Social media and business innovation mean its harder to find something truly original. Today's consumers are on a search for the new.

Here's something I wrote for the nice people at Coolbrands, for their supplement in The Observer this weekend...

We’re all magpies really. Looking for the next new shiny thing to spark our interest and get our attention. Be it a new social network, a new phone, a new brand - new ideas are the oil for the engine of business, entrepreneurialism and brands. But these days, it’s getting harder and harder to find ‘new’…

Previously new was sourced in the metropolitan, hip, melting pot city centre. Where minds meet, collaborate and create. But in the modern, hyper-connected world order, ‘new’ feels like it’s becoming a bit of a formula.  In theory, it’s easier than ever to be inspired, but it’s harder than ever to be original – because we’ve seen so much before. 

From coffee shops to pop ups, selfie campaigns to experiential engagement, the formula for ‘new’ is to be found and shared everywhere. We share so much that we get to taste the nectar of new every day. It’s like being trapped in a sweetshop, nibbling sugary pleasures but feeling hollow and unsatisfied afterwards. And it’s over in a fleeting six-second vine or periscope live stream and then we’re onto the next thing.

In an age of tech hubs, identikit city ‘villages’ and social media, we’re at risk of sharing so much and being emulated on such a grand scale that we’ve got to be careful we don’t lose the tribes, quirks and creativity that used to make brands ‘cool’.

Which raises the question – where and how are those people who are truly making new, creative and original work finding their inspiration?

About five years ago, I attended a Guardian conference and sat in the audience eager to hear Arianna Huffington’s words of wisdom. Stood in front of a twitter wall and facing an audience lit by the glow of laptop and tablet screens, she was asked by one of the multi-tasking onlookers, tapping away on their computers, what her prediction was for the future. She said that we would all need to disconnect.

I’m with Arianna – I think she’s right. I’m fortunate to work in an industry that is full of creative people. But after careful consideration and some extensive peer research, I’ve started to recognise that the most creative people I know, or am inspired by, have the ability to ‘disconnect’ more than most. They live and work in a field in Kent, they ‘commute’ to a studio at the end of the garden, they walk the dog in the woods when they want to find an idea. What binds them all is that they know how to stand back and switch off – and they don’t all live in the city. They don’t work in a hub. They are not emulating anyone else or producing in an engineered environment.

Organisations such as DO (thedolectures.com) are leading the charge with this approach. The annual festival is hosted on a small farm in Wales and is focused on giving people the chance to talk, share ideas and be inspired. From small beginnings 2008 it has now grown into a global movement.

So new and original is increasingly coming from a world that finds inspiration online, but is processed via the offline time and space that we all need to process and decode the connected world.

To hit the sweet spot of ‘new’ you need two phases of action to happen: analysis and research, studying your subject so you know it inside out. And resting: where you drop everything. This happens naturally when you have a bath or go for a walk – which is why people often have breakthrough ideas when they're doing something else. Isaac Newton’s concept of gravity came from a brief stop under an apple tree. Would it happen now if he was checking his phone? Albert Einstein was unable to determine why or how his best ideas came to him in periods of relaxed daydreaming (specifically shaving). But it’s rare that we get to daydream now.

A free-thinking approach is what helps make great ideas, concepts and brands stand out. They have learned how to step back from what the rest of the world is doing. Brilliant brands harness and collaborate with like-minded spirits and people who share a desire to create their own vision. They retain integrity in their ideas; they don’t pander to what a perceived audience might want. The coolest brands show you what’s going to happen next, but spend very little time referencing what’s going on now.  That’s why the likes of Google and Apple shine – they engage the artists and thinkers who exist in their own space, and that’s what helps keep them fresh. Not every brand can do it but those that get it right shine through in the fog of normality.

To create work that really delivers a deep connection, that really says something, we need the time to step away and reflect. Connected noise can inspire us, but might not be conducive to the creativity we crave unless we get the opportunity to opt out of it too.

Banksy’s recent Dismaland installation is a fantastic example of how to really stand back and harness the power of observation. Its work of genius created in collaboration with a roll-call of incredible artists. But you won’t find Banksy on twitter, or be able to like him on Facebook. He’s anonymous. He’s an artist who understands the impact of distraction, and knows that when you build in some space, inspiration rises and solutions reveal themselves.

Brands can and should be bolder and braver when it comes to developing ‘new ideas’. In an era of data and tracking, it’s more challenging to do things differently, go with your gut, be the first to innovate. But that’s what many of the brands we admire most do – they buck the trend, they go their own way and they maintain their integrity. And it’s important that more brands, like artists, do this. Because according to Wikipedia, magpies are some of the most intelligent animals in the world - so it’s going to take a lot of effort to really impress us in the future.