An interesting list of tools boosting creativity
http://lifedev.net/2008/03/19-online-destinations-for-boosting-creativity/

1. SpringWise - A database of great ideas that any entrepreneur can act on to help you start the “next big thing”. There are some great, fun ideas, plus they showcase the latest trends of entrepreneurship.

2. WhyNot? - Much like SpringWise, WhyNot? has lots of user-submitted ideas for any ambitious soul to take under their wing and develop. However, WhyNot? is more of a community for entrepreneurs than SpringWise, which can be a bit more helpful at times.

3. Digg - You can find a smattering of news, tips and other odd things on the Digg homepage. Digg’s users find the best of the web, and the community voting does a wonderful job of showcasing quality news and compelling links. You know it’s a good site when LifeDev has been on the homepage a few times ;)

4. Del.icio.us Popular - I love the del.icio.us popular page. One can find the most creative and interesting articles and tools on the Internet on the Del.icio.us popular page. It’s basically a barometer of what’s hot on the web with designers and techies alike.

5. Tumblr - Tumblr is another one of my personal favorites. Aside from creating your own Tumblelog, the Tumblr homepage showcases the best links, images and videos that people are sharing around the web.

6. Nasa’s Astronomy Picture of the Day - Have a breathtaking shot of the cosmos, once a day. Nothing is more inspiring and mysterious than outer space, in my humble opinion. Perfect for shaking any sort of doldrums you might be in.

7. FlickrLeech - If you’re a visual person and love to view creative photos, check out FlickrLeech. You can browse just about any type of photo, plus the default view of Flickr Interesting page is very handy, especially if you need some creative wallpapers for your desktop.

8. LifeRemix - Shameless plug? Maybe. But I visit the site every day and am almost always inspired by the quality of writing. Note: Yes, I’m the co-founder of LifeRemix ;)

9. DocStoc - You can find some incredibly creative and informative documents that can lead to many ideas. You’d be surprised at the great content you can find at DocStoc.

10. WisdomQuotes - Nothing inspires more than a great quote from someone smarter than myself. I’ve done entire blog posts based on an inspiring quote.

11. Seth Godin’s blog - Aside from his uber-savvy marketing advice, there are plenty of untapped ideas and inspiration that he shares frequently with his readership. And you better believe that if Seth Godin dreamed it up, there’s a good chance he’s on the mark.

12. TechCrunch - Mike Arrington and company constantly showcase the newest and the best sites on the web at TechCrunch. There is plenty of inspiration that can be found just by seeing the newest thing in web applications. Many ideas I’ve had for web apps come directly from concepts introduced through TechCrunch. Here’s a tip: If you’re wanting to create the next big web phenomena, hang on to their every word.

13. Kottke.org - Jason Kottke has been posting interesting and creative information on the web for the past 10 years. He’s a favorite of many bloggers, and rightly so.

14. BoingBoing - One of the most popular blogs around, BoingBoing showcases the most “wonderful things” on the web. Like Kottke, BoingBoing does the dirty work of sifting through the web for the creme de la creme.

15. Google Docs - While not expressly a site for finding information, GDocs is a great tool for capturing ideas and thoughts. GDocs gives the perfect flexibility for saving quick ideas and then expounding on them later.

16. How to Change the World - Guy Kawaski is a fun guy with great ideas. Though his blog is geared slightly more to the marketing crowd, it’s chock-full of great ideas. I think the most stimulating thing about Guy’s blog is that it’s written with great voice and lots of humor.

17. MindMeister - Although I’m personally not a huge fan of online apps for creativity’s sake (other than GDocs), many people do like to use online mind-mapping tools for brainstorming. MindMeister is right up there with the best of the online mind-mapping tools because it’s quick and intuitive.

18. Twitter - Although the way I use twitter is more as a web service, (I use the twhirl twitter client), Twitter can use your friends to help you find interesting and creative articles to check out. You can quickly ask your friends if anyone has an idea for XYZ, and odds are someone can point you in the right direction. Also, your friends will most likely link to content that you’ll find interesting as well.

19. Smashing Magazine - A site that shares useful and interesting bits for web developers and designers. It likes to showcase the trendy and useful, which can stimulate creative ideas for any reader.

Having trouble coming up with ideas? Is that blank piece of paper - or computer screen - starting to drive you crazy?

Let’s face it, generating ideas is not an easy thing to do. But there are a few techniques you may not be aware of that can make generating ideas easier than you originally thought. In-fact: there are a lot of techniques you can use to help you generate ideas, but not all of the techniques produce great results.

Here are six of the best ways to produce amazing ideas.

Break routine. As humans, our instincts tell us that categorizing knowledge means easy access in the future. But because our brains are constantly looking in the same place for knowledge, our creativity is greatly hindered. Breaking routine and trying something new is a good way to inspire your creative mind and come up with incredible ideas. Do something you have never done before, try approaching your problems from a different angle, break routine. Instead of sitting at a desk with a pen and paper trying to think up ideas, sit upside down on a couch or chair with a big marker and some poster board, and let the change of perspective inspire you.

Don’t worry about quality. Breaking your usual routine is a great way to produce ideas, but when you try to focus on coming up with just one great idea, your limiting your creativity and actually making things harder for yourself. Instead of really trying to hammer out a single great idea, just focus on quantity of ideas until you have enough ideas to focus on the quality. The more ideas you come up with, the more likely you are to get incredible ideas. As advertising legend Alex Osborn once said: “quantity breeds quality”. So stop worrying.

Invert your thinking. New ideas are just that: new. One way you can create new ideas is by thinking what isn’t being thought through inverse thinking. Whatever ideas or thoughts you already have, think the complete opposite and try coming up with ideas around your new way of thinking. Instead of trying to come up with a new website design that looks good, try designing a website that looks horrible. Instead of trying to write a blog post that is helpful to readers, try writing one that won’t help anyone. Don’t think of an artist as a someone who draws lines, think of them as someone who draws between empty space. Inverting your thinking will quickly help you produce new ideas.

Give up. When you are really having a lot of trouble coming up with creative ideas, sometimes the best option is to just give up (for a while). Working our minds too hard, focusing on ideas, and stressing creativity, are all ways to really hurt your creativity. And you aren’t doing yourself any good by stressing yourself out. So give up, don’t even think about it anymore - at least for a few hours. Go see a movie, take a nap, play a game, work on something else, just give up for a while. The best part of giving up for a little while is that it’s a win-win situation: you may be struck by inspiration when you aren’t focusing, or - if you aren’t struck by inspiration - you will feel rested and ready to start producing ideas again.

Ask someone else for ideas. There is nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it. Sometimes other people will have ideas or thoughts that are incredible, but that person doesn’t have the resources or knowledge to produce their idea. So ask everyone you know if they have any ideas they wouldn’t mind sharing. Send off an email to people you look up to, ask your friends and family for ideas, or even ask a complete stranger. If anything, you can get some ideas to help fuel your own ideas. Just be sure you don’t steal someone else’s idea and run with it. If somebody gives you an idea that you like, ask them if you can use it.

Wonder why. Incredible ideas often come from incredible questions. The best question to ask when you are stuck producing ideas is “why?”. When you ask “why” of something, you create a new - often unseen - perspective. Instead of just accepting the world as we know it, ask “why” and be amazed. Why are traffic lights red, green, and yellow? What would happen if traffic lights used shapes instead of colors to signify stop, slow-down, and go? Wonder why something is the way it is, and new ideas will come to you quickly.

By breaking with routines, not worrying about quality, inverting your thinking, taking a break, asking for other people’s ideas, and wondering “why?”, you will be producing incredible ideas in no time - and with a lot less hassle. What are you waiting for? Try it out.

If you need more help producing ideas, take a look at this great list of methods for creating ideas by CreatingMinds.org. They have a huge, detailed list of things you can do to help you come up with ideas.

And if you want more creative insight from Creative Something, why don’t you consider subscribing to the feed to get updates as they happen?

 

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