We consistently get three types of feedback for ideaphore.
The first is resounding excitement. An outlet for creativity that lets you build up credibility in a community and sell your ability to ideate – the product of your inspiration – for money. It’s an exciting new platform for open innovation.
But we also get outright hatred for our stance that people should be able to sell access to their minds. We get visceral disdain for thinking that inspired thoughts and the work product that goes into fleshing out an idea, big or small, can be sold on an open market.
This second, arguably negative, sentiment breaks out into two diametrically opposed views: (1) ideas have no value; and (2) ideas are way too valuable.
To the first group we say, “you get what you pay for.” It is a self-fulfilling prophecy that all ideas are valueless. If you believe your customers’ and potential customers’ ideas are worthless, then you will not pay for access to those minds. Your product will be made and updated in a vacuum. Beyond your own internal ideas, the ideas for product improvement that you do find out in the ether will be only the ideas, or portions of them, that people are willing to give away for free. It’s funny to hear people say that ideas are a dime a dozen. Where’s the bloody dime then?
To the second group we say, “get over yourself.” Ideas are indeed plentiful and are generally not, on their own, revolutionary. If you can do some preliminary research as to whether the idea has been tried before and which specific company could benefit from the idea, then the idea might have some value. If you can apply your expertise to the idea and spend time explaining the problem and the solution and why the company should care, then that work combined with your idea can be marketable. But a company still has to put an expert in the field on the idea, decide whether it’s good, make it work, and then put it on the market taking responsibility for it. They are taking all of the risk. For small ideas, you should not necessarily expect a piece of the pie.
We believe that an open market where idea creators choose a fixed fee for viewing their idea and work product is the correct solution for selling small ideas.
The modern suggestion box has to be so much more than a box. It must be curated by a community, backed by a algorithm for the feedback and a ratings system, complete with rewards and recognition for the idea creators, sealed with IP protections, simple, and beautiful. ideaphore is that modern suggestion box, and our growing community will make us much more.
WANTED: VALUABLE IDEAS AND THOSE THAT VALUE THEM.
ideaphore 