Ever been stumped with a difficult problem and looking for just the right tool or techique to break the impasse? Here's handy online catalog of creativity and systematic thinking tools with short, concise descriptions and helpful examples.

Creativity Techniques -- At a New Address. A while ago I posted a link to a comprehensive compendium of creativity tools and techniques. The original collector had abandoned it for some philosophical reason, but fortunately, the folks at mycoted (Creativity & Innovation in Science & Technology) have taken in the orphan, and sited it here. If you revisit the list, wander around the parent site a bit. They've got a equally interesting collection of puzzles there as well. [Frank Patrick's Focused Performance Blog]

[b.cognosco]

Its a tremendous resource.  Another favourite is Chuck Frey's InnovationTools.  Don't skip the quotes section and the weblog there.  Clearly a labour of love.

12:40:50 PM    comment []  trackback []

The BBC has a story about a report commissioned by Msn Uk which says that the pervasive use of Txt'ing worldwide is modifying our language. The report's authors blamed the rise of "globespeak" - people from all over the world using the same shorthand.

[Smart Mobs]

From the article :

The most common alternative for "hello" when starting an informal e-mail or text message was "hey", followed by "g'day", "hola", "howdy" and "yo", according to the survey of 2,000 people.

The survey also looked at how people writing to one another by electronic communication referred to a friend.

"Mate" was the number one choice, followed by "love", "sweetheart", "buddy" and "pal".

Tracy Blacher, MSN marketing director, said: "What is interesting is the speed that language is being modified by the adoption of new technology."

Text Messaging or SMS is huge in India.  Interesting to see IM chat jargon being used in text messages on cell phones - another form of "globespeak" - with LOL, IMHO, BRB, AYT, C4N, ROTFL and emoticons breaking through geographic, linguistic and cultural boundaries.

Here's a comprehensive list of chat jargon for anyone interested in comprehending youth speak - or Generation ICQ as Marc calls it.

Another piece (link via Smart Mobs again) at The Register reports that BT has developed new technology that takes mobile messaging from the arena of 2D photo messages and voice clips to another level where "actual emotions can be conveyed between family and friends in a physical and tactile way". The research by BT Exact, BT's research business, allows interactive toys to be linked to mobile phones so that SMS communication can be displayed through the toys' actions. This enables the texting experience to become more personable and fun, according to BT Exact.

The team is currently collaborating with a number of leading toy manufacturers to produce interactive SMS prototypes of some of their most popular toys. A receiver device embedded in the toy would activate an action on receipt of a message relayed to it over a short range wireless link by an associated mobile phone. The researchers say these prototypes will "create a more natural and tangible mode of communicating for adults and children, which will encourage more imaginative text messaging". The interactive toys are tuned in to their owners' mobile phone so that, whenever an emotional graphic symbol (or emoticon) is sent, the toy displays the emotion that has been communicated.

Rebecca Capper, new concepts designer in BT Exact's emerging technologies lab, said: "Interactive messaging and SMS toys can not only give people a real sense and feel of how their friends and relatives are feeling but will also demonstrate how they are feeling about you. The first range of SMS toys won't just be about fun but will bring emotional messaging to the fore and ultimately it will become a more multi-sensory way of staying in touch. These devices will enable you to feel closer to those you care about.

"It takes SMS messaging into a new and exciting realm," she added.

9:30:21 AM    comment []  trackback []

"To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun?"- Katherine Graham

Stan Finley picks up on a post i made a few days ago on 'rules' of a blog - which brought forth some debate on the semantic blog in terms of form and content. The discussion threads at the comments for both my post and his are really interesting.

Stan, Avi, Andrew - thanks for picking up this thread - i think its an interesting area for discussion, as blogging reaches its tipping point .

As far as i'm concerned - there are and can be no 'rules'. Some guidelines /tips/pointers for new bloggers though might be useful. I did struggle initially with so many issues - both in terms of content and form :

- should i blog intuitively, just write what i feel at that moment, which means that my blog maynot have a special focus on any one specific area

- should i be bothered about how i can better connect with readers and engage them in richer conversations (form issues here like better readability etc and content issues in terms of 'give them what they want' vs blog as i feel) .

I've come to the conclusion that to hell with the rules - let me be me.

8:55:58 AM    comment []  trackback []

Blogs and small green pieces of paper.

I've been thinking a lot about my addiction to social software, business models and what this is all about. Frank has a great quote from Douglas Adams about small, green pieces of paper which is a really good place to start.

"Small, Green Pieces of Paper"

Douglas Adams

From the radio script for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this, at a distance of roughly ninety million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet, whose ape descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea. This planet has, or had, a problem, which was this. Most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small, green pieces of paper, which is odd, because on the whole, it wasn't the small, green pieces of paper which were unhappy. And so the problem remained, and lots of the people were mean, and most of them were miserable, even the ones with digital watches. Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake coming down from the trees in the first place, and some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no-one should ever have left the oceans. And then one day, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, a girl, sitting on her own in a small cafe in Rickmansworth suddenly realised what it was that had been going wrong all this time and she finally knew how the world could be made a good and happy place. This time it was right, it would work, and no-one would have to get nalied to anything. Sadly, however, before she could get to a phone to tell anyone, the Earth was unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass and so the idea was lost forever.

1. Safety/security: out of danger
2. Belonginess and Love: affiliate with others, be accepted
3. Esteem: to achieve, be competent, gain approval and recognition

By Joichi Ito jito@neoteny.com. [Joi Ito's Web]

I'd take it a step forward - the ultimate value comes from the ability to self-actualize - and blogging and participating in online networks can enable this.  For me its done all of these - helped my self-esteem, enabled me to connect with people like me (and i'd add unlike me, with facets that draw me like a magnet), and increased my sense of belonging.  And its done more - its helped me discover, recognize and act on a new path of self-actualization.  Spiralling growth. 

7:57:16 AM    comment []  trackback []

Renee Hopkins reports on a new book - Andrew Hargadon's How Breakthroughs Happen.  This excerpt - Best Practices of Technology Brokers - at HBS Working Knowledge is interesting and lists four successful work practices employed by technology brokers designing new products. The 4 work practices in brief :

Capturing good ideas
The first step is to bring in promising ideas. Because technology brokers span multiple markets, industries, and geographic locations, they keep seeing proven technologies, products, business practices, and business models. Brokers recognize that these old ideas are their main source of raw material for new ideas, even when they are not sure how an old idea might help in the future. When brokers come across a promising idea, they don't just file it away. They play with it in their mindsóand when possible with their handsóto figure out how and why it works, to learn what is good and bad about it, and to start spinning fantasies about new ways to use it.

Keeping ideas alive
The second step, keeping ideas alive, is crucial because ideas can't be used if they are forgotten. Cognitive psychologists have shown that the biggest hurdle to solving problems often isn't ignorance, it's that people can't put their fingers on the necessary information at the right time even if they've already learned it. Organizational memories are even tougher to maintain. Companies lose what they learn when people leave. Geographic distance, political squabbles, internal competition, and bad incentive systems may hinder the spread of ideas.

Imagining new uses for old ideas
The third set of work practices occurs when people recognize new uses for the ideas they've captured and kept alive. Often those applications are blindingly simple. When Edison's inventors were developing the lightbulb, bulbs kept falling out of their fixtures. One day, a technician wondered whether the threaded cap that could be screwed down so tightly on a kerosene bottle would hold lightbulbs in their sockets. They tried it, it worked, and the design hasn't changed since. Old ideas can become powerful solutions to new problems if brokers are skilled at seeing such analogies.

Putting promising concepts to the test
A good idea for a new product or business practice isn't worth much by itself. It needs to be turned into something that can be tested and, if successful, integrated into the rest of what a company does, makes, or sells. Quickly turning an imaginative idea into a real service, product, process, or business model is the final step in the brokering cycle. Real means concrete enough to be tested; quickly means early enough in the process that mistakes can be caught and improvements made. "The real measure of success," Edison said, "is the number of experiments that can be crowded into 24 hours.

Must pick up the book - it draws from experiences of design firms like IDEO - am a big fan of their website. I'm sure the anecdotes, experiences and stories is where the real value's at. 

7:35:19 AM    comment []  trackback []