Jason Thibeault's Blog: From My Pen, page 2

The World of 2015 (Or Beyond)?

What will the future be like? How are digital technologies changing society? Culture? The human condition? There are no hard and fast rules but it’s clear that digital technologies will fundamentally alter the world as we know it. Below is a narrative look at this world in a few years. This isn’t based entirely on speculation. It stems from an analysis of fundamental industry trends and, of course, a bit of old-fashioned prognostication.

The world is faster. Devices like Google Glass have enab...

The Internet is Undermining the Fabric of Society

I recently came across a post by Adam Rosenberg on Digital Trends about the bigotry and hate in video games. Not necessarily as part of the game content itself but as part of the experience. He sums it up nicely as:

So let’s talk.Violent content in video games is no different from violent content in movies, in TV, in music, in comics, in any other form of media. Games don’t train our children to be murderers; they train them to be assholes.Shouldn’t we be working a little harder to address tha...

Why marketers need to be not just helpful, but useful

The idea of being helpful, of providing content and resources to prospective and current customers that may not have anything to do with your organization, is a new and radical concept for many marketers.

“You mean you want me to publish content that doesn’t sell my product?” The idea is simple: give people want they want and eventually they consider you a trusted resource.

But is being helpful enough? Is helpfulness really useful? Or are marketers spinning their wheels creating content that, e...

Cross-channel Media Interactivity

With Rowling’s announcement of Pottermore, we are looking at a truly transformational landscape for reading, not just publishing.

http://gigaom.com/2011/06/29/pottermore-future-of-publishing-or-club-penguin-for-potter-fans/

Although Wolf’s article really talks about how Rowling’s move harkens to the very fast-moving changes facing the publishing industry, it also has profound implications on the way we read. I have written before about the transformation of the reading experience (books in co...

The American Dream…Digitized

Having grown up a video-game player, and still avidly play (well, off-and-on…), I have always wondered what the fascination is with playing video games. In the practical sense, they really offer nothing. There is no “prize” to be won by beating a level or getting a character the latest weapon. Still, thousands upon thousands of hours are “wasted” each and every day to video gamers around the world.

What I would like to postulate, though, is that video games are actually a deep-seeded reflectio...

The Biology of Inspiration

Inspiration, as it leads to creativity, is an enigma. When people talk about it, they glaze over with an almost “mystical” quality. “You can’t define inspiration, it just happens. That is the magic of creativity.” But is inspiration really that puzzling or is there a biological answer for this catalyst to creative activity?

Building upon much of the neuroscientific research that has been coming out over the past 12 months, I propose the following:

Inspiration happenswhen your brain makes a conn...

The Fascinating World of the Microscopic

Wired has posted some great microscopic videos. If nothing else, this has to make you truly appreciative of the complexities of life.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/best-microscope-videos/?pid=3066

My favorite:

Just partial to ants. They are amazing creatures.

Originally posted 2012-02-15 12:09:49.

A Unified Theory for Creativity

I’ve been on a kick to really figure out creativity. It entrances me. As a puzzle (well, much of the brain is still a puzzle) it demands to be solved. And as a highly creative person, I am my own best subject.

But attempts at solutions to really explain creativity have so far been very esoteric. Inspiration happens. Creativity happens. No one can seem to really put any science (and math) around what actually happens in our brains. Yes, there has been a tremendous amount of research lately on c...

A Novel Way to Approach Creativity

Right now, there is a lot of neuroscientific research being carried out on the creative process. Why? Because it’s always been an enigma. What makes one person creative and another not? How does creativity start (i.e., inspiration)? Is one brain more “creative” than another?

The existing way of thinking about creativity has been to cast the brain as a dichotomy: creative vs. logic. This “left-brain/right-brain” picture has held sway on the general understanding of creativity (and brain functio...

Why You Can’t Create a Culture of Innovation

The problem with innovation is that everybody wants it. Organizations think it will give them competitive advantage. People think it will make them more valuable. And there’s a lot of talk going on right now about how organizations can better tap into the innovation they have within their employees such as this article from Fast Companyand create a “culture of innovation.”

That’s bullshit.

You can’t artificially manufacturer innovation and then spread it across the organization like peanut-butt...