Cambrian House is a very interesting idea - crowdsourced software. Their goal is to leverage the wisdom of crowds to both receive as well as filter business ideas, code and creative content.Ken Yarmosh, Jul 2006
People
How Valid Is Voting?
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Emesee
    Member since: Apr 16, 2007 Rank: Warrior (155 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
It sounds like a good idea to me. If you framed you're idea for the loom like this in an actual idea submission I'd probably give it four or five stars.
And if you are interested, you could explore your idea and share it with the world at Wikiversity, btw. Just create a learning project.
http://en.wikiversit...ikiversity:Main_Page
And if you are interested, you could explore your idea and share it with the world at Wikiversity, btw. Just create a learning project.
http://en.wikiversit...ikiversity:Main_Page
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x_DaveH
Member since: May 13, 2008 Rank: Peasant (9 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Hey - thanks for your reply. I think I'll make it a submission.
Also, I'm a little new to the whole wikinomics thing. I am currently reading the book and I find it to be fascinating. Does anyone know how such a site would generate income? Would it be from advertising? Also, if the plans for my loom were given out free to the world, would there be a market for anyone to actually buy a copy as a printed book?
Also, I'm a little new to the whole wikinomics thing. I am currently reading the book and I find it to be fascinating. Does anyone know how such a site would generate income? Would it be from advertising? Also, if the plans for my loom were given out free to the world, would there be a market for anyone to actually buy a copy as a printed book?
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siddey
Member since: Oct 14, 2006 Rank: Chief (408 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On May 13, 2008, 10:12 pm DaveH said:
I could create a social networking website for crafts people, as them to help me finish the design, and possibly make money selling advertising on the site.
Sounds like a mighty fine idea to me, unless there is already a pre-existing social networking site covering this subject matter that you could;
a.) partner with (maybe in return for commission on sales of ready-made product) or
b.) join up and become an active community member, then work with your new found friends to perfect the build, give them one for free (they'll be your biggest advocates) and sell others via Ebay.
And it's likely that there are a few other options you could follow as well.....
Either way, maybe it would be good to put a very quick market survey questionnaire together and find some kindred spirits online that you can convince to fill it out for you to validate the desirability of your product amongst the market segment.
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Emesee
Member since: Apr 16, 2007 Rank: Warrior (155 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On May 13, 2008, 10:34 pm DaveH said:
Also, if the plans for my loom were given out free to the world, would there be a market for anyone to actually buy a copy as a printed book?
There might. I understand that parts of the German Wikipedia are being sold in a print version.
There are many possible ways to do...
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Emesee
Member since: Apr 16, 2007 Rank: Warrior (155 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
As for the social networking things... it seems like it could be a Facebook group... or something on Myspace.
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landsky
Member since: Apr 5, 2008 Rank: Noble (54 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Many yes-es to your post.
Yes, CH is narrowly focused â€" but a bit in the sense of a magnifiying lens focusing sunlight on a bug.
Yes, an idea can become successful even if not a winner here â€" it depends on the competition that week and the personal vagaries of the voters. (Witness the recent, wide disparity in comments on a canopied canoe).
Yes, tech ideas are more readily accepted here, but one winner was an idea for bee keeping software, very earth-based.
Yes, not many of us are fluent in crafts and textiles, but feel free to s t r e t c h our envelopes and see what happens.
Yes, we are mainly a bunch of idea people with many differing opinions. Well, many of us are Execution people too. And different ideas is necessary. There’s a quote on here somewhere: if you always agree with me, you’re expendable.
Yes, projects are still possible even if they get a low number of votes; just push it in Forums, PMs, Bazar, and Businesses. Never say die.
Absolutely, yes, an idea for a PVC loom might not â€" MIGHT not â€" get traction here, but it would get intelligent feed back. Absolutely yes, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. And absolutely yes, in the right "crowd" it would be a big hit.
Yes, the target market is very narrow. Yes, you stand a good chance of cornering that [narrow] market by advertising the site in knitting and weaving publications [and web sites].
And finally, where I should have started and cut to the chase: You have the idea for a crowd-sourced website for crafts people. CH 3.0
Submit it, dammit!
By the way, your post was 2 minutes old when I began composing this off line and when I got back there were already all these answers so, Y E A H, you've got a winner here even though you submitted it left-handed.
Yes, CH is narrowly focused â€" but a bit in the sense of a magnifiying lens focusing sunlight on a bug.
Yes, an idea can become successful even if not a winner here â€" it depends on the competition that week and the personal vagaries of the voters. (Witness the recent, wide disparity in comments on a canopied canoe).
Yes, tech ideas are more readily accepted here, but one winner was an idea for bee keeping software, very earth-based.
Yes, not many of us are fluent in crafts and textiles, but feel free to s t r e t c h our envelopes and see what happens.
Yes, we are mainly a bunch of idea people with many differing opinions. Well, many of us are Execution people too. And different ideas is necessary. There’s a quote on here somewhere: if you always agree with me, you’re expendable.
Yes, projects are still possible even if they get a low number of votes; just push it in Forums, PMs, Bazar, and Businesses. Never say die.
Absolutely, yes, an idea for a PVC loom might not â€" MIGHT not â€" get traction here, but it would get intelligent feed back. Absolutely yes, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. And absolutely yes, in the right "crowd" it would be a big hit.
Yes, the target market is very narrow. Yes, you stand a good chance of cornering that [narrow] market by advertising the site in knitting and weaving publications [and web sites].
And finally, where I should have started and cut to the chase: You have the idea for a crowd-sourced website for crafts people. CH 3.0
Submit it, dammit!
By the way, your post was 2 minutes old when I began composing this off line and when I got back there were already all these answers so, Y E A H, you've got a winner here even though you submitted it left-handed.
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x_DaveH
Member since: May 13, 2008 Rank: Peasant (9 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Thank you for your replies. I like this idea more and more. And, to show you how far this idea is in the development stage, I posted some photos of the first PVC Loom prototype. I really like the idea of giving this idea out for free.
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siddey
Member since: Oct 14, 2006 Rank: Chief (408 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Nice work. How about weaving a Cambrian *cough* Vencorps, rug for the team? 
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x_DaveH
Member since: May 13, 2008 Rank: Peasant (9 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On May 14, 2008, 4:21 pm siddey said:
Nice work. How about weaving a Cambrian *cough* Vencorps, rug for the team?
Well, the PVC Loom only can weave 24" wide and is not strong enough for rugs. But, I do have future plans for a Unistrut loom that can weave up to 5 feet wide, or more. Unistrut is solid steel and can be put together like a toy construction set. I would love to weave that rug some day.
BTW, I submitted this as an actual idea for voting next week. Here is the link.
PVC Loom
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Kevin_Cox
Member since: Oct 14, 2006 Rank: Viking King (555 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
My guess is that you did not express the idea properly. (That is if it did not win the first time around.) Proof of concept and prototyping score big points in my book.
What I would do is actually make a kit if you wanted to make it commercial. With instructions on how to build it. The instructions are free, buying the kit with all the parts optional.
That or somehow split it into easy to assemble sections that are easy to ship. So the end user has to do only minimal work. AKA Doing it Ikea style.
What I would do is actually make a kit if you wanted to make it commercial. With instructions on how to build it. The instructions are free, buying the kit with all the parts optional.
That or somehow split it into easy to assemble sections that are easy to ship. So the end user has to do only minimal work. AKA Doing it Ikea style.
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x_DaveH
Member since: May 13, 2008 Rank: Peasant (9 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On May 14, 2008, 10:07 pm Kevin_Cox said:
My guess is that you did not express the idea properly. (That is if it did not win the first time around.) Proof of concept and prototyping score big points in my book.
What I would do is actually make a kit if you wanted to make it commercial. With instructions on how to build it. The instructions are free, buying the kit with all the parts optional.
That or somehow split it into easy to assemble sections that are easy to ship. So the end user has to do only minimal work. AKA Doing it Ikea style.
Actually, I just submitted the idea for the very first time and it won't be up for voting until next week.
I had thought about creating a kit for people to buy. But, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of the design. To make it worth my while, or anyone's for that matter, I would have to buy the materials, cut them down to size, package them, advertise, process orders, and then pack and ship them, the profit on the kit would be so high as to place it much closer to the cost of wooden framed looms. Plus, I don't want to do all that as a business. That would require quite a lot of work just to put one kit together.
One of the major benefits of the PVC Loom design is the economy of making it yourself. The only way to maintain that economy is to provide people with the list of materials and have them gather them together. I think that anyone who thinks to do this as a possible business venture will quickly find out that it is just not worth it.
Another possibility I thought of was to have classes for people in how to build a PVC Loom. For that I could supply materials and then use the class time to put the looms together.
- Ideas Submitted
- 7205
With such an unlimited source of ideas and people possible from the Internet, how valid is the voting that takes place in here? After all, we are mainly a bunch of idea people with many differing opinions. Something that appeals to me may not appeal to you.
I'm wondering about the success of a really great idea that happens to get few if any votes in here. Are projects still possible even if they get a low number of votes?
As an example, I'll tell you about one of my pet ideas. I am a weaver and I have invented a way to construct a very complex weaving Loom using PVC Pipe from Home Depot. It costs but a fraction of what modern furniture-quality looms sell for. But, I seriously doubt that such an idea would get any traction with the members here. But, that doesn't mean it is a bad idea. In the right "crowd" it would be a big hit.
I had been planning on finishing my book on how to build my PVC Loom and sell it on Amazon. But, not having time to finish it, plus needing people to test the design further makes me think that I should give the idea away in the true spirit of wikinomics. I could create a social networking website for crafts people, as them to help me finish the design, and possibly make money selling advertising on the site. The target market is very narrow, but I stand a good chance of cornering that market by advertising the site in knitting and weaving publications.
I would appreciate any comments you may have on this.
Thanks.
Posted: May 13, 2008, 10:12 pm