GroupZap is a web-based tool that groups of teammates and colleagues can use to host real-time brainstorming sessions. The difference between a meeting that’s conducted through GroupZap and a meeting that’s held in a typical conference room—besides the abundance of high-tech features and tools—is that GroupZap is an inclusive application that helps people get involved no matter where they’re located in the world.
If you’re got remote workers and colleagues on your team, then you could use GroupZap to facilitate more productive group meetings and brainstorming sessions. Open an account and create separate boards for each brainstorming session you’re planning to hold. Share the URL of the board you’re working on with the members of your team in the same way you’d announce a 1:30 meeting in conference room B. Colleagues will show up virtually at the time you set and start working on whatever project is at hand. Unlike competing brainstorming apps, GroupZap doesn’t require users to draw on a virtual whiteboard by hand—leading to messy boards that are difficult to decipher. Instead, GroupZap utilizes virtual sticky notes that people can type on and place anywhere on a group board. Individual files and images can be dropped onto a board, as well, and all the elements can be rearranged to your heart’s content.
When your board is complete, you can playback and rewind the history of the brainstorming session to determine who came up with the winning ideas or how certain decisions came about. Colleagues have seven days to add additional thoughts to a brainstorming board, after which the board will be locked to prevent further changes. Of course, you can always keep a board for posterity by turning it into a PDF and distributing it to the members of your team at any point.
Practical Uses:
- Host a meeting to determine a marketing strategy for your latest product
- Get promotional ideas from your remote workers who aren’t in the office
- Let freelance associates contribute to group brainstorming sessions
- Encourage employees to replay a GroupZap session and check on what happened during a meeting they missed
Insider Tips:
- All GroupZap boards stay active for seven days
- Users can rewind and replay brainstorming sessions
- Boards can be saved as PDF files
- Images and files can be dragged and dropped onto a GroupZap board
What we liked:
- Sticky notes can be moved around in whatever way makes sense for the group
- Anyone with the URL can visit a group board without having to create an account
- Employees who weren’t available during a group meeting can replay the session to catch up later
- Users can customize their boards by adding stickers or changing the background
What we didn’t like:
- Boards expire after seven days, unless a user pays the $10 fee
Alternatives:
- ConceptShare – http://www.conceptshare.com
- Dabbleboard – http://www.dabbleboard.com
- Microproject – http://www.microproject.com
Company Info:
- Launched: 2011
- Privately Held
- Headquarters: London, England
- Founded by: Cargo Cult Interactive
- Web site: http://groupzap.com
Costs:
- Free unlimited 7-day boards
- Pay-as-You-Go for $10/board
- Subscription plans coming soon
All articles are curated and personally reviewed by Dave Onkels. Dave is tech addict and has a passion for rich web applications. He has cultivated several tech startups and runs 