On-Line structured Brainstorming

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Permalink Reply by Franis on March 23, 2010 at 7:49

I wasn't able to make the link work, for some mystery reason.

A few interesting "white board" applications that seem promising that I've been checking out have been Flowdock, 12Sprints and Scribblar. Still in beta, Flowdock is free for now. The designers promise a version of it will always be available for free. I liked it because it's very easy to learn how to make it work so there is no learning curve, as there was in learning Gogglewave. Perhaps it will develop more features as time goes on.

12sprints has a cool little feature of being able to insert widgets that are intended to be used during project management decision making. These include right now polls, Yes/No, Advantages/Disadvantages, etc. These widgets in 12Sprints are begging to become de Bono's thinking tools!! (Hint! Hint! Perhaps the de Bono people could design an add-on pack that they could sell to 12Sprint users?? You saw it here first, folks!)

Right now, Scribblar in particular seems as if it would be suitable for large brainstorming experiences because it has unlimited participation possible - and it integrate Skype. (It's also free.) You can also use it to draw on, with a suitable drawing mouse, which is a really nice feature. You can upload a series of files and then be talking and use a highlighter on top of the files you uploaded to point at what you're talking about, etc. You can also just use the surface to type or draw with, it has a separate chat feature that can happen simultaneously to the Skype group conversation. So it would be possible to mind-map with it in real time, with multiple people making the mindmap at once.

But as far as I know, none of these is being used very much for anything - purely because they're so new.

As far as what is going on already right now, the most thriving brainstorming website that I know about is an author's forum at http://www.barbarasher.com/boards She's been writing books for thirty years about how to make your dreams come true and find a way to make a living from what you love to do. Sher has people simplify what they want (Wish) and what is in their way (Obstacle) and then others fire their suggestions and ideas to help out. Sher terms this brainstorming activity, when it is done as a group, as an Ideaparty. Sher was quick to conscript Twitter as a medium for an IdeaParty every Thursday from around noon to midnight EDT (new york) But it's on her classic forum interface where the real gold is. If you dig a bit, because it's got a lot there, information about how to start out nearly every business under the sun exists there. Every time Sher finishes a book, the forum becomes a storm of activity for those who respond. She's got many dedicated advocates and an international, world-wide participation for the effectiveness of her ideas - so it's really fun to be there.

Also think Sher's participation level there is a good indicator of the kind of participation an author should have on their own website. Was hoping that would be the case here with de Bono's comments. It's still possible, I'm hoping!

Other forums exist for transforming social convention ideas, such as www.globalideasbank.org
But on that site, there's not a place to help make a proposition come true that someone tosses out if you would like to endorse or actively help make it happen. (Perhaps there will be a re-design in the wings soon.) mostly people there are merely tossing the unformed idea out there, almost as if it's an advertisement. Lately that website has been invaded by spammers making comments like what used to be happening here.

Another interesting place with the same problem is http://www.creativitypool.com

So - check these out and tell me what you think. Anyone else with bright ideas about brainstorming forums?

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Permalink Reply by Ryan Chadwick on March 23, 2010 at 8:59

That's interesting, the link worked ok for me.

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Permalink Reply by Franis on March 24, 2010 at 2:42

OK, the link seems to work now, thanks. Guess it was a temporary glitch.

Ryan Chadwick said:

That's interesting, the link worked ok for me.

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Permalink Reply by Franis on May 22, 2012 at 2:43

I have found a new interface for brainstorming. It's called Linoit
http://www.linoit.com

It's sort of an online sticky board, where you can also include links and pictures. The nicest thing about is that the stickies can be loooong discourses of any length, or short little ideas. Of course, you'd want to reduce the size of pics so that they don't take up your limited space, but text doesn't take up much room at all. If you run out of space, you can always sign up for more with another email address.

It has some nice features...You can make multiple boards public or private, inviting others to participate or merely look at what you've done. Go check it out...

Wheeeee! More playgrounds!!!

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Permalink Reply by Franis on May 22, 2012 at 8:28

I agree - Linoit is my favorite so far - and because it's so easy to post from so many different platforms, I think it's the most accessible for brainstorming and collaboration.

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