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Receives light without darkening me

Started by paulmwatson · 8 months ago

Contrast are a dynamic group of web-developers in Ireland who are making people think. From what I see they are marketing themselves amazingly well and, I hope, inspiring others to Get Real (and do something.) They are the 37Signals of Ireland.
Part of their style is to lob a thought-grena ... Continue reading »

4 comments

  • Des

    8 months ago

    Thanks for the kind words. Seeing as it's Eoghan's post, I won't address your discussion of it.

    I would say however, that my personal distaste for the valuation of ideas, is that it encourages people to hide them, keep them a secret, and as a result nothing happens with them. Nothing.

    If you have an idea, and zero method, manner, or intention of executing it, you may as well throw it into the world.
    reply
  • WeZ

    8 months ago

    Your best post yet, Paul.
    reply
  • paulmwatson

    8 months ago

    That is true, Des, and I would like to see a better balance.

    What I want to avoid though is a Getting Real movement that swings the other way and results in a pragmatic but sterile environment. Lots of things will get done but they won't be great things. TaskFive is a nice idea and it is useful but it is not a revolution or even a substantial improvement. Actually I think the model Contrast used to find, market and build TaskFive is the more progressive and interesting idea.

    Without great ideas we'll become really, really good at "throwing sheep."
    reply
  • karl deeter

    8 months ago

    I think that the discussion so far about ideas being worth something or not is off the mark, having read eoghans blog, this one (excellent btw) and having done one myself I think its fair to say we are all reading off the same hymn sheet in that crap ideas are no good no matter where they show up and hidden ideas equally don't come to anything.

    Perhaps it would be best if we try to foster a culture where ideas are more easily protected and can thus get into the public domain faster and see what comes of them. I thought contrast were insightful in the ideas competition but equally others were cynical and had a relevant point in being so.

    solution? make it easy to put a basic copyright on an idea, maybe a site where you can have an account and log your idea (dates/times/ip's recorded) then put it out there without fear of it getting ripped off. Companies could then troll the site and if they saw a commercially viable one they contact the owner and go from there.

    it sure beats sitting around all smug about great ideas we won't share right?
    reply

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