Be all you can

so true, and so simple - don't work against your audience, work for it and with it!

"The NRKbeta doctrine":

The only way to control your content is to be the best provider of it.

[NRK beta is the play/think site for the national broadcaster here in Norway]

Inspiring insights

First off, if you haven't already - head over to CC and read his wonderful and inspering piece Contemplating Creativity - and the assorted comments and suggestion from a host of characters with some serious creative mojo of their own (including J.C. and Sigler).

So what gets the juices flowing - and is it still a shame (/fact) that quite a lot of the time spent in 'education' reduces the willingness to think outside the box and replaces it with the re-iteration of mindless facts?

First off, like stated over there - constraints are good - at least when it comes to taking images, setting off with an assignment such as "twenty images of straight lines, then twenty of curves" or "one image every five minutes, taken within 20 seconds" lets you see old places in a new light.

Then there is one of my personal faves; making a latte, taking the time and concentration all the way with the Gaggia and grinder. Then sitting down, preferably in the sun on the balcony and just enjoying it.

In terms of books, there are direct guides such as the "brainticklers" from good old Business 2.0, the little book of creativity by Stig [norw.] and Idea index for shapes and jump off points.

But what about schools and education?

Well, I think it is still true to a certain degree that education can be more limiting than inspiring in terms of creativity and pure enjoyment of wonders. But at the same time, isn't a lot of it just about growing up and getting a better grasp on things in general?

Ask a kid about why Pokemons can't do something or why Harry Potter needs a wand and they'll give you strict answers more often than not. Because they relate to the "rules" and the overall "setting".

So, as we grow older and gather experience, do we understand a bit more about the real "setting" we are in and the guidelines we need to stick with to avoid excess and wasted time?

...and the sun is slowly melting some of the easter snow...

Google is different - but not like that

CNET Blog on the counter-culture of Google - stickiness is not the key; "Google is probably the largest online firm in the world that does as much as it can to get you off its pages"-is a nice read, but neglects one point: income.

With AdWords Google is interested in having you click on their own links and hence onto paid journeys. And with AdSense on a lot of those other pages, driving additional traffic onto (for Google) freely produced content makes a lot of sense.

So yes, they are open at the core and offer up API's and a broad, free selection of services for you to pick and choose - but they can afford to because a lot of what you do (including reading and writing this post) happens in their sphere of influence and income - ad revenues from own sites stood at 10.7 with network clocking up 5.8 for 2007 (unaudited)

think outside the box

Using nothing less than Excel as a "game engine" - cells become pixels, and calculations become a cinch when you have not only linear coding format, but two dimensional structuring for displaying them. Sure it isn't up to par in terms of high intensity performance, but for casual games or for educational purposes? Not to mention for the "hey cool" factor - a good and fun idea. (Example file download from the article)

...and the sun hides away for now, making it more grey fall than early spring...