The Reluctant Digital Collaborators

One thing we never fully embraced was digital collaboration. We treated it as temporary, a pandemic necessity rather than a new tool in our toolbox.

Suddenly we were on endless digital whiteboards trying to replicate physical spaces - the act of seeing multiple post-its on a wall, grabbing them and placing them somewhere else. And when the tools worked smoothly we got a sensation of watching others peoples cursors move and filter, sort and group it felt promising.

But since those years we have eagerly trying to return to our previous ways of working. Back in the rooms, not on screens.

Had we truly adapted one way of working to the digital medium, we might have had an additional tool and expanded our toolset.

The messy part of physical boards is the thing we have a hard time replicating. The badly handwritten notes that someone needed to explain for us to understand. The oddly sorted board that sparked new ideas since it was not just catagoriesed in the optimal AI way.

Maybe it is this imperfect human approach that the digital tools lack for us to make unexpected connections and innovation.