Photo: PhotoDu.de
Yesterday, I saw a relatively new iPhone app called App Incubator, with which anyone can send in ideas for a new iPhone app. A development team will review the ideas and decide whether to build the application. If they build it and get it into the Apple app store as a paid application, the person who sent in the idea will get a percentage of the revenues.
I haven’t read any of the fine print, but I did start wondering about all the usual questions surrounding new “intellectual property” in the form of ideas: on one hand, it’s easy to feel protective, even secretive, out of fear that someone else will profit from “our” ideas; on the other hand, without sharing ideas, it’s a pretty sure thing that nothing will happen. A Golem-like reluctance to exchange ideas puts too much friction into the innovation process, interest wanes, and development stops.
Even though I’m versed in the issues on an intellectual level, I was surprised to discover how anxious this new application made me feel. It focused a lens on my self-perception: I think of myself as one who can come up with lots and lots of new ideas, and I would welcome rewards in return. I did immediately find myself generating many potential iPhone app ideas, even in my sleep (I woke up with my head full). But I also felt a possessiveness, a hesitation to give these ideas away too readily, even though any idea without its realization wouldn’t generate any financial compensation, anyway.
Everyone comes up with ideas. But the people whose minds seem optimized for the generation of new ideas are usually not the people who find it easy to push through the realization of any one, given idea. Idea generators are nomadic, and idea “realizers” are agricultural by temperament. App Incubator is one model for a partnership between the two types.
Certainly, other models are possible, but any ideas for alternatives will themselves need to be realized. Whether it’s called “bootstrapping,” “it takes two to tango,” “complexity theory,” or “mutual arising,” all beginnings are difficult.
Photo: .Baz
Thanks to a blogger who has done this before and documented his methods, I was able to move the Studio Non Troppo blog to its new host without any major problems. The only apparent casualty has been the plugin I use to upload photos to the blog, which will take some time to troubleshoot, but it looks like all other systems are go. Edit: I just had to change one setting in the ‘Miscellaneous’ panel – the plugin is working fine now.
Of the methods I’ve seen for transferring a WordPress blog to a new web host, this one was the easiest. The WP-DBManager plugin (written by Lester Chan) did all the heavy lifting. If you’re going to attempt this, make sure you have updated your WordPress installation and the WP-DBManager plugin to the latest versions.
I’ll write more soon about web hosts and the challenges involved in finding a good one. For now, though, I’ll sign off, reminding you to make your site backups. “Have you saved yet?”
Photo: pochacco20
The answer’s quite simple, really: it’s telepathy.
One evening, you’re watching TV, and you think to yourself, “Gee, I’d sure like some popcorn. I wonder where I could find some organic, fair-trade, healthy, high-butter-content popcorn from a producer that supports classical music.”
And then, unobtrusively but legibly, a small window opens up on your TV, with this message:
Your corner convenience market now carries Figaro’s Pop-Classico Popcorn, a 100% organic, fair-trade produced popcorn utilizing our patented ‘weight-loss butter.’ Remember, your purchase supports Marriage of Figaro rehearsals worldwide.
Photo: Gunnar Wrobel
You wouldn’t argue with the telepathy explanation now, would you? And this is exactly how pay-per-click advertising works. You’re looking for something on Google, and after you click the search button, you’re given a list of search results…and a second list of search results, over on the right side of the browser window.
The second list has a heading, “Sponsored Links.” These are the pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements. And if you’ve ever clicked on one that led to exactly what you were looking for, you now know why they can be such a great marketing tool.
The telepathic magicians only show your ad when a webizen is looking for what it is you provide.
And it gets better: Google doesn’t even charge you for showing your ad; they only charge you when someone clicks on your ad. Yes, there are more details (oh yes! plenty more!) but this is the point of PPC.
And now you know the secret behind it. Remember, you read it here first.