, up until recently, focused on single-line messages that evoked memories of classic real-time IRC chat apps. Doist thinks threads allow for more focused work and prevent messages getting lost in the chat. It’s an approach Microsoft has taken with its own recently-launched Teams app.
Twist by Doist
Doist
Twist also features an advanced search system that aims to index your conversations and create a “searchable catalogue” of topics. Although threads are meant to stop you losing information, sometimes you’ll still need to reference things that occurred in the past. Twist comes with a complex search filtering and advanced query system to let you find the messages you need.
Twist is a different take on enterprise chat that represents the strongest case against the Slack mindset yet. Doist recognised that it’s up against strong competition though: besides Slack itself, Microsoft Teams and Facebook Workplace have only just launched and offer their own compelling approaches to chat. Google’s also reinventing its Hangouts app around enterprise communication.
Twist by Doist
Doist
While there’s a challenge ahead, Doist has something few others can claim. Twist has been in development for over three years. It has been used internally on a daily basis for over twelve months and designed expressly as an answer to the issues that Doist faced with Slack.
Twist isn’t a product that’s been created overnight with the aim of being the “next Slack.” It’s a concerted effort to offer an alternative to Slack for teams where the market leader doesn’t represent the best solution. It works for the Todoist team and now the company intends to find others looking for a similar chat experience.
Twist by Doist
Doist
“Twist is our bet against real-time messaging apps, and for communication that happens on your schedule,” said Doist. “So you can choose when to disconnect to do deep, uninterrupted work and when to connect to catch up.”
“Most importantly, it’s our bet against team cultures that require people to be constantly connected, and for cultures that prioritize focused, meaningful productivity,” the company added.
Twist is available from today. Like Slack, it offers a free plan for teams of any size that lasts forever. This includes 5GB of file storage, up to five integrations with third-party apps and a one month search archive. The premium plan costs $6 per user per month and comes with unlimited file storage, integrations and search.
