Beyond Brainstorming: A Social Network for Innovators

April 12, 2008

A Social Network for Innovators

One of the core principles behind MetaMemes and ThinkCube is to bring people and ideas together. I have been meaning to start a social network around ThinkCube for over a year. We finally have it up and running, check it out:
http://thinkcube.ning.com/

We developed this on Ning (www.ning.com), which is a great platform for creating social networks. It is very easy to get up and running quickly. Brendan O’Keefe was the graphic designer behind making the network look professional. I wanted to formally thank him for such a nice job and that he managed to fit it in around getting married – congratulations Brendan and thanks for the help! He is a great designer and as he describes himself as a ‘creative generalist’. Check out his website at:
http://www.planetbok.com/

Here are some of the goals behind the ThinkCube social network:
• Bring people that are interested in innovation together.
• Facilitate the fans of ThinkCube to share their ideas, tips and examples with others.
• Provide a venue for training, videos, discussions about innovation and ThinkCube.
• Get feedback and suggestions for future expansions.
• Get news about up coming events, competitions and seminars etc.

Building a community around ThinkCube has always been my goal. The best ideas come at the intersections of domains and sometime the best way to find these intersections is connect with people from all walks of life.

People, Ideas… you are formally introduced.

Come join us and start sharing your ideas.

Posted at 11:31 AM in Innovation | Permalink

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Comments

Very interesting idea - I will check this out.

Posted by: Mark Dykeman | April 17, 2008 at 06:24 PM

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MetaMemes Reading List

Keith Sawyer: Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration
Group Genius: The Creative Power of CollaborationThere have been a few books recently that have challenged the commonly held beliefs and myths of innovation. Keith Sawyer; professor of psychology at Washington University in St Louis; tackles probably the most prevalent innovation myth, the lone genius. He has written a fascinating book on the power of collaboration and how it is the secret to breakthrough creativity. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested innovation and wants a practical framework for infusing an innovative culture throughout their company. This is by no means a simple `how to' book, it is far more. Great writing, great ideas and if you act upon it you will get great results!! (*****)
David Weinberger: Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder
Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder If you enjoyed any of Weinberger’s previous books (Cluetrain Manifesto, Small Pieces Loosely Joined) you will not be disappointed. This is a pleasure to read and will make you think – my two most important attributes when it comes to books. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in information and the current trends on the internet. Weinberger has been right on the money with his observations of the internet and this book is no different; organizing information in the age of the internet is an important subject. Read why there is more to information than search alone. (*****)
Jessica Livingston: Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days
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Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention Csikszentmihalyi's has studied creative people from all walks of life and condensed his findings into this book. The analysis into common patterns, styles and approaches of creative people is fascinating. This is not a quick how-to book, but you will gain many insights into the creative process. (*****)
Andrew Hargadon: How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies Innovate
How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies Innovate This is book looks to answer the question, "Can Innovation really be routine?" This book not only answers that questions but actually gets into the details of "How". The title of the book is "How Breakthroughs Happen" and Hargadon definitely successfully explains the `How'. He doesn't proclaim that it is easy, but he does give a road map of how to achieve innovation through technology brokering, he even explains the different paths that apply to different types of companies. If you truly want to create an innovation factory, you should read this book and then apply what it teaches you. (*****)
Scott Berkun: The Myths of Innovation
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Jacques Hadamard: The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field
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Tom Kelley: The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm
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Jeff Hawkins: On Intelligence
On Intelligence Hawkins delves into a model to simulate intelligence that goes much further than the usual neural network. The memory prediction algorithm is a key to understanding our minds work. Chatper 6 - is well worth the price of the whole book - it is challenging but it will give you some insights into the brain that I have not found in other neuroscience books. If you want to be more creative - you need to understand how the brain works. We still have a ways to go - but I think Hawkins is on to something important. (*****)
Frans Johansson: The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures
Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation This is a great book about creating new ideas at the intersection of fields, disciplines and culture. Johansson puts forward a solid framework for innovating at the intersection drawing from his in-depth research with 'intersectional inventors'. I love this book since crystallizes the principle behind MetaMemes and ThinkCube. I can’t rave about this book enough! Buy Buy Buy... (*****)