The Next Facebook?
Dave Taylor
I am not a web developer, however I have come up with an idea for a
social networking site that I believe could potentially interest as
many users as Facebook does. Please don't think I'm dreaming and stop
reading here!
My idea is not to rival Facebook, but does involve both a service to
most people who use a PC/Mac and/or Smartphone along with a heavy
emphasis on social networking for those users who desire it.
I'm afraid that I do not really have money to offer anybody who may be
interested in helping me to get this project moving, but I would
happily go into partnership with a developer, with the aim of the
website becoming popular and allowing us to sell advertising as the
main source of revenue.
If anybody reading this has the time and ambition to help me create
this then please e-mail me back with what you think you can offer this
hopeful project, and I will arrange to share the details with you
properly.
Sorry for the scarce details, but I truly believe in this idea and
don't really want to post the full thing online for anybody to pick up
and run with.
Thanks,
Dave
Tim Makin
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Shaun Brown
It's great that you believe in the idea well enough to post and look for help to take it to the next level, however it's only right that web developers (being PHP/.Net) will require beer/food which also requires money.
I hate to break this to you but you may believe in an idea, but a developer may not. If you really believe in the concept I'd recommend getting a business loan, or going on Dragons Den then hire a team of developers to get this idea done.
I personally enjoy helping people with ideas aslong as it's within my field (mmorpg development).
Thanks,
Shaun Brown
> Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 13:43:53 -0700
> Subject: [phpnw] The Next Facebook?
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David
Caius Durling
> I am not a web developer, however I have come up with an idea for a
> social networking site that I believe could potentially interest as
> many users as Facebook does. Please don't think I'm dreaming and stop
> reading here!
Haha. Hahahaha. Hahahahahahahahaha. You and every other slightly technical person under the sun.
…and now you want someone to work on it for free. Just like every other slightly technical person under the sun who had the idea.
C
---
Caius Durling
ca...@caius.name
+44 (0) 7960 268 100
http://caius.name/
a.sla...@talk21.com
From: Caius Durling <ca...@caius.name>
To: ph...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, 12 July, 2010 10:46:59
Subject: Re: [phpnw] The Next Facebook?
Caius Durling
> Sorry for the scarce details, but I truly believe in this idea and
> don't really want to post the full thing online for anybody to pick up
> and run with.
Idea's are free—implementations are the only thing worth protecting. At least 5 other people will have had the same idea at some point, the _only_ thing that makes you different is if you actually write the damn thing.
dave007
I am current looking to build a startup company and am interested in
hearing your idea.
With that said for anyone to take on something like this your idea
needs to be:
- Original (none of the "its kind of like twitter")
- You need to be able to show that there is a market for the service
- You need to show that you have really done the research on your idea
in the level of competition and the resources it will need, the latter
may sound like a developers job but if your serious about this idea
you will have researched everything possible. Remember you are asking
someone to go into business with you here, you need to show that you
are committed and hard working, not just throwing ideas hoping for
riches.
In starting your idea like this you will most likely lose most of your
business to developers, designers and outside investors (servers don't
pay for themselves) as you are bringing little investment in terms of
cash and idea and execution are valued very differently.
Also, do not expect piles of applications or people working for
experience on your amazing project, you are asking someone to take a
big risk here and bigger than ever considering the recent rough
financial times.
If you can provide the needed information please contact me at
dave[at]dave-bond.com with a full explanation of your idea, a
background on you personally (your location, career etc) and all the
research you have done into competition etc.
Thanks
Dave
Steven Cook
Me and another developer friend were talking about this last week.
For some reason we are the only industry I know that people think it's ok to ask us to work for nothing / free.
To be a decent developer you have to hone a skill set over many years and continue to update your knowledge and skills
on a daily basis.
I think that the general perception that everything on the internet is "free" is eroding the development sector too.
There is no value in code anymore and this public perception is driving people out of the industry.
In the last few months i've been approached by a number of people with very good ideas but no money.
I've started to call these ideas "Pub ideas"....These ideas are thought of out of dis-pare because of their current situation; Thinking up a .com
idea because they realise that the over heads in comparison to traditional business are low.
The problem with not having money or not laying out money is that both parties never take the idea/business seriously as they have nothing to loss.
The only person that losses out is the developer; who has spent time and money guiding the idea and developing it.
When I talk to people who have Pub Ideas they have no understanding of the scope and scale of the project they have come up with, most don't even
understand basic internet concepts. So initial meetings generally are spent giving free consultation about what it is they are trying to achieve.
In general I would keep very clear of Pub Ideas, unless the project was tiny, the person with the idea motivated and web savvy.
Otherwise money/payment is the only way to make any idea into a real world business because both parties have something to lose and one is not feeling
like they are being taken advantage of.
People outside of this industry don't have any understanding of the skill and effort that developers
--
Deano J
- Deano
sent from my laptop
David Bond
I am current looking to build a startup company and am interested in hearing your idea.
With that said for anyone to take on something like this your idea needs to be:
- Original (none of the "its kind of like twitter")
- You need to be able to show that there is a market for the service
- You need to show that you have really done the research on your idea in the level of competition and the resources it will need, the latter may sound like a developers job but if your serious about this idea you will have researched everything possible. Remember you are asking someone to go into business with you here, you need to show that you are committed and hard working, not just throwing ideas hoping for riches.
In starting your idea like this you will most likely lose most of your business to developers, designers and outside investors (servers don't pay for themselves) as you are bringing little investment in terms of cash and idea and execution are valued very differently.
Also, do not expect piles of applications or people working for experience on your amazing project, you are asking someone to take a big risk here and bigger than ever considering the recent rough financial times.
If you can provide the needed information please contact me at dave[at]dave-bond.com with a full explanation of your idea, a background on you personally (your location, career etc) and all the research you have done into competition etc.
Thanks
Dave
Andy Freeman (Wired-i)
Having an inspirational idea that could get you rich is good - and we should
not seek to decry inspiration itself, but before you collapse under the
weight of negativity that you are likely to receive from making such a claim
in a post on this network (when asking for free - or at least non-paid -
programming experience) perhaps I could give you some advice which may help?
Of course, you may already have done many of these things - but didn't refer
to them in your post....
1) Write down the main aims (benefits) of your proposed site (from the
Customers / Users / Advertising Partners perspective)
2) Write down your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) - i.e., what is it about
this site that can be marketed and leveraged to bring new Customers / Users
/ Advertising Partners in and to keep existing ones
3) Decide where your revenue streams are likely to come from - i.e.,
advertising, subscriptions, product sales, etc...
4) Do some extensive (and I mean extensive) research into:
a) the market - including getting feedback from potential Customers
/ Users on whether / why they would consider using your site and how often,
plus which competitor sites they use now and why?
b) competitors - what do all your competitors offer (not just the
ones you've heard of / use), how do they make their money, how many users,
what makes them successful, how many people do they employ, what is their
turnover and profitability?
c) marketing your idea - what (and how) would you need to do to get
your idea out into the market and build a sustainable Client base?
d) social networking technology - what's out there and is it
considered good or bad?
e) costs - get yourself a good idea of how much the set-up and
continued running of a site would be, including manpower, design, marketing,
technology and infrastructure, support, sales, finance, etc......?
f) Where you see yourself fitting into the set-up and running of
this idea (what skills do you bring to the party) and how much time have you
got to devote to the project (full / part time) and how are you going to
fund this?
g) How do you maintain your "value" to the project - i.e., if you
only really have the idea and no other skills to commercialise and develop
the site, you may be better completing these steps and looking to sell-on?
5) Using the above, put together a comprehensive business plan and see if
the idea still holds water, and how much you need to borrow over what period
of time.
6) At this stage, you can then look to talk to your potential partners /
contractors in terms of rough requirement and cost timescale. It will be a
major help to them if they know you are "serious" about this project and can
show them the business plan. Re-jig your business plan based on the results
you receive.
7) Take the completed business plan to a bank or investment company who will
grill you to within a gnats hair of your life on every conceivable aspect of
your idea before they even consider lending you any money - so you will have
had to have done your homework very, very well indeed.
If you get to this point successfully, then I congratulate you on your idea
and your perseverance - as it is not an easy path at all, BUT if you believe
in your idea completely, give it a go. My words of warning are that asking
"professional" designers to give up their time and earning potential up for
free without you having done the basic business development work shouts out
to this network "I'm naive, come and help me waste my time".
Please note that in my points above, I didn't mention getting website
designers involved until the latter stages - after you had done all the
basic customer market research and commercial plan. This is because most
people get a passion for a few images and believe that it constitutes a
commercially viable website. It most certainly does not.
I am trying to be positive and give you advice that will assist you in
getting your idea up and running - just don't expect it to happen overnight.
Regards,
Andy
-----Original Message-----
From: ph...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ph...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
Dave Taylor
Sent: 06 July 2010 21:44
To: PHPNW
Subject: [phpnw] The Next Facebook?
Hi,
Thanks,
Dave
--
James Holden
> People outside of this industry don't have any understanding of the
> skill and effort that developers
I think the problem is that the people you're talking about don't
actually have any idea about business.
If you're planning on setting up a website to be "the next facebook"
then you're talking about starting a business. The fact that it's web
based is completely irrelevant, but this seems to confuse people.
If you're starting *any* business, you're going to need to consider:
* An actual business plan (most important, most overlooked)
* Acquiring capital assets (and yes, the website is one of these)
* Trademarks and other "IP" bits
* Revenue streams and projections
* Industry research (has it been tried before?)
* Your target audience
* Professional advisers, legal advice, accountancy etc
* Liability insurance
* Taxation planning
* Design and branding
* Offline marketing and PR
* Reputation management
Typically, when people approach developers with this sort of
proposition, they've only thought about the website and very little of
the above.
It's akin to thinking "hey, I've got a great idea for a shop, now to
find a builder who will build it for me for free, and an accountant who
will do the accounts for free, and a PR agency who will work for free
too, etc etc"·
...and yes, even with an equity stake or a revenue share, it *is* for
free. You're just trading up-front cost for risk. Risk has a price too,
that's why we pay to insure our houses, lives and cars.
If this business idea is viable, then securing the necessary funding
will be possible, and then it'll be possible to actually *pay* for the
web development, just like you have to *pay* everybody else.
I'm not in the business of financing other people's start-ups. Ask the
bank if you want a loan, not me. I am not a bank.
Cheers,
James
--
James Holden Developer, SEO, Technology Consultant
http://jamesholden.net/ Leeds, United Kingdom
http://twitter.com/jamesholden 07989 702968
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sam foster
James Holden
Tom Lambert
I think business ideas should be encouraged. I know plenty of developers who would go into partnership and work in exchange for a stake instead of cash.
If its similar to facebook, try starting up a community on NING. We have developed a great site for entrepreneurs, businesses and industry experts to come together and communicate in a local way.
http://oldhambusinessnetwork.co.uk
I hope you don't mind me posting the link.
Cheers
Tom
Steven Cook
Robert Berry
Robert James Berry
Mark Baker
I think business ideas should be encouraged. I know plenty of developers who would go into partnership and work in exchange for a stake instead of cash.
Unfortunately, I (and I'm sure many developers) hear too many ideas for new web-businesses that are built in sand... no real business plan, selling advertising as the only revenue stream (at a time when companies want more assurances of ROI from their advertising budgets), no real understanding of the marketplace or the competition, rarely even a clearly-defined objective ("like Twitter, but not limited to 140 characters , and with formatting and pictures and things"), and as the developer works tries to put it together, the idea man is constantly suggesting new features that are absolutely essential before the business can "go live".
The last time I succumbed was an "independent product review" site, where people leaving reviews would be rewarded with badges (yes, you can call me "gullible"). After 2-weeks of late-night and weekend development, the "ideas man" had decided that a business guide using Google maps an GeoIP was a better business venture, and wanted me to start work on that instead... "we'll take this more slowly: we'll start with the North-West, then to cover all of Britain, before expanding to Europe."
---
Mark Baker
Damian Parker
> Everybody wants to be the next Facebook. No sensible developer will
> work on an idea like that for free.
>
Providing it was able to slot in around other commitments that let me
eat, drink and live, I would develop on a site for a share in it.
Just think of it as working on an open source project. You aren't paid
for that coding, you are donating the code to a community of users and
fellow developers. You earn your keep from that kind of coding from
project support or hosting a CMS engine, developing a custom theme or
module for a user.
Much like PHP itself. Of course now its big enough to have sponsers and
people able to throw money into it, but thats only because its proved it
usefulness in the world of languages.
Damian
Robert Berry
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Damian Parker
> If someone developed a version of Facebook that wasn't constantly
> attempting to sell away my personal privacy I'd probably join it.
>
I second that. But wasn't the original post a facebook style of
website, not a facebook clone :) hehe
But then there is nothing to stop the new one from growing and being
sold to a big company for lots of money :) After all thats why we have
these ideas, and attempt to put them into reality, so we can eventually
sell and be rich and famous.
Damian
Mike Little
Jonty Bale
> If someone developed a version of Facebook that wasn't constantly attempting
> to sell away my personal privacy I'd probably join it.
>
See http://www.joindiaspora.com
J.
James Holden
> Hello
>
> I think business ideas should be encouraged. I know plenty of
> developers who would go into partnership and work in exchange for a
> stake instead of cash.
>
> If its similar to facebook, try starting up a community on NING. We
> have developed a great site for entrepreneurs, businesses and
> industry experts to come together and communicate in a local way.
I think this was covered in the blog post I linked to, ie:
Q: Why would people *not* want to use my new facebook-like site?
A: They all already use facebook.
James
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Jon Spriggs
Or OneSocialWeb (if you want something that works right now, albeit in
beta) or GnuSocial (based on the StatusNet code)
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Mark Baker
> See http://www.joindiaspora.com
>
Thanks for the reference. I was trying to remember what it was called
after reading about it in the August issue of LXF: aparently, even Mark
Zuckerberg donated funds for their startup.
---
Mark Baker