I have a half-baked idea

October 9, 2007 6:46 PM

Are there any websites or online communities in which people submit their 'ideas' for public use?

I understand how vague this sounds, and will do my best to explain.

I have a lot of half-baked ideas. These may include websites, plots for short films, fast food restaurants and so on. While I lack the motivation and knowhow to implement most of these things, I'd still get a kick out of seeing them brought into existence.

I thought it would be interesting if a website existed in which people were able to submit their ideas, plans and designs for public review, with the expectation that more resourceful people may actually choose to implement them.

Basically it would be a community based 'think tank', a forum for 'open-source imagining' (cough). The website would involve registered members submitting their ideas while others provide feedback and criticism. There would be some degree of moderation and perhaps some sort of voting or upmodding system which would make particularly outstanding entries more visible to everyone.

Understandably, people may be reluctant to divulge a good idea without receiving credit or compensation, but participants would understand that this is the nature of the experiment (and one would hope that a good natured community would look after these elements anyhow).

After all, why let a good idea lie dormant?

My ultimate question is whether or not something like this already exists, or whether or not it would even be feasible?

posted by wolfsleepy to computers & internet (13 comments total)

Have you seen the Half-Bakery?
posted by pompomtom at 6:56 PM on October 9, 2007 [2 favorites]

Roundtuit via Projects.
posted by ND¢ at 6:59 PM on October 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

more resourceful people may actually choose to implement them.

Unfortunately, more resourceful people have plenty of ideas of their own.

Ideas are nothing, implementation is everything.
posted by b1tr0t at 7:02 PM on October 9, 2007

After all, why let a good idea lie dormant?

Too many ideas, too few resources. If you want to see more ideas receive attention, then learn how to implement them.
posted by b1tr0t at 7:03 PM on October 9, 2007

This might constitute what you are looking for...

http://www.whynot.net/
posted by bkeene12 at 7:04 PM on October 9, 2007

It’s jokey, but there’s also Bad Idea a Day.
posted by tepidmonkey at 7:11 PM on October 9, 2007

Seconding the Halfbakery.
posted by fiercecupcake at 7:16 PM on October 9, 2007

Global Ideas Bank.
posted by futility closet at 7:35 PM on October 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Howzabout.org
posted by solipsophistocracy at 8:15 PM on October 9, 2007

Nothing new under the sun! Thanks guys.
posted by wolfsleepy at 10:51 PM on October 9, 2007

I was going to start a magazine called "Good Ideas Magazine. #1: This Magazine." I never did, because I figured somebody else would get to it. Thanks for asking this question -- I was right!
posted by one_bean at 12:21 AM on October 10, 2007

SinceSlicedBread - It's more of a US-policy-centric site, where you propose your idea and people comment on them and the best ideas are then adopted for execution by volunteers/organizers. It was a call-to-action site. And a significant number of the ideas here are of the "Let's solve the problem of World Peace/Global Warming/Poverty" variety -- nothing wrong in that as well -- but clearly process and political action oriented, rather than inventions per se. But they do have some other general ideas. I just checked and it seems they are coming up with a book as well. (Sample Book Pdf)

IronicSans - This is not a community site. But this guy/gal(?) posts a whole lot of fantastic ideas on his site. Even when he's not posting ideas, his blog is quite a treat.
posted by forwebsites at 2:04 AM on October 10, 2007

Oh man, you want Cambrian House, "home of crowdsourcing." It's exactly as you describe. Click on the "ideas" section to see the current round of notions that are being discussed. The winners of each week's round advanced to a month-end tournament.
posted by Milkman Dan at 1:06 PM on October 10, 2007