Collaboration is important in leadership. This goes without saying. It’s one of the reasons why we meet in person to discuss ideas.
Unfortunately, for some organizations, meeting in person can be difficult due to schedules or geography.
Virtual meetings are becoming more and more popular. There are elaborate set-ups like the Cisco TelePresence and more at-home versions like Skype.
Still, it makes it difficult when working on a design or sketching an item.
Personally, I’ve regularly used Apple’s iChat program with screen-sharing to work with a designer on promotional materials. Even that is a bit difficult though on a larger scale as you’re hoping everyone has an Apple computer.
Enter Draw It Live (www.drawitlive.com)
It’s an incredibly basic collaborative drawing tool. I’d never use it for a final draft of any document, but it can be a great way for people in several locations to come together for the rough draft design of a t-shirt, logo, theme, layout of a rally, etc. The program doesn’t (at least at this point) require long-term accounts. You simply begin a whiteboard and invite users to draw on it.
It’s not for complex illustrations. The program does have its limits (I found myself wishing I could quickly copy and paste images), but its basic nature is a great asset. There are no passwords, no subscriptions, and no special plug-ins. You only need to create a temporary screenname.
Again, this can be a great resource for those needing to literally be on the same basic design page in different geographies. Take a quick glance at it today.