Little tip #3 - be recombinant

Recombinant is one of those lovely phrases that Faris has helped popularize.  And I think the art of being recombinant is at the heart of the art of planning today.

It's about understanding how we can combine technology with stories to create new types of narrative - Penguin has done this really well several times (probably why BBH have grabbed the brilliant Mr Ettinghausen).  Location based technology can create new engagement with physical places - see the Epic Pass at Vail this Winter.  And 'old media' can be refreshed through technology - the addition of the social layer (Fox tweetpeats), the possibilities the ABC sound synch app creates for a second screen of content.

But this isn't simply about technology - the Pop Up Mag event I blogged about recently shows how we can create something new from creating the previously uncombined.

So, I guess stop being frightened about creating something 'new' from scratch.  Recombine and create newness from mashing culture up.

Comments

[caff]

That's the difference from leaders and followers. Leaders look at things and wonder what is possible? They promote the thinking of having the idea first and then figure out how to make it work. Followers look to what others have already done and use it as inspiration for their ideas.

[Cameron Maddux]

Thanks for getting these up, Gareth. The daily tips are much more digestible and therefore likely to be applied than a complete list.

I love Daniel Pink's WNM exploration of this idea in the chapter on Symphony, where he talks about Metaphor Makers, Inventors and Boundary Crossers. The differences are subtle, but helped me understand different ways of combining, beyond the normal mash-up we are so used to in today's culture.

Lastly, thanks for Epic Mix; I hadn't seen that. Great classroom example.