Microsoft Teams taking on Facebook groups with own community feature

3 years ago 3

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Microsoft has launched a new communities feature for its Teams collaboration app on Android and iOS.

Communities on Teams function similarly to Facebook groups, allowing users with common interests to share content in one location.

“Whether your group is a recreational sports team, event planning committee, parent-teacher association, or even a small business, this new experience gives groups of all kinds a digital space to stay connected before, during, and after gatherings,” Microsoft said.

The features of Microsoft Teams communities include:

Posting messages to everyone in the group.
Organising events and adding them to a community calendar for everyone to see.
Sharing and storing documents dedicated to group activity.
Filtering content to quickly access photos, videos, events, and links.

Like Facebook group admins, community owners can add and remove members, manage settings, set community guidelines, and moderate content.

Microsoft said communities also feature a new Teams events experience for organising virtual, hybrid, or in-person events.

“For instance, you can add new events or meetings to your community calendar, invite guests, track attendance, and follow up with attendees through direct private chats,” it explained.

“When it comes to online events, you can easily add dial-in details and a link so your participants can join seamlessly.”

“And for in-person events, you can add a location and give attendees precise directions with a visual map.”

To set up a community, users can choose one of the suggested community types on the Microsoft Teams app’s home screen.

From here, they will be able to add branding elements like a group picture.

They can then invite group members through their email address or phone number, or by sharing a link or QR code.