Collaboration feeds innovation, but often feels too hard to pull off. A few weeks ago I noticed Google released a ‘behind-the-scenes’ video about how a Gmail message travels around the world. Then they invited Gmail users to create and submit their own video clips to YouTube with the following simple instructions: “Someone hands the Gmail M-velope Icon in from the left of the screen, and hands it off to the right.” In response, users from 65 countries submitted 1,100 videos (check out the Google Maps mash-up here), which Google have now cut down and compiled to this final collaborative effort here. Not sure exactly why they did this, but pretty impressive don’t you think?