Good Contributor Guide

Follow these tips for smooth brainstorms and glowing peer reviews.

Crainstorm runs on peer reviews. Following each brainstorm, you’ll have the chance to provide feedback on the host, and the host will have the chance to provide feedback on you. These reviews determine your star rating. Hosts are more likely to select contributors with high star ratings for their brainstorms.

Here are some tips to rock the brainstorm and earn positive reviews:

Do the prep

Once you’re selected for a brainstorm, the host will give you a creative brief with information on the topic. Read the background info, check out the reference materials and gather your initial questions and ideas.

Look like a pro

A few minutes before the brainstorm begins, set up to look like a pro. Make sure you have a reliable Internet connection. Choose an environment that’s well lit and free from clutter. Make sure your speakers and microphone are doing their job. Brush dem hairs.

Act like a pro

• Stick to the plan. Generate, Test, Choose
• Don’t talk over others
• Be honest and constructive

Bring your own ideas

The first idea shared in a brainstorm is highly influential. It steers the entire group down one line of thinking. Build off ideas, share your idea and move on (don’t keep coming back to the same idea, even if you feel you’ve solved it, challenge yourself to come up with something new)

Remember that the Host has the power to remove any Contributor within the first 10 minutes, and the removed Contributor will not be compensated for their time.

Follow these tips to draw the best ideas out of your brainstorm contributors.

Crainstorm runs on peer reviews. Following each brainstorm, you’ll have the chance to provide feedback on the Contributors. These reviews determine your star rating.

Here are some tips to host productive brainstorm.

Set an objective

Have a clear picture of what you want to get out of the brainstorm.

Provide helpful background info

• Context about your challenge
• Info on your audiences or goals
• Reference material
• You should be able to get all the info you need on a single, 8.5 by 11 page (Junior high essay style: 12 pt. font, 1 inch margin)

Let good ideas live

Most brainstorms go through a common cycle: dump, slow down, weird stuff, and then good stuff. Be supportive and collaborative to get to the good stuff. Try not to evaluate ideas too early. Whittling is for later. Crainstorm time is for generation. Don’t get frustrated by the weird stuff, it is all just part of the process. Be comfortable in a period of discomfort. It doesn’t mean the brainstorm is bad, it’s just part of the process. Soon, the weird stuff will start to connect back to the objective in a surprisingly insightful way, and then you know you’re onto the good stuff.

Remove bad Contributors quickly

You can remove Contributors in the first 10 minutes of the brainstorm without compensating them. Do this if they are contributing in an offensive way or if they have a bad Internet connection.

When deciding how far to push your creative limits, follow these guidelines.

We don’t want to put a lot of constraints on a process that is supposed to be free flowing, but we do want to create a community where people feel valued and respected. Please follow our guidelines when developing your Host or Contributor profile, communicating with other users, setting up a brainstorm and participating in brainstorms.

Keep it PG

PG means some material may not be suitable for children. A few mild swears might pop out in brainstorms, and that’s okay, just don’t use language that makes your fellow brainstormers cringe. Some mild innuendo is fine if it supports the brainstorm objective. Don’t aim your innuendo at another user in a gross way.

Anyone using Crainstorm to post adult content, mature themes, extreme violence, hate speech or offensive profanity will be removed from the platform.

Respect copyright laws

Looking at other people’s work, great advertising campaigns and inspirational stuff can be a great way to get the ideas flowing. But if that material is not yours, don’t claim that it is. Give credit where credit is due, represent yourself accurately and then come up with your own admirable ideas.

Flag violators

We ask everyone to be good community members, but once in a while, you may come across something that offends you. Because there are so many Crainstorms taking place, we cannot keep tabs on all of them. If a Host, Contributor, or brainstorm topic offends you, you can "Report Abuse" through our Contact Page.

Every Crainstormer agrees to be bound by our Terms and Conditions when they sign up. If you see a violation, it’s probably an accident. We’ll issue a warning to the user, and that’s normally sufficient. Users who continue to violate the terms can be removed from Crainstorm without warning.