Creativity Nouvelle

Lately, I've noticed people discussing how the internet is changing art, especially in terms of the loss of spontaneity (check out Ben Malbon, Kevin Rothermel, and Ana Andjelic have been writing).

Another way that I've seen art changing is more in terms of the evolution of creativity. Thanks to the ease of involvement, more people are expressing their creativity through social media.

One of the main usages cited for social media is people’s desire for self expression.

While content creators are a small but powerful selection of users, a larger group is expressing themselves in new ways through social media. Examples include editing MySpace and Twitter design, filling out Facebook’s 25 Questions meme, contributing to open source projects, customizing products online, Tumblr blogs, and creating fashion collages on Polyvore.

By allowing anyone to easily modify, publish, and spread their own unique additions, social media allows everyday people who would not normally produce their own work a creative outlet for self-expression. Social media eliminates factors limiting this group offline, such as lack of confidence, inspiration, or time.

Reasons driving the surge of creativity through social media include:

• Existing creative framework. People don’t need to invent and produce entirely new ideas, they simply tweak what already exists. This saves them the effort of creating a new idea and the time of actually developing that new idea.
• Low involvement of entry. Most sites that encourage creativity are free and, because of the existing creative framework, require less time than individual endeavors.
• Anonymity. By concealing their identity, some people feel more comfortable about sharing their creative ventures.
• Encouragement from the community. Positive reviews motivate people to continue their efforts.
• Potential popularity. Acceptance is still a driving factor for human action, and social media facilitates the hunt for popularity.

And takeaways, esp. for brands:

• The ratio of effort vs. output is a driving factor for the evolution of creativity online
• Allowing websites or applications to be uniquely modifiable engages consumers
• Creative expression is a non-tangible benefit to give to consumers
• When attempting to generate UGC for themselves, brands should guide users with parameters to encourage widespread participation