When my 7 year old asks, "Is ice cream good for you?" I always have to hesitate before answering.  But then I usually come up with some variation on "all food is good in moderation."  And just like eating only broccoli all the time is a bad idea, feeding your brain with a steady diet of blogs and ebooks about social media is a bad idea.  Variety is the spice of life, and the more varied your input is, the more creative juice your brain will have to solve problems.

Here are just 5 ideas for feeding your brain something different:

Read a fiction book - Yes, I have a stack of business books on my nightstand and in my iPad too. But imagine the different nerve endings that would be stimulated by picking up a fiction title once in a while.  You never know what inspiration might appear, and stepping outside the business bubble will give your mind some room to breathe.

Trendwatch - Check out some of the futurist ideas out there, or subscribe to a trendwatching report. There are whole industries devoted to finding out what color refrigerator will be popular next year, and sometimes there are little nuggets that can be takeaways for your own industry.

Take some digital downtime - This one is very hard for me. I find it difficult that I can't Tweet while I'm in the shower.  However, completely unplugging for a dedicated period can be a sanctuary. Once we're not bombarded by digital signals from everyone else, we can be free to daydream, set goals, or simply hang out with other humans.

Learn psychology - I picked Psychology because it has direct application to the field of community management (human behavior and motivation), but you could choose any other discipline that feels interesting. Step outside your field of expertise and look for a webinar, online course, or discussion that takes your brain to a new place.

Get inspired by questions - Use social Q&A sites to see what others are thinking about.  Quora.com and LinkedIn Q&A, as well as up-and-comers like chat site Namesake.com are all places you can find a lot of people asking a lot of questions.  Browse around and be inspired in your own thought process.

Those are my ideas, what ways do you have of sparking your own creativity and feeding your brain?  And yes, ice cream IS good for you.