DTIG's Bookshelf: What's Missing?

I'm often referring people to books I have personally enjoyed on the topics of idea generation, creativity, writing, etc. At times I know that I'm forgetting an important book I ought to be recommending, or the person's hand cramps from writing down too many titles at once.

I'm setting up a new page on my website that will provide a complete list of all my favorites. Why don't you take a peek and let me know if I've left any of YOUR favorites off the list.

Visit this link, and take a look at the books listed. If there is a book missing that you think should be included, just leave a comment on this blog entry and I'll review all recommendations.

Perhaps we'll both find a new book to add to our individual reading stacks!

I Wonder About Creativity

...And so does Hugh over at GapingVoid.com.

As Neil Gaiman says... "Warning: Contains Language."

This ain't yer Daddy's MySpace!

...er...um... Okay.
Actually it IS your Daddy's MySpace. Or maybe your great-great granddaddy's. New website Eons.com has created a social network website ala MySpace for the Boomer generation.

Created by the founder of Monster.com, this social site for the Geritol generation features a longevity calculator, a daily jigsaw puzzle, groups dedicated to activities like walking, and even an obituary alert to keep up to date on the passing of old friends.

Yeesh!
If you're only as young as you feel -- Eons.com doesn't seem to be doing anyhing to make their members feel any better about their age. Why not just put up a big fat clock o' death on each page? Google Ads from funeral homes?

I have to wonder if the creators did anything to poll this age bracket and inquire as to the sorts of things they might like to see featured. The focus of the site elements seem to have been created by 20-somethings merely guessing at what people who are that ooooold would be interested in seeing on the site.

Have you seen this guy on YouTube?
He's close to 80 years old and he's posted almost 20 videos on one of the hottest internet sites of the moment. His YouTube broadcast has almost 23,000 subscribers, and his page features over 4,000 comments from other users. At least one person has already created a "fan page" dedicated to the guy, and he even has his own wikiopedia entry!

Hell, I just attended a broadcast industry conference and half the guys in the room are still asking what RSS stands for and what the word "Blog" means. Here's a 79 years old guy from Great Britain recording YouTube videos in his living room, buzzing the streets on a motorcycle, and he's got more on the ball from a new media standpoint than the so-called "industry professionals." Traditional media companies don't really know if 23,000 people are even listening/watching/reading to their programming -- and this guy has SUBSCRIBERS.

You think you're going to stick this guy on a social networking site that asks him to play with jigsaw puzzles and join online groups dedicated to remembering to breath??

Why would this guy bother with what is being positioned as an online retirement home when he most likely already has his own MySpace page -- and with probably more friends than Tila Tequila!

How Creative is Your Blog?

Checkout this guy's blog.
It's written in a voice similar to Jack Handy -- an undead, zombified, brain-eating Jack Handy, that is.

Zombie Eat Brains

Not that zombies aren't cool enough, but the author (Zombie Tom) still manages to write about most things that any other blogger might write about -- it's just zombie-flavored. He doesn't simply say he likes playing HotShots Golf 3 -- he puts it in a Friday Five format. It makes the list at #4 because 1 through 3 is Brains (oh yeah, and #5 is brains too.)

Zombie Tom doesn't rantingly write that he hates the "Silly Little Fairy" commercial that was on the air for Dodge. He forfeits their brain privileges and says he's going to eat the brains of every person responsible for making it (though, it's a very stupid commercial, and I think he'd likely starve.) He stays in character for each and every post. You learn about the man (er... I mean Zombie) and are entertained by the writing.

How creative is YOUR blog?
Is it plain old list of I like this, and I hate that, and our company does very important stuff? Why not write it from the point of view of your end-product, saying how hard it works for the clients, and how thrilled it is to be going to work for the latest client, and how a new and improved sibling is being created by those smart guys in the R&D Department.

In the words of Zombie Tom -- use your brains.
...BRAAAAAAAINS....

My Dog is Really Awesome.Are You?

My Dog (Bella The Idea Dog) "is really awesome!"
So is That Nametag Guy.
Even FurbySays he's Really Awesome.

My buddy Jim Kukral has created a really cool (er... really awesome) new website that allows you to register your name, website, girlfriend, favorite band, movie, or tv show (or whatever other really awesome item you'd like) as part of the AwesomeMillion.com project.

The first 200 awesome things are almost all reserved. Given the viral nature of the idea (and the popularity of similar concepts like milliondollarhomepage.com) you might want to jump on the bandwagon soon.

UN-like the Million Dollar Homepage, a dollar will get you far more than a measly old pixel in the middle of an ugly webpage. A dollar in Jim's AwesomeMillion.com project nets you an exclusive subdomain on IsReallyAwesome.com (i.e., DonTheIdeaGuy.IsReallyAwesome.com). The page displays a personal and official-looking certificate stating that you are "certified really awesome" by AwesomeMillion.com.

A BUCK??
That's cheaper than a greeting card and waaay cooler. Invest $5 and you gain the ability to include a custom link and upload your own 150x150 graphic.

NOTE: I just registered "MyMom.IsReallyAwesome.com" and instantly became her favorite child! (Take THAT, Melinda and Joe!)

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Unreasonable and Irrational

Let's face it. Most "creative" people can be a bit difficult to deal with. There are medical studies that link bipolar disorders to increased creative activity, and there are no shortage of stories about the crazy acts of some of the world's most reknown artists and creative minds. Van Gogh sliced into his ear to prove his love, Edison slept in 15 minute cycles beneath his workbench, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a frequent visitor to psychics, and Einstein... well... just look at that hair.

People told them they were crazy. Nuts. Their hard-headed beliefs and theories were completely outrageous -- but they continued to unreasonably and irrationally pursue them.

Edison once remarked that most people didn't recognize opportunity when it came along because it was dressed in overalls and looked like work. Few significant advances in any arena are dubbed 'reasonable'. But the UNreasonable and IRrational human beings don't mind raising a bump or two (or three) on their forehead from running full-speed into those barriers erected by their more 'reasonable' brethren.

By pursuing their visions beyond what the average person would consider reasonable and rational, these kooks and crazies produced inventions, art, and shared ideas that even the most learned people of the time (of ANY time) considered to be impossible.

The big leaps of innovation are usually made by people who pursue their visions with unreasonable and irrational (sometimes fanatical) devotion and belief to find solutions and prove theories.

How unreasonable and irrational can you be in regard to backing an idea in which you fully believe? How many bumps have you raised on YOUR forehead running into those 'reasonable and rational' walls?

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