Martian: “E.T.?”
Kermit: “No, no, not E.T., Kermit THE Frog!”

Sesame Street might be the world’s best known address, trumping even 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and The North Pole. What was born from a 1966 Manhattan dinner party conversation - yes, even then parents were concerned about how much TV their kids were watching – and finally launched in 1969, went on to become a worldwide phenomenon. The original series has been televised in 120 countries, more than 20 international versions have been produced, and Sesame Street has received more Emmy Awards than any other program. Who would have thought that an 8 ft tall canary, a miserable garbage can dweller and an invisible (but not) Snuffleupagus would so enthrall and engage children? Jim Henson, for one.

Henson realized that children are often frighteningly smart, scathingly direct, darkly humorous and twisted little creatures – oh, and that they get bored easily. Children need to to be taught what to adults seem to be the most mundane things – that even crotchety and crabby Oscar the Grouch has feelings, that C is for cookie (that’s good enough for me!) and why a book is not a phone. He realized that the sharing of information and knowledge could be funny – preposterous even – and still be smart and engaging.

Which brings me to the point of this post, and how it relates to social media. I had a short, early morning, Sesame Street related Twitter exchange this morning with a colleague. Being, ahem, of a certain age, I mentioned the Phone Martians. Said colleague, being of, ahem, a much younger age, responded that he didn’t know who the Phone Martians were? As the kids say these days – OMG! I immediately launched YouTube on my phone, found the clip, and Tweeted it to him. It made my day – because I still laugh at the absurdity yet sheer brilliance of the Phone Martians – and it made his day, because he was introduced to something that he hadn’t experienced before, to which he promptly responded “Trippy!” Believe me, everyone needs to experience the Phone Martians – if you haven’t clicked on the link yet, please do so now.

There are a number of social media lessons learned in our little exchange. We live thousands of miles apart. We were able to communicate quickly and easily at an ungodly hour of the morning, via PC and Smartphone, and we used Twitter and YouTube effectively to exchange ideas and content. But it eventually boiled down to one core thing. Inspiration. Those of us who create content – which you should be doing by now, as you have your staff all trained and eagerly embracing social media – are often asked how we find inspiration. Ideas. Jumping off points. Well, let’s take this post as an example:

• One of the most successful television shows in the history of the medium was born of some chatter at a dinner party – I guarantee no one at that dinner party had a clue what that chatter was going to inspire.

• Jim Henson kept it simple, and found the inspiration for many of his most iconic characters in simple, even obvious things – a cookie, an inchworm, a trashcan, a big bird. He saw the world with an open, unbiased eye, and I doubt he ever said “that won’t work” or “that’s too silly” or “what if people don’t like it?” I mean seriously – the man made TV gold out of two bathmats with antennas on their heads. And a rotary phone.

• I woke up this morning wondering what I was going to write about today. Truth. It happens. And within ten minutes of a friendly Twitter/YouTube exchange, I had my inspiration – inspiration itself!

People love social media because of the non-stop flow of knowledge, ideas and inspiration they can access in the cloud. Without inspiration, you won’t create anything. And if you don’t create anything you have nothing to share with your community. But don’t let the very idea of inspiration hobble you before you’ve even left the starting gate. Feeling blocked? Allow yourself some space and breathing room. Read a good article. Have an exchange with a friend or colleague. Take a walk. Marvel at how that bumble-bee manages to stay airborne! Think tangentially. Don’t look for the obvious connections. But most importantly, don’t think too hard about it. Inspiration strikes at the oddest times, and more often than not, when you are least expecting it. Like Sesame Street. And Phone Martians.

What tips and tricks do you utilize when you’re looking for some inspiration? What’s the oddest thing that you’ve found inspiration from? As always, we appreciate your comments and feedback.

Tags: content creation, inspiration, Sesame Street, Social Media, twitter, YouTube