How do you get ideas for projects? | The Coffeehouse

Chadk
excuse me - do you has a flavor?

So over the last few months I have tried hard to come up with some kind of project I could work on and maybe make a coin or two after some time(Hosting isn't free).

So I'm obviously doing something wrong.

What's your "secret" for coming up with good ideas you can make into an useful product?

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

So over the last few months I have tried hard to come up with some kind of project I could work on and maybe make a coin or two after some time(Hosting isn't free).

Yeah, sorry about that Smiley

So I'm obviously doing something wrong.

What's your "secret" for coming up with good ideas you can make into an useful product?

I usually do it by identifying something I personally need written to save time in future. For instance, I write (well, not much lately since I've been bogged down with university work) for a fairly large gaming site but the web interface for working with it is hard to work with, so I wrote a screenscraper library for it and then a desktop program for it which makes my life easier.

Chadk
excuse me - do you has a flavor?

In reply to W3bbo

#Oct 3rd, 2008 @ 2:51 PM

Well, hosting is mostly not free(My linux server is 20 dollars per month!!!). Windows hosting is almost free! Tongue Out

androidi

In reply to Chadk

#Oct 3rd, 2008 @ 2:57 PM

Maybe you should create some kind of p2p-cloud that would host stuff for free. I suppose a combination of DHT and maybe existing IRC servers to give initial connection should do this. Certainly there's existing solutions but to catch on you need a new Singularity based Microsoft OS that runs inside Windows (like I suggested before the MS announcement of that), then everyone will run that and it will form this p2p cloud with no one having any control over it. Eventually they'll replace the word cloud in the Cloudnet with Sky.

HumanCompiler
Compiling humans...and code

Almost all of my ideas are completely random and most of them happen in the shower. Tongue Out

It's really hard to explain how to come up with new ideas because everyone is different, but I have a few tips:

1. Start small - I have new ideas almost daily. Almost all of them are a huge undertaking that would take a long time for just me to build. Sometimes the best idea is a subset of your initial idea that you can prototype in a weekend.

2. Work with 1 or 2 other people - Not everyone can be the idea guy. The best groups of people that build cool stuff, IMHO are 2 or 3 people. Usually there's an idea person, someone who is the main implementer and the seller of the idea. Sometimes one person is all of those (not usually). Sometimes two people cover those 3 things. If you're lucky, you can find 3 people who focus in those 3 areas, but all share across them as well. Bottom line, it's a lot easier to prototype out a cool idea with 2 or 3 people than it is just yourself. Sometimes it's easy to fool yourself that an idea is really great because you have nobody to bounce it off of. All that said, go over 3 people and you start to get too many cooks in the kitchen.

3. Keep up on current events and technologies - Not much to explain there.

4. Talk to people that have nothing to do with your profession - I usually talk to my parents about ideas. They have no clue about anything I do. This usually gives you some perspective on your idea and can help strengthen your weaken your idea.

5. Realize someone's already thought of your idea - It is most likely that your idea has already been thought of and that someone is already working on it. Fast prototyping is key. But also, the correct impelmentation is important. Being first is great, but being second doesn't mean you're going to lose. Prove a concept quickly to make sure your idea will work (or fail quickly) and move onto thinking the whole implementation through.

I could probably go on and on, but I won't. Hope some of that helps!