Very often in our working environment to obtain better results; innovating is not an option, it is a MUST. In order to achieve innovation, process improvement and to contribute with great and unique ideas, it is necessary to start by doing a brainstorming.
Coming up with a brilliant idea is an important aspect towards the pursuit of innovation and creativity. Ideas are the initial “building blocks” towards the progress of any company. For some people it’s very easy to do a brainstorming, but for others it is a slightly more difficult task. The most difficult barrier to overcome with brainstorming are mental blocking and not thinking outside the box. In nowadays companies are looking for people able to be innovative and with vision, for this reason among others, it’s important that professionals suggest new ways to achieve equal or better results, by doing it in a different way; perhaps, by using a better method.
Since brainstorming it’s a very useful method to generate better and fresh ideas, below we provide 5 free digital tools for a better brainstorming, whether you are alone or in a group, with your co-workers or in class.
1- Stumbleupon
StumbleUpon is the easiest way to find cool new websites, videos, photos and images from across the Web. It makes the best recommendations just for you according to your topic of interest. If you are working on Marketing or IT, Stumbleupon offers you a lot of options to take ideas, to visualize and to check the latest tendencies.
2- Stormboard
Stormboard offers you the opportunity to brainstorm, organize, prioritize and act on the best ideas, in the same room or around the world, on a real time sticky note whiteboard. The top 5 benefits from this tool are: Easily Capture Ideas, Connect Remote Teams, Collaborate in Real Time, Rapidly Vote on Favorites & Instant Summary Reports.
3- Idea Generator
You can use the Idea Generator for random associations. This tool gives you combinations of terms that are usually unrelated, but your mind will still try and connect them. This exercise will create lines of thoughts that can be completely novel.
4- Eyewire Creativity Cards
Eyewire creativity cards allows you to visualize 20 cards that contains a brief brainstorming exercise to help stimulate your creative muse. These exercises include proven techniques such as “change viewpoints,” ” think in opposites” and “shake your habits.”
5- Bubbl.us
Bubbl.us is a web-based tool that lets you organize your thoughts and ideas into one coherent thought map. If you’ve ever had a crazily detailed project assigned to you at work or school, you probably understand just how easy it is to accidentally mess up a step (or three!). bubbl.us is an online service that’s here to help make things a little easier for you.
