Dreaming up fresh, original, ground breaking ideas is tough. Yet some people create new ideas effortlessly, while others struggle.

Want to exercise your creative muscle? Take a look at this article to learn some of the techniques Google utilizes to encourage innovation within the company.

One example: “Creativity Loves Constraints,” says Google’s VP of Search Products. “People think of creativity as this sort of unbridled thing, but engineers thrive on constraints.”

So true. The most creative and prolific agency folks I’ve known are those that rely on a creative strategy or strategic roadmap to frame their creative efforts.

And briefs aren’t just for agencies, btw; every company needs guidelines to keep ideation on track.

If you have a minute, take a look. The article is a fast read and well worth your time if innovation is important to your business.

Sparta Social Networks is a social network software company that helps companies, from start-ups to large corporations across a wide variety of industries, to create branded social networks.

Work.com is a business-to-business expert community publishing platform where experts share advice on common business topics. Work.com features more than 3,000 How-to Guides written by business experts. Anyone with expertise to share can create a Work.com guide, and the guides are ranked by Work.com site visitors based on how useful they find the guide.

Top ranked guides are featured prominently on Work.com and are syndicated onto Business.com to help Business.com visitors learn more about specific product or service categories.

Business.com is a business search engine and directory and pay-per-click ad network serving more than 40 million unique business users and thousands of advertisers every month.

Business.com helps business decision makers quickly find what they need to manage and grow their businesses, and enables advertisers to reach these users wherever they are across the business Internet through premier partners, including Forbes, BusinessWeek, Hoovers, Financial Times and Internet.com.

GlobalSpec offers  online advertising programs for B2B companies targeting the engineering, technical and industrial communities.

PartnerUp is a social network that helps entrepreneurs and small businesses find business partners, co-founders, executives, and board members, ask for and offer advice, and find service providers and commercial real estate.

From Techcrunch

LinkedInABox is "a simple widget that can be embedded on any web page and provides a summary of your personal profile, as presented in your LinkedIn account."

You do have a LinkedIn account, don't you?

Information-Online is the magazine for publishing information online about your business.

LinkedIn is an online global business networking site of more than 16 million professions repreesenting 150 industries. 

Visible Path "helps business people map and manage their professional social network, connect to contacts, collaborate with colleagues and gain insight into the relationships they have and access to the ones they need."

The company also offers "paid corporate networks help companies connect their employees and provide access to the corporate social network to sell, market and recruit more effectively."