IdeaFisher's leading creativity application, in development since 1977, is on the cusp of a major upgrade to version 7.0. This easy to use software has been proven to effectively tap both short and long-term memory to help create breakthroughs using "associative thinking" combined with expert systems. Used by the majority of the Fortune 500 and over 350,000 ad agencies, small businesses, large corporations, educational institutions, coaches and consultants, the program...

October 14, 2004, Portland, Oregon -- Johnny Dam is reaching for something to launch his newest comic creation… an association. "Balance, parallel, equilibrium… Librium. Got it! Librium! Wasn’t that a drug used to sedate people in the 60’s… like a Stepford Wives kind of thing? That’s it, that's the punch line!"

Johnny’s using a product called IdeaFisher. It’s surfacing more and more among both comics and corporate managers, becoming part of their essential toolkit.

The program, in development since 1977 is a very deep but easy to use software program that’s been proven to tap both short and long-term memory to help create breakthroughs, and avoid ideas that might bomb.

"I understood that Drew Carey is using it, as well as his writers. That’s when it occurred to me that professions use the best tools they can find to keep them at the top of their game, and IdeaFisher was mentioned by Drew more than once" adds Johnny. Johnny's program is now known as the Expert Comedy Writer, and it can be seen at http://store.ideafishing.com/excowr.html

IdeaFisher is a seemingly simple program with a complex patented database under the hood. On startup, it prompts you with two options: do you have a word in mind, or would you prefer a line of questioning? By simply typing a word or phrase, the unique, nearly artificial-intelligence of the program spits out tens to hundreds of associations, all keyed off of your initial prompt. The single word red might reveal a stop sign, Ferrari, fire hydrant or flame... any of over 700 associations that come from that single reference.

"Truly great ideas are created through amalgams of thoughts and associations. If we can prompt you to look at your world through Alice’s looking glass, you just might find your solution isn’t under the toadstool… it’s sitting on top of it" says Marsh Fisher, inventor of the program, and co-founder of Century 21 Real Estate. "When it comes to brainstorming and problem solving, you can’t put 5 guys in a room, all with similar backgrounds and influences, and expect significant breakthroughs. So we give you 250 of the brightest, most diverse and influential minds we could find, and get you to have a dialogue with them whenever the mood strikes. And the program never comes back with "that's a lousy idea". IdeaFisher is idea-agnostic".

If word associations are the answers, what about the questions? IdeaFisher responds with question banks, or Q-Banks - professionally crafted modules of 250 to 2500 questions each, sequentially grouped and precisely developed to characterize and surround the problem.

"Asking the right question is key to the whole brainstorming, problem-solving process" comments Mark Effinger, currently managing operations and product development for the company. "If you can ask the right questions, like an Expert System would, the answers will flow from both your short and long-term memory. You’ll surround the problem, look at it from every angle, and use every one of your senses – it’s still amazing to me how this process reduces major problems into very crisply defined steps, with enlightening answers. Sometimes hundreds of answers. Take your pick."

Users of IdeaFisher range from home schoolers and students to the giants of industry including Apple, 3M, Microsoft and Stanford University. Homeland Security purchased copies this year to better understand the mind of a terrorist, and to clarify where the next attack might happen.

"I can’t overemphasize the fact that IdeaFisher cannot replace the human mind" comments Mr. Fisher. "It’s only a fraction of the hundreds of minds that helped develop the program. But if we only use 10% of our minds individually, then doesn't getting a dialogue with these many additional experts, even through our software, beat the opinion of the guy in the neighboring cube? We think so".

IdeaFisher software and Q-Bank modules are currently in version 6.1, the latest upgrade as of January 2004, and is available for Windows and Macintosh computers. The program comes in 7 pre-configured and discounted bundles, as well as ala carte, with the 65,000 word association engine and any combination of 15+ Q-Bank modules. Corporate, distributor/dealer and educational discounts available.

"We're nearing the finish line with our newest release for OSX and XP, written to leverage the power of our mass of hyper-creative developers and content contributors. These intellectual and creative leaders have helped us develop many new Expert System modules" comments Mr. Effinger. "The new products take the power of IdeaFisher and magnify it with a more elegant interface, dramatically improved QBank technology, and web and Word export, for nearly real-time collaboration between consultants, coaches and their clients. It's the most dramatic improvement to our IdeaFisher brainstorming tools in nearly a decade".

The company can be reached at http://www.ideafishing.com, or by calling 949-903-1987 or emailing e-mail protected from spam bots. Prices range from $49 to $549 for modules and complete systems. Reduced-price pgrades are available to legacy IdeaFisher users, and give the benefit of a free or nearly free upgrade to the upcoming v7.0 release.

IdeaFisher Systems, Inc is a developer and marketer of creativity, brainstorming and problem solving software solutions and technologies. Founded by the co-founder of Century 21 Real Estate, Marsh Fisher, in 1978, the company has sold over 350,000 copies of this award-winning software to nearly every Fortune 5,000 company, as well as top educators, writers, PR professionals, researchers, product developers and the like.

ExitPath Corporation is a Portland, Oregon consultancy and product developer focused on accelerating the growth of early-stage companies through increased revenue generation and reducing time-to-market of products and services. The company operates primarily within Portland Oregon and the TechCoast region (Santa Barbara to San Diego), with additional offices in Portland, Oregon. The company can be reached online at http://www.exitpath.com.