It's not doodling, it's EYE-STORMING

We've already coined the terms "brain" and "body" storming as techniques to quickly capture and communicate concepts and ideas we generate through cognition or through physical motion, respectively. What about sketching, or doodling? Some complex thoughts require visual exploration if we want to really understand them and share our understanding. Doodling is like noodling with a pencil. But it just does not sound right. It does not sound like what it is you do when you think. Yes, you juggle concepts, move constructs around in your head and so on, but it's obviously much more than that. Above all, it sounds more frivolous than it really is. So too with doodling. The process of moving a pencil (stylus, finger, etc) across a surface without-really-knowing-what-one-is-doing ( to borrow a phrase from Birger Sevaldson in a paper on visualization, 2011) is just as valuable and productive as mulling over a passage in a text book. So I propose we refer to this technique as EYE-STORMING. I'm not sure if the term is already out there, after a little googling, it does not seem be in anyone's lexicon. (yes, I get it, googling, noodling, doodling) But I don't like the name "google" either. 

cooperation versus self-interest

As part of my summer independent course work at OCADU I'm working through several texts on systems/visual thinking and attempting to "diagram" or visualize complex ideas. The point is not to  simplify the complex problems of today but to actually embrace and "explode" their complexity in order to better comprehend dynamic relationships between phenomena and to share one's thinking synoptically (through images) as opposed to linear prose. In order to expand on this I'm using the contents of a book by Yochai Benkler, The Penguin and the Leviathan. It is a very well-considered and  wonderful bit of linear prose on "how cooperation triumphs over self-interest."

This is the classic wave motion diagram -- enlarge it -- that I've used to visualize cooperation    ( as I understood it's expression in the book). I want there to be sense of motion (action) and to depict "resonance" when two or more ideas/egos collide. From the perspective of collaboration and cooperation, you get a much wider view of the world around you.

Visualizing crowds vs experts

click on image to enlarge

Visualizing the Curation Process

This starts to remind me of the classic swimming spermatozoa image. The final solution may be comprised of many iterations and come from a diverse group of individuals, but only ONE ever meets the standards of success and only ONE is ever implemented.

crowdsourced ideation vs traditional agency model

This is an influence map generated on some observation of crowdsourced advertising contests. The quality of the output (content) is intimately linked to the detail and insights revealed in the creative. By definition, the public brief (viewable to anyone) will contain less actionable information than a private one, the latter needs to protect the brands proprietary data. (Click on pic for full view)

A new model for gathering consumer insights?

If you know what they really want and you build it, will they come?

Consumer focus groups get tainted by group dynamics and facilitator bias. I say this only based on prior experience and observation, there are ways to mitigate these effects but can you still trust the results?

When the big brands participate in crowdsourcing for advertising ideas, do they care if they can't actually run or post these efforts on their media channels? It does not really matter. For very little money, they can actually buy some true consumer insights; how their product/service is perceived by the creative consumer is captured in the solutions that they post. At least that's my premise. I think the challenge is in how you write the crowdsource brief. Take note that crowdsource creative briefs look nothing like the ones that a commissioned advertising agency would see. They are vague and stripped of any real information about the brand. And of course, all brand guidelines are ignored as well.

Major Research Project - Introduction 1.

It's time to start crystallizing a direction and research topic for my MRP (major research project at OCAD U). SInce the focus of this blog was originally on open sourced idea generation for the private sector I think I will park my ideas here.

Working towards a definition of crowdsourcing

Here’s a formal definition (below) that I think is worthy of further consideration. It touches upon a very critical issue: the crowd is asked to engage in a process that helps build the profit margins of a company for free. ( valuable data is mined even from some of the unworkable solutions) And when a crowdsourced solution is rewarded, that dollar amount is far below it’s real value to the firm

“Crowdsourcing takes place when a profit oriented firm outsources specific tasks essential for the making or sale of its product to the general public (the crowd) in the form of an open call over the internet, with the intention of animating individuals to make a contribution to the firm's production process for free or for significantly less than that contribution is worth to the firm. Firms engage in crowdsourcing to inexpensively mobilize the creative work of sometimes highly skilled persons as a resource for the generation of value and profits. Tasks that lend themselves to crowdsourcing include product design, advertising, quality monitoring, and the solution of specific technical problems….”

Science, Technology & Innovation Studies Vol. 4, No 1, July 2008

From: Frank Kleemann, G. Günter Voß Kerstin Rieder Un(der)paid Innovators: The Commercial Utilization of Consumer Work through Crowdsourcing