Microsoft has unveiled Communities, a new feature for the free and personal edition of Teams that allows users to get together, connect, share, and collaborate. An earlier Microsoft Teams update added instant meeting polls, scheduled messages, and other features.
Users will be able to do the following with this enhanced community experience:
- Easily send messages to the members of the group.
- Organize activities and post them on the community calendar so that everyone can view them.
- Share and save group activity-related documents.
- Filter content to find images, videos, events, and links easily.
Communities are similar to groups in many ways, but they have one key difference: members can create and manage events on a shared calendar that is accessible to everyone. An event can be held online, in person, or in a combination of both, with attendees given the option to join virtually or receive printed directions. The community’s participation in events may be monitored, making future preparations easier.
Teams places a lot of emphasis on communities, and Microsoft is even collaborating with several significant associations to bring their communities to the platforms. This comprises USA Hockey, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras), the American Youth Soccer Association, which has over 500,000 members, as well as AISECT and a few more organizations.
To make organizing community events even simpler, Microsoft is collaborating with SignUpGenius, an online tool for managing volunteers and event planning. The business noted in the release that this will arrive in 2023.
Availability
Communities in Teams is now available for all iOS and Android customers using the free version of Microsoft Teams, and it will be available soon on desktop.
Sharing the announcement, Microsoft stated that:
The ways in which we interact with one another have certainly shifted over the last few years. Thanks to technology, we have the ability to work from almost anywhere and minimize nonessential face-to-face appointments. But some things haven’t changed in a hybrid world: our need for human connection and community.