Imitation Inspiration

Originality is overrated.

As a social media marketer and digital artist, I've often been instructed to "be creative," "think outside the box" and "try something new." In a world where everything seems to have already been said and done, originality is the elusive Road Runner that we strive so hard to catch.

Helmut Krone, an art director considered to be the pioneer of modern advertising, once said:

I asked one of our young writers recently, which was more important: doing your own thing or making the ad as good as it can be? The answer was "Doing my own thing." I disagree violently with that. I'd like to pose a new idea for our age: "Until you've got a better answer, you copy." (Passage taken from "Hey Whipple, Squeeze This. A Guide to Create Advertising" by Luke Sullivan)

Oftentimes, people are so consumed with discovering the next big thing that they forget about the tons of great resources already available at their fingertips. Turn on the TV. Browse the net. Pick up a magazine.

I used to think I was a terrible artist because my works consist mainly of fan art, but even the most "original" art is inspired by something somehow; an event, a person, an object. There are several degrees to inspiration (some more direct than others), but as long as you put your own twist to it, there is nothing to be ashamed of. I believe the same principle applies to good advertising and social media.

I do, however, want to draw the distinction between copying outright and getting inspiration. Think of it this way:

COPYING OUTRIGHT = REPOST
GETTING INSPIRATION = MEME

Memes, to me, are the perfect example of "copying someone" the right (and legal) way. After all, a meme is essentially taking an idea and customizing it to make it your own. And guess what? People love them!

In a nutshell:
- Originality is overrated
- Copying is okay, but don't be a repost. Be a meme.

Til then,
Mae

Visual.ly: Browse & Create Infographics

If you're a social media fanatic like me, then no doubt you've noticed the recent Infographic craze. Everywhere you look -- news sites, blogs, viral sharing sites like 9GAG or Pinterest -- everyone seems to be hopping onto the Infographic bandwagon.

I myself have joined the craze. As a digital project manager, one of my jobs is to regularly update Facebook fan pages and Twitter feeds, and with this comes the responsibility of searching for fun, engaging yet useful content. This is where Infographics come into play. No only do they brighten up an otherwise bland-looking and text-filled Facebook wall, fans are also more likely to click a link or comment when there a visual in place.

My favorite place to hunt for Infographics? Visual.ly

Visual.ly offers a great selection of Infographics to learn and choose from. The thing I love about it is that anyone can upload their own Infographic onto the site for free -- it's Infographics by regular people like you, about topics that regular people like you care about. Here are some cute examples:

Laundry Symbols Explained
The Coolest Barcode Scanners in Movies
Top Migrant Destinations

Visual.ly also houses a free Infographic-generator app, which currently offers 3 templates: (1) Life of a Hashtag, (2) The Facebook Social Life, and my personal favorite (3) The Twitter Account Showdown! Just enter your data into select fields (example: your Twitter handle or Facebook page) and it creates the Infographic for you!

Just for fun, I've decided to do a showdown between myself and my good friend Kiks (check out her portfolio here)!

 

Give it a shot! It's fun, free and informational! Reminds me of why I got into social media in the first place!

Til then,
Mae