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Cliché sayings don’t tend to provide much in the way of solid advice when it comes to business. What they can do, however, is inspire you to see situations in certain ways. For example, Thomas Edison said that a “good idea is never lost.” Filmmaker Kirby Ferguson based his four-part series, Everything is a Remix, on this premise.
He explored the idea that creativity and innovation are, essentially, a remix of old ideas. In his words, creativity stems from a three-step process: copy, transform, and combine. If that’s the case, there’s no shame in taking successful ideas from the past and making them relevant in today’s world.
Old Ideas Can Lead to Something New
In fact, that’s exactly what a lot of big businesses do. Netflix didn’t invent movies. Netflix simply put them into a new medium using modern technology. Similarly, online gambling operators, such as Paddy Power, didn’t create the game of bingo. People have been playing bingo in one form or another since the 16th century. Something that survives that long is clearly popular, which is why gambling operators have made it possible for people to play online bingo for real money.
Much like Netflix, these companies have made the game easily accessible on desktop and mobile devices. They’ve also embraced variety as a core business principle. Instead of sticking to standard 90 and 75-ball variants that are popular in land-based bingo halls, online operators have introduced spin-offs such as Cash Cubes and Deal or No Deal Multiplier. These games have turned online bingo into a multi-million dollar industry and rejuvenated a game that’s been around for centuries.
Don’t Copy, But Do Be Inspired
We can apply the same observations to the AI sector. Copyright is becoming an increasingly complex topic because of AI technology’s ability to recreate text and images. We won’t get into the nuances of that debate, other than to say that people are impressed by AI’s ability to replicate old ideas. It is impressive, but the point here is that AI bots such as Elon Musk’s Grok and Grok 2 are simply taking something old and repurposing it.
AI modernists argue that copyright doesn’t exist because, like Ferguson, they see creativity as a remix. Taken at face value, this is false, of course. People’s copyrighted work should be and is protected by law. However, the point AI modernists are making is that AI bots are simply remixing ideas out there in the public domain.
Those not touting the virtues of AI technology would call this being inspired by others. In the music world, DJs would refer to it as sampling someone else’s work. Now, in an age where AI is capable of using data on the internet to replicate or create something new, we can use Ferguson’s term and call it remixing.
Therefore, if we accept that old ideas should be protected from being copied directly but not sacred enough that they can’t be used to inspire, it can liberate us as entrepreneurs. You don’t have to spend countless hours coming up with a completely unique idea that’s going to revolutionize the world. There’s nothing wrong with looking at what’s been successful in the past and using that as your foundation. You can then sprinkle in your own creativity and insights.
Build New Ideas on Established Foundations
For example, we know that people have relatively short attention spans when it comes to online content because there are so many options within easy reach. Lean into this. Let’s say you own a business that makes t-shirts. Adding quirky or inspiring messages to t-shirts is nothing new, but you know that people don’t have the time or desire to read lengthy quotes, particularly if they’re looking at pictures online. Lean into this by printing internet acronyms on the t-shirts.
So, instead of a smiley face and the caption “live life, be happy and smile,” simply put “LOL.” It’s quick, it gets the message across quickly, and people know what it means. Moreover, people can extrapolate their own message from it. What you’ve done there is take an old idea and make it relevant to today’s world. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s effective. That’s creativity, and that’s how you can use old ideas to drive your business forward.
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