Imagine a computer program that works like a voice recognition program. You write ten or so pages, the whole time the computer is learning about your writing style.

Then, you enter in a few variables. How many words do you want? Is this a story? Non-fiction? A magazine article? What’s the topic?

You just sit back and the computer does the work for you. In a few minutes, you’ve got a complete, polished piece in your own voice.

Sound like a fantasy? We just got a little bit closer with the launch of MyCyberTwin, an Australian-run website that will automatically chat back with other people IMing you based on information you enter and a personality test.

My twin revealed that he wasn’t actually me after I asked him only two questions. And the first answer didn’t really make all that much sense. But, what I found compelling about this was that you can fill out a personality test any way you choose, effectively making your twin an ideal (or extremely mean) version of yourself.

Try chatting with my online personality here. What do I say to you? Tell me how engaging I am in the comments.

Chat to my CyberTwin online now!

What are your thoughts about this technology? Misleading? Too much automation?

Found on Web Worker Daily

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My friend Matt just tipped me off to Wonder Pizza, a vending machine that stores, cooks and delivers you a piping hot pizza from a vending machine in less than two minutes.

I’m wondering:

• What does it taste like?
• What happens if my pizza gets stuck? (Huge, cheesy mess)
• How much does it cost?
• Does the machine keep the pizza frozen?
• Would I actually buy a pizza from a vending machine?

If I saw one of these, I know I’d get one at least once. If they want me to try it again, they better deliver an amazing pizza or be ridiculously convenient in a place where I’m going to be very hungry.

Idea of the Week | 1 Comment »

The Idea

Super-small, super-affordable hotel rooms

Why It’s More Than Average?

Got a spare dresser? You could be sitting on a wasted pod hotel! Rent that bad boy out!

If you go to New York, San Francisco, Chicago or any big city for that matter, you may find that downtown hotel rooms lacking in terms of space. They probably cost more than their roomier brothers out in the burbs.

These rooms are great for people staying downtown, because they’re probably the type of people that’ll be out in the city sightseeing during the day or partying it up at night. The only thing they’ll use the room for is sleeping, so why give them anything more?

Will It Succeed?

I’m willing to bet there’s a large number of people who just want a bed, maybe some internet access and a place to wash up when they stay in a different city. It could be the American answer to the European hostel.

Less is sometimes more. When people try to come up with new ideas, they often try to complicate or add to something that already exists. There’s a lot of opportunity in recognizing a niche like the “bed only” traveler.

How I found out about it

Fodor’s Travel Wire

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The Idea

Casting comedic actors in drama or horror flicks

Why It’s More Than Average?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Lost in Translation. Broken Flowers. Philadelphia. All these movies featured actors who were traditionally known for their comedic timing and general jack-assery. All of those movies listed are among my (and others I imagine) favorite movies.

And now this weekend Jim Carrey is going to step out of his funny shoes and into a horror flick directed by Joel Schumacher. I’m very interested in seeing it, even though the last time they joined up they single-handedly killed the Batman franchise until Christopher Nolan brought it back.
It always seems to be the comedians who successfully jump genres. I can’t think of any “serious” actors or actresses who made a comedy on the same type of level as the Jim Carrey’s, Bill Murray’s and Tom Hank’s of the world.

Will It Succeed?

In my mind, it already has. We’ll see if The Number 23 is a success. And it’s not always a slam dunk. For every Tom Hanks out there, there’s an Ashton Kutcher is just waiting to make another movie like The Guardian.

When you step outside of something you’re good at, you better have a damn good reason and try twice as hard.

It’s fine to be different just for the sake of trying something new. But if you don’t try and just mess around, people will see right through it. And if you’re known for a certain type of creative, not doing well in your alternative ventures could have unexpected (and negative) results on the reputation you’ve built.

However, if you’re successful, you can open up tons of new doors creatively. And it can be very satisfying. Plus, people will begin to see you in a whole different light, and not just the guy who talks out his butt for laughs.

How I found out about it

By watching movies.

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The Idea

Rechargeable batteries that plug into your USB port

Why It’s More Than Average?

I’m usually not one for gadgets, but I thought this application for batteries was particularly ingenious.

There are all sorts of ridiculous USB-connective devices out there, and very rarely are they actually useful. Yes, USB-powered beer cooler, I’m talking to you. (Thanks to Michael Faddis for the heads-up).

But in this case, it’s a perfect marriage of functions. I take my laptop everywhere, as well as a digital camera, baby toys (I have a son) and other battery powered devices. I invested in a battery charger a long time ago, and it’s paid for itself ten times over by now - but I still can’t take it with me.

But if I keep a few of these bad boys in my laptop case, I’m never without AA, and soon AAA, 9V and even cell phone power. Sweet.

Will It Succeed?

As long as nothing is blowing up on the side of your computer, I think these should do fairly well. The tech audience should be impressed by the cool factor (it seems anything with a USB connection is cool) and the working-class should get some actual utility out of these things. They’re better than current rechargeables, mainly because you don’t have to drop the 40 bucks on a charger.

Their site makes no claims about how many times you can charge it though, which is a huge factor. I get get 10K charges out of my Rayovacs, and if I can’t get close to that on these, I’ll pass.

How I found out about it

I heard about USB Cell in my RSS feed from Cool Hunting.

Idea of the Week | 4 Comments »

The Idea

Weighted wrist bands for those of us lucky enough to snag a Nintendo Wii.
Why It’s More Than Average?

Sometimes you hear about an idea and it just smacks you in the face.

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

The Nintendo Wii has been getting quite a bit of buzz, both from overzealous gamers breaking TVs, and from people using the Wii to lose weight.

Whoever this mysterious “inventor” is came up with the perfect accessory at the perfect time for a hot product.
Which goes to show, timing is a huge factor in an idea’s success.

Don’t discount the power of good or bad timing. If you announced today that you had invented a wonderful device with four wheels that ran on gas and took you places faster than you could walk, you’d be laughed out of a room.

If you had that idea more than a hundred years ago, your last name might be as well known as Ford’s.

Will It Succeed?

He’s “looking for an investor to take it to market” from the prototype stage, and my guess is he won’t have much trouble doing it.

The Nintendo Wii is getting nothing but good press, and if the whole “exercise with your Wii” thing catches on, this accessory could do pretty well.

How I found out about it

I heard about Wii Weights in my RSS feed from Engadget. They reported on a post from Alchemi.

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This folding chair can be expanded and configured into a seemingly endless array of shapes and even sizes.
It’s a chair that’s as much fun to play with as sit in. I wonder how much this thing weighs? I’d carry it in my backpack and set up shop wherever I could find a flat piece of ground.

Watch a quick video demonstration here

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Throw in a $2M price tag for that little marketing snafu is a big hit to the pocketbook. And the two men hanging the signs are trying to avoid a trial.

Looks like the Idea of the Week is turning into the Illegal Caper of the Week.

See the article on CNN

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The Idea

The folks at Turner Broadcasting System placed lit-up versions of characters of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force on highways and other busy locations in Boston.

The displays also had wires, batteries and magnets as part of the apparatus, throwing the Boston Area into a tizzy because some thought they were bombs.

Why It’s More Than Average?

The idea in and of itself isn’t THAT incendiary. As far as non-traditional placements go, its ho hum. But, it’s gotten all sorts of free publicity and called attention to the Cartoon Network - publicity they never would have gotten without the bomb scare.

Now, I am by no means saying that causing public chaos is a good strategy.
But the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming has always taken a snarky, anti-establishment tact that resonates with the 18-25 year-old males that probably find this snafu funny. And this incidental free publicity plays right into their branding.

Which goes to show, big ides are often accidental.

I highly doubt anyone at Turner thought their promo would get confused with bombs. You don’t know what’s going to hit big or make a splash across the news, negative or positive. The important things is to do what you do best, put it out there for people to see and you might strike gold.

A) Seriously…who could confuse a cartoon character with a bomb?

B) Why did the Cartoon Network put these things on public property without telling someone. Maybe someone who worked for the city who could save the taxpayers all the money that went to pay bomb squads to search and destroy.

Will It Succeed?

I don’t know how many more people will watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force. And advertisers may shy away from advertising on the Cartoon network for a bit. I think there will be a spike in interest, and they may come out of the whole thing with an incremental increase in loyal viewers.

I doubt this promo cost them very much, unless the city of Boston succeeds in having them pick up the tab for the bomb squads. Overall, they probably came out ahead and are secretly high-fiving themselves over all the free pub.

How I found out about it

CNN!

Idea of the Week | 1 Comment »

The Idea

Parentography is a site that connects parents looking for family friendly things to do with parents who have already done family friendly things.

You can:

• Read and review activities, restaurants, lodging, parks and playgrounds and attractions near you
• Create and view excursions for anything from an hour trip to an all-day event
• Connect with other parentographers
• Search near you or across the country

Why It’s More Than “Average”

This is a perfect example of taking something that exists already (search-able restaurant reviews and activities), improving it incrementally (better design, focused user goals).

Lots of people have kids. And those people need things to do. The makers of parentography recognized that this was a huge audience who wasn’t having their needs addressed by anything that was currently out there. And they gave them a user-experience tailored exactly to what they wanted, as well as making their site super-usable and well designed.

Basically, they took an existing idea, improved it first and did it better than everyone else for a specific audience.

Ideas don’t have to be completely different or new. Sometimes the best innovations are ones that improve what we already have.

Will It Succeed

It’s still in beta, so there’s not a lot of content on there. Plus, it looks like they’re still working out a few bugs. But, if they get it executed well and they can attract users to create good content, I have a feeling this will be a valuable resource for a lot of people.

So if you’re a parent or are thinking of doing something similar, go check them out.

How I Found Out About It

This idea was brought to my attention by the good folks over at Lifehacker.

See the original post

You can also check out my post about it at my parenting blog, 365 First Time Parenting Tips.

Idea of the Week | 2 Comments »