How to Become an Idea Barista: Blending Creativity and Caffeine to Brew-Up Brilliant Ideas The Canton AdFed is hosting my presentation of "How to Become an Idea Barista" on March 30, 2010! The event will take place at The University Center at Kent State Stark, with lunch being served starting at 11:30am and the presentation ending at 1:00pm.
I liked the interview and feel this guy (Gordon Crovitz, former publisher of WSJ) is on the right track, but I also think he is still waay too obsessed with the old newspaper subscription business model (I have what I feel to be a MUCH better model in mind), but at least their company JournalismOnline.com appears to have at least put some thought into the process and is approaching it as a potential platform for all online content providers (instead of just a solution for a single newspaper company.)
Unless the people behind this idea gets pushed to go after the NEXT right answer, I don't think this is the model into which online newspaper content distribution will eventually evolve, and may even delay the development of a better model. There are better ideas out there to solve this problem -- my feeling is that these guys just stopped thinking about solutions too soon.
When a game changing event or product threatens the well-being your company or industry, sometimes the best thing you can do when you feel like you're losing control is to "turn into the skid."
Early on in your auto driving experience, you were told that if you ever start to lose control of your vehicle on an icy road, you should turn your wheels into the skid in order to correct your direction and reclaim control of the car. I think that creatively, this principle can be used to course-correct for your business innovations, as well.
One example...
There's no arguing that harsh economic realities and advancements in virtual meeting technologies has dramatically impacted the business travel industry. Companies that once had no other option than to physically transport a representative to an event across the country, now have many other options at their disposal. They can choose not to attend the event at all, they can arrange conference calls, video calls, purchase DVDs or CDs of the events, create online meetings, trade emails, create wiki sites, blogs, podcasts, meeting summaries, and even follow along in real time via Twitter or web video sites like uStream... and probably a dozen other ways I haven't thought to list.
What if one travel company turned into this skid in order to correct their course? Instead of offering just another 'promise to match the lowest price' -- what if one of these business travel specialists stepped up to help their clients determine which meetings they really needed to attend, and facilitated virtual meeting options on their behalf for the ones they did not need to physically attend?
What's stopping Uniglobe from embracing the innovative tools of companies like Webex, GoToMeeting, PBwiki, uStream, Skype, and Dabbleboard to construct a simple link collection of all the best virtual meeting tools to benefit the changing needs of their clients?
What if they took it a step further and created a private-label version of these utilities and offered them for free (or fee) to their client base? If their travel clients already think of this company as their means of getting to meetings in the physical world, why not carry over that thinking into the virtual world? Why wouldn't a client use a TravelSolutions, Uniglobe, or Travel Partners branded online meeting tool instead of having to potentially create a new account and incur separate billing from some other company? Especially if the travel company has already established trust and reliability with their client (and made the tools easy and convenient to use.)
Remember, the next time you feel like you're losing control of your business, try turning into the skid to correct your course using innovative ideas -- and regain control of your destiny.
Brand new website I learned about via www.springwise.com this week. It's the latest crowdsourced business incubator. Quirky.com allows anyone to submit product ideas, plans, etc. for $99. The community then decides which submissions to develop, and the top votes result in a new product released WEEKLY.
It's certainly a bit bold to announce you'll be producing a product every single week, but the concept is certainly promising. Obviously spawned from concepts like threadless.com, Quirky stands a chance for survival if the submissions are creative, yet boot rooted in enough reality to justify production and sale to a supportive audience.
I think Quirky will need to quickly grow their consumer base beyond their site subscribers in order to maintain any long term viability. Unlike the crowd at threadless.com, not every member is going to be a prospective customer for every item produced.
Learn more by visiting the Springwise summary page or the company website at Quirky.com. A video produced by quirky to provide a quick overview of their concept is embedded below.
Did you know the first patent for glue was issued in England for an adhesive made from fish, or that the first television remote was patented by Zenith in 1950 and was called the "Lazy Bones?"
My book "100-WHATS of CREATIVITY: One Hundred What-If Questions to Spark Your Creativity, Unmuck Your Mind, and Break Through Your Mental Blocks" is now available through Amazon.com!
For a limited time, you can buy it through my on-demand storefront and save 30% off the cover price of $12.95. Just visit the link below and use the discount code: 7CTTGLG8 --
I'm finally ready to launch a newly revised and updated paperback edition of '100-Whats of Creativity' and would appreciate your feedback on the concept, content, and cost.
I've recently discovered the on-demand publishing site CreateSpace.com and plan to use it as the publishing vehicle, which will make the book available for the first time ever on Amazon.com!
CreateSpace also has a pretty cool preview tool, which makes contributing your feedback a snap using their online form. You get to download the table of contents and a few free pages, and then I hope you'll take a couple seconds to provide a some quick answers to five short questions.
Most folks are familiar with HungerSite.com and their linked cousins. You visit hungersite.com each day and a small donation is made to feed the hungry. Click on one of HungerSite's category tabs along the top, and you can make additional daily donations toward Breast Cancer Research, Children's Health, Literacy, Rainforest, and Animal Rescue.
Fewer of you are familiar with FreeRice.com, another site that asks you to visit daily to donate rice to help feed the hungry. One of the things I like about FreeRice.com is the fact they make a game out of it. You test your vocabulary by choosing the correct definition from a series of words. For every word you correctly define, a donation of 10 grains of rice is given to the UN World Food Program. Your 'winnings' are tracked in a clever graphic on the webpage that displays how many grains of rice you've contributed. It's a tough game to stop, because you're doing some good with every flex of your mental muscles.
Today I became aware of another site that helps provide food for animals in shelters. Take one part Animal Rescue page from HungerSite.com and stir in a liberal amount of FreeRice.com and you get FreeKibble.com. Like FreeRice.com, this site asks you a daily trivia question and rewards your participation (right or wrong) by donating ten pieces of kibble to help feed hungry dogs living in shelters. Like HungerSite.com, they ask you to return daily in order to repeat the process and answer a new trivia question to win ten more pieces of petfood.
The most interesting bit of trivia about this site is that it was brought into reality by a 12 year old girl named Mimi Ausland from Bend, Oregon. The "About" page doesn't go into much detail about how Mimi put her idea into action, but it says she launched the site on April 1, 2008 and delivered her first round of kibble (240 lbs!) to the Humane Society of Central Oregon on May 14 -- enough food to feed 456 dogs for one day. As of February 3rd of 2009 she's amassed over 50 TONS of kibble through her original site FreeKibble.com, and through her more recently launch feline version FreeKibbleKat.com. The site tally reads over 83 MILLION pieces of kibble have been donated since April of 2008.
Here's a short video of news coverage sharing Mimi's story:
At some point Mimi's project captured the attention of Oregon-based pet food manufacturer Castor and Pollux, the sponsor who now supplies the pet food and delivers it to more than ten shelters in the state (with plans to expand.)
I've said on more than one occasion that there are no "new" ideas -- only creative combinations of existing concepts. FreeKibble.com is a perfect example of that statement.
This is an innovative new combination of ideas from a brilliant young mind. Mimi's concept is making a difference in the world everyday.
Time has announced their 50 favorite inventions of 2008. I must say I definitely have a few favorites among them, but there are few that came in out of left field.
Several people have asked me if the text message (via Twitter) displayed during NBC4's election coverage in Columbus, Ohio was indeed THE "dontheideaguy." I've only ever heard of one person willing to claim the name so... yeah, it was me.
The folks at NBC4i.com (Jason_WCMH, Denise_WCMH, and NBCSquire in particular) have done a really phenomenal job in embracing and utilizing Twitter as a way to connect with their audience. On election day, they created a special Twitter account specifically to collect voter's experiences. They sent a tweet to their other followers (NBC4i allows their producers and on-air talent to create their own Twitter accounts) inviting them to share their experiences with twitter.com/decision2008 and see their tweets during the election results that evening. Mine was one of approximately 20-25 tweets featured in rotation, but once results started coming in the tweets disappeared.
Kudos to NBC4i.com for even attempting this merging of traditional and new media. It was reasonably successful, but I don't think they took it far enough. Here are four ideas on how they could have further improved on their efforts. 1. More is More There really weren't that many tweets featured (I saw mine rotate at least six times.) Perhaps that means re-tweeting the invite and asking your followers to pass it along, or maybe seeking the follower's opinions earlier in the process, or making the question broader -- but I think it would have been better to have more voices heard and opinions shared.
2. Extend The Feature The Twitters were really only running across the bottom of the screen for a short period of time. Once the election results started filtering in, the tweets were replaced by poll results. A better design of the screen layout would have allowed a single scroll feed of tweets to accompany the voting results. Having both elements side-by-side would have further engaged the conversation of Twitterers. I know my group tweeted through the entire election coverage and through President-elect Obama's speech.
3. Complete The Circuit The two elements (on-air and Twitter) did not seem integrated enough. The Decision2008 tweets should have led people to the tv coverage and the tv coverage should have further involved the viewers through Twitter. I think adding the Decision2008 Twitter feed to the NBC4i election coverage website would have strengthened the connection between media elements.
4. Keep It Going The election page on the NBC4i website could continue to stay lively by inviting Twitterers to contribute their AFTER election thoughts during this historic time. There has been incredibly intelligent discourse from all political parties (not just the 'sour grapes' being covered by some/most media) about how, in hindsight, the election will seem like the "easy part." All the really hard work will begin in just a couple months. Discussions on what the President-elect's strategy should be in preparation for taking over our nation's highest office are everywhere, and everyone has an equally valid opinion on what that strategy should be. Be the catalyst for these conversation to continue.
Keep encouraging and spreading these discussions, and the traffic to the politics page on NBC4i will continue to populate with an excited and engaged audience who knows their voice is being heard. And they'll credit NBC4i with helping that to happen.
...if you want more ideas on this subject, you're just going to have to buy a Five Buck Brainstorm like everyone else!
That's right -- the official DTIG brainstorms for a sawbuck have returned! Rejoice all ye who suffer from a lack of lightbulbs of inspiration. The regular readers of MyBrainBlog are probably familiar with my Five Buck Brainstorms (formerly known as "EconoStorms") -- but for the rest of you, here's a brief introduction.
As Don The Idea Guy, I offer brainstorming services to individuals and groups in order to generate ideas that help solve business and marketing challenges. These services range from formal consulting contracts, project-based ideation, and group facilitation of the brainstorm process. As a way to introduce people to 'my way of thinking' I started selling ridiculously low priced micro-brainstorms to people online. The intent was to provide a low-risk demonstration of my idea creation capabilities, fund my movies/music/books budget, and have a bit of fun in the process. What I didn't count on was it working so well that I'd only be able to do it for limited periods of time -- well, it's that time again. ;)
There's now a fresh new page to promote the service, and I'll keep it active for as long as I am able to complete these Five Buck Brainstorms in a timely fashion. Give it whirl and see what you think -- it'll be the best $5 you've ever invested in one of your projects.
If you missed Part 1 and Part 2, follow the links to get some background (if you're interested), but the past posts aren't specifically needed to recognize what sort of impact the article linked below can have on voters, the polls, and the election.
The respect and credibility of PBS combined with the reach, candor, immediacy and activity of the most viral video site to date? The Rise of the YouTube Candidate is more likely than ever!
EepyBird (those guys who did the Diet Coke/Mentos video) are back -- and this time in an entertaining video experiment that uses Post It notes.
The video below is entertaining, fun, amusing, involving, engrossing, tells a story, viral, engaging, and over three minutes long.
Oh yeah, and it's an advertisement for OfficeMax.
If more attempts to promote products were more of the former and less of the latter, fewer people would TIVO past commercials or make fridge runs between programming breaks. Why don't those lame video web banners contain content like this? Why aren't video pre-rolls more entertaining than the content you're trying to access? Was there some class wannabe marketers took that told them advertisements had to look like advertisements?
Everyone has "that" question. It's the same people asking the same question ...over and over and over and OVER again.
You make the answer to "that" question available by every means at your disposal -- You create an informational sheet and distribute it to everyone in the group. You create a document and post it in a Share drive accessible by everyone. You print out a copy and put it in a binder on your desk. You even create a keyword that sends info instantly via text message! BUT, people still come and ask you that damned question rather than using one of the (many!) ways of getting that information themselves.
I've long believed that innovation comes complete dissatisfaction with the way a particular thing is currently done, and from relieving pain. And believe me, that question has become a HUGE pain-in-my-youknowwhat!
Introducing the Dumball Machine! The Dumball Machine is just like a gumball machine, except that instead of dispensing rock-hard sugary treats whose flavor evaporates after only a few seconds -- this machine dispenses the stock answer to "that" question (to which the answer apparently evaporates just as quickly.)
From this point forward, anyone bugging you with a question you've answered so many times that the words are like razor blades whenever you speak them, can now be directed toward the Dumball Machine. For the low price of 50-cents their question can be answered immediately! You can even include a free toy for that extra incentive needed to make them part with those two shiny quarters.
My Dumball Machine currently provides the answer to the standard sizes, shapes, and positions of web banners that can appear on our radio station websites. What information would YOUR Dumball Machine dispense? Add it to the comments below!
Note: You will soon be able to order your own custom Dumball Machine from www.DumballMachine.com!
I love it when I share an idea with a friend and see them run with it. Such is the case with my new friend, author Gregg Fraley.
Gregg wrote the book "Jack's Notebook" that I blogged about recently, and after linking on a couple social network sites, I suggested that he create a Twitter account under the guise of his book's main character, Jack Huber. My thought was that he could provide value to the Twitter community by sharing the creative lessons learned within the book from Jack's point of view, and at the same time promote his book to an audience who I believe would really enjoy the business fable.
If you're already on Twitter, be sure to Follow JackHuber. If you're not -- it's quick and easy (and free) to sign up. ...And don't forget to Follow Don The Idea Guy!
While ebook readers are nothing new, Amazon is trying to iPod-ize the process with their new wireless reading device, Kindle. While there does seem to be some updating to the old idea of an electronic reader, there also seem to be some missed opportunities.
The device could be so much more if only the Amazon Kindle would...
1. Lower the price point Four hundred bucks? Really? An incredibly high price for a technology that nobody wanted in the past and flopped in the market, with more limitations than benefits in this new incarnation. (Really? $400??)
2. Fill the bucket Why doesn't it come packed with content? Ideally, Amazon could include a gift card to be spent as the user sees fit -- but why not include a free magazine subscription or two? How about a hot best seller? Hell, I'd even settle for a few not-so best sellers.
3. Add Movies & Music With Amazon hawking it's new Unbox movies and tv shows, along with their new MP3 downloads -- why isn't the Amazon-branded Kindle compatible with these other Amazon offerings? I see from the Kindle videos and photos that it has a headphone jack, am I to assume that's only for audio books?
4. Realize that blogs are free A quick visit to the Kindle "blogs" sub-page and you'll see that Amazon intends to charge for access to blogs! This has GOT to be the dumbest offering I've seen yet. Amazon wants to charge between $.99 and $1.99 per month (PER BLOG!) for access to something you can already get for free via a half-dozen other devices.
And why can't I read blogs other than those on which you've put a virtual coin-slot? It's a wi-fi device with access to the internet -- provide some real value and allow it to act as my RSS aggregator of choice. Allow it to connect with blogs and podcasts (remember that audio jack?) of MY choosing and don't charge for access you greedy bastards.
When I buy a tv or computer it doesn't charge me for access to EVERYTHING (I can surf plenty of sites for free and watch DVDs I already own without picking my pocket.) Which brings me to...
5. Allow me to read books I already own Hey, I get that you can't throw the doors wide and let me download every physical book I already own -- but how about letting me just download the ones I already bought from Amazon? I'd even understand if you put a cap on how far back I can go -- maybe purchases made in the last year? Six months? Okay... how about the last THREE months?
6. Stop pushing newspapers back to a subscription-based model Just as daily newspapers are starting to finally realize they are better off with offering their content online at no cost and using an advertising-based model to generate revenue, Kindle brings back the bad-old days and wants to charge between $14.99 and $5.99 for monthly access to that which is (mostly) free online through every almost every other web-connected device.
7. Arrive at reasonable price points Like it or not, iTunes is the defacto standard for digital content price points. If Amazon didn't agree, do you think they'd offer their music downloads for $.89 in an attempt to compete? Then why the heck are Kindle books $9.99 when I can buy an iTunes movie for the same price, and a tv show for only $1.99? Wouldn't this price structure dictate a retail price of $3.99 (or at most a $5.99) price point? Even the virtual titles available in paperback are priced higher than their real-world counterparts.
8. Let me loan books to a friend My friends and I trade books all the time. Why not allow us to transfer books wirelessly between our readers? I'm not suggesting you allow duplication or copying -- let a utility "Move" the file from one reader to the other (let that DRM software work FOR you instead of against you) -- and Back-again (if desired) once the friend has finished reading it.
This was one thing the Microsoft Zune got sort-of right (maybe the ONLY thing), it allowed wi-fi sharing of songs for up to three days. Why not take the best ideas from other devices and incorporate them into your own?
9. Be a more compatible Let me get this straight -- I can email my Kindle a document I already own/created, but Amazon is going to charge me a "toll" to process it into Kindle format so I can read it on the device for which I just paid $400 (really? $400??)
How about if you just make the damn thing compatible with Word docs and PDF files? I don't think that's asking for much -- I can already read those kinds of files on my PHONE. It should be a given that you can read digital files on something called a "DIGITAL READING DEVICE."
10. Add a touch-screen and stylus The bookmarking feature of the Kindle is unremarkable. It allows you to dog-ear the corner of a virtual page -- but that's it. Why not allow the flagging of a specific paragraph?
Further, why not utilize a touch-screen interface (like 92% of other digital devices) and let me highlight text I deem important? Let the device collect all the underlined/highlighted passages into a summary list that can be accessed on-demand. No more searching for a Post-it note or faded yellow highliter in a physical book -- let my notes and notations become digital as well. (This would basically be a digital version of my Novel Ideas Bookmark.)
Why is Amazon making it so difficult to justify the purchase of one of these devices? It's like they've gone out of their way to recreate the idiocy of another single-purpose device -- the dreaded and debated HD Radio(don't even get me started...)
Here's the sad part-- I actually like the concept of the Kindle reader! A book store that travels with me is almost too cool for words. I'm more than willing to pay a small premium (a large premium even!) for instant access to any title I desire, but there are too many other weaknesses in the overall vision of the product, and I find the execution lacking. I really want one of these things -- but I have to believe there will be corrections to these obviously flaws in a future version.
C'mon guys -- the last single-purpose device I ever purchased was a toaster. My video game plays DVDs and connects to the internet, my fridge makes ice and dispenses purified water, my mobile phone surfs the net, plays videos, and downloads music. And come to think of it -- even the lowly toaster has realized it better do more than burn bread to make it onto my crowded countertop. Have you seen the model that cooks an egg while it makes your toast?? (I think there's even one that fries bacon, but I couldn't find a link fast enough.)
Kindle is going to have to do the same if it's going to get added to my collection of gadgets and gizmos.
--- EDIT: In case you needed another reason to choose an iPhone over Kindle, someone just sent me a link regarding the fact you can read magazines for FREE on the iPhone. And not just crappy pubs. They got mags like Car & Driver, Men's Health, MacWorld (natch!), Kiplingers, Women's Day, Popular Mechanics, and Playboy.
I've been toying with a new concept for a while now, and I thought I'd share with all of you and get your opinion.
I am an avid reader with an entire room devoted to my books (as well as stacks and stacks of them in every corner of the Idea Guy headquarters!) I do my best to retain the morsels of information inevitably contained within each book -- but with so many concepts and so many books, that can be a difficult task.
I took to sticking Post-It notes on the important pages of each book, but that became messy and kind of a pain since it required referring back to the physical book itself. I tried jotting down notes in a book journal, but that was a nightmare when trying to find which page of the journal referred to which book -- plus I was a juggling act to read the actual book, then put it aside and open the journal to record the notes.
A possible solution arose when I began using an index card for a bookmark. I could easily jot notes on the index card and retain my place in the book. Once finished, the notecard could be stored in a plastic file box -- but the space on the index card wasn't sufficient to capture all the ideas in most of the books I read.
I finally decided to add a litle oomph to the index card concept and created the Novel Ideas Bookmark. It's a bright yellow 8x6 card that folds to 4x6 for easy storage in one of those index card storage boxes I mentioned above.
The front of the card is horizontal and contains spaces for book title and author's name to allow for easy filing. The card opens like a book and the inside is ruled to allow for journal-like entry of important points in the book. I list the page number and then the concept I wish to note. The back of the card includes additional ruled lines for final points. I also included a spot on the front of the card to list the most valuable lesson I learned from the book, as well as a favorite quote. The bottom/right corner of the card front allows for a "1 of X" indication in case I need more than a single Novel Ideas Bookmark to record details -- but I have yet for this to happen.
Once a book is read, I can replace it on my bookshelf and file the card/bookmark in my office for future referral. I can file books on subject, author, or title -- and information is always on-hand.
If you'd like a set of my Novel Ideas Bookmark, you can purchase a pack of five for only $5.50 (free shipping in US) by clicking the button below, or you can print your own by downloading the PDF printing template available in the IDEAS-4U Yahoo Group. It's free to join the group (just add your email address to the forma at the top of this page or click here) Once you join, you'll find the template in the Bonus Freebies folder in the FILES section.
Favorite author Dan Pink explains a new concept in PowerPoint presenting initiated by two Tokyo-based architects who've turned the process into a competive art form.
The rules are simple: 20 slides -- 20 seconds each. Take 6 minutes and 40 seconds to relate your message, then sit down and shut-up.
Think how much more efficient your meeting would be if everyone who needed to speak would adhere to this simple rule. This is definitely going in the next edition of Boring Meetings Suck!
