If you found this site because of Alpha Inventions, please make a quick comment and let me know.
Have you ever noticed how many of the best ideas seemingly come out of nowhere? Some of the most productive brainstorming sessions occur when radical free thinking is encouraged and then the most interesting inputs are correlated later. This process decouples the wasteful filtering that normally accompanies discussion and allows the team to push the boundaries of creativity.
An interesting web site created by Cheru Jackson called Alpha Inventions or alphainventions.com brings this meta-concept, called random stimulation, to the blog world. The idea is to expose a wide audience to random blogs in a way that fosters creativity. In Cheru’s words:
The purpose of Alpha Inventions is to connect bloggers with each other in a faster way, so there are no gaps in communication.
This is a very intriguing concept that creates a random collaborative environment. Regular use of the tool could expand the collective knowledge base of the blogosphere in unpredictable and valuable ways.
Here’s a video that explains the underlying concept more clearly:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEH757Clo90]
#1 by The Functioning Alcoholic - February 8th, 2009 at 17:22
Sorry mate. it doesn’t work unless you’re blogging about AlphaInventions.
#2 by Roger Farnsworth - February 8th, 2009 at 17:31
I think that depends on your definition of “work” and your expectations. In reading the comments about the site, it seems that most folks have a fascination with the traffic that Alpha Inventions drives back to their site. I respect that. But I think the real hidden value of this is in exposing each person to a wide variety of unrelated content. I’m amazed, for example, at the things I’ve learned today about photography, baseball, politics and emo.
#3 by Catherine - February 11th, 2009 at 16:26
I have to agree with Roger. I find myself creating post ideas just by scanning the blogs that are on Alpha Inventions.
Plus it’s always a great way of passing time productively.
#4 by Alarob - March 11th, 2009 at 15:27
I’m not sold on Alpha Inventions because I cannot get a clear idea of what it does. The creator has produced many pages of obscure prose about the site, but does not indicate how users are counted, or what a “hit” really means. Did the page merely flash past in a frame at alphainventions.com? Or did each counted user actually click through and engage with it?
I posted a comment asking these questions in a neutral tone. My comment was never approved or responded to. Only fawning praise is allowed, apparently. Makes me suspicious where I was merely curious before.