Why I discuss my future projects
1 comments
Agree to some extent. This applies to those ideas where execution is the most important part. That's the vast majority of ideas. However, occasionally you get an idea where the concept is almost more important than the execution.
For example, Twitter. They've obviously executed it well and grown over time, but the initial concept is simple, and you'd want to be first to market. 140 character messages, and you can follow people. It's a good idea, you can create a working beta in a weekend, and grow quickly from there. You don't want to tell people about those ideas.
On the other hand, you have something like the Microsoft post on the homepage, about real-time voice translations for Skype. You can share things like that with the world. Everyone knows this technology is going to exist one day, and everyone knows it's going to be widely used. There's no big secret there. It just boils down to a lot of work, and who executes the most accurate translations. It's not a race, it's a marathon that's open to anyone.
For example, Twitter. They've obviously executed it well and grown over time, but the initial concept is simple, and you'd want to be first to market. 140 character messages, and you can follow people. It's a good idea, you can create a working beta in a weekend, and grow quickly from there. You don't want to tell people about those ideas.
On the other hand, you have something like the Microsoft post on the homepage, about real-time voice translations for Skype. You can share things like that with the world. Everyone knows this technology is going to exist one day, and everyone knows it's going to be widely used. There's no big secret there. It just boils down to a lot of work, and who executes the most accurate translations. It's not a race, it's a marathon that's open to anyone.
Twitter is a bad example; some ideas with simple initial concepts won't get stolen because it takes awhile for anyone to see the point to it.
I just let a friend out my door who I willfully discussed a future project of mine with and he was able to give me some interesting feedback which I appreciated very much. Seeing as I have been spending my last few months on the project and all...
I just find it so strange that so many people are secretive of their goings on and future plans in the start-up community.
The reason I am willing to talk to others about it is because it's a really hard problem which I have been working on for some time now which persists without a perfect solution.
If you are so naive to believe that your idea which is so easily copied simply by overhearing about it in a bar is the golden egg laying goose, then you are misinformed about the world we live in.