I think it's a very cool idea, but I'm not convinced that it will work. As mentioned in your article, Pete, "huge teams are tough to coordinate, and it’s hard to motivate people to contribute", which may lead to inconsistent product offerings and communication problems.
I've participating in smaller projects/companies that have operated in a similar fashion and all sorts of problems inevitably arise... from issues regarding stakeholder percentages to personal scheduling conflicts, which lead to missed deadlines.
I wish them all the best and hope they can prove me wrong.
Michi Kono
· 3 years ago
I really wish you had done a little bit more research before posting this review. The site has horrible, terrible ideas. In fact, all of the ideas I read fit in one of two categories: either already done or nearly impossible to execute. For example, the current #5 is a cell phone that is used for "authentication to desktop applications (windows & *nix), web applications, cars/motorbikes, ATM's, controlled doorways, gas stations, retail purchasing, etc". Meanwhile, the #3 submission was "A photo community to let anyone who can take pictures to post their digital photos for sale online: auction or fixed priced." Because people are submitting ideas on markets they've obviously done little to no research on, the ideas usually already implemented, or their lack of understanding of the business requirements result in wildly unfeasable ideas. Your post didn't addess how you can't comment on an idea, mark an idea as already implemented, or how competitors could mine the good ideas from the site without contributing. The high signal to noise ratio will be the undoing of this site.
BPAndrew
· 3 years ago
It reminds me of the GameDev.net forums -- Kids coming in with crazy game ideas. Even good ideas are worthless -- its the painful hours of making them happen thats worth the big bucks.
Another thing is.. if you have a great idea, and are able to code it.. why not build it yourself?
Robert Dewey
· 3 years ago
Michi,
It doesn't really matter if the idea isn't unique... What really matters is that you are able to innovate the idea with your own twists and have good PR.
MySpace certainly wasn't the first social network, and Google wasn't the first search engine.
With that said, I do think people need to do their research before jumping into development of ideas. Doing things blindly often leads to stubbed toes.
David G
· 3 years ago
Having lived through (and enjoyed) the business experiment (TBE), I was excited to see Cambrian House (CH) launch and have spent some time there over the past few weeks. CH have taken a few steps forward and a few steps back from where we left off at TBE.
On the plus side, CH does a much better job of communicating the overall vision - and it shows in the rapid growth of their membership. They've clearly thought through what it takes to build software. I like the way that creative and code contributions are managed by CH - definitely an improvemnent over TBE.
That said, Michi is right; the ideas submitted at CH do totally suck - I don't think they've attracted a single entrepreneurial mind yet - CH could really benefit from the involvement of the TBE crowd. CH's biggest downfall heer is that they don't really understand the collaborative nature of crowdsourcing and w.o.c. The ideas funnel at CH wouldn't be so littered with crud if they had let the community discuss the ideas - the idea submission part of the community badly needs some healthy criticism to end the flow of brain-farts being posted there.
The two main challenges that CH shares with TBE are a) no useful guidelines were set for the type of products CH could build and b) although the product creation model is better developed than TBE's there's no solid plan for contributing to the operations of the business. Beyond that, I'm also skeptical about CH's points system - it's nice in that it's simple and transparent - but sucks in that it seems very arbitary, did not solicit crowd input and is poorly tied to the total value of the products.
It'll be interesting to see how this evolves - CH has definitely attracted a far more creative team than we had at TBE. Regardless of whether CH eventually pays anyone, if it's anything like TBE, I highly recommend getting involved for the learnings that will come from this.
Chris Fleming
· 3 years ago
In regards to the team development ... how do you explain how any open source projects on SourceForge get produced? I don't think that CambrianHouse is saying there will be massive teams on each project. There could be if needed, but I think it will end up being small teams on many projects. It will be interesting to see how they manage this, and what their system will be I can hardly get all my friends together for a drink at the same time muchless develop software.
Okay...and as far as the ideas go, I'd like to point out the sites been live for 16-17 days. They're not even out of beta yet, so I'm sure better idea's will be found as they go along. You're right, some of the ideas are weak, but at least people are using the site! Cut them a little slack for that.
And I agree that people who have ideas, or want development experience should get involved.
Daniela A. (Asaro)
· 3 years ago
Just a quick comment-- I think users with truly well researched and developed ideas may be wary to post it on CH. There would be no way of knowing if the idea was seen on CH by a non-user, swiped/stolen, and developed behind the original thinker's back.
But it is still in beta...maybe they will figure out a way to ease people's minds but I believe until then --most contributers will be from those with "sucky" ideas or those who can't get funding.
Gareth
· 3 years ago
What is wrong with "sucky" ideas? I for one, am all for the haphazard, crazy, half-cocked, write down any ol' crap idea method.
I am pretty sure CH arent going to run off and develop a project on the basis that 1 individual clicked his own link 400 times.
I have contributed many ideas to the project, simply because I am not a programmer, have a day job that is totally separate from IT land, and simply want programs that make my life easier and/or more interesting. Yes, there are some silly ideas there (mine included) but these are people simply stating what would make their life easier. I think it is premature to judge the CH process until they reveal subsequent steps. What would be the use of crowd-sourced software without the crowd? We could have "smart people who have done this before-sourced software" but what fun would that be!! As has been noted, all the cluey ones are already doing their own start-ups or sniggering at the current ones. In these early stages, I think the emphasis is on fun.
I do agree that some method for people to comment on or rate ideas would be sensible, and my understanding is these features will be launched, but launching them immediately would have discouraged use of the site, as people would have had their ideas squashed the moment they were posted. Again, where is the fun in that?
I dont expect to make a cent out of the process but Ill sure have some fun along the way
Josh
· 3 years ago
This sounds very familiar...
Does anyone remember the HalfBakery.com ? Isn't this basically the same idea (with a little spin to make it a competition)?
Pete Cashmore
· 3 years ago
Josh,
Yeah, Halfbakery is brilliant.
Josh
· 3 years ago
Looking at HalfBakery just now (for the first time in many years) I realize how far ahead of their time they perhaps were. Their voting system, user comments, user profiles, etc. would all fit very well into the Web 2.0 cosmos. :)
Anyway, I also just realized tha Cambrian House apparently plans to take it a step further and actually develop some of these ideas? Is that right? Seems like quite an undertaking, but democratic software development would be pretty neat. :)
But a quick scan through the idea turned up a few lemons... I see one suggestion for "Jobster" a social job seekers network (Jobster?), "Artsy" where people can sell prints of their photos (Zazzle? CafePress?), "Online Secretary" (Backpack), "iBarter" like ebay but with trades (SwapThings? Lala? SwapTree? etc.), "Stock Trade Hivemind" (Social Picks? FeelingBullish? BullPoo?), etc.
There seems to be the opportunity for something really innovative to come out of this, but mostly I'm seeing a lot of copycat ideas being thrown around so far.
Daniela A. (Asaro)
· 3 years ago
On a different note--I do love the design/colors/layout though :)
It’s awesome that you’re having a healthy discussion about whether or not we’ll succeed. While we don’t want to disrupt the debate, we just wanted to clarify a few points.
1. You can now comment on ideas.
2. We’re constantly updating. Our community is always giving us feedback and we heed to the wisdom of the crowds.
3. As far as the ideas go, we trust our community to pull the diamonds from the rough. There may be lots of rough, but that’s the nature of the beast.
4. BPAndrew – To answer your question, it’s one thing to make a product and another to sell it. Making people want to pay money for your product is a whole different ball game. Coding isn’t commercializing.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming :)
Amy
· 3 years ago
Worst. Idea. Ever.
Shanti Braford
· 3 years ago
I wish Cambria House the best of luck.
I started something similar to this (it's now defunct) that never gained much traction, called "Menlo Park 2.0."
Our business model was going to be much more like typical angel investors, where we would take 1-2% of equity in the startups we got going and 1% of revenue (or 2.5% of profits), once the startups were rolling.
In exchange, people who started companies with us would also get stock in Menlo Park 2. It would've been kind of like a diversification play for startup entrepreneurs.
The problem was, as some commenters have pointed out re: The Business Experiment (which I also watched) was actually getting development time contributed by the community.
I actually don't think the phrase "ideas are worth a dime a dozen" does the concept justice.
It should read: ideas aren't worth the lint in my pocket.
Everyone with even a moderate sprinking of creativity and intelligence could come up with 100 ideas in 15 minutes, if they sat down and thought about problems they faced and possible solutions. For startups -- the idea will get you 1% of the way, while 99% will get you the rest.
Again though, best of luck to Cambria House. All it would really take is 1 moderate success for something like this to take off and give the concept legitimacy.
Shanti Braford
· 3 years ago
Oops, I mean "Cambrian" house. I was just in Cambria, CA last week =)
Julius
· 3 years ago
Hi,
Im using the site for a while now. Just wanted to mention they do use the Digg-like system now. And I think there are some nice ideas in the top-list now: http://www.cambrianhouse.com/idea-warz/top-ideas/
Let me try to spam my idea for a social network site for blind people:
I have no idea of the concept of CH would work on the long run, but I can say it's fun to 'hang around' on the short run. I think the most important part of these crowd things is that you have a really big crowd. Like enormous, before it starts to work properly.
"Another thing is.. if you have a great idea, and are able to code it.. why not build it yourself?"
Because you can't do the the code/marketing/visualization/management but only your part.
Well, in a way it's true that you want to it yourself sometimes; for my charity social network site idea, helpalot.org, I do want to develop it myself (with some help), but if I wouldn't be able to get it off the ground, I would 'give' it to CH.
All Comments
I've participating in smaller projects/companies that have operated in a similar fashion and all sorts of problems inevitably arise... from issues regarding stakeholder percentages to personal scheduling conflicts, which lead to missed deadlines.
I wish them all the best and hope they can prove me wrong.
Another thing is.. if you have a great idea, and are able to code it.. why not build it yourself?
It doesn't really matter if the idea isn't unique... What really matters is that you are able to innovate the idea with your own twists and have good PR.
MySpace certainly wasn't the first social network, and Google wasn't the first search engine.
With that said, I do think people need to do their research before jumping into development of ideas. Doing things blindly often leads to stubbed toes.
On the plus side, CH does a much better job of communicating the overall vision - and it shows in the rapid growth of their membership. They've clearly thought through what it takes to build software. I like the way that creative and code contributions are managed by CH - definitely an improvemnent over TBE.
That said, Michi is right; the ideas submitted at CH do totally suck - I don't think they've attracted a single entrepreneurial mind yet - CH could really benefit from the involvement of the TBE crowd. CH's biggest downfall heer is that they don't really understand the collaborative nature of crowdsourcing and w.o.c. The ideas funnel at CH wouldn't be so littered with crud if they had let the community discuss the ideas - the idea submission part of the community badly needs some healthy criticism to end the flow of brain-farts being posted there.
The two main challenges that CH shares with TBE are a) no useful guidelines were set for the type of products CH could build and b) although the product creation model is better developed than TBE's there's no solid plan for contributing to the operations of the business. Beyond that, I'm also skeptical about CH's points system - it's nice in that it's simple and transparent - but sucks in that it seems very arbitary, did not solicit crowd input and is poorly tied to the total value of the products.
It'll be interesting to see how this evolves - CH has definitely attracted a far more creative team than we had at TBE. Regardless of whether CH eventually pays anyone, if it's anything like TBE, I highly recommend getting involved for the learnings that will come from this.
Okay...and as far as the ideas go, I'd like to point out the sites been live for 16-17 days. They're not even out of beta yet, so I'm sure better idea's will be found as they go along. You're right, some of the ideas are weak, but at least people are using the site! Cut them a little slack for that.
And I agree that people who have ideas, or want development experience should get involved.
But it is still in beta...maybe they will figure out a way to ease people's minds but I believe until then --most contributers will be from those with "sucky" ideas or those who can't get funding.
I am pretty sure CH arent going to run off and develop a project on the basis that 1 individual clicked his own link 400 times.
I have contributed many ideas to the project, simply because I am not a programmer, have a day job that is totally separate from IT land, and simply want programs that make my life easier and/or more interesting. Yes, there are some silly ideas there (mine included) but these are people simply stating what would make their life easier. I think it is premature to judge the CH process until they reveal subsequent steps. What would be the use of crowd-sourced software without the crowd? We could have "smart people who have done this before-sourced software" but what fun would that be!! As has been noted, all the cluey ones are already doing their own start-ups or sniggering at the current ones. In these early stages, I think the emphasis is on fun.
I do agree that some method for people to comment on or rate ideas would be sensible, and my understanding is these features will be launched, but launching them immediately would have discouraged use of the site, as people would have had their ideas squashed the moment they were posted. Again, where is the fun in that?
I dont expect to make a cent out of the process but Ill sure have some fun along the way
Does anyone remember the HalfBakery.com ? Isn't this basically the same idea (with a little spin to make it a competition)?
Yeah, Halfbakery is brilliant.
Anyway, I also just realized tha Cambrian House apparently plans to take it a step further and actually develop some of these ideas? Is that right? Seems like quite an undertaking, but democratic software development would be pretty neat. :)
But a quick scan through the idea turned up a few lemons... I see one suggestion for "Jobster" a social job seekers network (Jobster?), "Artsy" where people can sell prints of their photos (Zazzle? CafePress?), "Online Secretary" (Backpack), "iBarter" like ebay but with trades (SwapThings? Lala? SwapTree? etc.), "Stock Trade Hivemind" (Social Picks? FeelingBullish? BullPoo?), etc.
There seems to be the opportunity for something really innovative to come out of this, but mostly I'm seeing a lot of copycat ideas being thrown around so far.
Reminded me of: http://changeme.gettyimages.com/
It’s awesome that you’re having a healthy discussion about whether or not we’ll succeed. While we don’t want to disrupt the debate, we just wanted to clarify a few points.
1. You can now comment on ideas.
2. We’re constantly updating. Our community is always giving us feedback and we heed to the wisdom of the crowds.
3. As far as the ideas go, we trust our community to pull the diamonds from the rough. There may be lots of rough, but that’s the nature of the beast.
4. BPAndrew – To answer your question, it’s one thing to make a product and another to sell it. Making people want to pay money for your product is a whole different ball game.
Coding isn’t commercializing.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming :)
I started something similar to this (it's now defunct) that never gained much traction, called "Menlo Park 2.0."
Our business model was going to be much more like typical angel investors, where we would take 1-2% of equity in the startups we got going and 1% of revenue (or 2.5% of profits), once the startups were rolling.
In exchange, people who started companies with us would also get stock in Menlo Park 2. It would've been kind of like a diversification play for startup entrepreneurs.
The problem was, as some commenters have pointed out re: The Business Experiment (which I also watched) was actually getting development time contributed by the community.
I actually don't think the phrase "ideas are worth a dime a dozen" does the concept justice.
It should read: ideas aren't worth the lint in my pocket.
Everyone with even a moderate sprinking of creativity and intelligence could come up with 100 ideas in 15 minutes, if they sat down and thought about problems they faced and possible solutions. For startups -- the idea will get you 1% of the way, while 99% will get you the rest.
Again though, best of luck to Cambria House. All it would really take is 1 moderate success for something like this to take off and give the concept legitimacy.
Im using the site for a while now. Just wanted to mention they do use the Digg-like system now. And I think there are some nice ideas in the top-list now:
http://www.cambrianhouse.com/idea-warz/top-ideas/
Let me try to spam my idea for a social network site for blind people:
I have no idea of the concept of CH would work on the long run, but I can say it's fun to 'hang around' on the short run. I think the most important part of these crowd things is that you have a really big crowd. Like enormous, before it starts to work properly.
"Another thing is.. if you have a great idea, and are able to code it.. why not build it yourself?"
Because you can't do the the code/marketing/visualization/management but only your part.
Well, in a way it's true that you want to it yourself sometimes; for my charity social network site idea, helpalot.org, I do want to develop it myself (with some help), but if I wouldn't be able to get it off the ground, I would 'give' it to CH.
http://www.cambrianhouse.com/idea-warz/idea-pro...