HW Creativity

New media technology fosters creativity in a way that was not possible before the emergence of Web 2.0. With new media platforms emerging, consumers are at the front of the stage. When it comes to social media platforms, it's all about the users and what they like. In the 2009 article, "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers" by Claire Cain Miller, since the internet allows many individuals to voice their opinions, product innovators in companies are able to gain insights on what users enjoy and dislike the most. This occurs in startups because they are trying to find their way in the market, so in order to figure out their niche, their best bet is to listen to their consumers and mold their business around the value that their consumers use. New media fosters creativity in the sense of generating solutions as a community. For example, in the article, Twitter users began using the @ symbol as a way to acknowledge a person (likely a fellow twitter user). Twitter decided to grab that concept and innovate it by hyperlinking the persons page and adding a section that allows a person to see how many times their name has been mentioned in tweets. The interaction we see on social media platforms foster creativity because people are constantly striving for convenience and simplicity. Humanity is lazy, we will find a way to make the use of technology easier than it is. So when we speak, chances are it's something good. Which means, that corporations need to be listening to its users/consumers to help generate their next big idea. 

Reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html