Microsoft Groups launched a brand new “Communities” characteristic on Android and iOS gadgets, the corporate announced at this time. Customers can now create and arrange teams with their leisure sports activities membership, occasion planning committee, parent-teacher affiliation or some other group of their neighborhood. The characteristic offers customers entry to group calendars, occasion scheduling, conferences, doc/picture sharing, video calls and chat.
The Communities characteristic in Groups features a “new occasions expertise” that permits customers so as to add occasions to their neighborhood calendar, in addition to invite company, observe attendance and chat with attendees by direct personal messenger, the corporate wrote in its official weblog. Plus, Microsoft Groups will launch SignUpGenius in 2023 to assist customers coordinate fundraisers, plan occasions, enlist volunteers and extra.
As of at this time, Communities is now rolling out within the free model of Microsoft Groups. At launch, it’s accessible on cellular solely; nevertheless, the corporate famous it will arrive on desktop quickly.
Picture Credit: Microsoft
The characteristic might be discovered by the Dwelling tab inside the Groups cellular app. Customers choose “Create new neighborhood” after which “Create from scratch.” The consumer then chooses an emoji or an image for his or her neighborhood, in addition to a reputation, description and set of tips.
Customers will need to have a Microsoft account to affix, and members can invite others to the group by sending a hyperlink or displaying a QR code.
The launch of Communities signifies that Microsoft Groups could also be seeking to discover extra alternatives for development behind being solely a office collaboration and productiveness device, to compete extra instantly with social apps, like Fb, Discord, Twitter and WhatsApp, in addition to with Slack, which additionally markets itself to customers.
The characteristic additionally comes a 12 months after Microsoft tried to amass Discord for a reported $10 billion. Discord ended the talks with the corporate in April 2021, wrote The Wall Street Journal.
Microsoft has tried different methods to get extra customers to make use of the Groups app, reminiscent of a brand new social gaming performance, “Games for Work,” animated avatars and AI-powered recaps.
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