Crowdsourcing to Find Creative Ideas

I am always looking for interesting commentary on creativity and innovation, and I saw this blog by Garrick Schmick of Digital Next at AdAge on creativity and crowdsourcing. Let's see what he says. Thank you to GeoCities for the image.

He writes, "We typically think of "creativity" as a singular effort with the Steve Jobs or Lee Clows of the world -- the solitary individual known as much for their personality as their work -- at the helm. But creativity has always been a social activity. Today's creative agencies are supposed to be hothouses of ideas with charismatic leaders and collaborative teams. Fostering a creative culture counts -- after all, Warhol's factory wasn't just a live/work loft. But what happens when the technology behind crowdsourcing makes creativity a social activity that knows no geographic bounds? Where does the creative produced by the collective take us? Do we visit wild new frontiers or does a herd mentality take hold?"

NOLA Finds 10,000 Scientists Hitting the Streets

Today's photo: pretty much what the skies looked like yesterday as we flew in to New Orleans.

New Orleans is still quite the vivid place I remember pre-Katrina - at least from the view of streets in the Quarter. Driving in from the airport we viewed some of the devastation to houses, ones imprinted in memory from TV coverage of the days that followed. I could see the water to the rooftops and the people and dogs waiting for help on the remaining corners not yet submerged.

There is still wildness and hardscrabble in the streets - the French Quarter Festival has brought the street party people with beer spilling from cups. Scientists here for EB 2009 are meshed in among the revelers - dockers mixed with patched jeans, polo shirts mixed with leather motorcycle jackets. Like tourists everywhere, I am looking for the best local restaurant everyone tells you not to miss. My affluence among hardship feels awkward, but it is what it is.