Wikipedia defines Brainstorming as a group creativity technique designed to generate a large number of ideas for the solution of a problem. Looking at this definition there are four integral elements to any brainstorming activity-

• Brainstorming is essentially a group activity
• It involves creative thinking
• It is a process of multiple idea generation
• It is directed at finding a solution to an impending problem

From this perspective, brainstorming becomes key to any stage in the development process of any idea or product. However the important aspect about brain storming that sets it apart from any kind of ideation is that it involves multiple minds and multiple ways of tackling the same problem. Owing to this fact there are certain ideas or steps that help in making brainstorming an effective process.

1. Be an Active Listener

                Brainstorming is essentially a group activity and due to its nature, there are a lot of chances that there are multiple ideas coming in from different people. Owing to the differences in the perspectives that different people look at the same issue, there is a need to take in the various view points to ensure a fruitful outcome. This makes it imperative to ‘listen’ to others in the group. Here there is a need to understand that ‘listening’ is different from ‘active listening’ and the need is to be an active listener.

1. Look at different ways to the problem itself

                Even before an attempt is made to understand the solution there needs to be an attempt made at understanding the problem at hand. Only once the problem is understood can there be a genuine effort at reaching a plausible solution for the problem.

1. Be calm, don’t lose hope

                The process of brainstorming can sometimes be long and grueling. While trying to come up with brilliant ideas, the initial stages can be fraught with disappointment and annoyance. Hence it is important for the people involved in the activity to keep their calm and not lose hope, ‘coz invariably, a brilliant idea is just around the corner.

1. Don’t try too much, too fast

                There is a tendency to try and reach all the conclusions and find all the answers in a jiffy. It is important to understand that all problems do not come with straight jacketed solutions, this especially in the media world. There are new problems each day, which require new and innovative ways of handling. This is one of the reasons which make this industry all the more interesting. Hence an attempt needs to be made to understand that taking on too much can be detrimental.

1. Take breaks in between, don’t sweat it

                Sometimes in a brainstorming session, one might reach a dead end from where there seems like there is no way to go. What needs to be understood at this point is that, there is a way to go but it points to the nearest theatre or multiplex! It’s time to take a break. Often enough we pressurize ourselves so completely in an attempt to find that wonderful solution that we lose track of all logic and refuse to see the signs that tell us that we have.

1. Put down everything that comes up

                Nothing is inconsequential or silly in a brainstorming session. Though it might seem so in the beginning, there is a good chance that once the idea is developed a little further, it could turn into a master piece. This makes it important to jot down everything that comes in the mind; you never know what might just click.

1. Dead end? Restart!

                When all our faculties are directed towards finding the answer to the same problem, there is a very good chance of going round and round in circles without any obvious solution. There is a good chance that nothing good can come out of it, more often than not, once this happens the problem is likely to just get worse. Hence there is the need to make a conscious effort to restart when you feel you have reached a dead end. Once that happens, the only logical way out is- to press the restart button!

1. Be focused

                While it is all good and beneficial to take breaks while brainstorming, it is very important to be focused on the task at hand. Having a clear idea about the problem and understanding its every nuance is imperative to the task of brainstorming and hence comes the need to be and to stay- focused.

1. Not one-Many solutions

                Once the group is on the right track, brainstorming sessions are invariably successful in producing a varied list of solutions to the problem. In such a situation it is important to not be over confident and jump at the first plausible solution but build back up. It is not necessary that the first solution that comes up is the best one and so if you come up with a bright way out, stick on and come up with something better.

1. A diverse group of participants

                It is always advisable to have an extremely heterogeneous group while engaging in a brainstorming session. A variety of people will ensure that there are a variety of perspectives that can be looked at and this ensures that once the problem has been dissected threadbare, the solution that comes up is flawless.

1. Found the perfect solution-Celebrate

                The best part of a brainstorming session is to realize that the previously gigantic problem has been tackled, and tackled well. It is extremely important to reinforce the group and yourself, by celebrating and acknowledging the efforts and brain work put in by every member of the group.

                Thus brainstorming is the need of the hour. In a constantly changing world, fraught with differences and problems, there is a need for innovation and unique ways of handling issues. It is owing to this very fact that brainstorming is essentially, the way ahead.

Since the time man learnt to walk on his two legs, his mind and soul have been greatly influenced and moulded by the world around him, the world he lives in, a world the beauty of which has never ceased to amaze him! It is only understandable then that since man learnt to walk on his two legs he has passionately endeavoured to communicate to the world and himself all that he perceives the world to be, all the ideas, feelings and emotions his perception of the world creates in him.

Thus, through mans’ need to communicate were laid the foundations of all that is fine in our world- culture, language, literature, philosophy, and even religion and god. Since times immemorial, man has used various such forms of art as a means of communicating with his fellow men. And once this dialogue began- it simply never ceased to flow. This article is solely dedicated to capturing the essence of how this dialogue takes place. And although no art form is complete without certain elements of the other art forms, but, for the sake of this article, we shall discuss them individually to the extent this is possible.

Fine Arts

Perhaps the cave paintings left behind to tell the stories of prehistoric man do not fall in the genre of ‘fine arts’ per say, however it was these very juvenile cave paintings that went on to form the basis of all forms of art as we know them. From theology, history, literature etc. to even the languages we speak and write today, the genesis of everything can, in one way or another, be traced back to these pieces of wisdom left all over the world by man of another time. With time mans’ creations became all the more sophisticated and complex. It became a layered maze of possible interpretations. And even these complex interpretations varied from individual to individual, culture to culture, generation to generation. Soon fine arts became not just a medium of self expression, but also of a catharsis of the soul. In fact, to a great extent, the aim of all art became a sort of catharsis for both the artist and the onlooker. Thus, the perception of fine art grew beyond the confines of mere image representation.

Theology

In a literal sense theology is a mere school or systems of opinions that deal with matters of God and religious concerns. However, from the communications point of view it is much more than just that. For when you think of what all this communicates you realise the need of this communication embedded again in mans’ perception of the world. For instance, what in the world made man think of God, and believe in him to such an extent that he established the system of religion?, and what made relatively unrelated men at different parts of the world form relatively different such religions at various points of time?, etc. Apart from this theology also speaks of the human need to belong, to be pacified by this sense of belonging, and to hold on to it even when everything else ceases to be. This perhaps is the most relevant of all messages that man sends out through his theological communications.

Language

Language perhaps is the easiest to perceive as a form of communication. But it is not just a means of communication. It is an art form. An art form in the sense of it being a means of expressing ideas and emotions, demands and desires, histories and stories, and much-much more. Also, we must realise that communication did not start with language, nor is language confined by forms of verbal exchange of words. Instead languages evolved intricately around various forms of communication. So, apart from hundreds of cultivated verbal dialects all across the world that are regional in nature and not easy to understand we have another highly complex and evolved systems of languages that are universal throughout the world. These developed naturally as man evolved with time and include the body language, sign language, perceptible language of body scents etc. all these together and individually contribute to the art of communication in various ways. Theatre is a direct result and best example of the marriage of art and communication.

Literature

Any discussion on art is always incomplete till the art of literature is included in it. For literature is imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value. Simply put, literature is a form of artistic representation of ideas, beliefs, thoughts and feelings, compiled by putting together works of various verbal artists belonging to different times, ages and schools of thought. Any piece of literature is an artistic representation of possible interpretations of not only the artist/writer but also the times and society he was part of- or the world which moulded his thinking.

For generations man has used numerous such art forms such as music, dancing and singing etc. as instruments of communication. As they become more and more complex with mans’ evolution they also diversify into various sub-streams and sub-genres. For instance, accessories that are an artistic representation of status, style, culture etc. were once made of stone and bones, then they graduated to bronze and copper and still later to silver, gold and platinum. Yet, there hasn’t been a time in the entire history of man where he hasn’t communicated through art. And the power of this communication is felt most when we realise how this need to communicate beautifully has led to the evolution of man and his world to such an extent that today he is able to capture and communicate all that he finds beautiful in high-tech gadgets like the camera, satellite television etc. This signifies that all his endeavours to grow and evolve still have the basic need to communicate as its foundation. So, in essence, his art shows his need of art to communicate. Indeed ‘Art Talks- And How!’

Media! The mention of the word itself brings to mind a whole array of technologies, gizmos and gadgets. It also brings to mind a rather interesting mix of cultures and movements. For it was the media after all that added a whole new level to the spread of revolutionary and political ideologies. But with time media did much more than just aid processes. And as media grew not just in stature but also in dimensions it became not just an instrument of society one of the pillars on which the present social structure stands.

Conventionally ‘media’ could be a mere medium to anything, or a place in central Asia and many more such things. But to a lay man ‘media’ denotes the technology that is more correctly known as ‘mass media’. The Wikipedia quick search of the word ‘media’ reinforces the lay mans’ use of the word however. And it reveals an almost endless list of ‘media types’ or the ever growing dimensions to media that we mentioned earlier. Constraints of time and space do not allow an elaborate study of all of these; however, we shall be discussing some of the most prominent and some of the fast emerging wings of media.

1. Print Media- Perhaps the earliest form of media to make a widespread hold on contemporary society, print media began to make its importance felt as early as the 16th century A.D when print became instrumental in changing the nature of reading within society. Also, with the invention of the printing press the spread of knowledge and information became much faster and less cumbersome. The fastest growing form of print media was the newspaper which still remains an important instrument of mass media despite television and internet being considered the major instruments of media.

2. Advertising Media- With the widespread popularity of print as a medium of communication advertising gained a whole new dimension of possibilities to explore. So the constraints of time and space became lesser. Also advertisers discovered new means of creating awareness in the minds of their target customers. What started with print grew with the advent of the broadcast media. This growth was further propelled by satellite television and the internet boom of the 1990s.

3. Broadcast Media- The Wikipedia describes ‘broadcast’ as “the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience”. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of the whole, such as children or young adults. It includes telephone broadcasting, television broadcasting, radio broadcasting, cable radio, satellite television, webcasting etc. Broadcast media has, for quite some time been the most popular dimension of mass media. It is exceedingly popular in the realm of entertainment media. Symbolically, however, ‘broadcasting’ also refers to the ‘sowing of seeds’ and in that sense it also signifies the spread of ideas and in that sense reveals another layer at which mass media affects present day societies.

4. Digital Media- “Formats for presenting information” according to Wicktionary:media. It includes digital audio, digital video, and other digital content. Digital media, unlike analog media, are generally electronic media that work on a system of digital codes. Digital media can be created, referred to and distributed via digital information processing machines. In essence, digital media marks a shift from the older analog media. It is all the more significant as this is the path media instruments will take now onwards. Popular digital media include cellular phones, compact discs, televisions, digital video, e-books, internet, minidiscs, videogames, e-commerce, game consoles, computers and many interactive media. This is the most rapidly growing and, so far, the most promising wing of media.

5. Social Media- Social media is another face of contemporary media that is gaining popularity rather rapidly. Basically this is the use of media for ‘social interaction’. So its scope could range from messaging someone to making video calls to the other side of the world. Social media. Social media use web-based technologies to transform and broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues. Earlier it was considered to be a tool usable only by the youth or the working class professionals. However, slowly and steadily social media has become popular among the general public and barriers of age, nationality and orientation no longer apply.

The above mentioned media are only a few select forms of present day mass media. However their relevance lies in the fact that they are indicative of the scope and growth prospects of this gigantic entity called media that has already acquired gargantuan proportions. Only time will tell what other surprises media oriented technological advancements intend to bring our way. The only definite fact is that media holds the key to our future!