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Ask HN: Did the Pandemic Kill the Whiteboard?

2 points by marcind ↗ HN
A few years ago, our team built an app that allows you to share a whiteboard (or any analog surface) online, in real time. The reason was simple: we love whiteboards - they're very effective; we want to use them when some/all of us are not in the same room.

At first, the pandemic drove a boom in interest: product managers and developers wanted to whiteboard with distributed teams, educators were looking for tools to run remote/hybrid classes. Beginning in late 2021, however, something different started to happen...

Many of the people we spoke with - historically, ardent whiteboard enthusiasts - simply stopped whiteboarding altogether. In many cases they replaced actual whiteboards with digital whiteboards (e.g., Mural, Miro). In some cases they changed processes to essentially eliminate the visual collaboration step entirely.

IMHO, there are certain cases where a whiteboard is simply irreplaceable. But perhaps I'm just a luddite? Is the whiteboard dead?

12 comments

[ 7.4 ms ] story [ 54.1 ms ] thread
coreyhn
I still use a whiteboard every week. I even have my laptop on a swivel stand so I can point my camera at it to share. I have an iPad where I could replicate a digital experience, but it isn’t the same. A whiteboard is still an important tool for brainstorming, mocking interfaces, and walking through logic for me.
marcind
I agree (and I'm glad I'm not alone). Haven't seen the swivel stand approach - good idea!

Curious: * Is sharing the whiteboard via camera enough for you/your colleagues? * Are you ever the "recipient/viewer" of such a shared whiteboard or always the presenter? * (How) do you transfer your whiteboard content to other tools?

coreyhn
I’ve mainly been the presenter. I’ve been on the viewing end before too and it is a lot easier to convey a quick concept. As far as transferring to other tools, I’ll typically transcribe the notes onto my computer if it is easy to type or take a picture and have it on my computer for reference. I haven’t had a need for a shared whiteboard experience yet and favor annotating images/files instead
marcind
"I haven’t had a need for a shared whiteboard experience yet..."

Just to make sure I understand correctly: does this mean that in all cases (whether you're presenting or viewing) you find that only one person needs to be able to write on the board?

Also, in your first comment, you wrote that digital alternatives are not the same as the real thing. In your opinion, what is the key advantage of traditional surfaces over digital tools?

coreyhn
Correct, only one person needs to draw.

The hard thing with digital is the spatial aspect. I like a big canvas to write on as opposed to the feeling of being confined to a screen. Note that even if the screen increased, it still is more cumbersome. I still use digital drawing programs for creating artwork so I’m not opposed to using a digital medium for drawing.

The other aspect is it allows you to step away from screens altogether and approach a problem in a more tangible way. I like standing in front of a whiteboard and taking in the flow if data or mockup and tweaking. In these instances, I’m not sharing my camera, it is purely a thought process for myself.

marcind
Thanks - I appreciate the thoughtful feedback.

An open-ended follow-up: is there any way the whiteboard could be improved upon (and/or is there a way to better incorporate it into your workflow)?

coreyhn
That is a good question. Since whiteboards are intended to be ephemeral, the need for a constant data link isn’t compelling (ex: like the notebooks that automatically transcribe to a cloud service). Something I haven’t done yet is fully utilized the magnetic aspect of my whiteboard by having precanned magnets for db design, mocks or data flow. That may be a next evolution for my use, but even that probably won’t get used as much as I’d expect as I’m not at the whiteboard every day, but more like a few times a week.

If there was a way to make intangible tangible on the whiteboard, that may be interesting. Like a way to have magnets that are linked to a digital object so as you moved around and marked up, it could be reflected digitally too…that being said, it is more of a novelty and not sure it would be compelling enough for a paid feature.

I’ll think about this the next time I use my whiteboard.

marcind
Please do! I love the exploration here. I think the interplay of offline-online is, generally, woefully underserved.

I resisted the temptation to mention it earlier but I feel I must (if nothing else, to help with your continued exploration... and generosity of sharing your thoughts!), as it relates to this notion directly: it is, indeed, this interplay that underlies our team's product. Or, more broadly: a desire to get us (and others) back to the real world. I'm not saying that digital tools aren't useful, I'm saying that they should play a role, not all roles.

More than that: I think digital tools should carry more weight than they currently do. I'm shocked at how many latest-and-greatest tools promise me the moon if I only change all of my habits. Why can't the tool adapt to me? It's all our fault, of course, we've let this happen (both as creators and consumers).

So, with that, the next time you use your whiteboard, consider testing out our app^. Hopefully, you'll see some examples of the above motivations in action; and, if you're interested, I'll be happy to share our future plans.

^ https://sharetheboard.com -- use the free trial (not the "Tester/Free" version)

To be clear: my goal here is to facilitate your exploration. If using our app gets in the way of that (or your continued feedback), please disregard. I hope you share your reflections from your next whiteboard session either way!

coreyhn
Thanks, I’ll check it out.
marcind
Hello again. Have you had chance to continue your exploration?
coreyhn
A bit. One thing I thought was interesting is when you are at a whiteboard and sharing digitally, you have to turn around and look at the camera all the time. It would be interesting if you mounted an ipad on the whiteboard so you could see the people you are talking to while also having the whiteboard shared over screenshare. Having an angled camera that would allow for the whiteboard to be picked up would then make sure it wasn’t blocked. Almost like the old overhead projectors where you were always facing the audience and the material you are writing.
marcind
Yes, the idea (at least in our app) was to mimic the experience of a real whiteboard, where your colleagues also tend to be behind you. The app also serves educators who in fact called out the resulting eye contact and visible body language as one of the key benefits.

We do have an answer for the "overhead scenario" though (we call it the "tutoring scenario"): rather than using a whiteboard, you point your external camera at your desk and share a piece of paper. Then you can all write on the shared surface while facing each other online.

Our original plan was to synchronize cameras with projectors and deliver a remote whiteboard-to-whiteboard experience. Tricky but we did it in lab conditions. Put it on the back burner though, given the much smaller market.

I do like the idea of facing the whiteboard and not having to turn around. I guess a simple hack for now might be to just video conference with your colleagues on your cell while the laptop/camera faces the board (and your back)? I'll play around with this.

Thanks for sharing. Please keep 'em coming!