Were moving

The blog continues, but it is moving to our new site, click here for the new one.

Also, while you are about it, why not look at our idea of the year site and put your idea in. The best one of the year will get a big bottle of champagne as a reward.

Click here to see idea of the year.

Hope you try the new location, all the best

Tom

Shorter and secret

URL shorteners are a great idea and they let you spread an idea quicker. But how about this for twist, one which has a password and a clue. You can allow people to look if they know enough to guess the password. A brilliant and big idea. It allows people to connect and feel they are worthy of getting there. So whether it is to show a birthday invite or for a treasure hunt, a members only event or Valentines day, this is a fun way to leave a treasure trail. Better still, as it is a shortened URL they have no idea what it is until they go there. Give my one a go here: http://trick.ly/3iP

Your own bar away from bar

Many a time I have cursed in a bar as I tried to get served and reasoned they would make a lot more money by having a few more of their surly, underpaid gap year students to get the drinks out faster. More drinks served, minus 1 x minimum wage per hour must surely mean bigger profits and happier customers. A solution has now arrived to this age old problem in a rather unusual way. Don’t take more people to the bar, take the bar to them! Table Tender is a new system that allows you to have control of your own beer pumps at the table. I am not sure if it will kick in, but it will certainly cut down waiting time at the bar. No you just need to get the rest of the round in…

Specialisation is survival

With the arrival and huge hype around the new iPad, everyone is talking about Apple (again). But Apple is huge, with an uncanny ability to produce shiny new gadgets that are game changing. So how do you get a slice of this pie? They may seem to be engulfing the whole market, but there are a lot of people doing very well in specialising on products which feed the disciples of these products. So what is the big idea? For Twelve South it is all about specialising. They make sexy gadgets for your laptop, but only if it is an Apple. They have chosen a juicy market; people who are willing to pay more for a design led product that enhances their gadgets. There are thousands of people making accessories for iPhones, toys for iMacs, face book bolt ons, iTunes apps and other products that enhance already very popular products. They have a large market and are thriving.

So what can you do, that benefits from another products immense success?

Powerpoint is dead, long live Prezi

Powerpoint is great, it is however massively overused and often used badly. The programme that has sent a million people to sleep and created the phrase: 'Death by PowerPoint', might now be coming to its own resting place. Because, there is a new kid on the block: Prezi.
Prezi is an exciting new online system that takes you around a large sheet of paper, rather than flicking through slides. The smooth animation zooms in on details and takes you seamlessly from one area to another. It really is breathtaking. It also is set up for you to imbed it into blogs and web pages. Presentations just got creative again.
Millions of people will keep using PowerPoint, but I have seen the future and it’s Prezi and what’s more, it looks pretty hot.

Google China: Moral stand or marketing spin?

Google is hitting the headlines with its activities in China. They say they wont be shackled and are complaining about someone (The Chinese government) hacking into email accounts. But why now? Google bent over backwards and took a lot of flack when they launched in China, back in 2006, with a censored version of their search engine. But they felt it was worth it for a slice of the $1 Billion market. So why are they kicking up a fuss now? Could it be anything to do with the fact that they are struggling there? They only have about 30% of the market and are shadowed by a Chinese service: Baidu, which has over 60%. So what is the big idea here? I think that it could be a face saving way to withdraw from a market where they are not winning and don't feel they can win. It gives a solid and ethical reason to close down a failing operation and if anything improve their image for making very corporate decisions. Can the mighty Google afford to be seen as a second rate solution in any market? It might be that it is worth more to them to be seen as the best and not in that market for ethical reasons.

What's ina Name?

So what’s in a name? Quite a lot really. Modern brands make them worth millions and negative connotations can kill them. When did you last meet someone called Adolf? Over the last few weeks, I have been receiving invites from people to link up with them on Naymz It is trying to become the new Linked in. But there is a problem: there is already a Linked in and I think it is pretty good. I use linked in a fair it and have built up a good network, so why do I want to join a new one. It is unlikely I will find any new people and is it really going to be that different?

The big barrier for me is all about being a beginner. I love to ski and can get down pretty much anything, so why would I want to become a beginner to try snowboarding. It might be new (well not anymore) and trendy and better in places, but I just don’t want to go through the pain to get good when I have already got what I need. So I am saying no to Naymz, I wonder how many more will? And with the lifeblood of a new social network being people joining up and hence spreading the word, will it ever hit the critical velocity needed to make it work?

New ideas for a new decade

As everyone starts getting back into the swing of things, many are trying to get fit and healthy. Henry, who works here at All about the Idea has decided to combine getting fit with some work for charity and a big idea.
His big idea is to run the London Marathon this year and open up the real estate of his body to sponsors.
This allows you to buy space on his body for your message or logo. There are no fixed prices, it works on an auction basis, so the more you pay, the better the location! If you want to get your message on Henry or make him run round with some inspiring line like 'Kick me' then click here.

Henry is running for The Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre (MSRC), a proactive and innovative charity passionately committed to supporting anyone affected by Multiple Sclerosis through access to unbiased information and advice. They encourage individuals to make choices that are appropriate to their daily lives, empowering them to maximise their potential.