One of the hardest things to do when you work in a creative field is to allow yourself to veer from a direct line of thought. New ideas come from unexpected places, and it’s hard to find the time to check those places when you’re on a strict deadline.
Looking back on our linear timeline of history, innovation seems obvious. Of course the Earth revolves around the Sun, of course we can fly, of course we’ll use cell phones to check Facebook on a daily basis. However, there is nothing more intimidating or terrifying than being sat down and told to be innovative on command. Businesses need to be increasingly creative to stay competitive in the current market. Often, this happens when someone from marketing is forcibly grabbed from their desk, locked into a room, and told to come up with the next biggest thing on the FaceTube.
This is hardly fair to the poor chap from marketing.
For anyone following the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the vuvuzela is an impossible-to-ignore aspect of the tournament’s location. A traditional South African musical instrument, soccer fans have turned the now-plastic noise makers into the Jar-Jar Binks of the sporting world – loved by few, hated by most, ridiculed by all. The buzzing noise has gotten so bad that FIFA briefly considered a ban in response to players, commentators and broadcasters complaining about it’s impact on the game. Now, if they’d just stayed in the soccer stadiums where they belong, I’d have nothing to blog about. But the vuvuzela has become an internet sensation as well; that’s right: its trademark buzz has gone viral.
