Bracket’s lunchtime workshop at THE CUBE was a great success, with lots of interesting discussion about effective creative collaboration using online tools. Questions were raised around approaching intellectual property and attribution, managing egos and how to encourage people to use online tools (when all they want to use is e-mail!).
Creative Boom London kindly wrote a fantastic review of the workshop which covers all of these points (and more) in detail.
A visit to the If You Could: Collaborate exhibition leaves visitors buzzing with ideas and excitement about what happens when creative minds get together. Alex Bec and Will Hudson of If You Could invited 33 creatives to collaborate with someone of their choice, giving them 12 months to develop a final piece. The brief was completely open so the curators had no idea what the outcomes might be.
Naturally, because Bracket works in the area of social media, we often get asked questions on how creative businesses should be using online networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn etc. Although this is not entirely our focus, (e.g. these tools aren’t used to manage collaborative projects) we do see their value in helping to develop and build teams. They can play a large role in showcasing yourself as a potential and attractive collaborator.
Healthy and effective collaborations require trust to encourage free-flow of ideas, contributions and actual delivery of the work. But trust is abstract – you’re relying on the actions of others to get things done. When you’re working on your own you can maintain control over everything you create, so essentially when you collaborate you’re taking a risk.
Bracket has been working on a toolkit that can be used by those hoping to work collaboratively on a project with others. The initial framework is here. It is intended to be a work in progress, inviting contributions and developed as the model is tested. There are also some suggestions from facilitators/providers of social media, gathered from Social Media Camp London 08.
The model was developed with social designers hoping to initiate collaborative projects, at System Reload London. But maybe elements can be applied to other areas, ensuring that the specific characteristics and needs of the community are considered.
