How would you approach facebook?

[sk24iam]

Let's say you have a revolutionary idea that would be extremly beneficial to a social networking idea, and this idea is a feature that can be added to a currently established model.

How would you go about approaching the business to gain interest/as well as compensation for your idea.

Essentially, I have an idea I think would be great for facebook. Obviously, one can't just go up to Zuckerberg and pitch this. Additionally, you can'y just send an email with this type of idea because they will have the opportunity to steal it. So what would you do?

 

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[Darkside]

Let's say you have a revolutionary idea that would be extremly beneficial to a social networking idea, and this idea is a feature that can be added to a currently established model.

How would you go about approaching the business to gain interest/as well as compensation for your idea.

Essentially, I have an idea I think would be great for facebook. Obviously, one can't just go up to Zuckerberg and pitch this. Additionally, you can'y just send an email with this type of idea because they will have the opportunity to steal it. So what would you do?

No one will pay you for an idea, so I wouldn't bother wasting your time. Even if you could get a meeting set up with Facebook all that would happen is they would thank you for your time but tell you that they're not interested, then several months later you would notice that they have introduced a service that is very similar to what you pitched to them and there would be nothing you could do about it because they could just claim that they came up with the idea first and were already developing it when you pitched them the idea.

 

[Icy]

If it's a great idea why not actually make it instead of trying to push the idea onto others and get the short side of the stick.

It's a guarantee Facebook has a ridiculous amount of ideas they'd love to put it, yours isn't special. A huge problem they face are ideas that would be scalable to their audience.

How do you know your idea would be able to not reek havoc on their servers performance wise? If you simple have thought "hey this would be cool" and not the performance of it the you are a long, long, long, long, long way off before they'd even give you the time of day.

 

[sk24iam]

I wouldn't do it myself because I don't believe there is a market for a new social networking startup. My idea is simply an additional feature, but one that I think will revolutionize facebook as well as give it an unbelievable competitive edge over twitter. The usefulness of this idea is comparable to when facebook added the ability to tag photos or a incorporating the news feed.

Of course it would uput more strain on their servers but it would also draw more attention and praise to their services.

Maybe I can find a competitor of facebook that would be more approachable.

 

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[Kung Fu Steve]

I hope I don't sound harsh my friend but Darkside and Icy are right.

Unless you are a "somebody" such as a consulting firm or someone they are asking ideas from, I wouldn't bother.

Now don't get me wrong because I am never negative. I am always a positive thinker. But as a business owner, even I get approached at least a couple times a week by some guy or gal that wants to tell me how to run my business. I think I can speak for most business owners (whether a $100 company or a $100billion company) when I say that no one will pay for an idea (whether it is amazing or not).

THAT being said... how would I do it? Well especially for a company that has revolutionized the internet you would have to show some results. How would this idea improve income, user-friendliness, experience, or whatever? The next thing I would say after you tell me that is "Prove it."

Let me tell you that you can get to ANYONE if you are determined enough. If you are really looking to meet ol' Zuck it IS possible. But it will probably take more than you're willing to give for this project.

Again I hope you don't take this the wrong way, because everyone here wants to be supportive but the one thing that we have learned here is that yes, ideas a powerful, BUT only the ideas that are acted upon. It's the difference between a wish or dream and a goal or plan.

If you are passionate about this, go for it. If you don't have that fire in your belly telling you that you MUST do this, I would suggest gathering some more knowledge and finding a way to improve your own business or the one you work for.

Good luck sir!

 

[sk24iam]

It's not something I'm really passionate about, probably will never act on it but was curious on everyone's thoughts. It seems like an interesting challenge. I;m still curious to hear of any creative attempts to make this happen. Maybe I will directly message Zuckerberg on facebook haha.

 

[Darkside]

It's not something I'm really passionate about, probably will never act on it but was curious on everyone's thoughts. It seems like an interesting challenge. I;m still curious to hear of any creative attempts to make this happen. Maybe I will directly message Zuckerberg on facebook haha.

I would just move on to something else that can be done on your own. Don't let facebook benefit from your idea by giving it away but don't waste your time trying to sell it either.

 

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[Russ H]

You may enjoy reading this thread:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/ge...ally-feel-like-im-going-millionaire-idea.html

It goes into detail about the differences in value between ideas and working concepts.

Imagine pitching the idea of GROUPON to google.

What? A coupon that's 90% off? What business in their right mind would do that?!

Not a very convincing concept, if you don't have any real world proof it works.

On the other hand . . .

Word is the actual working concept is just about to be purchased by google, for BILLIONS of dollars.

BILLIONS.

As in thousands of millions of dollars.

A staggering amount of money.

That's a pretty good example of the difference between an idea, and a working concept.

-Russ H.

 

[NoMoneyDown]

I wouldn't do it myself because I don't believe there is a market for a new social networking startup.

Actually, I thing there is a HUGE market for a new social startup. Facebook is good, but they are VERY far from great. There are MANY things they could improve upon, but a lot is tied into their early infrastructure years. A new social networking site built from the ground up with better ideas and infrastrucutre could - over time- easily usurp Facebook. I would imagine that the biggest challenge would be marketshare, but it could still be done.

 

[Icy]

There are MANY things they could improve upon, but a lot is tied into their early infrastructure years. .

Like what?

 

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[Darkside]

I think social networking is pretty much conquered by Facebook now due to it's sheer number of users and the only thing which can unseat them is some sort of revolutionary way of doing social networking which Facebook wouldn't be able to implement immediately so that new company would have an advantage for a while.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I think social networking is pretty much conquered by Facebook now due to it's sheer number of users and the only thing which can unseat them is some sort of revolutionary way of doing social networking which Facebook wouldn't be able to implement immediately so that new company would have an advantage for a while.

I disagree.

Whenever there is anger or disgruntlement with the leader, there is opportunity. Go on the web and search for "Facebook complaints" or "Facebook sucks" or "Facebook privacy" -- if you find results, you find opportunity.

 

[Darkside]

I disagree.

Whenever there is anger or disgruntlement with the leader, there is opportunity. Go on the web and search for "Facebook complaints" or "Facebook sucks" or "Facebook privacy" -- if you find results, you find opportunity.

Plenty of people complain about Windows but I don't see Microsofts' sales suffering anytime soon. Once, you get to the point where you're pretty much a monopoly like Microsoft and Facebook are, you force dissatisfied customers to continue using your service. For Facebook, it's simply because everyones' friends are on it so if they leave to another social network they'd have to get their friends to come along with them which isn't an easy task.

 

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[Russ H]

Plenty of people complain about Windows but I don't see Microsofts' sales suffering anytime soon.

Not everyone loves Windows.

"As of September 26, 2010, the value of Apple ($267B) had surpassed that of Microsoft ($214B), Google ($168B), IBM ($169B), Intel ($108B), Amazon ($72B), Nintendo ($39B), Nokia ($39B), and Sony ($31B). “Apple’s valuation is now not only higher than any other technology company but it’s nearly the most valuable company on the planet,†asserted Horace Dediu in a recent post, Apple’s Growth vs. the Top 10 Largest Market Caps, pointing out that only Exxon Mobil currently surpasses Apple in total stock valuation."

Apple

Where do you think that growth came from?

MJ is right: Where there is dissent, there is opportunity.

-Russ H.

 

[Darkside]

Not everyone loves Windows.

"As of September 26, 2010, the value of Apple ($267B) had surpassed that of Microsoft ($214B), Google ($168B), IBM ($169B), Intel ($108B), Amazon ($72B), Nintendo ($39B), Nokia ($39B), and Sony ($31B). “Apple’s valuation is now not only higher than any other technology company but it’s nearly the most valuable company on the planet,” asserted Horace Dediu in a recent post, Apple’s Growth vs. the Top 10 Largest Market Caps, pointing out that only Exxon Mobil currently surpasses Apple in total stock valuation."

Apple

Where do you think that growth came from?

MJ is right: Where there is dissent, there is opportunity.

-Russ H.

Apples' recent success hasn't been do to the OS operating system but rather due to their devices like Iphones, Ipads, Ipod, etc. They're cornering that market but Microsoft is still the undisputed king of computer operating systems.

 

[LightHouse]

It's not something I'm really passionate about, probably will never act on it but was curious on everyone's thoughts. It seems like an interesting challenge. I;m still curious to hear of any creative attempts to make this happen. Maybe I will directly message Zuckerberg on facebook haha.

If you dont care about it and are not going to take the time to actually test the idea, what makes you think someone will pay for some random untested idea that you believe will work? They wont sign an NDA either because it could be something they are or have already worked on. Don't mean to sound like a dick, but i just don;t see your point of view here.

Plenty of people complain about Windows but I don't see Microsofts' sales suffering anytime soon. Once, you get to the point where you're pretty much a monopoly like Microsoft and Facebook are, you force dissatisfied customers to continue using your service. For Facebook, it's simply because everyones' friends are on it so if they leave to another social network they'd have to get their friends to come along with them which isn't an easy task.

So would you have said the same thing about myspace 3-4 years ago then? what about friendster years before that? Years before you knew 500MM users was even possible. What about yahoo/aol 10 years ago... kings of search back then.

Things can ALWAYS change.

 

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[andviv]

What if you develop your idea as a Facebook app, where users start using your service/idea and you somehow profit from it, like many facebook apps do?

 

[CommonCents]

Look at zynga, not a bad valuation as an add-on to facebook. Agree that features are a tough sell but maybe you can make it into an app.

Or, apply for a job at FB, use your idea as a ticket. Get FB stock and be rich, then go off on your own.

Although FB has a big lock on #of users, backlash can be quick as consumers can be very fickle. Look at how fast myspace faded and FB arose. I'd say FB is going to be a power for a long time to come though.

I think back and wonder what classmates.com was thinking. they were sitting on one of the original social networking gold mines but just wanted to lure you in and then charge you a premium for access. ooops.

 

[JayKim]

It's not something I'm really passionate about, probably will never act on it but was curious on everyone's thoughts. It seems like an interesting challenge. I;m still curious to hear of any creative attempts to make this happen. Maybe I will directly message Zuckerberg on facebook haha.

Yeah message him don't give up you never know!! Look at some of the smaller social networking sites like myyearbook.com. Teen social network myYearbook is growing fast and it just raised $13M, but is it more than a teen site? | VentureBeat . You can compete with anyone. Think if Catherine Cook or Zuckerberg gave up on any of their ideas just cause myspace was so huge. Your feature would be unique that no other social network site has.

Howstuffworks "How myYearbook Works"
"The site is more than just a virtual yearbook. Like other social networking sites, myYearbook lets members create profiles and interact with each other. In some ways, it's similar to sites like Facebook and MySpace. But myYearbook has many unique features of its own."

Look at zynga, not a bad valuation as an add-on to facebook. Agree that features are a tough sell but maybe you can make it into an app.

Yeah could it be turned into a app?

 

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[sk24iam]

If you dont care about it and are not going to take the time to actually test the idea, what makes you think someone will pay for some random untested idea that you believe will work? They wont sign an NDA either because it could be something they are or have already worked on. Don't mean to sound like a dick, but i just don;t see your point of view here.

If I had planned to present the idea I would move forward with a beta preview of the feature. I simply was looking for this community's thoughts on the process. Looks like you weren't up for the challenge.

 

[sk24iam]

What if you develop your idea as a Facebook app, where users start using your service/idea and you somehow profit from it, like many facebook apps do?

This seems like the best option. Getting a working demonstration through facebook apps would present itself well.



Looking at a different approach, I've seen some websites where you can login using your facebook account. How many features can you integrate from facebook onto your own website with an external facebook login?

 

[LightHouse]

If I had planned to present the idea I would move forward with a beta preview of the feature. I simply was looking for this community's thoughts on the process. Looks like you weren't up for the challenge.

But you aren't, so why are you asking? To me this is another "I have an idea, i want to do nothing with it but sell it and make lots of money with no work, since i am lazy, please waste your time letting me know how to go about that process....thx"

I would care to elect a more positive response if i thought you had an ounce of try in wanting to do something, but why would i go through the process of selling to big companies (I've gone through it a few times, even though the final deals didn't pan out) when you are just going to say thanks... and do nothing with the data or knowledge.

And yes i am aware i now sound like an egotistical a**hole, and i am on-board with that for the moment.

 

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[sk24iam]

But you aren't, so why are you asking? To me this is another "I have an idea, i want to do nothing with it but sell it and make lots of money with no work, since i am lazy, please waste your time letting me know how to go about that process....thx"

I would care to elect a more positive response if i thought you had an ounce of try in wanting to do something, but why would i go through the process of selling to big companies (I've gone through it a few times, even though the final deals didn't pan out) when you are just going to say thanks... and do nothing with the data or knowledge.

And yes i am aware i now sound like an egotistical a**hole, and i am on-board with that for the moment.

This board is made up of many hypothetical situations. They are beneficial to the community to grow the creative and entrepreneurial skills of this message board's members in hopes they will be applied to their businesses and lives.

Perhaps one day I will put my "idea" to action and take the steps to provide this feature to web users but for now I am focused on my upcoming startup and current business. Either way this thread's purpose was to spark some creative thinking.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

This board is made up of many hypothetical situations. They are beneficial to the community to grow the creative and entrepreneurial skills of this message board's members in hopes they will be applied to their businesses and lives.

Perhaps one day I will put my "idea" to action and take the steps to provide this feature to web users but for now I am focused on my upcoming startup and current business. Either way this thread's purpose was to spark some creative thinking.

Actually I'm pretty sure this a board of DOers, not dreamers. That's why I'm here!

Hope you don't feel like we're ganging up on you =)

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Imagine if the Google guys looked at Alta Vista and Yahoo back in the 90's and said "Gee, those guys got the search engine market cornered ... hey Sergy, whatdya say we go buy a Subway franchise instead?"

No one EVER has any market cornered because once investors get involved, the business focus shifts from satisfaction of customers, to satisfaction of shareholders. That gives Fastlaners opportunity every single time. Guaranteed.

 

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[sk24iam]

Actually I'm pretty sure this a board of DOers, not dreamers. That's why I'm here!

Hope you don't feel like we're ganging up on you =)

Haha, agreed but there is always room on the side of the doing for dreaming to keep motivated. Think of all the "what would you do with $xxx", "how would you earn $xxx in xx months" posts.

 

[Boo Blizzi]

Imagine if the Google guys looked at Alta Vista and Yahoo back in the 90's and said "Gee, those guys got the search engine market cornered ... hey Sergy, whatdya say we go buy a Subway franchise instead?"

No one EVER has any market cornered because once investors get involved, the business focus shifts from satisfaction of customers, to satisfaction of shareholders. That gives Fastlaners opportunity every single time. Guaranteed.

Actually, Sergey and Larry didnt set out to make a search engine...they were working on another project and tried to use the internet as it existed then to do some research and were pissed off with the order of the results they were getting...so they whipped up an algorithm to crawl (or spider) the web and reorganize it according to perceived importance...people started finding out about it and preferred it over yahoo, alta vista and netscape results...but even after running the site for awhile they still didnt figure out a monetization model...they stole their business model from bill gross and overture...but the bottom line is: @OP if you have found a way to make a better mouse trap then people will find value in it and if creating ur own social network is too ambitious for u...then do as suggested and try to make it an app...u can get it developed on Odesk, GAF, or Guru for relatively cheap.

 

[Russ H]

Not everyone loves Windows.

"As of September 26, 2010, the value of Apple ($267B) had surpassed that of Microsoft ($214B), Google ($168B), IBM ($169B), Intel ($108B), Amazon ($72B), Nintendo ($39B), Nokia ($39B), and Sony ($31B). “Apple’s valuation is now not only higher than any other technology company but it’s nearly the most valuable company on the planet,” asserted Horace Dediu in a recent post, Apple’s Growth vs. the Top 10 Largest Market Caps, pointing out that only Exxon Mobil currently surpasses Apple in total stock valuation."

Apple

Where do you think that growth came from?

MJ is right: Where there is dissent, there is opportunity.

Apples' recent success hasn't been do to the OS operating system but rather due to their devices like Iphones, Ipads, Ipod, etc. They're cornering that market but Microsoft is still the undisputed king of computer operating systems.

Darkside-

You want to know something really funny?

I had a follow up sentence in my post above. It was this:

"And before you say their current success is due to iphones, ipads, and ipods, do some research. Fully 1/3 of Apple's income is from their computers and OS."

Watch the first 3:30 of this video (presented less than 2 weeks ago):

[video=youtube;GDsrG2D0oOc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDsrG2D0oOc&feature=related[/video]

Here's the thing: I deleted the sentence and video link. I figured it was too presumptive-- that I shouldn't just assume you'd shrug off Apple's PC/OS sales-- perhaps you were plugged in, and knew how big they were.

-Russ H.

This month, technology research firm IDC said that in the third quarter, sales of Macs gave Apple a 10.6percent share of the U.S. market of 18.9million PCs sold. The Mac's performance pushed Apple past Acer and into third place in U.S. PC sales.

 

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[Guest3722A]

I'm tellin you guys! Deep fried Coca Cola!!

It could be huge in 2011!

Pour some coke in some batter... dollop it out in the fryer....

 

[Darkside]

Darkside-

You want to know something really funny?

I had a follow up sentence in my post above. It was this:

"And before you say their current success is due to iphones, ipads, and ipods, do some research. Fully 1/3 of Apple's income is from their computers and OS."

Watch the first 3:30 of this video (presented less than 2 weeks ago):

[video=youtube;GDsrG2D0oOc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDsrG2D0oOc&feature=related[/video]

Here's the thing: I deleted the sentence and video link. I figured it was too presumptive-- that I shouldn't just assume you'd shrug off Apple's PC/OS sales-- perhaps you were plugged in, and knew how big they were.

-Russ H.

Last time I checked, over 90% of operating systems were Windows and the other 10% are Mac users so they're forced to use the OS system. That's about as close to a monopoly as you can get. Keep in mind that Mac does hardware as well as software so that's why 1/3rd of their revenue is accounted for by that whereas Windows is sold on third party hardware so when you take the hardware out of the equation Macs revenue from the OS is probably less than 10% of their total revenue.