A little idea for Steemit that could end up being a big idea for progress: The Ideas Factory

in #steemit8 years ago (edited)

Introduction

I have a little idea which I would like to discuss with the Steemit community.  You may think it is a terrible idea and may never work - please let me know though.  

This idea has been brewing around in my mind for quite some time but ironically (for reasons you will see) I never did anything with it.

As always there will be an image of cute animals (in this cases a kitten and a puppy) at the end as a reward for reading.  


The Problem - I have great ideas but I can't take them further

I don't know about you but I have a lot of ideas for solving problems in everyday life that don't seem to have been solved by anyone else. So what do I do with these ideas?  

Nothing.  Absolutely zero.

I don't have the business knowledge, money, time or other resources needed to do anything with these ideas.  

Have you ever had these same kind of ideas?  Do you have these little strokes of genius that sadly nobody will ever hear about?


You are not alone (note no Michael Jacksons were harmed in this process)

Prior to the DAO disaster I was heavily involved in that community and one of the big issues that the DAO had was lots of great ideas with no idea of what to do with them or how to take them any further.  

This was a problem because at the very least the DAO needed fully formed proposals, if not businesses to then give funding to.  

It struck me that this is a problem that most of us experience.  

We are great at coming up with the ideas but there is nothing further we can do with them.

So it seems Michael Jackson wrote the song specifically about this (he probably didn't but I just wanted to say that).


The cost of taking an idea from the thought stage to finished product

This post at entrepeneur.com higlights the high cost, time and commitment required for a regular person to take a new idea from their head to an actual finished product which they can sell.  

Most people never even get that far. Here are some of the main steps:

  • first search yourself using Google or online government searches
  • pay for professional patent search/patent lawyers
  • make a prototype
  • approach a manufacturer/company to partner with or make it, store, market and sell it yourself (a herculean task).

Million Dollar Genius requires Million Dollar Input!

If you have also watched the cable tv show called "Million Dollar Genius" then you will have seen that most sucessful inventions cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring to market.  

Even the minority of people who eventually succeed in doing this can end up near bankrupt and in serious financial hardship before they even see a single penny in return - that doesn't even take account of the personal stress on them and their families.

It is no wonder then that most people don't even bother writing their ideas down let alone taking them any further.  

It seems like an insurmountable hurdle so it seems pointless to do anything with the idea.


Well whats the problem with that? Lost potential = Lost progress

The problem is that we have a wasted resource.  There are billions of brains all around the planet potentially coming up with solutions to all sorts of problems that aren't commercially available to anyone else.  

Plus they are using effort to solve problems that may already have been solved by someone else.  

That is not just wasted effort but unnecessary replication of effort.

Think of how much is being lost as a result of that.  If even a fraction of these ideas have true value to other people then imagine the impact these ideas could have if something were done with them.  

How much progress have we lost because a killer idea has been invented but never disseminated?  

Think also of the financial cost of NOT having these ideas advance any further.


I invented the wheel but I just sat on it

Just imagine what would have happened if the inventor of the wheel had just sat on his idea and not taken it any further.  Undoubtedly someone else would have come up with it but how much would civilisation have been put back by this loss?

How far behind would human progress be?  A great idea that is not used is potentially a loss to all mankind.


I can't do anything with this but maybe somebody else can?

Technology allows us to collect and disseminate ideas very easily.  Why not use that ability to collect these ideas, save them and share them with others?  I might not be able to make something with my idea but maybe somebody else can and maybe if they make some money with it maybe they will at least give me some credit for the idea - if not some kind of royalty.


How can Steemit help? The Ideas Factory

Since Steemit is specifically designed to store text information, it is ideally placed to act as a store for these ideas.  

Further due to being a blockchain it provides a replicated, dated and virtually immutable place to store this information.  

My idea is to store such ideas on the Steemit blockchain using the tag #ideasfactory - I think it fits the concept well.


Proof of Idea (POI)

The blockchain may not give you a patent but it does give definitive proof of

  • the idea itself, it's description
  • who came up with the idea, even if it is only a username
  • the time you came up with it
  • any further discussion or refinements of the idea

This could also be useful in establishing prior art in cases of patent trolling - if previous blockchain proof exists of the idea then it can be shown as proof.

Further it allows vetting and curation of ideas using the wisdom of the "crowd".  Bad ideas or those that are unfeasible should be easily filtered out.


Open Ideas

There is nothing wrong with profiting from an idea but what if you had a more altruistic goal for your invention in mind?  

If you previously had a great idea which you wanted to share openly with the world it would be very hard to prove it was your idea and you would probably need to fight off others who might try to patent it.  

Though it has been done in the past (e.g. the Salk Polio vaccine), it is not easy to do and there have not previously been the tools such as the blockchain available that could offer definitive proof of your invention/idea.

Further there may be ideas that are not commercially viable but could be very useful to other people.  The Steemit blockchain could allow these to be shared at minimal cost.


Crowd Funding via Steemit

Another extension of this service could also be using money raised through votes for taking the idea further (in cases where people would like to do this). 

For example the money could be used to pay for a professional patent search or an early prototype.  


IP Companies could Partner with Steemit

Further there are IP companies that look for new ideas and work on helping new inventors to bring them to market.  

Perhaps at some stage one of these companies could partner up with Steemit and offer a Steem/SD based service for taking ideas to the next level? 

Perhaps at some stage Steemit could even take on this task as a company themselves if the idea succeeds. 

This would also create another form of utility for Steem/SD as a currency.


What about patents?

These are just first potential steps.  I'm not an expert on IP and we would need some further input from a qualified person on how blockchain ideas could be turned into ACTUAL patents.  

Perhaps someone in the community with the requisite knowledge can comment on this.

That said here is no technical reason why IP could not be stored on the blockchain and also no reason beyond cost why such ideas could not be synched up in some way with the real world.  

Currently expense and the antiquated nature of how the IP system works would prohibit this but just as blockchains are reducing barriers and costs in other areas of life this could be another area to look into.

I suspect is a matter of WHEN rather than IF.  Somebody will start doing it at some point.  Then everyone else will just take it for granted.


Conclusion

This is just an embryonic idea right now.  I would like input from the community on what you think of it.  I would also appreciate the Steemit team's take on it.  

As always please let me know what you think in the comments and if it is silly idea or has some fatal flaws please allow me to apologise in advance - perhaps you can help me refine it.  

Thank you for reading.


Your Reward for Reading to the End

For a change I thought a puppy and a kitten might be in order.


If you like my work and aren't already, please follow me and check out my blog (I mainly discuss photography but I do other topics like this too) -  @thecryptofiend 


I have also created a new channel in the chat dedicated to photography of people/portraits called "Photography-portraits-people".  Please check it out and post your photos there.


Image Credits: Images are stock photos from my Istockphoto account and/Thinkstock Photo account.  Further information can be supplied on request.  


Some of my Previous Posts and Tutorials:

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This is a very good post!
I totally agree and have had many of these ideas also.
I too have lots of ideas and while I don't come anywhere close to integrating all of them I am very successful and actually making things happen and spreading the ideas.
I founded an entire community based on an idea and now 8 years later it has achieved operating at the lowest carbon footprint of any organization I have seen all because of ideas being integrated into reality.
I find that people rely way to much on money and thus are hundred by the lack of it. I have never had money but have achieved a lot of great things because one of my best ideas ever was that I didn't need money to achieve great things!
I believe in my self and that anything is possible. This helps me to get started with ideas instead of discouraged by the doubts and what ifs!
Best Regards~*~

I founded an entire community based on an idea and now 8 years later it has achieved operating at the lowest carbon footprint of any organization I have seen all because of ideas being integrated into reality.

That's awesome and just the kind of spirit I'm hoping we can tap into. Their is no limit to human ingenuity.

I have never had money but have achieved a lot of great things because one of my best ideas ever was that I didn't need money to achieve great things!

Exactly and the blockchain gives us a tool that makes it that much easier to reduce the cost of doing things.

I believe in my self and that anything is possible. This helps me to get started with ideas instead of discouraged by the doubts and what ifs!

Yes we can all too easily be held back by doubts. Sometimes you just have to put them aside and get on with it if you want to achieve anything.

Thanks for your great response:)

Thanks for a post worth responding to!
I don't have to much available time as I have a LOT going on but when I see someone focusing in valuable matters I like to take time to contribute.
I appreciate your acknowledgment and your considerate response!
Best Wishes!

You're welcome. Thank you for taking part in the discussion. It is my favourite part:)

Yes I agree~
Unfortunately this is one of the lacking aspects of Steemit Currently. There is very little incentive to comment/vote on comments so it happens way less than if there were incentive.
I really hope they find a way to bring incentive to comments so as to inspire more investment in discussion.
I will be following you, as I can see you care.
BLessings~*~

Thank you. I follow you too lol! I agree. It was different early on because the payouts for comments were a lot higher - the high price of Steem at the time helped with that. Hopefully it will improve as more people join.

The Idea Factory should have its own separate link on the main Steemit page, with an easy to understand explanation when you click on it. If it's just a tag a lot of people won't understand what it is.

Thanks mate, that would help a lot. I think the team will eventually add something like this that allows easy access to resources in a prominent fashion.

I totally agree. You put togetherness some ideas I have had for some time. A side note for IP: you can prove anteriority itch the blockchain but that doesn't grant you a patent. When you ask for a patent they do a research to see if anyone patented it before. I think we will slowly accept blockchain integrity as legal evidence but we are not there yet. Be ready to be flood by my ideas.

Thanks yes I completely understand what you are saying and that was my point. Right now the patent system is completely separate but I was envisioning a future where these things could all be integrated but we are not there yet. Simply storing ideas with blockchain proof right now is the starting point. We have to start somewhere:)

@thecryptofiend

It's really you are putting all these in detail. Your posts have become top-tier my friend. good job.

Thanks mate. Your support means a lot - I could say the same for you. Your posts always make me think:)

I would participate. Great idea and post.

Thank you. That would be great. Once we've had some discussion and as long as people can see no objections the idea would be to start using the tag and posting ideas for people to discuss:)

Steemit is made for something like this :)

If a blockchain is perfect for storing data, what would be better than use it to store peoples best ideas? And more generally I think the road to success for Steemit must happen as a creative community where interesting projects are happening, and then written about or vlogged about ( a mutually beneficial feedback loop between projects and online media ).

Another thing : A real idea factory is something the world really needs and no one has so far managed to create it. Which means this is a great opportunity for Steemit.

One aspect I would add which may enhance the value of this concept moving into the future : Collaborative idea development which is then later carried into projects. What I mean is to use the platform to turn a great idea into a fantastic idea including a fantastic plan for execution. Could Steemit work as a think tank where mutual learning goes together with ever more intelligent development of concepts?

One key to make it work might be to give priority to the kind of ideas and concepts which would benefit the entire Steemit community without any downside for anyone. This would remove noise while amplifying the brainpower and energy of the community work.

Incredible potential here :)

Thanks for a great response.

Could Steemit work as a think tank where mutual learning goes together with ever more intelligent development of concepts?

I don't see why not particularly if we get the messaging working.

Thank you:)

"This is just an embyonic idea right now. " emb R yonic ....
Other than that, I think it really is a great idea !

Lol there is always one! Thanks for spotting it. I will change it now:)

Very cool idea. Makes me think nostalgically of all the proposals that were discussed on DAOhub and how much energy was poured into debating them. Sometimes I wonder whatever happened to those ideas and I get a melancholy feeling imagining what might have been. Sounds like this could be the next evolution of those original DAOhub vetting grounds.

I have resteemed this to help increase visibility.

Thank you. Yes I remember that early optimism well. It was only on a few months ago but it feels like years. It seemed like there were so many possibilities. Sadly I think the idea was too far ahead of its time.

We may have real DAOs eventually but I think we nee them to be controlled by AIs - otherwise some sort of human intervention will always be necessary. There is no reason why many of those great ideas that nobody did anything with couldn't migrate here and be stored on the blockchain for future use.

It has been an eventful summer hasn't it? Things move fast in the crypto world and it does feel like ages have already passed since The DAO. But I hope that the lessons learned from it linger on. The idea behind it was great, only the execution was flawed. Things were simply too chaotic without some kind of built-in control process to channel all those discussions and move things on from step to step. It was released too soon, without enough thought given to how to keep it smoothly running. Given enough time the community might have rallied behind the DAOhub leaders and managed to work things out, but now we'll never know how that would have played out.

I think we will see more DAOs, the concept is definitely here to stay. But they need to have a more limited scope, like the Digix DAO, with less complexity. At least for now. The KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) would be a good one to follow.

There is no reason why many of those great ideas that nobody did anything with couldn't migrate here and be stored on the blockchain for future use.

Absolutely! If there's one thing the Steem blockchain is great at, it's warehousing & archiving stuff. I hope some of those ideas see the light of day and find a way to get developed.

Thanks for another great response. Yes I completely agree. The only kind of DAOs that can work right now are those that have a very narrow and simple function. The giant DAO was just too ambitious.

Absolutely! If there's one thing the Steem blockchain is great at, it's warehousing & archiving stuff. I hope some of those ideas see the light of day and find a way to get developed.

Me too:)

Reading this article, I had one of those WHOAHH moment for me: in the past I often wish there was a site where me and everybody could post their ideas and anyone could pick and develop them. The problem was the old one: how could I have acknowledgment for that idea? Now with the blockchain things are different...and all of these new possibilities makes me very happy. Beside, I think Steemit is a great community to discuss new ideas or get crowfunded.
I wish I could provide more technical critiques - as you asked - but I can't.
By the way, ideas are what matter - and the one you wrote about is great.

Thank you for a great comment. I will be looking at posting more on the subject soon. I just hope my idea isn't too crappy though - but that's the thing about this - it doesn't matter.

I wish I could provide more technical critiques - as you asked - but I can't.

Taking the time to comment and give support is just as valuable. Thanks:)