Bentler - 10:03 pm on Dec 19, 2008 (gmt 0)

I'm an idea generator and can personally relate to this post, being one who has to practice restraint. Most of my effort goes toward things other people want and not my own ideas -- the stuff I get paid to do, even if it's not so much fun at times...after all, fun isn't the point of a paying job is it. Having kids, payments to make every month, and promises to keep, I can't afford to mess around with too much entrepreneurial spirit.

However, I do try to make my ideas happen somehow. In one case, over the years I've stuck to developing a particular side project, for a number of personal reasons, partly interest in learning a subject and for its recreational value, and to apply new Web techniques that I can use in my paid job. I don't make money from this personal site, but I did target and fill an empty information space with link glue that I suspect contributed to the benefit of others, based on an independent federal study that indicates a $500 million/year increase in regional spending in the niche that this site would be expected to influence, and based on other economic metrics that indicate its region is healthier than comparable areas despite the economic downturn.

For projects that relate to work, I regularly propose funding and work program ideas -- sometimes suggestions fall flat, maybe I come across as foolish, sometimes it attracts funding and gets on the schedule, and we can do something new. We've done this sort of thing many times and funding is the key to it, as well as standing back letting other people run with ideas.

I also try to pass along ideas to companies that can act on them and benefit everyone-- software companies mainly. Though I don't claim (and would be presumptuous if not megalomaniacal to claim) to have been the originator of ideas underlying others' work, I do know I passed along ideas and then, later, the company I offered the idea to accomplished what fit it. For example, a long time ago I offered an idea to Adobe tech support to build a graphic file translator that uses Adobe postscript language to convert graphics from competing graphics software (any software that can print to a postscript printer anyway) to import into their Illustration software-- before they came out with PDF. Another one to Google, on this board, to suggest they work on a geographic search engine that uses proximity as a ranking factor, a year or so before they bought keyhole. Also one idea to Microsoft (actually to our internal programmers to ask Microsoft) to incorporate low-level logic into its SQL server to handle geographic queries fast and simply.

I've had several system ideas percolating for years now that I think are timely, one I contacted a particular software developer who might apply it (and who politely declined to even hear it because his people are already too busy). Another I offered as part of a public process. I submitted two recently to Google’s 10-to-the-100 competition, and if the ideas make the grade may be available for voting at the end of January for $2 mm funding.

The point being that ideas are meant to be shared, and worked on, assuming they're sensible. So, anyone interested to vote on an idea to develop a new transportation system?