Did that lightbulb in your head just go on? Maybe it's coming from the Idea Etherverse.

In my line of work, people talk a lot about creativity. As a content strategist and copywriter at a marketing agency, people look to my creative services team for fresh ideas.

They appreciate unique angles, bursts of inspiration, and the proverbial lightbulb-over-the-head.

Yet, that creativity doesn’t just come from “the creatives.” Not at all.

Ideas can come from anyone in any role, if you encourage people to express their own ideas. Account managers, project managers, quality assurance testers, proofreaders, and traffic coordinators have come up with ideas that rival the best copywriters, art directors, and other people typically associated with “ideas.”

The problem? Most “non creative” people feel boxed in by the words printed on their business cards. They incorrectly assume they are less qualified to share new ideas or whatever. It’s really just “whatever.”

The Big Secret Revealed: Where Creativity Comes From

For a few years, I worked as a professional comic book writer (which was outstanding training for new media). At comic book conventions, fans and aspiring creators would sometimes ask where I got my ideas.

If you’ve ever sat at a table and watched a parade of people come to your table to ask the same question, you start to challenge yourself to come up with unique and entertaining answers. This is partially to entertain myself, partially to entertain them, and mainly because I don’t have a really good answer.

There are a few creators out there who have come up with funny, snarky, and downright ridiculous versions of the same answer. According to many sources, famed writer Harlan Ellison gets his ideas in Poughkeepsie.

A good friend and occasional collaborator Darick Robertson once told me his theory of creativity. He may have heard a variation of this, but he customized it for me. And I will pass it along to you with my little spin.

Darick suggested that there is an Idea Etherverse that floats just above our consciousness. It’s there all the time and different creative ideas drift past laconically just waiting to be taken down and nurtured. These ideas are as ethereal as ghosts, until you build something around them. They are free for the taking.

Everyone has access to the same Idea Etherverse, so if you let the idea pass you buy, it will float past the next person. That’s why so many people say things like, “I had that same idea!” If there is an Idea Etherverse, then yes, they may have had the same idea.

They probably just didn’t take the idea down and nurture it. So it floated away.

The Idea Etherverse and You

I really like this Idea Etherverse because it places the onus of responsibility on the person who has an idea. For example, you.

Creative services people are more in tune with the Idea Etherverse, even if they don’t call it that. Their antenna is extended, ready to receive the ideas floating around. Because of their role in the workplace (especially in advertising and marketing agencies), they have the confidence to explore and express their ideas.

It is very easy for me as a content strategist or copywriter (depending on the project) to turn to another person in creative services and bounce around an idea. It may be something completely kooky, but usually a fellow creative understands that ideas are fragile and require some nurturing. There may not be a direct, sellable solution, but they will usually play through the scenario of “what if we tried this new idea…?” This is very liberating and often results in new paths and ideas.

Unfortunately roles considered “non creative” may not have that immediate access to kindred creatives. That shouldn’t stand in your way of plucking ideas and exploring them. Pull someone from creative services to the side and share your idea. Occasionally, you’ll find someone who thinks “idea generation” should remain the exclusive domain of “creatives.” If that happens, find someone else.

You may need to tweak your pitch and approach. Or you just may need to find someone who is on your creative wavelength. Interestingly enough, I’ve found that the senior team leaders are the most receptive to ideas from unexpected places, since they just want good ideas. In fact, you might be surprised at how receptive they are to your enthusiasm and creativity.

How to Get Started

The first step is yours, so move forward in a relevant and appropriate way. If you feel an idea floating above you in the Idea Etherverse, gently pull it down and make it yours. Nurture it for a day or three. I find that a new idea is better when you’ve had a chance to sleep on it.

Next, find someone who you consider a creative thinker. Grab a cup of coffee. Maybe sit for a quick lunch. If you’re looking for someone to literally help you develop, evolve, and co-champion the idea, it wouldn’t hurt to spring for lunch. Even on my busiest days, I can easily be bribed with sushi.

After that, sketch out a few ideas in whatever medium works best for you. I like PowerPoint because it gives me the flexibility to mock up shapes and text in a rapid 2D prototype. This is an important step because you should save the details while they are fresh in your head.

Not all of your new ideas will be good, nor will all of them be bad. By sharing them, you will develop your creative muscles, so that you know how to nurture your new ideas. It takes practice to learn how to effectively pluck something from the Idea Etherverse and turn it into something. So don’t give up too easily, especially in the face of early flops.

Sometimes you simply need to defend your creative ideas. Other times, you just have to be willing to move on to the next idea.

Being creative is a state of mind. Not only is creativity needed in the workplace, it is often rewarded in many ways. So pull down an idea, sleep on it a few nights, and start collaborating with a friend.

And if you happen to be in New Jersey and want to share your ideas with me…? I like spicy, crunchy tuna rolls.

Write less. Write better.

Never use ten words, when you can say it in five. Never use a ten-buck word, when a five-buck word will do.

These are old phrases that I remember from my days working as a journalist. The idea was not to dazzle people with your thesaurus, but to communicate and report your story. Save the flowery language, they used to say, for your novel.

If you’re developing your content strategy for your new brand website, be sure to include a section in the style guide about writing. Let your whole team know that the purpose of your website is to serve the needs of your users. It’s not an opportunity to stretch your legs as a writer and express yourself with brilliant prose.

• Nobody is going to read your web copy and wonder, “gee, that was a nice big word that I don’t quite understand…I wonder if the copywriter has written a novel.” Not that it matters anyway, since most corporate websites do not have a byline or even an editorial masthead. It’s a wasted effort.
• You aren’t serving the needs of the user, if you’re only trying to satisfy your needs as a writer. Your job is to communicate and motivate with the user and (in most cases) get them to convert. Long-winded writing rarely does that.
• It’s still not getting your novel completed or published. Seriously, write the novel. Maybe you are meant for better than this.

The less-is-more approach can lead to fantastic results on your website, so be sure to tag your site with website analytics like Google Analytics. The data will give you insights into how people actually use your website and which calls to action are actually driving conversions. Content strategists and copywriters should sit together to analyze what content is actually driving the conversions and other key performance indicators (KPIs).

If you want to know if the copy is too long, ask a web designer. They need to make it work on the page and will be able to explain why your content doesn’t work from a visual perspective.

So yes brilliant copywriter, we do know what you’re doing and we’re going to make you stop. Big words (for the sake of using big “10-buck words”) and flowery sentences are probably not going to be effective on most brand websites. It may work for a few brands, but for most, it’s just not the right way to write for the brand.com that hired you or your agency.

Go ahead and write well. Nobody is saying you shouldn’t craft smart, tight copy. Nobody is saying you need to intentionally make your copy boring. Quite the opposite. Write well. That’s what you’re being paid to do.

Just leave the meandering prose and James Joyce-length sentences where they belong…in your novel.

Oh, and one more thing. Stop using the word “plethora.” It doesn’t work on the web, nor does it work in your novel. It’s a fake big word that makes you look like someone who just discovered a new big word and can’t wait to use it.

Seriously, cut it out.

As the end user, just about everything is free, even though we know darn well that it’s not free to create. There are technical people, writers, designers, marketers, and everyone else…all working together to create stuff online. Some of it is supported by advertising and some of it is paid for by the target user.

So why would you pay for anything online? Well, I guess there are just some things worth paying for. Here are 11 things I’m willing to pay for (and maybe already do) on the web.

It’s worth noting that almost all of these are freemium services. That basically means that you get the core service for free. If you really like it, you can pay for an upgrade. Freemium is the ultimate in “try before you buy” solutions for brands to market themselves and their services.

Top 11 Things I’m Willing to Pay for Online

1. Email.
Amazingly, Google has continued to provide GMail for free. Same with Microsoft and Hotmail. Both of these services continue to improve to the point that they are literally indispensable in my life. If GMail required me to pay a modest fee to access my email, I’d have to pay. Hotmail is getting to be better and more useful, particularly the new SkyDrive features that integrate Microsoft Office functionality.

2. Amazon Prime.
Amazon Prime offers amazing services for Prime. Seriously great value. Free shipping, previews of books, and a streaming movies as a bonus.

3. Subscriptions for print & digital.
I already subscribe to a few print magazines that give you free digital copies for the iPad. This is a wonderful marketing value add that makes me feel good about paying my annual subscription. If there were more offers like this, I’d subscribe to more print magazines with a digital bonus download.

4. Storage.
Dropbox is free and so are some of these other online storage services. But I always feel a little weird about dropping stuff in there, since I don’t know who has access to my data. I’m already paying for website hosting, so I think I’d pay for a little extra space and security. Plus, I don’t want 10 Gb. I want 10 Tb. I want to back up all of my hard drives and have plenty of space to expand.

5. Microsoft Office.
Yes, I know, Google Docs is free and awesome. I totally agree. I also like Zoho as well. But nothing quite replaces my long-standing commitment to Microsoft Office. I pay for the software and would also pay for full web access and storage. They are giving you some of this with SkyDrive, but I want full featured access to the entire Office Suite, including the applications like Access. I use a Mac and I want to have access to all of the tools I have at work on my PC. The Mac/PC wars are over. Just give me software I want and I will pay for it.

6. Templates & code.
I’ve paid for templates and code in the past and I will pay for them again. Sometimes you want to build something, but you just don’t have the time to develop all of the code yourself. I want to get to the fun stuff, like developing the marketing and content strategy. A solid WordPress template is worth paying for, since it let’s you get down to the business of creating content.

7. Life search.
Find my iPod is a great little service by Apple. Google is doing a better job of integrating indoor maps into Google Maps. Now…I want a life search. I want someone to create a service that let’s me find everything in my life. I don’t just mean my car keys and iPod. I mean when I forget where I parked the car at the mall. I want GPS for my life and I want it to be automatic. Skip the advertising and marketing stuff. Just help me make one giant Evernote notebook for my offline life without heavy, awkward key rings and dongles that I have to attach to everything.

8. Open WiFi.
Know what really sucks? When you are in range of working WiFi and you can’t log in to check your email. My iPad is WiFi only, which only draws attention to the fact that there’s this magical signal just sitting there waiting to be utilized. Imagine how much simpler life would be if there was more open WiFi. I’d pay for a reliable connection to WiFi, so I can save minutes on my wireless plan. Oh, and the WiFi needs to be secure.

9. Flickr.
I don’t know why, maybe it’s out of habit, but I continue to pay for Flickr. Lots of space, great social network for photographers. However, if they don’t start to improve the analytics package and mobile access, I’m done.

10. NetFlix.
NetFlix had a bad 2010, but they continue to offer a nice selection of movies and TV shows. They still have too many interesting movies and shows for DVD subscribers, but that will probably start to change as well. One month of NetFlix streaming is still less than half the cost of a regular movie ticket.

11. Music.
Apple and Amazon make it easy to buy songs online. The price on iTunes has moved up a little from .99 cents to $1.29 in some cases, but that’s still a pretty good value. No plastic or other wasted packaging. It moves seamlessly to my iPod. And none of the messy guilt associated with downloading pirated files.

So there it is. I have and will continue to pay for certain services online. If the price is matched appropriately to the service, then I’ll take out the credit card and pay.

What services and products are you willing to pay for online?

There are many places to learn about SOPA. I’ll provide links at the bottom.

What I find fascinating are the blackout pages, which were spread virally. I’ll provide some SOPA blackout screenshots here on the blog. Others will appear on my Flickr page.

(Oh, and before I forget…all websites are (c) their respective owners! If you are a copyright holder and want a screenshot removed, please let me know.)

Wired SOPA Blackout Page Screenshot

BoingBoing.com SOPA Blackout Page Screenshot

CraigsList SOPA Blackout Page Screenshot

See More Screenshots

WordPress SOPA Blackout Page Screenshot

OReilly Media SOPA Blackout Page Screenshot

Flickr SOPA Blackout of one of my own photos

Mozilla Firefox SOPA Blackout Page Screenshot

Google Search Page & Logo SOPA Blackout Page Screenshot

Reddit SOPA Blackout Page Screenshot

Google Blog and Petition SOPA Blackout Page Screenshot

So there you go. An Internet movement and protest that used viral and social media to send a message to the government. By early news reports, it appears that the social media backlash is a marketing nightmare for politicians and many are already pulling back their support for the SOPA legislation.

Marketers and brand managers who study and utilize viral campaigns through social media channels will certainly be talking about the SOPA blackout with their clients. It’ll be a topic that I discuss at panels and presentations I deliver to marketing managers who are interested in how viral messages can influence behavior on social channels like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and more.

More screenshots on my Flickr page.

More to come on SOPA, PIPA, and (of course) piracy. We sure do live in interesting times.