iPhone keeps you thin

Obesity, it’s a big problem world wide and people are starting to pay attention. So I love this new app for the iPhone. The Big idea is from Fatburgr: http://www.fatburgr.com/ They have a site telling you what calories/ fat content is in the fast food you buy.

They take this a step further by having lots of different restaurants on the list so you can compare them. The big step forward though comes with them turning it into an app for your iPhone so you can take it with you. You can also compare meals. So if you just have to have a cheeseburger right now, you can see that it has 40 calories and 4g of fat less and McDonalds than Burger King. Which I guess explains why Burger King Burgers taste better.

The whole comparing on the hoof (no pun intended) thing really adds value and allows people to make their decision on the spot.

Handwriting is dead, long live handwriting

As we tap away on our computers, sending emails, and give our thumbs a work out texting messages and get uses to video messaging people on the other side of the world with Skype, there are many who say the art of the letter is dying. With this comes the death of handwriting. Now my hand writing is awful and always has been, but there are those who would like to see more handwriting (For the record, I actually love writing letters and try to send thank you cards rather than a quick email, whenever possible). So up pops Fontifier http://www.fontifier.com The Big idea is that you make your own personal font which looks you’re your handwriting. Hey presto, at the click of a button, you have a custom font that returns that personal touch to your emails, and other electronic writing. Creating a bespoke font pretty simply. You download a sheet, scribble your characters on it, scan it and send it back. They send you a no obligation preview and you can decide if you want to pay and down load it.

Here is what my preview looks like, I did it in a grey fountain pen, so it is not that sharp, but it could be great for those with neater handwriting than me: not bad for $9 US.

Idea Hacker

Ideas meet Ikea in Ikea hacker: http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/
The big idea here is that Ikea make lots of cheap stuff that can be used as a good solid basis of a new product. The site is full of interesting ‘hacks’ where people use kit from Ikea in a way it is not meant to be used. People re decorate in different colours, with patterns, cut bits off and add other bits on. A jug becomes a light, the plain becomes colourful and a lamp becomes a table leg. There is some cool stuff and it makes you want to have a go.
I recon that the people at Ikea http://www.ikea.com/ would be pretty chuffed with this. One of their founding ideas was to use their factories to make what the can, not what they expect to. So a door factory would end up making frames and parts for beds or desks, because they have the right kit and they have the capacity. This allowed the canny Swedes to drive down costs and develop more interesting designs. Ikea itself is a pretty Big Idea. Cheap, easy and fun, but most of all, the amount of work (and a pretty big slice of magic) that goes into making the flat packs pack flat is immense.

Stuck for something?

A lot of people find buying presents hard and cant find that perfect something. A company in New York called Something Store have come up with a solution to this. If you cant find something specific, just get something. The big idea is: you pay $10 you get something sent to you and you have no idea what it is. The quality of presents looks pretty good and I love the idea of a completely blind choice of present. It may be a way away, but this sounds like the perfect way to deal with Secret Santa. Have a look at: http://www.somethingstore.com/ Amazingly, they have sold nearly 27,000 somethings, but with quality presents and a slick web interface, they are a long way from the half chewed teddy bear and incomplete jigsaw puzzle you might have picked up at a tombola.

Royal Mail Matters

The Royal Mail have come up with a new idea which shakes off their traditional fuddy duddy image. They have started a product called Matter. The big Idea is that they have gone down stream and are selling DM to brands. So rather than just delivering, they are facilitators, who use their knowledge of the market to make a better (and more profitable) product. So what is it? Well, you sign up at www.matterbox.co.uk and then wait. When the time comes, you get a box of goodies through the door. The idea is that you get a selection of interesting and funky introductions to brands, that are worth looking at. The brands pay to be there, but you are a captive and interested market, so it is a good example of permission marketing. Mine came though in a very funky blue box, with the perforations along the word matter, which looks really cool. It was the right size for the letter box, which is a result as it means I get it delivered rather than having to pick it up. Inside was a bar of chocolate in a new flavour, some shower gel to try, a comedy CD and a few other bits and pieces. I tried, I liked some and I might now buy some.

I think everybody likes being send some chocolate, even Seth Godin, the much vaunted marketing guru wrote about some he was sent, though his did sound a little more exciting than a bar of Cadburys: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/01/anatomy-of-a-ca.html So the moral of the tale is that by sending something interesting and worthwhile, people will actually have a look and are much more likely to try it again, especially if they are expecting something

Big Ideas, what are they all about?

So what makes a big idea?
For most people the first thing that comes to mind is a product, the latest whizzy gadget. You press a button, it goes meep, how did I ever survive without one?
But there are also a lot of ideas out there that help companies save money, work better or change the way they do things. These are great as well. I am going to be looking at both and if you think of any, I would love to hear from you.