Brainstorming, VR-Style
The hunt to the best VR app for the solopreneur
When I first started my transition from my corporate day job, I spent a lot of time going through my office, trying to get organized. Poor Alexa had Abney Park on repeat. Piles of paper just littered the floor, the credenza and just about every single horizontal space. Nothing was safe from the hunt to chase down every single project that I had set aside over the years.
You can take the project manager out of the corporate world but you cannot take the corporate world — and its innate structure — from the project manager. The more I dug into my backlog, the more I realized that I missed the tools that made my corporate job so much easier.
Brainstorming, for example. I could go old-fashioned, grab my handy-dandy rolling whiteboard and start a ‘talk-it-out’ scribble-athon that might help me rank my project piles by ROI, maybe. As a team of one, it looked like I’d have to settle for self-imposed deadlines, a ‘whatever tool actually works for me’ attitude and some ruthless shredding at the end.
I started with computer-based options. Top of my list was MindMeister. The free version is pretty easy to use and they have a number of templates that can get you started. Another site that I looked at is MindMup, which has a simple and easy-to-use interface. You don’t even need to set up an account or register with them before using it. And then there was Scapple. You have to download this app, but it comes with a 30 free trial to decide if it works for you.
I could have kept going, with apps like Miro, MURAL, Bubbles.us, Coggle, GitMind and endless other sites that beckoned for my attention. The problem is that they lock you into a keyboard and it feels sooo 20th century!
I really needed something more interactive. Something that would let me pace. Talk it out. And, if anyone was able to take a few minutes out of their workday to pop in for a quick chat, share my ideas in real time for an honest opinion.
Who was I kidding? Time to grab my VR headset and get to work!
Spatial
Spatial was the first app that my Oculus offered. It’s primarily a social meeting space, but you can use this app for brainstorming as well. It allows you to upload content, host up to 50 people and create sticky notes. Spatial has a free version for creators, with a pro and special event version available as well.
There are environmental templates that allow users to create a personal space. You have access to a number of tools, including a browser, the ability to share your screen, sticky notes, access to your Google Drive and Microsoft 365. As a plus, you can use the app without a VR headset.
I found the sticky notes a bit difficult to use, although I loved the voice-to-text feature. They were difficult to grab and I had difficulty placing them exactly where I needed them. I couldn’t change to color or size and I could only place them as high as I could physically reach with my hands.
Overall, I didn’t find it very intuitive. Spatial was designed for exhibits, meetings and for live events. Definitely useful for the solopreneur.
Glue
This app seems to have a bit of everything, from collaboration tools (whiteboards, freehand drawing, screen sharing and, yes, sticky notes!) to meetings rooms to large lecture halls. Glue has a free version that allows up to 10 team members to collaborate in up to 30-minute sessions and has 2 GB file storage just for the asking.
Glue is designed for group collaboration. There are four virtual spaces: Home, which is the smallest virtual space, and Mont Matiz, Scrum Place and The Guildhouse, which are designed for larger groups. I hopped between them, trying to get a feel for the space. The graphics are incredibly detailed and had a ‘home’ like feel to it.
For the solopreneur, there are only two options for brainstorming: a standard whiteboard and the ever-present sticky notes. I didn’t have high expectations for either option, and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised.
As anyone who has tried to write without a physical pen has come to realize, just because you can draw with your finger (or, your hand in VR) doesn’t mean that it resembles actual words when you’re done. Part of the problem in VR is that you may not get good sensory feedback. You can get some buzzing when your ‘pen’ meets the surface, but that’s about it.
Glue has this covered. It actually feels like you’re drawing on a textured surface. Even the eraser gives you that feedback.
I found it relatively easy to carry the board with me as I moved around the space. You can save your whiteboard as a file for download, but if you forget to do so, don’t worry. As long as you don’t erase or close the board, your scribbles are safe for as long as you need them.
I moved on to sticky notes. It was easier to brainstorm but I didn’t see how to connect the subcategories. I had to settle for color-coding and grouping. I was able to pace, talk it out and type. The voice-to-text was a nice addition to the brainstorming session.
Glue is a great app with an incredibly detailed environment, but the brainstorming felt a bit too 2D for me. It felt like something was missing.
It might have been too quiet. Or the spaces were just too big. Maybe it was that the espresso machine in the guildhouse couldn’t offer me a real cappuccino!
I’ve added Glue to my go-to list. It has real possibilities for group meetings!
Noda
Noda offers options that its 2D competition can’t, including storyboards, network/flow diagrams, and project planning. And, when it comes to its VR competition, well…for me, it’s like comparing apples to pineapples. They sound like they’re closely aligned but in reality, they provide a completely different experience.
This type of mapping doesn’t require whiteboards, sticky notes or screens where you can share presentations. Instead, Noda uses shapes called ‘nodes’ to help you create an actual 3D experience. You can link the nodes together, move them apart, easily change color, size and shape, label each node and link them together as needed. Best part? You can just walk around your model and move items with an easy hand.
Noda provides five different environments: Grid, Gallery, Hanger, Sunroom and Default. The app provides options for music, autosaves your work and has a built-in browser. The free version lets you save up to 3 maps. And, it can import and export CSV files, if needed.
Personally, I found this app to be incredibly useful for brainstorming. To access my work I can either take a picture and save it to my Google Drive for later access or just pop my VR headset on for a walk-thru.
Noda has become my go-to brainstorming app.
So, what now?
Interested to join my 2022 VR Productivity Challenge? Let me know and I’ll send periodic updates on my VR explorations and links to my weekly articles straight to your inbox.
And, let me know which apps you’re exploring in VR that are helping your productivity. I’d love to hear about your adventures!
Michaela is an eclectic and highly-caffeinated DIYer. She created the What Now Project, a tongue-in-cheek collection of essays that seek to answer that age old question: Srsly, where do we go from here?
