Are you more of a revolutionary than a visionary? Maybe you fit in with the creative crowd instead.
A new Facebook application (http://apps.facebook.com/uncommonthinkers) created by Florida International University’s College of Business Administration will let you know.
As part of the business school’s award-winning “Uncommon Thinkers” campaign, the Facebook application asks users a series of questions to determine what type of thinker they are: revolutionary, creative, visionary, risk taker or different. The results can then be posted on the user’s Facebook page, and shared and compared with friends.
The Facebook application derives from the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique or ZMET, a process that draws on psychology, anthropology, neuroscience and other disciplines to delve deep into the mind of the consumer. It was created by Harvard Business School Professor Gerald Zaltman.
The creative-type is rarely bored and enjoys exploring new places and meeting new people. The visionary-type has the unique ability to brainstorm creative ideas as well as to implement them. The different-type maintains refreshing openness and indifference to conventional norms. The revolutionary-type tends to be perceived as nonconformist but not necessarily rebellious. And the risk-taker-type feels comfortable with change, readily embracing new situations if these can provide potential benefits.
“This Facebook application, a first for FIU, reflects our strategy of using social media to reach out and engage prospective students, current students and alumni,” said Luis Casas, director of marketing, communications & recruiting. “We are especially proud of the fact that the application was developed completely in-house.”
Casas said the application forces people to think differently about the world around them-a value fostered at the College of Business.
FIU’s business school has been recognized for its “Uncommon Thinkers” branding campaign, and received the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals’ (NAGAP) 2009 Award for Promotional Excellence at its annual conference on April 23rd in New York, NY.
As a result of the campaign, the attendance to FIU’s graduate business information sessions have almost tripled, while the number of new graduate business students (MBAs and Specialized Masters) increased by 76%.
