You Are The Smart Creative

So what is a Smart Creative? According to Google's CEO Eric Schmidt, these are individuals who combine technical knowledge, business expertise, and creativity. When they see challenges, they define them and do craft solutions. They may fail but they go for it, they learn it, they are always improving on their products and services. They have changed the world. They may not possess all three attributes but they complement each other and work together. They let their ideas do the talking, every single time.

For m the biggest challenge we face is the lack of platforms that can bring the Smart Creatives and their ideas together. The respective governments in the developing world have often abused the existing traditional platforms for their own personal and political agendas to consolidate power. We associate most politicians in the developing world with divisive political banter because that is all they ever talk about. The economic or business or technological or engineering debate is non existent. Nothing o education. We do politics and religion.

So what platforms have we taken to, to express ourselves in our unique and diverse ways? We have taken to mostly Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp. I will briefly consider each one in turn.

Facebook is probably the most popular. Users open an account and have a personal 'wall' where their friends can read what they post. They can like 'pages' and join 'groups' or start their own. Friends can 'like', 'comment', 'share' on their 'wall', friend's wall', 'page', 'group; or 'inbox'. Their reach is determined by how many friends or followers they have, the number of 'likes' on the  'pages' they have, the number of members in their 'groups'. This all depends on their privacy settings as well as how active they are. Ideas on Facebook are often undermined with terms such as 'Facebook armchair critic' or 'cyergreenbomber' or any number of terms associated with 'political noise' that has no practical impact 'on the ground'. The Arab Spring Uprisings tell a different story as social media platforms were instrumental in spreading the revolutionary cry for change in the Arab World.

Twitter account holders have 140 characters to talk to the world. Their followers can read and comment. They can 'favourite' and/or 'retweet' and have a conversation on a single thread. Everyone can read the comments and make a contribution.

Whatsapp has been the more popular of the big three. Users download the application on to their smartphones then use their mobile phone numbers to set up. Anyone in their phonebook with the Whatsapp application becomes a contact. 'Groups' can be set up as well as 'broadcast lists'. The application uses the data plan you have with your mobile phone company to enable you to send message, pictures, and videos. Recently Whatsapp Calling has been introduced which enables voice calls across mobile phone networks across the globe.

These platforms have provided  populations starved of traditional platforms to express themselves. Repressive regimes have also chosen to join these platforms and tried to maintain a stranglehold on their citizens. The same political banter we have witnessed on the ground has been exported to cyberspace.

Smart Creatives have been busy on these platforms engaged in meaningful debate. The worrying thing is that these ideas are now buried in the archives of these social media networks unless they develop search systems that can make it easy to retrieve conversations from all time. Who knows what really happens to those ideas as they practically belong to those companies whose countries may be the ultimate benefactors, part of the reason why China has banned Facebook and Twitter perhaps? Through the NSA, the U.S. government potentially has access to world ideas through these platforms. They know what we think, our fears and aspirations.

So you are the Smart Creative and you are what the world has been waiting for because you have those great ideas, are technically or business savvy and self driven. You can make those platforms work for you but I would strongly suggest blogging, you will reach a wider audience if you do. I will soon write an article on why we should all blog.