After some time away for my blog (starting another business) i'm back with more fresh ideas. The time away has giving me the opportunity to have a look what i've been doing and analysis how i'm going to use this blog into the future. My experience over the last six month has given me a new direction in life, suddenly life is more about helping other rather then showing off ideas. For my new look blog i aim to not only share with you my thoughts on new my ideas, products and services but in addition show you some of the processes and models I use to create the ideas. My aim is that people reading this blog will start to see creativity as a necessary life skill and just as important as maths, science and english. I also aim to write about the future more. After all, new ideas only really help us in our future not our past. I encourage everyone reading to comment and join in the conversation.
The Idea Smith
Innovation Through Applied Imagination
Idea # 8 Mind Reading to Help the Mentally Disabled
Scientist in Glasgow say they are getting closer to figuring out how to read peoples brainwaves. Read the following article from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-13428627
This technology becomes a very scary thought if it got into the wrong hands, but in the right hands it could solve many of the problems we face everyday. An example of how I think this technology could be utilized would be to develop it into a tool to help mentally disabled and quadriplegic people communicate. I do not claim to be an expert in this field at all but I have head in many cases, especially with quadriplegic that they have full functioning brains, they only lack the ability to communicate. Imagine how liberating it would be for someone like this to be able to communicate, even if it was just being able to show an emotion.
This technology becomes a very scary thought if it got into the wrong hands, but in the right hands it could solve many of the problems we face everyday. An example of how I think this technology could be utilized would be to develop it into a tool to help mentally disabled and quadriplegic people communicate. I do not claim to be an expert in this field at all but I have head in many cases, especially with quadriplegic that they have full functioning brains, they only lack the ability to communicate. Imagine how liberating it would be for someone like this to be able to communicate, even if it was just being able to show an emotion.
Idea # 7 What I Want for My Birthday App
People always ask me what I want for my birthday and I can never remember any things I want. What I do remember is all of the times I've said to myself "Maybe I could get that for my birthday". How about an app that you can use all year round to make a list of things you want for your birthday. Then, a couple of weeks before your birthday the list can be automatically emailed out to a chosen group of friends and family so they can buy you gifts from the list.
IDEA # 6 A Cigarette Company Radically Changing its Tactics
In the Australian news headlines today there is a lot of talk about the governments plan to make all cigarette packets less appealing by making them unbranded and beige in colour. And, of course this is aggravating the cigarette companies who are saying its a bad direction to take and it will in fact force them to lower the price per pack because they simply have no other way to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
All of theses points have lead me to come up with this idea:
What if one of the big tabacco companies like Philip Morris or British America Tabacco flipped their business model and instead of selling cigaretts that cause addiction, they started selling highly branded batches, gums and inhalers to help current smokers quit. In effect, they make the image of quitting smoking as popular as smoking was in the beginning of last century. The marketing value of a cigarette company radically changing its tactics in this way could be the biggest move to stop people from smoking and say many lives and would generate enough income to sustain the tabacco companies, at least for a while.
All of theses points have lead me to come up with this idea:
What if one of the big tabacco companies like Philip Morris or British America Tabacco flipped their business model and instead of selling cigaretts that cause addiction, they started selling highly branded batches, gums and inhalers to help current smokers quit. In effect, they make the image of quitting smoking as popular as smoking was in the beginning of last century. The marketing value of a cigarette company radically changing its tactics in this way could be the biggest move to stop people from smoking and say many lives and would generate enough income to sustain the tabacco companies, at least for a while.
IDEA #5 Sensor Enabled LED Helicopter's
I was watching a TED talk by Carlo Ratti on technology that senses your bodies presence (see link below). I was particularly interested in one part where he was talking about little helicopter looking things that had small pixels and LED lights in them that were smart enough to work together to make pictures. This go me thinking about what other uses we could use this technology for, so i came up with this list of ideas to do with little sensor enabled LED helicopter's:
Personal heli lights: imagine a torch that you don't need to hold, a torch that followed you around and shone a light to guide your way. Larger versions could be uses to light up accident site, sporting events or worksite to enable worker to safely work around the clock.
Taken or not taken?: Remember those trafic light parties you went to when you were younger? If you were single you wore something green, if you had partner then you wore red and if you were unsure or open to possibilities then you wore orange. Imagine walking into a nightclub and knowing who was single. Perhaps in the future more information was could be shared and as you got closer in the club there light could change colour depending on how much you have in common with the other person. this would take a lot of the embarrassment out of finding a partner.
PersonalVideo Blogger: Use one of these helicopters to follow you around and record your every move.
Click for Carlo Ratti's Ted Talk
Personal heli lights: imagine a torch that you don't need to hold, a torch that followed you around and shone a light to guide your way. Larger versions could be uses to light up accident site, sporting events or worksite to enable worker to safely work around the clock.
Taken or not taken?: Remember those trafic light parties you went to when you were younger? If you were single you wore something green, if you had partner then you wore red and if you were unsure or open to possibilities then you wore orange. Imagine walking into a nightclub and knowing who was single. Perhaps in the future more information was could be shared and as you got closer in the club there light could change colour depending on how much you have in common with the other person. this would take a lot of the embarrassment out of finding a partner.
PersonalVideo Blogger: Use one of these helicopters to follow you around and record your every move.
Click for Carlo Ratti's Ted Talk
IDEA # 4 Hard Hitting Road Safety Campaign with a Difference
Road safety is always a hot topic. No matter how safe we make cars we still can stop the stupidity of the people that drive them. I'm don't admit to being a perfect driver myself, but one thing that makes me slow down and makes me think about my actions is seeing those "make do" remembrance shrines that people set up at the accident site where they lost a friend or family member. Often they have flowers, teddy bears, photos and crosses. My idea is to highlight theses shrines even more by simply placing a red spot about the size of a dinner plate at each accident site to highlight to passing motorists that people die when they speed and do stupid things on our roads. This is what i propose we can do. For one week each year everyone that has been affected by road trauma will have the opportunity to purchase a red spots for small price (just enough to cover costs). Then the person then places that spot at the location of theirs or their friend or family members road trauma, much like they currently do with flowers and other memorabilia. This would have to be accompanied with a hard hitting advertising campaign to create reality of dangerous driving to the motorists while they are driving.
Idea # 3 What if giving to the poor and starving was as easy as buying a chocolate bar from the supermarket?
I'm sure that at some stage everyone has either seen or been asked on the street for money/donations to help the poor in the third world, normally its World Vision, UNICEF etc. I know for me one of the greatest negatives about that situation is making the commitment to sponsor a child on the spot, often it means that you have to give your credit card details to a complete stranger. What if giving to the poor and starving was as easy as buying a chocolate bar from the supermarket?
Imagine this scenario, your at your local supermarket lining up to pay for your groceries. You glance across to where the chewing gum and chocolate bars normally are and you notice a small card with a picture of a bag of flower printed on it and a price of say, $10. Your thinking to yourself "i'm about to spend $100 on food for myself, whats another $10 to feed a family in africa for a month".
This idea makes it so easy for people to donate money to the poor and starving i think supermarket everywhere should take it upon themselves to see that this happens. In Australia, where i'm from, the revenue from supermarkets is expected to be almost 78billion dollars in the 2010-11 financial year, i think as a nation we can afford to give a bit of what we have to help others.
Imagine this scenario, your at your local supermarket lining up to pay for your groceries. You glance across to where the chewing gum and chocolate bars normally are and you notice a small card with a picture of a bag of flower printed on it and a price of say, $10. Your thinking to yourself "i'm about to spend $100 on food for myself, whats another $10 to feed a family in africa for a month".
This idea makes it so easy for people to donate money to the poor and starving i think supermarket everywhere should take it upon themselves to see that this happens. In Australia, where i'm from, the revenue from supermarkets is expected to be almost 78billion dollars in the 2010-11 financial year, i think as a nation we can afford to give a bit of what we have to help others.
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