Interview: Lynn Wood

The basics

What made you become a content creator?

Lynn Wood of IdeaSpies: I was on a trip to Vancouver island in Canada with a friend and a guide said, “Promote what you love rather than bash what you hate.” I strongly believe that the media focuses on the negative too much and we need a platform like IdeaSpies that focuses on positive ideas explained simply.

What are some digital publications that you follow?

Lynn Wood: I mainly focus on news media. Our volunteer editors focus on industry publications.

What are some of the challenges you face as a content creator?

Lynn Wood: The main challenge is the tendency of people to click the negative instead of the positive, hence the media focus. The other challenge is needing to keep up with technology and continually make improvements in the platform.

Pros and cons

What do you like most about creating digital content?

Lynn Wood: It reinforces a positive view of the world given we focus on positive ideas. It’s an escape from the negativity around us.

What do you dislike most about creating digital content?

Lynn Wood: Sometime there’s a glitch in the tech and we need to fix it quickly.

What inspires you to keep writing?

Lynn Wood: The positive reinforcement we get from our key supporters and readers inspires our editors and me to keep writing. This is what people say about why they support us: https://ideaspies.com/why.

Choosing syndication

Why did you decide to syndicate your content with Newstex?

Lynn Wood: Our purpose is sharing ideas that do good and the more people see them the better.

What do you think are the benefits of syndicating your content through Newstex?

Lynn Wood: Access to a wider audience. IdeaSpies is curated and ideas posted deserve to be widely seen.

Looking ahead

What are the top 3 tips you can give to others wanting to develop successful digital publications?

Lynn Wood: First, keep testing new ideas. Second, focus on what you believe works best. Third, develop a community of strong supporters.

Where do you see your publication in 5 years?

Lynn Wood: Our vision is to be the preeminent source of innovative ideas for Australians and globally. We’d like to see IdeaSpies accessed in innovation centers around the world to help stimulate creativity. This is the demonstration model: https://ideaspies.com/posts/an-ideaspies-kiosk-at-an-innovation-centre.

What has been your proudest achievement as a content creator?

Lynn Wood: Our proudest achievement so far is in making IdeaSpies available for high school students in their final year of Design and Technology to help with development of their major design projects. These students are very creative and deserve more support for their projects. The most watched TedTalk of all time is "Do schools kill creativity?" and we’re encouraging it:  https://www.uprisingdesigners.org.

Lynn co-founded IdeaSpies in 2016. IdeaSpies takes the hard work out of finding and sharing good. Lynn's interest in innovation started early in her career. She was in the startup team for American Express Cards in Australia and New Zealand as well as later in Hong Kong. She was also part of the teams that established the first international property fund in Australia, one of the first wholesale property funds and a funds management group. Lynn has served on many boards, including as chair. She was one of the first three women in Australia to be on the board of a listed organization and one of the first to adopt a portfolio career as a consultant, board member, mentor, and entrepreneur.