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What is a Mash-up?

"Good things can come from unexpected places." The idea of the mash-up technique is to combine two existing, unrelated concepts into one or more new ideas. It is the process of combining the seemingly ridiculous to spark innovation.

Why Mash-up?

The recipes for the best bites of food normally include an unexpected combination such as salt and caramel. Who knew that combination would be the best thing since peanut butter and jelly? It’s the same with combining ideas. Bringing together unexpected concepts, products or services often acts as a launching pad for great new offerings and as a solution for pain points of your users.

How to Mash-up:

The emphasis of this method is quantity. The more ideas you generate, the better opportunity you have of developing a unique, effective solution or more.  The steps involved are as follows:

• Frame your goal:  State your goal as a “How Might We…” challenge.
• Focus your efforts: Choose two wide-ranging, unrelated topics.
• Record your ideas: Begin with one topic. List as many factors of that particular topic as you can within an allotted timeframe. Then do the same for the other topic.
• MASH-UP: Randomly combine an item from each topic to generate as many new ideas (products or services) as possible.