As we become ever more sophisticated with our communication technologies, we look to software tools to facilitate or improve upon basic interpersonal communication. While online collaboration is fine for connecting geographically dispersed workers, many studies have shown the richness of face-to-face communication for solving problems and generating new concepts.
Remember the whiteboard? Just a few years ago it was considered the ultimate facilitator of group process and teamwork. Today, you often find people clicking away on their laptops during meetings.
IBM recently held a symposium on the co-evolution of business technologies. The results were captured by Eileen Clegg on a whiteboard using a technique referred to as "visual journalism."
Take a moment to view the rich images she generated. As the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words." I wonder how many convoluted corporate strategy briefs or marketing plans could be neatly summarized with one of these diagrams.
IBM Research | Almaden Research Center | Coevolution Symposium 2003
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