Kirby Ferguson has created a 4 part series called Everything is a Remix.
Any attempt at a description of this series will not do it justice so I encourage you to invest the 45-50 minutes to watch the 4 episodes for yourself.
I’ve chosen to show Part 3 of the 4 part series on Creativity and Technology because it is the most closely related to digital marketing.
In this video Kirby clearly articulates that there is an evolution to life and that copying is just a part of it, “New ideas start from the old ideas”.
“Nobody starts out original” Kirby gives examples of artists such as Bob Dylan whose earliest work started out as derivative of those who inspired him.
I especially like the formula for Creativity
- Copy
- Transform
- Combine
Everything is a Remix has something for everyone.
Part 1 is about Music and sampling – focusing specifically on Led Zepplin – beware fans, you may be disappointed in your idols.
Part 2 is about Movies and recreation – Star Wars and Kill Bill are the hero examples.
Part 3 is about Technology and Copying in relation Patenting – Xerox and Apple are the case studies.
Part 4 is about Social Evolution covers Copyright and how Intellectual Property (IP) has emerged as a part of commercial markets and society’s higher value placed on loss than gain, meaning we don’t mind copying but we don’t like being copied.
Honestly, its fascinating stuff and I send thanks to @mattmrobinson from Analogue Folk who responded to my disillusioned tweet “Are there any original ideas left? Or is creativity now determined by how we source and implement other peoples ideas?” with the link to Everything is a Remix. It’s re-inspired me on this grey Thursday.
By the way, Kirby Ferguson is raising funds for his next project, This is Not a Conspiracy Theory – if you want to donate.