outside of my little box

As a marketer I often wax eloquent on the benefits of outside of the box thinking. My natural idealism is multiplied many times by the cultural cynicism of my post-modern environment (alas, yes, I am old enough to still fit into that piece of the world). For my entire life I have been encouraged to see outside the box -- which, of course, in one of the many grand ironies of our world, is simply another box!
Of course, the new generation lives in a completely different "box."
Some day we'll talk about that little box... but my real point is how do I, as a marketer, learn?
I speak to marketing experts every day.
But, interestingly, it's rare that I see a new approach or even an interesting test. Yes, the web is a new environment -- but we are still applying our boxed solutions to it. We all read about the multi-dimensional opportunities of digital marketing -- but what are we dong?
There is a fine line between applying known marketing principles and just doing the same old, same old.... what are you learning?