Bizness Ideaz
Sep. 15th, 2004 11:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swestrupSo, I've just had a couple of ideas for a buisnessy things. One of them is minor, and wouldn't do much by itself, the other is bigger.
The first idea is simple: LJ users need to know who is talking about them. There are two obvious ways to do this. First, when you sign up for the service, it scans your friends list and FOAF lists. It then downloads and scans all of their messages and comments for uses of your LJ handle. It then mails you a summary of its findings. Secondly, is scans the RSS feed for references to you (possibly filtered so that you only hear about things NOT in your friends or FOAF lists).
As a more advanced service, you can have it search for less obvious references to you. You can ask for all public references to Sally or ''SQ" or "That Bint" from your ex boyfriend be mailed to you. I fear there are enough self-absorbed LJers that this service could actually charge a monthly fee (or perhaps a fee per mailing) and still be popular.
The second idea is more complex: Automated Care Packages. This is an idea based on a FOAF called Smitty. Now, I've never met Smitty. The friend who told me about Smitty hadn't seen him in years when he told me the story, and I now haven't seen my friend who told me the story (Mike Kay) in many years. Anyway, Smitty was a gregarious fellow who travelled the world and often fell out of close contact with his friends. Sometimes though, at random intervals, folks would get a little care package from Smitty, just to let them know he was thinking of them. Often it was no more than a postcard with the words:
I was touched by the idea and made up my mind then-and-there to try and be more like Smitty. I never really succeeded, but I do make a point of trying to let my friends know that I care about them, and how much they mean to me.
Anyway, it occurred to me today that many folks would love to send little care packages and/or postcards to friends, but the work involved would be prohibitive. So, instead they could sign up with an online 'show you care' service. You would register and then give information on some of your friends, where they are, and what kind of things you would like to do for them. (Send them postcards, send them cheese, send them chocolate, buy something at random from their wish list, etc.). You could opt for complete automation, in which case you give a credit card number, and every so often a random care package would be sent to a random friend and the card would get charged. Or, you could opt for an assisted system, where you would get occasional emails suggesting that one of the following presents be sent to a friend, and a personalized note attached. You would go to the website, choose from the present list, and add a note. I suspect it would be a popular service. What do you think?
The first idea is simple: LJ users need to know who is talking about them. There are two obvious ways to do this. First, when you sign up for the service, it scans your friends list and FOAF lists. It then downloads and scans all of their messages and comments for uses of your LJ handle. It then mails you a summary of its findings. Secondly, is scans the RSS feed for references to you (possibly filtered so that you only hear about things NOT in your friends or FOAF lists).
As a more advanced service, you can have it search for less obvious references to you. You can ask for all public references to Sally or ''SQ" or "That Bint" from your ex boyfriend be mailed to you. I fear there are enough self-absorbed LJers that this service could actually charge a monthly fee (or perhaps a fee per mailing) and still be popular.
The second idea is more complex: Automated Care Packages. This is an idea based on a FOAF called Smitty. Now, I've never met Smitty. The friend who told me about Smitty hadn't seen him in years when he told me the story, and I now haven't seen my friend who told me the story (Mike Kay) in many years. Anyway, Smitty was a gregarious fellow who travelled the world and often fell out of close contact with his friends. Sometimes though, at random intervals, folks would get a little care package from Smitty, just to let them know he was thinking of them. Often it was no more than a postcard with the words:
Remember
Someone out there loves you.
--Smitty
I was touched by the idea and made up my mind then-and-there to try and be more like Smitty. I never really succeeded, but I do make a point of trying to let my friends know that I care about them, and how much they mean to me.
Anyway, it occurred to me today that many folks would love to send little care packages and/or postcards to friends, but the work involved would be prohibitive. So, instead they could sign up with an online 'show you care' service. You would register and then give information on some of your friends, where they are, and what kind of things you would like to do for them. (Send them postcards, send them cheese, send them chocolate, buy something at random from their wish list, etc.). You could opt for complete automation, in which case you give a credit card number, and every so often a random care package would be sent to a random friend and the card would get charged. Or, you could opt for an assisted system, where you would get occasional emails suggesting that one of the following presents be sent to a friend, and a personalized note attached. You would go to the website, choose from the present list, and add a note. I suspect it would be a popular service. What do you think?
