5 ms·

This is a fantastic post by Scott. I think the great idea fallacy continues because it appeals to people's fantasy of becoming successful without much work. A

by philk 16y ago

This is a fantastic post by Scott. I think the great idea fallacy continues because it appeals to people's fantasy of becoming successful without much work. Anyone can imagine themselves having a great idea and then being successful. It's a lot harder (and less pleasant) to imagine taking an unremarkable idea and spending years of hard work to make it succeed.

jimbokun 16y ago
The whole concept of the "great idea" is skewered brilliantly by the Windows 7 ads. We all get a good chuckle watching someone tell us straight faced that, just because they thought of something that could have been better about Windows, they can now take credit for it after Microsoft successfully implemented it in Windows 7. Could be useful as a reference the next time someone has a business idea that he "just needs a tech guy to implement."
- grinich 16y ago
  It looks like their agency is still Crispin, Porter + Bogusky. For reference, here's some of their other work: Laptop Hunters - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIS6G-HvnkU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIS6G-HvnkU Gates/Seinfeld - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFE3XiAxDjA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFE3XiAxDjA&feature=relat... Good News (Kylie) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOq02DTTMU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOq02DTTMU Seems like a strange way to advertise.
  - aditya 16y ago
    CP+B also did the famous (and awesome) Burger King Get a Whopper for defriending friends campaign.
    - grinich 16y ago
      I just saw that they also did the BK Freakout, where they pretend the Whopper is discontinued and watch people go nuts. Talk about customer loyalty. http://www.bk.com/en/us/campaigns/whopper-freakout.html http://www.bk.com/en/us/campaigns/whopper-freakout.html
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
jamesseda 16y ago
I think part of it is due to academia. In computer science classes a lot of questions have a "best" answer. In the real world customers don't buy software because the architecture started with the "best" ideas. They buy software because it fits their need. The best idea could contribute a superior customer experience but it is peripheral to what it takes to be successful.
- timr 16y ago
  "I think part of it is due to academia. In computer science classes a lot of questions have a "best" answer." Only if your conception of "academia" doesn't extend beyond first-year undergraduate coursework. Real academia is entirely about tackling questions for which answers are unavailable or incomplete, and finding better answers. Intellectual astronauts don't make it out of grad school, because they don't publish papers (for that matter, they tend to barely make it out of undergrad, because they're the guys most likely to be complaining about "jumping through pointless hoops"). Academics also tend to love to talk about their ideas with other people, and aren't very secretive (with the exception of their closest competitors, perhaps). My first real intro to the attitude that ideas are inherently valuable was when I moved into the tech world. If I had a nickel for every goofy entrepreneur I've met who is in "stealth mode"...well, I'd make more money than I did in academia.
  - jamesseda 16y ago
    Clearly I was not talking about Research at academic institutions. I'm sure your research is valuable.
Retric 16y ago
One of my faverate series was actually generated based on the idea you can make an interesting story from the worst idea. B & G: The bet was actually centered around writing craft discussions being held on the then-new Del Rey Online Writers’ Workshop, I believe. The issue at hand was central story concepts. One side of the argument claimed that a good enough central premise would make a great book, even if you were a lousy writer. The other side contended that the central concept was far less important than the execution of the story, and that the most overused central concept in the world could have life breathed into by a skilled writer. It raged back and forth in an ALL CAPITAL LETTERS FLAMEWAR between a bunch of unpublished writers, and finally some guy dared me to put my money where my mouth was, by letting him give me a cheesy central story concept, which I would then use in an original novel. Me being an arrogant kid, I wrote him back saying, “Why don’t you give me TWO terrible ideas for a story, and I’ll use them BOTH.” The core ideas he gave me were Lost Roman Legion and Pokémon… Thus was Alera formed. http://www.fantasyliterature.com/author-interviews/jim-butcher/ http://www.fantasyliterature.com/author-interviews/jim-butch...

by philk 16y ago

jimbokun 16y ago

The whole concept of the "great idea" is skewered brilliantly by the Windows 7 ads. We all get a good chuckle watching someone tell us straight faced that, just because they thought of something that could have been better about Windows, they can now take credit for it after Microsoft successfully implemented it in Windows 7. Could be useful as a reference the next time someone has a business idea that he "just needs a tech guy to implement."

grinich 16y ago
It looks like their agency is still Crispin, Porter + Bogusky. For reference, here's some of their other work: Laptop Hunters - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIS6G-HvnkU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIS6G-HvnkU Gates/Seinfeld - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFE3XiAxDjA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFE3XiAxDjA&feature=relat... Good News (Kylie) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOq02DTTMU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOq02DTTMU Seems like a strange way to advertise.
- aditya 16y ago
  CP+B also did the famous (and awesome) Burger King Get a Whopper for defriending friends campaign.
  - grinich 16y ago
    I just saw that they also did the BK Freakout, where they pretend the Whopper is discontinued and watch people go nuts. Talk about customer loyalty. http://www.bk.com/en/us/campaigns/whopper-freakout.html http://www.bk.com/en/us/campaigns/whopper-freakout.html
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

jamesseda 16y ago

I think part of it is due to academia. In computer science classes a lot of questions have a "best" answer. In the real world customers don't buy software because the architecture started with the "best" ideas. They buy software because it fits their need. The best idea could contribute a superior customer experience but it is peripheral to what it takes to be successful.

timr 16y ago
"I think part of it is due to academia. In computer science classes a lot of questions have a "best" answer." Only if your conception of "academia" doesn't extend beyond first-year undergraduate coursework. Real academia is entirely about tackling questions for which answers are unavailable or incomplete, and finding better answers. Intellectual astronauts don't make it out of grad school, because they don't publish papers (for that matter, they tend to barely make it out of undergrad, because they're the guys most likely to be complaining about "jumping through pointless hoops"). Academics also tend to love to talk about their ideas with other people, and aren't very secretive (with the exception of their closest competitors, perhaps). My first real intro to the attitude that ideas are inherently valuable was when I moved into the tech world. If I had a nickel for every goofy entrepreneur I've met who is in "stealth mode"...well, I'd make more money than I did in academia.
- jamesseda 16y ago
  Clearly I was not talking about Research at academic institutions. I'm sure your research is valuable.

Retric 16y ago

One of my faverate series was actually generated based on the idea you can make an interesting story from the worst idea. B & G: The bet was actually centered around writing craft discussions being held on the then-new Del Rey Online Writers’ Workshop, I believe. The issue at hand was central story concepts. One side of the argument claimed that a good enough central premise would make a great book, even if you were a lousy writer. The other side contended that the central concept was far less important than the execution of the story, and that the most overused central concept in the world could have life breathed into by a skilled writer. It raged back and forth in an ALL CAPITAL LETTERS FLAMEWAR between a bunch of unpublished writers, and finally some guy dared me to put my money where my mouth was, by letting him give me a cheesy central story concept, which I would then use in an original novel. Me being an arrogant kid, I wrote him back saying, “Why don’t you give me TWO terrible ideas for a story, and I’ll use them BOTH.” The core ideas he gave me were Lost Roman Legion and Pokémon… Thus was Alera formed. http://www.fantasyliterature.com/author-interviews/jim-butcher/ http://www.fantasyliterature.com/author-interviews/jim-butch...