Methods and systems for collaborative whiteboarding and content management

A computer implemented method of conducting a collaborative web-based whiteboarding session, the method comprising:

• establishing a selectively accessible web page defining a whiteboard area and a palette area at a set of one or more computer systems controlled by an employer of sales representatives, the palette area including a plurality of selectable palettes, each of the palettes including representations of a plurality of predefined diagram primitives that are each configured to be selected, dragged and dropped from the palette area into the whiteboard area by users having accessed the web page, each of the drawing primitives including metadata associated therewith stored in a first database accessible to the set of one or more computer systems, the metadata including:
• at least a description of the diagram primitive, and
• an industry to which the diagram primitive is associated;
• enabling, at the set of one or more computer systems, a sales representative and a customer to separately or simultaneously access the established web page;
• receiving, at the set of one or more computer systems, information from the sales representative and the customer collaboratively creating a diagram by selecting diagram primitives from the palette area dragging and dropping the selected diagram primitives into the whiteboard area;
• storing the created diagram in a selectively accessible database accessible to the set of one or more computer systems and controlled by the employer of the sales representative;
• logging, with the set of one or more computer system, an activity of the customer and of the sales representative in the whiteboard area and logging, with the set of one or more computer system, which diagram primitives were selected by the customer and by the sales representative for inclusion in the created diagram;
• associating, with the set of one or more computer system, the metadata of the selected diagram primitives stored in the first database, the logged activity and the logged diagram primitives with the created diagram and storing the associated metadata, the logged activity and the logged diagram primitives in the selectively accessible database controlled by the employer of the sales representative;
• searching, with the set of one or more computer system, at least the stored associated metadata in the selectively accessible database controlled by the employer of the sales representative to derive industry, product and/or customer information and to derive information regarding the created diagram in response to information provided by another sales representative of the employer;
• determining, with the set of one or more computer system, a potential solution for customers of the another sales representative using the created diagram and the derived information;
• and
• generating information about the potential solution for at least one customer of the another sales representative using the set of one or more computer system.