Capacities is a feeling collaborative tools can’t give you
Capacities was built with the importance of a personal thinking space in mind. Our app and vision prioritizes individuals, and is designed specifically for individual use.
This being said, we get many requests asking for collaborative features and team workspaces. We understand the desire behind this; once you start using Capacities and our object-based system, of course you’d want to bring this functionality to other aspects of your workflow. However, this is not something we are planning on implementing, and today I want to share the reasoning behind this.
There are very few digital spaces that belong just to you. In the way a physical notebook is a simple, distraction-free space just for you and your thoughts, Capacities is a workspace built just for you.
Capacities lets you work without being self-aware
Imagine trying to work on a painting and having someone standing in the corner of your studio watching over your shoulder as you paint. You might paint a little differently knowing someone is watching. You might second-guess. You might not make as many interesting choices or brave decisions. Opening the doors to collaboration in your Capacities Studio would be exactly like this. We don’t want you to have to think about other people while you’re in the nitty-gritty work of your idea stage. This space is just for you. Get messy, get chaotic, follow your curiosity, and trust that Capacities will help you make sense of things along the way.
Sometimes collaboration is important
Sometimes you do need to collaborate with people in your team, your friend, or your partner. This is why we built a powerful export functionality into Capacities, so you can easily take your notes and move them to wherever collaboration makes sense to you. In this way, you get the best of both worlds. You can develop your ideas in the safe sanctuary of your personal studio, and bring you ideas into external collaborative spaces when you’re ready to do so.
Capacities is built just for you
We are not trying to build an all-in-one tool. Your Capacities Studio can be at the heart of your personal workflow, or just a step in a greater creative process.
Developing multiplayer features is an inherently complex undertaking, and there isn’t a way for us to currently do so while staying committed to our vision for the app. Many tools are built with teams and team workflows in mind, Capacities is built with you in mind. That being said, we are not opposed to building a collaborative element in the future if we find a way to do so that is aligned with our values.
However you choose to use Capacities, we want you to trust that your notes are yours until you choose to share them. You never have to worry about opening the doors to your ideas until you’re ready. This is why our vision focusses on individual use. We are building Capacities for you, and you alone.