Speaking as a person who has started two businesses...one tech business, and one retail concept store and working a third idea, I would like to give you a small bit of advice.
First of all, almost everyone you ask (including your friends and family) will tell you pretty much the same rubbish; "You can't do that!." "It's been done. So and so did it." "It's impossible." "Don't waste your time." "No" "Can't" "Don't" "Won't" "How?" "Why?" It's just too difficult, people are doing that already." Everyone is an expert when it comes to what won't work!
Advice number one. Ignore all those negitive assholes. It is human nature for people to wish you failure. After all, your success will only serve to highligh their own failings and shortcomings.
Secondly, try not to do this type of market research on a public fourm. If your idea is great, it's gone. Insist on potential investors to sign a detailed mutual non disclosure agreement, so you, at the very least, have an acknowledgement that they have reviewed your idea or invention. You may want to place an ad on Craigslist looking for freelance software engineers. If you can't afford to pay them, then maybe offer them a partnership.
Thridly, as some on this thread have suggested, other companies are working on your idea. A copywrite won't protect you from anything except maybe a photograph, an illustration, or a written phrase. But even there, a phrase is usually trademarked and not copywrited. That said, however, who really gives a shit if someone is "working" on your idea? Their idea just may suck and fail, whereas, your idea my very flourish and prosper.
Lastly, while I don't really know your concept other than reading between the lines, the comment was made with regards to you marketing a product that makes the learning process more user firendly for begining computer users as somewhat "usless" because "most people already know how to use computers". Well, that statement is laughable. In the industrialized world, we have lots of older people and tons of very young children who would love something that would walk them through a task. I am constantly making flow charts to help my mother and father do ceritan things on their computer. Additionaly most Americans are simply oblivious to the needs of the outside world. COMPUTERS ARE A LUXURY IN MOST OF THE WORLD! The market for tools that would enhance new user experiences in other parts of the world is staggering.
Don't listen to the naysayers. If you believe in your product, go for it. Do more research, write a proper business plan, and find out some real numbers such as...numbers of users per country...age groups...availibility of computer classes...etc., to give yourself an educated guess as to whether or not there is a sizable market out there for your idea. Research and numbers will tell the story, not software and computer geeks. No offence everybody, but I suspect that most people who chimed in on this question have no idea on how to market a product, let alone get off their asses to produce one.
Once upon a time, there was a picture drawn on a napkin of a gas tank with wings. It wasn't very good and most people who saw it would have laughed. The guy who drew it flew around the world non-stop (the first ever to do that) in an airplane that developed from the original drawing.
One of the nicest homes I have ever had the pleasure of visiting was based on a model first built out of Legos on a Sunday morning with a hang-over. People laughed and ridiculed the "grown man who plays with Legos" until they saw the actual home and heard his name; he was a well-known architect.
Laugh and ridicule all you want, but great ideas often start in amazingly simplistic and awkward ways and are not always immediately appreciated by most people. Indeed, Einstein once said that unless an idea is rejected by everyone at first, then there is no hope for it.
Remember the mouse?
If we sat around all day only doing what was already possible, then we would never develop anything knew. Dreams lead to discoveries which make the dreams eventually possible. I was stunned at how forcefully the ideas here were shoved down with very little in the way of probing to help develop the idea. It doesn't matter who it is coming from or whatever their age may be, an new idea should be investigated before being dismissed.
"It can't be done because we don't have the tech already available." The Manhattan Project was just a big party, I guess, as were the Apollo missions and the Space Shuttle, even the United States for that matter. If it doesn't exist, try to find a way to create it, then determine whether it is feasible or not. It's called basic R and D. NASA once needed a way to allow the astronauts to position themselves in a space vehicle. No good solutions existed, so they started looking into ways it could be done. The result was Velcro, which is now a very normal part of our daily lives. The microwave oven sitting in your kitchen was actually an accidental side product of the development of radar for the military: some scientist accidentally left his chocolate bar in front of the beam only to find it had melted a while later.
And, like Apple, you can take old tech and create something that will change the world; ever heard of the iPod? It did not contain any ground-breaking tech, but it incorporated old tech in a new package that did something different.
Actually looking at this reminds me of a UI app we started working on back in junior high school several years before the Mac came out. We called it Merlin and it was questioned based. Sadly, we were not programmers and were working in Basic, but we knew that the then current DOS crap and Basic just didn't cut it for the average Joe who at that time had never even seen a computer.
For senior and youngsters just starting out, there might be something to this. Sure, that isn't really interesting to a lot of pro programmers, but most people on the planet are not programmers; they have trouble setting the timer on the VCR.
As I was working on this reply, youcanhaveyourpc chimed in with some really good advice that may overlap.
If you like to dream, keep dreaming. Not every idea is a great one, but you only need one (Bill Gates had one and look where it got him; Steve Jobs had one and the rest is history).
For the rest of you out there; maybe you should dream a little more.
No no, I'm the guy that's been "competing" with Mr. Allouch for Google ranking the past few years now.. Haha.
I never used JimZip though. I just started using that handle back in high-school. I'm the jimzip of jimzip.com..
Jimzip
I find it odd how people come up with such random handles in different ways. I wonder if there's a guy out there who designs zippers for trousers called Jim. He'd probably call himself EasyJet or something though just to avoid going the obvious route.
I find it odd how people come up with such random handles in different ways. I wonder if there's a guy out there who designs zippers for trousers called Jim. He'd probably call himself EasyJet or something though just to avoid going the obvious route.
Haha.
Sounds about right, I wouldn't be surprised actually. My friends have all come up with some really cool handles for themselves based off random stuff, but that's a topic for another time..
I thought he said he was done, then he comes back on and reads it.
We all must remember the two Steve's however, and rembember when they started. I'm not saying this kid is in any way a Steve, but I am saying that we shouldn't ridicule ideas, that is what computers were founded on. Stupid ideas that worked is why Microsoft overtook Apple in 1983.
"It can't be done because we don't have the tech already available." The Manhattan Project was just a big party, I guess, as were the Apollo missions and the Space Shuttle, even the United States for that matter. If it doesn't exist, try to find a way to create it, then determine whether it is feasible or not. It's called basic R and D. NASA once needed a way to allow the astronauts to position themselves in a space vehicle. No good solutions existed, so they started looking into ways it could be done. The result was Velcro, which is now a very normal part of our daily lives. The microwave oven sitting in your kitchen was actually an accidental side product of the development of radar for the military: some scientist accidentally left his chocolate bar in front of the beam only to find it had melted a while later.
Great speech, really.
but then I like this story, its short and simple and makes its point very well.
On going into space the Americans decided they needed a pen that would work in zero gravity, what a problem, it took 2 million dollars to find a solution, the result is a pen that writes in zero gravity! ta-da!
The Russians had the same problem, but they brought pencils.. also got there first I believe
Ok, the problem in here is that you are thinking like a geek for this concept. forget about everything you knew about interactive software, this is not for a multi-touch machine it will fit great that's why I design a similar hardware concept but is a software for any Mac, you need to use a mouse. and follow intructions. it will be an application for the non-geek user. if you think geek you would never understand this concept. in fact it is obvious that here I will not find a programmer, just critics. if you want to be part of it you are welcome, and then I'll accept your critic.
thanx anyway...
the irony here is that you need at least one "geek" to write the code for you, remeber people skills are important too
Comments
Nope, I've been traveling backwards and forwards in time all morning.
It does get annoying after a while though.
Sebastian
Just so you know, it's a issue that we're dealing with.
This is what happens when you are load-balancing the forums on 3 servers and the timing is off.
grumble.
Hey are you *the* JimZip who made the JimZip zip recovery software or just someone who uses it?
Ah..
No no, I'm the guy that's been "competing" with Mr. Allouch for Google ranking the past few years now.. Haha.
I never used JimZip though. I just started using that handle back in high-school. I'm the jimzip of jimzip.com..
Jimzip
First of all, almost everyone you ask (including your friends and family) will tell you pretty much the same rubbish; "You can't do that!." "It's been done. So and so did it." "It's impossible." "Don't waste your time." "No" "Can't" "Don't" "Won't" "How?" "Why?" It's just too difficult, people are doing that already." Everyone is an expert when it comes to what won't work!
Advice number one. Ignore all those negitive assholes. It is human nature for people to wish you failure. After all, your success will only serve to highligh their own failings and shortcomings.
Secondly, try not to do this type of market research on a public fourm. If your idea is great, it's gone. Insist on potential investors to sign a detailed mutual non disclosure agreement, so you, at the very least, have an acknowledgement that they have reviewed your idea or invention. You may want to place an ad on Craigslist looking for freelance software engineers. If you can't afford to pay them, then maybe offer them a partnership.
Thridly, as some on this thread have suggested, other companies are working on your idea. A copywrite won't protect you from anything except maybe a photograph, an illustration, or a written phrase. But even there, a phrase is usually trademarked and not copywrited. That said, however, who really gives a shit if someone is "working" on your idea? Their idea just may suck and fail, whereas, your idea my very flourish and prosper.
Lastly, while I don't really know your concept other than reading between the lines, the comment was made with regards to you marketing a product that makes the learning process more user firendly for begining computer users as somewhat "usless" because "most people already know how to use computers". Well, that statement is laughable. In the industrialized world, we have lots of older people and tons of very young children who would love something that would walk them through a task. I am constantly making flow charts to help my mother and father do ceritan things on their computer. Additionaly most Americans are simply oblivious to the needs of the outside world. COMPUTERS ARE A LUXURY IN MOST OF THE WORLD! The market for tools that would enhance new user experiences in other parts of the world is staggering.
Don't listen to the naysayers. If you believe in your product, go for it. Do more research, write a proper business plan, and find out some real numbers such as...numbers of users per country...age groups...availibility of computer classes...etc., to give yourself an educated guess as to whether or not there is a sizable market out there for your idea. Research and numbers will tell the story, not software and computer geeks. No offence everybody, but I suspect that most people who chimed in on this question have no idea on how to market a product, let alone get off their asses to produce one.
Keep dreaming...keep plugging away!
One of the nicest homes I have ever had the pleasure of visiting was based on a model first built out of Legos on a Sunday morning with a hang-over. People laughed and ridiculed the "grown man who plays with Legos" until they saw the actual home and heard his name; he was a well-known architect.
Laugh and ridicule all you want, but great ideas often start in amazingly simplistic and awkward ways and are not always immediately appreciated by most people. Indeed, Einstein once said that unless an idea is rejected by everyone at first, then there is no hope for it.
Remember the mouse?
If we sat around all day only doing what was already possible, then we would never develop anything knew. Dreams lead to discoveries which make the dreams eventually possible. I was stunned at how forcefully the ideas here were shoved down with very little in the way of probing to help develop the idea. It doesn't matter who it is coming from or whatever their age may be, an new idea should be investigated before being dismissed.
"It can't be done because we don't have the tech already available." The Manhattan Project was just a big party, I guess, as were the Apollo missions and the Space Shuttle, even the United States for that matter. If it doesn't exist, try to find a way to create it, then determine whether it is feasible or not. It's called basic R and D. NASA once needed a way to allow the astronauts to position themselves in a space vehicle. No good solutions existed, so they started looking into ways it could be done. The result was Velcro, which is now a very normal part of our daily lives. The microwave oven sitting in your kitchen was actually an accidental side product of the development of radar for the military: some scientist accidentally left his chocolate bar in front of the beam only to find it had melted a while later.
And, like Apple, you can take old tech and create something that will change the world; ever heard of the iPod? It did not contain any ground-breaking tech, but it incorporated old tech in a new package that did something different.
Actually looking at this reminds me of a UI app we started working on back in junior high school several years before the Mac came out. We called it Merlin and it was questioned based. Sadly, we were not programmers and were working in Basic, but we knew that the then current DOS crap and Basic just didn't cut it for the average Joe who at that time had never even seen a computer.
For senior and youngsters just starting out, there might be something to this. Sure, that isn't really interesting to a lot of pro programmers, but most people on the planet are not programmers; they have trouble setting the timer on the VCR.
As I was working on this reply, youcanhaveyourpc chimed in with some really good advice that may overlap.
If you like to dream, keep dreaming. Not every idea is a great one, but you only need one (Bill Gates had one and look where it got him; Steve Jobs had one and the rest is history).
For the rest of you out there; maybe you should dream a little more.
Ah..
No no, I'm the guy that's been "competing" with Mr. Allouch for Google ranking the past few years now.. Haha.
I never used JimZip though. I just started using that handle back in high-school. I'm the jimzip of jimzip.com..
Jimzip
Haha.
Sounds about right, I wouldn't be surprised actually. My friends have all come up with some really cool handles for themselves based off random stuff, but that's a topic for another time..
Jimzip
We all must remember the two Steve's however, and rembember when they started. I'm not saying this kid is in any way a Steve, but I am saying that we shouldn't ridicule ideas, that is what computers were founded on. Stupid ideas that worked is why Microsoft overtook Apple in 1983.
Aq kid huh? GFYS
Yes, a kid.
"It can't be done because we don't have the tech already available." The Manhattan Project was just a big party, I guess, as were the Apollo missions and the Space Shuttle, even the United States for that matter. If it doesn't exist, try to find a way to create it, then determine whether it is feasible or not. It's called basic R and D. NASA once needed a way to allow the astronauts to position themselves in a space vehicle. No good solutions existed, so they started looking into ways it could be done. The result was Velcro, which is now a very normal part of our daily lives. The microwave oven sitting in your kitchen was actually an accidental side product of the development of radar for the military: some scientist accidentally left his chocolate bar in front of the beam only to find it had melted a while later.
Great speech, really.
but then I like this story, its short and simple and makes its point very well.
On going into space the Americans decided they needed a pen that would work in zero gravity, what a problem, it took 2 million dollars to find a solution, the result is a pen that writes in zero gravity! ta-da!
The Russians had the same problem, but they brought pencils.. also got there first I believe
sometimes you dont need to over think a problem.
Ok, the problem in here is that you are thinking like a geek for this concept. forget about everything you knew about interactive software, this is not for a multi-touch machine it will fit great that's why I design a similar hardware concept but is a software for any Mac, you need to use a mouse. and follow intructions. it will be an application for the non-geek user. if you think geek you would never understand this concept. in fact it is obvious that here I will not find a programmer, just critics. if you want to be part of it you are welcome, and then I'll accept your critic.
thanx anyway...
the irony here is that you need at least one "geek" to write the code for you, remeber people skills are important too