Interesting.org has a better idea

What frame of mind brings you new ideas? Are you aware of the process you use to generate and utilize your ideas?

The Idea Book is a fantastic tool for expanding your creative capacity, discovering untapped resources in your own brain, and actively connecting to the world of innovation.

Published in Stockholm in 2004, over 200,000 copies of this book have sold in 9 languages. Sold to 40 countries, it is not yet “available” in the U.S., but you can find it and the author Fredrik Haren at the parent site, www.interesting.org.

I’ll be telling you more about its excellent layout and the experience of writing in the blank pages over the weeks to come. This post is your heads up to seek out a copy of The Idea Book — and become part of the huge wave of innovation which is carrying us into a viable future.

Suzanna Stinnett

The global brain + cloud alchemy = thoughtsourcing

Catching up with my brain

While preparing my notes and whiteboard scribbles for a corporate presentation tomorrow, I realized I had not articulated some concepts I refer to often. In my journal.

Remember, folks, the global brain does not carry your information unless you upload it. So I’m writing today about thought sourcing. If you Google “thoughtsourcing,” you get references which contain sentences like “what they thought sourcing was…” Well. That’s not it. That’s about sourcing. Not thoughtsourcing.

(Before I go any further, let me state clearly:  My use of thoughtsourcing is NOT “outsourcing your thoughts.” What Nick Nanton called “The 8th Deadly Sin” in his article in January 2009 is a completely different animal, and, to my mind, a good example of how we often jump the gun with a negative reaction before we really see what can be done with instant and exponential communication. Nick’s concern was that people stop thinking for themselves and draw from the collective without any creative effort of their own. I believe it is quite the opposite. In my Glossary, I put Nick’s definition as the second possibility for this term. Consider this disclaimed.)

Thoughtsourcing

Thoughtsourcing is using modern communication tools (digital) to feedback an answer, a segment of an answer, an expansion of any kind – on your own thought.

Bringing it down to earth a bit more, I could say that “thoughtsourcing” is in the same ball field as what we do when we use Twitter to “crowdsource” and get answers to questions or come up with some research data. But it’s more than that.

Cloud Alchemy

Let’s back up and reference that other term in the title, cloud alchemy: Connecting the thoughts of two or more people on the Internet in a meaningful way to create a new synergy, a new statement or definition or resource or investigation. Cloud alchemy can be done in a few different ways, but it speaks to the new capacity of the global brain to think as an organism.

I think, therefore I tweet

Thoughtsourcing happens when a skilled new-media user employs a tool like Twitter, for example, to almost instantly answer a question or fill in a blank. A new-media user with a broad range of skills can obtain the next piece of information related to their own thought so quickly that it mimics the human thought process. It’s still thousands of times longer than thought itself, but it is so fast now, we can start to see the future through it.

It’s not crowdsourcing

Thoughtsourcing is faster than crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing has its own value and purpose. Thought sourcing is an individual’s extended reach, through their organized and informed use of new media, into the global brain, where they can cherry-pick a trusted source and zero in on an answer – or a new perspective – which does not require further research to validate. The sourcer (ooo, sourcer!!) can then promptly move on to the next thought with new information integrated.

A global brain area, properly connected, means the participants can thoughtsource each other, which makes them all more efficient and more intelligent.

So go do some cloud alchemy. Bring your sources closer together by introducing your best peers to one another. Make a new brain area strong and effective and meaningful.

Be well, friends.

Suzanna Stinnett

*train of thought illustration (c) Suzanna Stinnett 2008

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Are you selling your blog short?

It could be a masterpiece.

I taught my Dynamic Blogging class earlier this week to a group of people, each one of them with a great deal to offer their readers. Since blogging is basically simple self-publishing, it’s easy to miss what else they can be. And it’s important (at least to me) to recognize the impact they can have. Your blog can change lives.

So here’s the deal. Whether you are one of my blogging class attendees, someone who enjoys learning about the brain and technology, or a new reader wondering what my website is about, you are likely to be a good candidate for a great blog. I want you to recognize that and take a few steps toward realizing your potential.

Step: Ask yourself what your inspiration is for your blog. If you’ve had your blog for a while, do you still feel the same way about your material? Do you still want to write the same stuff? Come up with one thing that is new or different about your motivation now. Consider acting, creatively, on that difference.

Step: Before you go to sleep tonight, run a little suggestion through your head: Ask your imagination to come up with three new ways your blog can be more helpful to your readers. Then leave the thought alone. Your imagination knows what to do while you’re sleeping. You’ll know more tomorrow.

Step: If you’re still thinking about a blog but haven’t started one quite yet, get out a piece of paper. Write on it “I haven’t started my blog because _____” and fill in the blank. Write ten reasons why you don’t have a blog right now. I already know what three of them are. Keep going. Then leave it alone. Your imagination is going to work on that too.

This post is coming out of my own recent inspiration about a new direction I’m starting to travel. I recognize a dramatic difference in my energy for the thousand tasks of blogging and my daily sense of renewal now that I have opened up some new avenues. I’ll tell you more about my new stuff soon. Today I want to trigger some of this renewal in you.

Have you noticed a quiet questioning going on in the back of your mind and heart? Something inside, wondering how things might be different – if…? That’s what I hope you will pay attention to today. Your work – your blog – your creation, might be more important than you’ve yet dreamed.

Tell me something that has inspired you today – put it in the comments below. I’d like to know.

Blessings,

Suzanna Stinnett

Come read Mark McGuinness interviewing Roger von Oech!

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I’m so excited to see this article come out on Lateral Action. Mark McGuinness interviewed Roger von Oech about his “Creative Whack Pack” coming out as an iPhone app.

I have the app, of course, as a long-time (way long time) follower of von Oech’s great work. He really was the instigator of my own creativity and imagination workshops. The world needs more whack-i-ness, of this order.

But go read the article – it’s a perfect marriage, Lateral Action and Roger von Oech.

Sweeeet!

Suzanna Stinnett

Lateral Action, Daniel Pink, and Little Shifts

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This is one of those moments I love: Seeing concepts I’ve written about turning up in someone else’s smart, timely book. It’s happening in a few different places right now, and I keep getting my worn copy of “Little Shifts” out to answer my own question, “What did I say, back then?”

“Little Shifts” is not quite four years out now, but in publishing circles it’s an old horse. It enjoyed a nice run on the market and continues to sell. But I think some of the messages in my little book are just now ripe on the tree. In the chapter called “The Great Adventure,” I said “This is a grand opportunity for the best kind of growth – a growth of commitment, consciousness, and imagination.” I told the story about William McDonough, one of our most accomplished visionaries, and the community of innovators at work creating solutions for our planet. Then I made an invitation.

“When we join our willing optimism to the community around us, invite our imaginations to the party, and deliberately choose a positive future, a great adventure begins to unfold. The possibilities are limitless.
“Trust that your vision is connected to these mighty forces. From that trust your creative life will emerge, along with the energy and understanding of how to execute your ideas.”

In the book I advocate using business as a force for social change. Having a business gives us “arms and legs” beyond just the voice of an individual.

Today, I’m excited about the undercurrent which seems to be swelling to the surface. Daniel Pink’s book, “A Whole New Mind, Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future,” beautifully articulates where we are headed and why creatives are emerging as cultural leaders. Brian Clark and Mike McGuinness have started a very clever series called Lateral Action, with the fourth entry also mentioning Daniel Pink’s book. You can understand why I’m jumping up and down and pointing my finger. This imagination-driven culture is becoming visible. These are the great adaptations I’m talking about. It’s us!

I want you to think about something today. Where would you like to apply more imagination in your life? Let’s take it a step further. Let me know, in the reply area here, what three areas of your life could be most improved by a fully empowered imagination?

Blessings,

Suzanna

Participate in the Examiner Glossary Series, and see your name in the published document. Here’s the most recent entry:

“Mashup” – not about potatoes

To the moon with innovation – an invite

Apollo 13 Ground Crew Works it Out

What makes a great adaptation?

Adaptations involve imagination, innovation, creativity, and usually a bit of urgency. Do you know about Apollo 13? It was a mission to the moon that went wrong, and a tremendous drama of relationships, teamwork, and life. (Check out the movie, it’s inspiring.) The crew was facing death by asphyxiation unless the ground crew could quickly and effectively create an adaptation using what was available to the astronauts to remedy the breakdown in their oxygen supply.

It’s a fantastic scene with a whole posse of high-functioning brains working together under terrible pressure. They did it. They innovated, found the solution, and effectively articulated it for the astronauts who were already suffering from oxygen deprivation.

This is a super example of our capacity and potential. Now, most of us are not functioning anywhere near that level of brain use. On the contrary, we’re far below our own potential. Especially in the creativity and imagination department.

Daily routines have a deadening quality, simply because the brain makes no new connections for months on end. Stress takes its toll on brain function and motivation. Too much media is also likely to dampen our spirits. At the end of the day, we’re much more likely to turn to a spoon-fed hypnotic evening of entertainment than any activities which could actually make a difference in our lives.

Maybe what we need is a little encouragement. Here at Great Adaptations, I’m hosting Adapt-athons. And you’re invited!

There will be prizes – so don’t miss out! Find the criteria here, jumpstart your imagination, and discover how innovative you really are.

Subscribers will receive updates and email reminders for the Adapt-athon. Don’t wait! I’ll be looking for your links!

The Global Brain Imagined

Peter Russell changed my life with his video, “The Global Brain.”

I first came across it in 1986, while teaching a workshop in deep ecology in Oakland, California. I don’t think I realized at the time how profoundly this man’s work would affect my own life.

The video and the book which inspired it have received international acclaim as challenging, compelling, and definitely before its time. It’s easily available on his website, The Global Brain, and I passionately recommend it.

Peter Russell’s imagination has not stopped its feats of engineering, as he has continued to develop his ideas about our participation in our changing world. When I look at my path of study of the imagination, awareness, and the brain, I can see how many ways his imagination has affected my own. Because of his inspiring expression, I altered my course to become technology-friendly, and began my own exploration of the unfolding potential of our times. I’m sure there are many, many others who have been encouraged along their way by Peter’s brilliance and his comprehensive, compassionate articulation.

From the description of “The Global Brain,”

Peter Russell, who holds advanced degrees in theoretical physics, experimental psychology and computer science, makes no apologies for presenting what may seem like a Utopian theory. He advises, “The image a society has of itself can play a crucial role in the shaping of its future. A positive vision is like the light at the end of the tunnel, which, even though dimly glimpsed, encourages us to step in that direction.”

I am officially placing Peter Russell in the Luminaries Hall of Great Adaptations. Applause!

Suzanna