What to do with an idea?

smemon

right, i have an idea for a website...

i think it's pretty good and could work..

problem is, i don't want to share it (obviously) because it will get stolen.

How do i go about finding a trustworthy individual to offer an opinion on whether this idea is rubbish or not

Bob the Builder

smemon wrote:

right, i have an idea for a website...

i think it's pretty good and could work..

problem is, i don't want to share it (obviously) because it will get stolen.

How do i go about finding a trustworthy individual to offer an opinion on whether this idea is rubbish or not

Well if its a good idea, you must have a good bit of confidence in it. I presume you will be using PHP, MySQL with [a lot of] HTML.

Arrange to meet with a PHP developer in your area, make sure he is recommended guy, ask him to keep you(as a client) confidential, then tell him your idea. He will probably know the trustworthy people that your looking for, that will keep your idea in a vow of silence. If you lose trust along the way, you can lways make them sign written agreements, which is very common these days..

smemon

well, i think it could work, but basically i need a second opinion.

developing it isn't my main concern at the minute (although i couldn't do this by myself). I'm more concerned about seeing what people think of it - whether it sounds good or not.

ideally, i'd like to talk to the best IT person on boards and form a tag team partnership to undertake this project

Seth Brundle

If you want our developers opinions on something then first tell them what it is roughly about. Otherwise the 'best' probably won't bother reading down through the thread!

smemon

kbannon wrote:

If you want our developers opinions on something then first tell them what it is roughly about. Otherwise the 'best' probably won't bother reading down through the thread!

i can't explain without telling you what it is. however i realise this looks like a useless spam post and is a form of teasing!!

but basically, i want to create a review site. similar to cnet or something (nothing special i hear you say). But that's where my idea comes in.

Bob the Builder

kbannon wrote:

If you want our developers opinions on something then first tell them what it is roughly about. Otherwise the 'best' probably won't bother reading down through the thread!

..agree!

smemon, getting a WebDev's opinion is important but so is getting the opinion of your target audience, just remember that before the start raving about going talking to PHP nerd's* that wont be using the front-end of your system

* I mean that as a compliment....

Adam

Agree!

And to be honest most idea's have been done, these days its about innovation on old work! So giving us an outline of the project without extreme detail shouldn't be too worrying?

smemon

fade_to_grey wrote:

Agree!

And to be honest most idea's have been done, these days its about innovation on old work! So giving us an outline of the project without extreme detail shouldn't be too worrying?

agreed. it isn't really anything new. but it's a combination of ideas which hasn't been exploited as far as i know and i see no reason as to why it couldnt work.

i can't outline the idea without giving it away. i'll be looking into this furthur over the next while and probably throw a site up to see how it goes.

the Guru

I work for a top web media company In Florida, PM me and I will send you a NDA and you can speak to my company, regarding your project, we deal with this sort of thing everyday. We can give you advise, and let you know if it has been done and how to go about it, and maybe write a functional process plan so you can take to developers in Ireland.

cormie

So what happens if you sign a NDA and the company goes ahead and makes it or sells the idea and makes millions? Are you entitled to them millions?

frodo_dcu

In Theory yes ... but you would also have to prove you had the idea first.
Write the idea down in as much detail as posible and seal it in a envelope and send it to yourself by registered post and when you recive it, DO NOT open the envlope ( i told one of my mates do this and he riped it open the min he got it lol ) Now this isn't 100% legal not even 50% nor is garenteed to stand up up in any court but it is a very good starting point for obtaining a copyright or patent for your idea. if did go down the route of patens copyrights remember you have to take a seperate one out in every country you plan to do business in

the Guru

cormie wrote:

So what happens if you sign a NDA and the company goes ahead and makes it or sells the idea and makes millions? Are you entitled to them millions?

that's the whole idea of the NDA we don't speak to another company or person regarding the idea or replicate it for that matter.

cormie

I know, but not everybody who's willing to sign an NDA is willing to abide by it. If they see an opportunity that would like to pursue themselves, what's to stop them doing so?:(

the Guru

Well Cormie ,you will just have to take my word for it, if the OP needs advise and i can help give it too him, like many other posters have done here for me over the years, I think thats a good thing. maybe you have been burn't in the past, thats not my intention!

cormie

Sorry, maybe I came across wrong, I was in no way doubting the honesty of you or any other poster here. But I wouldn't be surprised if there were dishonest people out there who even after signing such agreements, wouldn't run off with the idea if it was good enough and brand it as there own and make their fortune off what was originally your idea.

I'm more asking how to avoid these people and if it does happen, what power would the person who thought up the idea and had it robbed, would have?:o

Aoife-FM104

Ideas are easy to come up with.

It's following through that is the hard part - getting funding, making sales, etc.

Adam

Aoife-FM104 wrote:

Ideas are easy to come up with.

It's following through that is the hard part - getting funding, making sales, etc.

Not to pick holes or anything but isn't that kind of the point of the thread? :rolleyes:

CuLT

fade_to_grey wrote:

Not to pick holes or anything but isn't that kind of the point of the thread? :rolleyes:

FM104's top web development tips :cool:

In at NUMBER 5:

"Your website needs more Shakira"

the Guru

cormie wrote:

I'm more asking how to avoid these people and if it does happen, what power would the person who thought up the idea and had it robbed, would have?:o

What like Steve Jobs, -- I think you just sue them