Here you’ll find relevant use cases for Ideasicle X. Articles on the art of generating ideas while working remotely. Insights and studies into creativity itself. All from the desk of our founder and CEO, Will Burns.
We started a TikTok Channel with short videos on each finding. We call them “Creativity Tips” and so far we have one about how walking increases creativity, another on how the placebo effect works for creativity, and yet another one on the positive effects of moderate amounts of alcohol. But we’re only just beginning. We invite you to subscribe to our channel below and start using science to improve your own creativity.
Read MoreEver heard of apophenia? I hadn’t either until I watched a recent video from the BBC called “Why we are so prone to seeing patterns in randomness.” It describes apophenia as a condition we should avoid because it will lead us astray. The problem is, what it describes as a “condition” is a necessary ingredient in the creative process. Have a watch and I’ll explain.
Read MoreIdeasicle X is all about ideas, but it’s not the “normal” way to generate them. It’s all virtual, it’s in teams of four, there are no meetings, etc. Well, David Baldwin has been an Ideasicle Expert since 2010 and has been a customer of Ideasicle X with his agency, Baldwin&. Here are David’s tips for other freelancers invited to idea projects on the platform. Wise.
Read MoreIdeasicle X, as wonderful as we think it is for coming up with great ideas quickly, is not designed to replace any creative departments. It’s a fear we’ve heard more than once. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Ideasicle X is designed to be a behind-the-scenes complement to magnify the power of creative departments.
Read MoreOne of the reasons Ideasicle X works so well is that the team feels comfortable and unafraid. Nothing scares creativity away better than fear, right? Well, our platform is designed to minimize fear and maximize ideas. Here are three ways we do that.
Read MoreSince we launched Ideasicle X this summer, we’ve learned a lot from our customers and trial users. The idea generation model we’ve created is working incredibly well so far. It’s what surrounds the idea generation we’re improving. Just recently a major creative agency in New York City conducted a trial of the platform and not only loved the outcome, but plan to deploy it throughout their NYC and LA offices. But under one condition: the platform needs to allow more people to be involved in the process (not the idea generation part—that will remain four to a team—but the process surrounding it). It was an “aha!” for us and may be for you, too. Here’s how the platform is improving as a result.
Read MoreWe all know by now that the advertising industry has responded incredibly well to virtual, remote work. The day-to-day with clients is getting done, work is getting produced, and in many cases relationships with clients are improving. But one feature of the Zoomification of advertising I was curious about was perhaps the most important one. How has Zoom (and the like) affected agencies’ ability to sell creative work? So yesterday I posted a poll to my LinkedIn contacts, most of whom are in the advertising business and got some interesting answers that come with implications.
Read MoreA new study suggests that, counter to conventional wisdom, the best ideas in a brainstorm are not the first ones that come easily, but are the ones that take a little time. Add to that the reality that creativity has a mind of its own and can’t be forced into a particular time frame. What we’re left with is the realization that time matters and we have to be careful with it when it comes to ideas.
Read MoreThis morning I was listening to Ben Folds’ podcast “Lightning Bugs” and he was interviewing a poet, Alice Major. She used the word “resonate” in a very interesting way that got me thinking. She was speaking about the role of poetry in our everyday lives and she said, “That resonated me.” I’d never heard the word used as a verb in that way. And off my mind went with just how fantastic a description it was for the power of ideas.
Read MoreA wise man once told me, “Half of marketing is knowing when to say no.” Without a confident ability to say no, a marketer is left with random acts of marketing. A promotional idea over here that has zero connection to a social media idea over there. A TV spot that doesn’t continue the conversation on the website. An “About” page on the website that says stuff, but really says nothing. But the question is, how does a modern marketer know when to say no and when to say yes? When you have a clear, powerful, well articulated brand idea, that’s how.
Read MoreThat’s what one of our Ideasicle X freelancers once said she appreciated about the virtual platform. Her ideas where happening while she was busy with other things. And it’s an incredibly important point about the virtual creative work we do, but also about any creative work anyone does for anything. Let me explain.
Read MoreIdeasicle X is a new way to come up with ideas in teams, virtually. And for users of the platform there’s a decent amount of room for nuance, for personalizing the experience, and acquiring the “skill” to truly master the platform. Below I’m going to explain how you can be great at Ideasicle X.
Read MoreIdeasicle X is a new way for freelancers to work, virtually. It’s not your typical freelance gig where you get briefed, go away for a few days maybe with a partner, and come back with comps. Ideasicle X is a platform that allows teams of four freelancers to work together as a team over a few days posting, building, and riffing on each other’s ideas. One freelancer said, “It’s like an idea video game.” But working in this way requires a shift in how you do things. Below are just a few things to think about if you want to be great at Ideasicle X.
Read MoreIdeasicle X does one thing, but that one thing is very different from the way creative development has been done in the past. Founder & CEO Will Burns took some time to explain the concept on video, how agencies will benefit, and how the freelance model is turning upside down. Check it out.
Read MoreI was listening to Mitch Joel’s podcast, “Six Pixels Of Separation,” this morning (it’s great, check it out). He was interviewing George Dyson, the writer of the book Analogia – The Entangled Destinies of Nature, Human Beings and Machines. During the interview Dyson and Joel talk about the differences between “digital” and “analog” and somewhere in the middle of that it hit me. Ideasicle X is a digital platform, no doubt about that. But the value in it comes from purely analog processes. Let me explain.
Read MoreI was interviewed by Rob Schwartz this week for his (fantastic) “Disruptor Series Podcast” (my episode comes out in June sometime) and something I said without much thought struck a chord with him. It was something I’ve said or written hundreds of times, to the point where its significance had probably waned for me. But not for Rob. For him, a light bulb went off. The notion, to paraphrase, was that the ideas an agency gets from Ideasicle X tend to inspire more ideas with an agency’s internal teams. And it’s true. Let me explain.
Read MoreMany larger “full service” advertising agencies, through no fault of their own other than growing, can end up as a collection of siloed P&Ls. This wing is for the advertising team, that wing is for PR, and that wing over there is for digital. Oh, and media? You’re on a different floor completely. While this built-in insularity is good for the health of the respective disciplines, it’s not always good for coming up with the best ideas for an agency’s clients. And that’s because ideas are generated within those disciplines and not across them.
Read MoreAn in-house agency at a major retailer is extremely talented but their creative people are incredibly busy with the day-to-day retail output and even if they weren’t their teams admit they can get pretty close to their business. Too close, sometimes. Like they’re inside a wave and can barely see beyond the plunging breaker. So they want some outside thinking to help break out of past creative paradigms. Specifically, they really want this fall’s TV campaign to be different from anything they’ve done before.
Read MoreI need to set an expectation with all the new Ideasicle X freelancers who will soon be populating our virtual hallways. The original Ideasicle Experts all know this, so this is for the newbies. To succeed within the Ideasicle X model as a freelancer, you will need to leave your ego at the digital door. This platform is not about award shows, it’s not about individual glory, it’s not about competition, it’s not even about who has the best ideas. Ideasicle X is what happens when four brilliant people work together as a unit, posting, building, riffing, and inspiring each other.
Read MoreWhat this use case illustrates is that Ideasicle X can be a powerful weapon in a time-constrained pitch to jump start an agency’s creative process. Within days Amy had forty ideas she wouldn’t have otherwise had. And her favorite ten ideas inspired her own teams to come up with new ideas. Amy could have started the creative process organically with nothing or she could have started with ten ideas on the wall. She chose the latter and within a week had four tight, fantastic ideas ready for presentation. And enough time to flesh those ideas out further than the client required.
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