Idea Day5: OpenIdeas? Open Source of Ideas
We all are benefited from open source software a lot, so why not have ideas opened as a member of open source culture?
I know, first of all, the issue of Intellectual Property, or IP, should be settled. I believe this can be done by some kind of public license like GNU/GPL. On the other hand, web 2.0 is a good platform to do so. One posts an initiative concept of ideas on the platform, and others further develop them. Besides, there can be a mechanism like CVSup and version control (as wiki) to synchronize and manage different stages of progress of ideas.
Since sometimes ideas come to our mind in a blink, if unfortunately we just go outside and can’t write them down or record them immediately, often we will forget those inspirations later on. However, recording every blink in a handy cellphone and submitting them through 3G/SMS/MMS/WIFI is a solution. Thus the platform can include a “draft section” for idea drafts. And the drafts can be any form of presentations such as texts, drawings, voice recordings, or short clips of videos. When the authors come back to where computers are available, they can explain their ideas in more detailed and concrete information.
Communities also play important roles in this OpenIdeas model. In fact, the thriving of open source software can partly be contributed to supports of communities around the world. Communities? That’s what web 2.0 concept is good at. I have no reason why ideas as open sources can’t materialize in web 2.0 platform.
Sphere It
I could see this implemented via some sort of widgety installed into a site. “The latest from the OpenIdeas Community”. Listing out a contributor’s name and site address, as well as a snippet of their idea. Site owners could dedicate an entire page to their site to promote the concept, and even share that site owners own OpenIdea contributions.
Definite merit to the concept.
~James
Go Boldly!