I stumbled upon Hugh Macleod's How To Be Creative ChangeThis manifesto from someone's blog a while ago (can't remember who it was anymore - sorry anonymous blogger) and I loved it. The points in it are short, and to the point, and the guy has a knack for writing - its light and easily absorbed yet very detailed.

'How To Be Creative' probably isn't the most relevant title for it though - the manifesto is about breaking out the creativity in you to develop an idea, take that to its limits, and hopefully make some money in the process.

The manifesto was designed as a quick read (only 49 pages), so there's not much point in me summarising it, but if I did, it'd be - developing a successful idea requires hard work, passion, uniqueness, committment and determination but ultimately the reward is well worth it.

I love the cartoons in it too, which form Hugh's gapingvoid site. Here are some nice quotes:

"Your idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be yours alone. The more the idea is yours alone, the more freedom you have to do something really amazing."

"They're only crayons. You didn't fear them in kindergarten, why fear them now?"

"The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs. One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills."

"Let's say you never climb your private Mount Everest. Do you have a problem with that? Can you just say to yourself, 'Never mind, I never really wanted it anyway,' and take up stamp-collecting instead?"

"I think you're better off doing something on the assumption that you will NOT be rewarded for it, that it will NOT receive the recognition it deserves, that it will NOT be worth the time and effort invested in it."

"Every kid underestimates his competition, and overestimates his chances. Every kid is a sucker for the idea that there's a way to make it without having to do the actual hard work."

Do check it out here.

Meanwhile, in other news:

• A college grad managed to score a job at Microsoft, but not any boring software developer job, but the role of User Experience Project Manager for Media Centre (yes, I despise US English )! Media Centre already has a pretty good user experience, but its clear that Microsoft is willing to take the risk and get some new ideas from a fresh grad. The blog post here talks about his experience getting the job.
• CNet reviews a sexier and more capable iPod nano competitor [via Engadget], the Samsung YP-K3. But still, Samsung will continue to wonder, why can't we topple the iPod? One word - marketing. Apple spends millions creating a connection with people, promoting the coolness of those who have it, and making those who don't drool. Seriously, its not that difficult to work it out - constantly pumping out new products won't make you king, even if your product is better. Its about the experience, the connection, the perception.