creamglobal.com interviews Jimmy Wales

What is your definition of good innovation?

An innovation is a new method, idea, process, product, etc. A good innovation is one which changes the world fundamentally, and is so obvious and important after it is created, that we can't imagine how we lived without it before.

How do you foster a culture of innovation within your team?

The most important thing is to not be afraid to fail, not be afraid to look silly. Try things. Fail faster.

What is the biggest barrier to innovation?

Fear. Conformity.

What is the single most innovative piece of work that you have been involved in from the past 12 months?

My team at Wikia have been working on what we are starting to think of as "Wiki 2.0" - a total redesign of the wiki editing experience that we hope to launch this fall. We've tried everything, from the absurd to the sublime, we've taken risks, we've failed a million ways. But out of this is emerging something I think will be very interesting and very satisfying.

What was the biggest challenge of the past 12 months?

I'd have to say the bus ride I took with the C-Squared team from London to Valencia, Spain due to the volcano, "Ai yi yi!".

Which brands (apart from your own) do you admire for their innovative approach to marketing/business?

I'll avoid the cliché and won't say Apple, although I do admire them a great deal. Lately I'm super interested in Tom's Shoes - marketing fashionable shoes and giving a pair away in the developing world for every pair that is bought. I'm convinced that hybrid models like that are going to be strong in the coming years, due to the ability to build brands quickly through word of mouth.

What marketing techniques/new technologies are you looking to leverage over the next 12 months?

It's all about producing something that is authentic - and authentically interesting. Technique and technology must always be secondary to that.

See Jimmy Wales present Web 3.0 and the Fabric of Life at the Festival of Media, Valencia 2010.