Creative Commons is…Brilliant!

Years ago the childrens show Animaniacs had a segment called “Good Idea, Bad Idea.” It would begin with someone acting out a good idea followed by someone acting out a bad idea. For example…Good Idea! Whistling while you work. Bad Idea! Whistling while you eat.

I’d like to write my own. Good Idea! Using Creative Commons and let people build on your ideas. Bad Idea! Keeping your ideas to yourself.

Creative Commons is a website that allows people to submit ideas or things they are working on for others to see and build upon. Many companies use Creative Commons to allow other people to help them accomplish their goals. Its kind of like a less focused version of Wikipedia. Everyone can contribute, but only the good stuff is kept.

One area where Creative Commons can be very useful is in the field of education. If a teacher has a topic he would like focus on, he can submit some material to Creative Commons. Other teachers can then add their own content and change errors. Soon enough, you’ll have a more thoughtful, extensive, and developed product than what the original teacher would have had all by himself.

A lot of your favorite websites have used Creative Commons, including Flikr, Google, Wikipedia, and the White House. They have all found enormous success using the help of people all over the world. So if you have an idea that you would like to see grow, submit it to CC. Just make sure its one that people would actually want to build upon.