Being An Idea Guy Really Sucks Sometimes
By Steve Poland • March 28, 2007
I’ve been on a Twitter high since last Friday night — I’ve had Twitter application ideas flowing through my body ever since (along with way too much adrenaline).
I’m holding my ideas in, and if I blogged them, I’d be doing the original purpose of my Techquila Shots blog (getting original ideas out there to talk about) — and I’d feel a hell of a lot better by getting them out there. I can’t stand holding them in; and I can’t stand knowing I can’t get them worked on. Since Friday, I’ve been a wreck — staying up too late, can’t concentrate on anything — it’s all been a massive blur.
Final Thoughts Before Bed:
- Twitter — This is blowing up. Right now, the direct messaging usage is clunky — must type in “d techcrunch hey what’s up” .. or for an app, “d forecast 14202″ — this will likely change to either “=forecast 14202″ or “@forecast 14202″.
- Twitter — I don’t know what will blow up and be used more on Twitter — content push plays, or pull plays. Push would be having ‘NFL’ as a friend and getting all the latest NFL news pushed to you as it happens. Pull would be service apps like users requesting stock quotes, sports scores, yellow page phone numbers, etc.
- Twitter — curious the % of twitter messages coming from web vs. text.
- Tempted to start paying a programmer to build some of these apps. Also tempted to find a programmer to do a rev-share with (on future suspected revenues) to build out these apps — or find a small investment from someone.
- I can’t afford to be spending money on programming my hopes and dreams right now. Thus, I should blog all these Twitter ideas I have and relieve myself of this anxiety.
- UGH!
“Focus.” I can already hear Eric saying this to me tomorrow.
If you ever feel this crazy — you’re an entrepreneur. So who out there’s an entrepreneur? 
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20 Responses to “Being An Idea Guy Really Sucks Sometimes”
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Here’s another one for you. A voice to text app that runs on a mobile device. Example: “Twitter post, eating a tuna sandwich”. This is kind of like doing a voice note - ... - but you’re also posting it to Twitter.
This is why I can never focus on school work for more than 5 seconds at a time:)
Don’t waste your time trying to be hat your not. Let someone else focus. You just make up as you go. There’s a good manifesto on changethis.com about making it up as you go. My take is here: ....
I am fortunate to be on my 2 weeks vacation from my “day job” or else I’ll lose my mind thinking about ideas.
Steve, you are a “Serial Entrepreneur”
I understand this problem completely. I’m an ideas and execution kinda guy. I have lots of ideas and I’m usually working on one of them, the trouble I have is after launching the idea actually selling it and marketing it.
A prime example is my current project: .... This time though, I’m not letting myself move on and start building my next ideas (even though they’re good ones!) until I’ve worked more at marketing Monkey Duck.
Holding myself back is driving me insane though, I can think of little else except the two ideas I want to be building right now!
Steve I’ve just decided to work on a twitter-push application, once it’s got some users it could be personalised into pull really easily.
I’m game.
Focus
Seriously… here are your options:
1 - Pay, build it, and enjoy the additional debt. This wouldn’t be expensive… like we discussed, less than $500 locally, or less than $200 overseas
2 - Rev. share… but, if you’re so confident in the idea, why give up revenues? I had a prospective project that I kept turning down, and the client came back with an offer of $10,000 and 49% equity if I’d take the job. Common… if you’re willing to give up that much, you don’t believe in the project
3 - Blog about it, get it out of your head, and move on. That’s what this site is all about. Think LONG TERM. I watch that little number of readers go up every day - that is your goal. Give out the ideas, let others spread the word as to how wonderful they are, and that number will go up. Focus.
Of course, I use my phone to talk on, and nothing else. And the Twitter AIM bot still hasn’t come online, so I don’t get this thing. But what worries me is the fact that you’re building this pipedream on an infrastructure that you have no control over. What happens if the doors close? What happens if Twitter takes your usernames? What happens if Twitter sees your revenue model, and copies it for themselves, removing you from the picture?
They created this beast - they can surely create the aps we’ve talked about.
Don’t be a parasite, feeding off of Twitter. And FOCUS, on Techquila Shots.
Before I came up with the idea for my new web application (http://blog.juvely.com), there were many many sleepless nights, I found it hard to shut my mind down at night, I was constantly thinking, to an extent where it was even affecting my college work, however I did end up coming up with my final idea one night at about 4am. Then more sleepless nights followed thinking about the features!
I think Twitter is cool but the Obvious folks have made a grave mistake. By making it completely free and getting popular they have tied their hands. Changing anything now will piss off the user base and cause no end of headaches.
Here’s how I would have done it.
1) web and IM access…free
2) Mobile access, cheap but not free.
... - these buys have deals with the mobile providers and charge to send messages via IM. It’s expensive, $0.75 CAD - say Twitter does a deal where mobile providers charge a 10 cent premium and shares this with Twitter. All charges appear on the phone bill.
The way it is now Twitter would have to turn the world upside down to create a revenue model.
The way I have described all your ideas for services could be implemented and Twitter could even do a rev share with it’s Users if it likes.
Too late now I think.
I must be really dense. I see the blogosphere blowing up about Twitter. I read dozens and dozens of application ideas for Twitter here and in other spots. And for the life of me I STILL can’t figure out what the appeal is, much less how it would ever be commercially viable.
The notion that “everyone has an audience” doesn’t make sense to me. I mentioned in an earlier post that I thought the Twitter ‘buzz’ was at least somewhat attributable to the vanity of users. Unfortunately, that type of user is often biding their time until the next interesting thing comes along. Is Twitter the new MySpace , gaining zillions of users who use it as their preferred networking platform? Perhaps, but the life cycle looks short to me.
Toss in that they either have to start charging users (which won’t go over well at all), enter licensing agreements for a rev share with mobile providers (which won’t be easy since the providers are getting the full cut now), or serve ads (which will drive users away), and I don’t know what to make of Twitter’s long term or short term prospects.
It’s a great feeling running ideas through your head; I can’t get enough of it. Although yesterday afternoon I was spinning the concept and variations of ringsidestartup.com around when I was supposed to be working on re-coding my own project. It’s a double-edged sword!
I’m with you Colin; haven’t been able to catch the Twitter buzz. Like you, I wonder if I just don’t get it? Personally, I’d rather have an internet capable phone to access the kinds of services Twitter may be able to provide.
I go through phases where I get lots and lots of ideas. Most of the them are junk, but I write them all down. Eventually I put idea A together with idea B and I come up with something that I might like. I have a few things bouncing around in my head now, the trick is I’ve got to quell those for a while and get some actual work done so I can pay my bills.
Steve,
I know exactly what you mean. Letting go of them is probably the best you can do until you devote yourself to one or more of them full-time. Many people hoard ideas and think they are protecting them from discovery. But chances are, the ideas have already been thought of and are probably being worked on. The difference is in execution.
This is the first time I’ve read your blog, so I don’t really know you…but perhaps you really need to partner (and soon) with an executer who shares your entrepreneurial spirit and start building real things in addition to writing about them here on Techquila Shots.
Best
I have devised what I feel is a best of both worlds. I call it the idea tagging game and I created ... specifically because of the question of what to do with the multitude of business ideas that I can’t keep from popping into my head but can’t always turn into a real business. Basically the way it works is that I give clues (tags) to an idea and invite readers to guess what the idea is. People can rate each other’s guesses. Readers can also submit their own idea clues. The good thing is that you don’t have to reveal your idea if you don’t want to and people’s attempts at figuring out your idea could spark new ideas for you and everyone else. My site is still young though so traffic is still slow. I hope Steve doesn’t mind me inviting you his readers to try out my site.
dude, your scaring me. That manic adrenaline idea rush happens to me all the time.
It’s good to know there are others out there like me.
[…] an idea guy sucks sometimes. I second that. Too many, too little […]
See, thats the problem. I can look at all those ideas up there ^^ and see a way of making them happen. But coming up with ideas? I’m definately NOT an ideas man.
Ideas are everywhere, ahhhh!!!
I definitely feel like you. A bunch of ideas but no money/time to get them to work. I’m currently seeking a programmer willing to do a rev-share model, but (specially here in Brazil) it has been hard to find…
I’m happy to have encountered this blog..I’ve been thinking of doing something like this for a while.