Brainstorming Software: Ideafisher Morphs Into Thoughtoffice

(SANEPR.com) July 14, 2008 -- Portland, OR, July 14, 2008 -- IdeaFisher (http://thoughtoffice.com/blog/?page_id=148) came first. It caused quite a stir when it was introduced years ago as a way to bring brainstorming to the personal computer. ThoughtOffice is latest step in the evolution of business creativity solutions that began with IdeaFisher. It adds to Marsh Fisher's original vision a multimedia and web-savvy approach to computerized brainstorming. Marsh may not have fully anticipated the Internet but he saw the possibilities brainstorming software would unleash to creatives worldwide.

As far back as the 1970s, Fisher, the founder of Century 21, began looking for a computer software solution to the challenge of streamlining and improving the brainstorming process. Released in 1988 to critical acclaim, Fisher's breakthrough IdeaFisher (http://www.thoughtoffice.com) software quickly became the leading program in its category worldwide.

ThoughtOffice, the pedigreed successor to IdeaFisher, was given its present name by Mark Effinger, an innovative "multrepreneur," who developed around Marsh Fisher's program with the express purpose of adapting it to the new circumstances now at work in a computer environment shaped by the innovations of the Internet Age. Effinger added new features and functions to Marsh Fisher's principles and brought to it to market with access to the astonishing resources of the World Wide Web. ThoughtOffice not only built on the platform introduced by IdeaFisher but combined it with other creativity tools such as mindmapping and visual outlining (http://thoughtoffice.com/blog/?page_id=355).

According to Chuck Frey, founder of www.InnovationTools.com, "ThoughtOffice will help you to take your creative problem-solving skills to the next level."

Frey adds, "ThoughtOffice does a great job of leveraging the power of associative thinking (http://thoughtoffice.com/blog/?page_id=325). Using its rich, interconnected resources, you can follow a long trail of associations without running out of creative steam. Or you can follow a guided problem solving process to reveal fresh ideas and insights. In short, ThoughtOffice is like IdeaFisher on steroids."

ThoughtOffice also makes ideas easy to understand and share with others -- employees, business associates, or clients -- whether in the same room, or across the web.

Building on the original IdeaFisher process, one of the ThoughtOffice program's key functions is the IdeaBrowser, an exclusive brainstorming creativity engine that uses words, phrases, popular search engine phrases and images to help explore ideas quickly and easily. The program is integrated with ThoughtOffice, creating a hybrid of mind mapping and outlining capabilities in an easily accessible mini-browser that jump-starts the creative process.

Frey also tells us, "ThoughtOffice provides users with an unprecedented variety and volume of idea stimuli. It also succeeds in bringing together two different types of creative thinking (http://www.thoughtoffice.com/?page_id=5) into one well-designed software program. Its question databases provide a solid foundation for left-brained, systematic problem definition, while its idea-generation tools serve as a catalyst to help the right half of your brain to make new associations and connections, which should lead to more breakthrough ideas."

The ThoughtOffice programs, which range in price from $99 to $499, address 17 distinct areas of expertise. What they have in common is the ability to harness the creative practices to productivity tools usually found only in separate programs. ThoughtOffice "Bundles" cover everything from Marketing and Advertising (http://thoughtoffice.com/blog/?page_id=289) techniques to Effective Communication for live and written presentation. eXpertTopic Modules, which were developed with the use of a cadre of experts in creative fields, expand the core ThoughtOffice application and are targeted toward very specific Topics such as Conflict Resolution or Story & Screenplay Writing.

The innovative successor to IdeaFisher works as an extension of the brain. Each is loaded with hundreds of questions that mine the subconscious for known and often-forgotten information -- and uncovers new connections through the kind of juxtaposition that lies at the heart of creativity.

ThoughtOffice provides immediate access to:

• 13,700 questions and comments across 16 topical categories to "drill down" and explore problems and opportunities
• Definitions, Synonyms and Hypernyms of the complete English language
• Rhyming words and phrases
• Over 1,500,000 stock photo image thumbnails to increase visual idea generation
• A Dynamic Word Association Engine (http://thoughtoffice.com/blog/?page_id=309) increasing by over 4,000 words per week
• Over 1,000,000 popular quotes
• Over 1,000,000 song lyrics
• A database of internet search terms and keywords for use in marketing, advertising, and research

Advertising and PR consultant Martin Grossman (http://marketingmatters.blogs.com/martin_grossman) was early adopter of IdeaFisher and later a ThoughtOffice customer is convinced that ThoughtOffice is an indispensable tool for his practice. "If creative types need to get their minds around a big, complicated project quickly, ThoughtOffice will help them do it faster and do it better," says Grossman. "It's the breakthrough in creativity software that people who think for a living have been waiting many years to see."

About ThoughtOffice:

ThoughtOffice Corporation was founded in 2005 as a solution to individuals and corporations needing to generate effective and creative ideas and innovations quickly and thoroughly. Founded by one-time developer and apprentice to Marsh Fisher, the company's solutions are used by most of the Global 5000, hundreds of advertising agencies, NASA, Homeland Security, Inc 500 firms and cunsulting organizations. A team of seasoned executive coaches, creative professionals and software developers, ThoughtOffice is based in Vancouver, Washington; the company can be reached at http://www.ThoughtOffice.com or by phone at 360-609-9272.
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Contact:

Dave Lockman
ThoughtOffice
Vancouver, Washington
360-609-9272
dlock@richcontent.tv
http://www.ThoughtOffice.com