- Tricks. Everything you might not know can be done with WhatsApp
- Productivity. Ten keyboard shortcuts for ten times of the day
The time has come to prepare resolutions and write lists of purposes that, with greater or lesser success, we will try to fulfill in the coming months with the hope that the effort will become a habit for 2021. With this idea in mind we propose a series New Year's resolutions exclusively focused on what we do - and we don't do, which we also fail by default - in WhatsApp.
1. semicolon and semicolon
Or not to send when you can rate.
One of the worst behaviors, and the most widespread, is to use the submit button as a punctuation mark . Points, commas and other signs are there to make the conversation more fluid and understandable. Nobody is required a perfect grammar, but resorting occasionally to these pauses, even when it is wrong, is much more practical and considerably less annoying for all involved.
Thus, in 2020 we must, as a society, ask ourselves 'does the whole message fit in a message?' If the answer is yes, let's pull the paragraph before entering. Not only will the recipients appreciate it; It will also improve the conversation.
2. And if not, deny it to me
Or do not forward bulos.
The bulos have made us ball, curiously, for the little it costs us to swallow them. We cannot ask each person to become a verification service, but perhaps the time has come to commit to at least raising an inquiring eyebrow at the images with implausible claims. Do not serve as an earring for the avalanche that gives life to the ball we were talking about. When in doubt, do not forward.
3. Let's have the party in peace
Or not create tares in groups.
Conversations in WhatsApp groups - or in most of these - should be governed by the same rules as conversations in a funeral home: that talking about a topic does not mean that you should do it . They are made up of diverse people who most likely have only one thing in common, which is precisely that they would rather not have to speak in that group. And much less politics.
This does not apply to all conversations and surely there are some in which those debates and that obsession to open Pandora's box with a simple link are welcome. Take advantage of these forums and feel like in ancient Greece; in the rest, leave the robe and adopt mutism. Everything is for peace.
4. No more groups
Or learn to use the Broadcast function.
Should we tell something to several people at the same time? There is an equally simple and much less invasive way to create a group: use the Diffusion tool. Basically, it is a message that is sent to all the selected people without having to participate in a conversation with dozens of strangers.
In Android the option is just below New Group, while in iOS it is above the chats (here it is called broadcast list). After selecting the recipients, the message is written - everyone will receive it, so it is possible that something impersonal is left - and it will arrive as if it were part of the conversation. There is only one -bendita- limitation: it will not reach those who do not have our number on the phone book, something that is done to prevent it from being used as a spam tool.
5. More than 35 seconds is podcast
Or not abuse voice memos
If it lasts less than 20 seconds, it can be written; If it lasts more than 35 seconds, it is probably more practical to call. Voice memos are practical, but you have to know when, how and with whom to use them. If each message is a seven-second audio, you don't need a phone, you need a walkie-talkie .
6. Describe the link
Or let's start explaining what's behind the links.
Like it or not, WhatsApp has become a priority and it is very normal to open any notification that appears. The problem is when the message is a link that arrives without any context. Maybe it's a text that we don't have time to read, maybe a video that we can't hear, maybe a product that someone wants to buy. In any case, the receiver will help you know something else before deciding whether or not to press.
Like many of the points on this list, it is not a great nuisance, but correcting it does not take more than a few seconds to the issuer.
7. No more videos
Or send less unnecessary videos.
This is partly a continuation of the previous point. Videos, unlike text messages, require specific attention and conditions. If they arrive without context, we can find something very inappropriate while we wait for our turn at the dentist or with a rally impossible to hear in a crowded bus. Most of the time it will be nothing more than a joke - old man - played by a cat that, in any case, we will not be able to hear at that precise moment.
Think about it: when was the last time you received one of these files and were you really glad to have opened it? Nothing will make us move forward more as a society than to make 2020 the year we collectively said 'no' to videos on WhatsApp .
8. Two do not argue if seven others do not want
Or do not have two-way conversations in groups.
Imagine that every time you discuss - or have a civilized conversation about the last Junior MasterChef - with a friend or family member you have to call all your other friends or family and put your hands free to listen. Or worse: that the call came to us. Well, that.
9. I do not pay homage at double check
Or that you have read it does not mean that you can respond.
WhatsApp, we insist, is ubiquitous and fleeting. Maybe someone could read a message and five seconds later any setback in the physical world that prevented answering arose. Patience. The immediacy of the application should not be confused with total availability .
10. But without going over
Or do not actively ignore someone.
The foregoing also does not entitle people to ignore. It is a very delicate balance. And, honestly, the best way to solve it is to deactivate the option to confirm the reading and, when deemed necessary and possible, opt for a courtesy message: "I can't speak now." The only message that never exceeds.
But don't send it in a voice note.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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