If you ever wanted to quickly share or collaborate on a simple sketch online, here is a fun new tool to try. With FlockDraw, you can draw simple sketches collaboratively in your browser in real-time. Up to 50 people can draw simultaneously on a single whiteboard. FlockDraw doesn’t limit the number of people who can watch. FlockDraw feels a bit like a pre-Windows7 version of MS Paint, and isn’t anywhere close to being a replacement for a full-blown design app like Balsamiq, or a browser-based image editing suite like Aviary. The service, however, makes it very easy and fun to create simple drawings and sketches in real-time.
Not a lot of Features – But That’s the Point
FlockDraw offers a simple set of basic tools: freehand drawing, lines, eraser and text. You can also change the color and size of your font or pencil. There are no fancy tools here, but what is there is more than enough to draw a quick sketch. It’s important to note that these FlockDraw rooms are meant to be disposable — once the last person leaves the room, the image disappears.
Two features — embedding the whiteboard and saving files — are currently disabled, though Blake tells us that they will soon return. Users will be able to save files as JPEGs, and embed the whiteboard on their social networking sites or blogs.
Overall, the service, which was founded by Dan Blake (of TinyChat fame) and Ryan Hileman, is extremely easy to use. Just head to the front page and click “Start Drawing.” You can also start a new FlockDraw room by simply appending more than 3 characters to the FlockDraw URL (http://flockdraw.com/rwwwhiteboard, for example).
