Encyclop(ideas)

IDEAS, AS THEY COME.

[encyclopideas]

157. Worse Half Dating App

Dating apps, like other forms of social media, tend to focus on people presenting the best possible versions of themselves. But the reality is, no one is exactly who they say they are, especially on a dating app. 

This is a pitch for a dating app that goes against all convention and would allow you to air your dirty laundry up front...tell a potential partner about the worst of you and get it over with. Whether it's through a personal description, set of questions, or through another method, you'd basically be disclosing all of your worst qualities, mistakes, and experiences, etc. 

Rather than going through the stress and discomfort of trying to make a good impression, It seems like a more honest initial connection could make the dating process more comfortable and potentially more successful for everyone involved. 

[encyclopideas]

156. Cook It Forward

This could be a marketing idea for a food blog, restaurant, or just an interesting project in general. Basically you would start out with a simple pot, or several. Make your favorite dish or something close to your family, heritage, life, etcetera. Then you give your dish away to a friend, family member, someone random on the street who might appreciate it, and never worry about it again. The only caveat is that the recipient needs to (honor system) in turn make a dish and pass it along. If you inscribed a “cook it forward” or specific hashtag, you could track the progress of the pot and dishes as they make their way around the country and/or world through social media. 

It would be interesting to see different types of people from various backgrounds contribute to the project with food that is close to them, all while bringing a smile to those who are unknowingly in line to receive a random dish. 

[encyclopideas]

155. Make Cents

Here is an idea for all restaurants out there trying to do a little good. I guess the same could go for many businesses, too. Basically, every bill would get rounded up (I know some banks, etc do this) with the excess getting thrown into a charitable pool. Maybe every paying customer or diner gets to vote where the money should go? Maybe restaurants would give the excess to a food bank? Maybe a clothing store could donate this money towards a charity providing clothes for the needy? Basically, if you are lucky enough to eat out or go shopping for clothes you don’t need, might as well use that pocket change to benefit those less fortunate. Everyone wins. 

[encyclopideas]

154. Colored Weight Tags

This one goes out to all the strong bois out there. If you have ever been to a public gym, then you can relate to the frustration of weights and equipment being in the wrong place. The only thing more certain at a gym is sleeveless shirts and protein shakes. This problem could be solved quite simply with color-coded bands or attachments for the weights. One set would go on a specific weight, dumbbell, etc, and the corresponding color would be placed where the weight is actually supposed to go in the gym. This would make it impossible to place a piece of equipment in the wrong spot, and would even shame those knowingly not putting things back in the right place, as their ignorance would be incredibly noticeable. Would be an easy sell to existing gyms as they wouldn’t have to replace any equipment, just add the coding system to save a lot of time, resources, and headaches.

[encyclopideas]

153. Blowhole Waterpark Waterslide

This is one of those silly, terrible ideas that actually might work as a marketing ploy. Could be great for waterparks, etc. Basically, it would just be a massive slide that sends you into a giant whale’s mouth, after which you get launched out of the whale’s blowhole and into a swimming pool. Crazier marketing ploys have worked in the past. I mean, there are people out there now buying air pods attached to a string “holder.” In other words, paying more money to turn their expensive air pods into circa 2004 earbuds. 

[encyclopideas]

152. Noozed

This is an idea that’s about 12 years old, and while many websites, blogs, and other places people go to for news have since adapted similar ideas, the ground-up article format is something that’s yet to be implemented effectively in the way people digest journalism. Basically, Noozed is for busy (or ill-informed) people who want to be briefed, fast. They aren’t news junkies looking for a 5-page in-depth article, they’re everyday people hoping to just stay in the loop and be able to hold their own at the dinner table (which also doesn’t really exist these days). Noozed is a potential website that would summarize each day’s news into 5-10 user-friendly bullet points. Each subscriber / user would be able to personalize their feed by selecting the topic(s) they’re interested in. The thing that would make Noozed unique, is that it does not assume any prior knowledge of a news story from the reader, rather each story is built from the ground up. For example, a complex story like Brexit might turn some readers away, as if they haven’t been following the developments from the start jumping right in would be difficult. Noozed would assume you, the reader, knows nothing of Brexit. The first couple of bullet points would help you get up to speed on the matter and explain the complexities in simple terms, with the remaining bullet points delivering the latest developments and actual news. You could basically know nothing, and leave your daily briefing with a great beat on what’s happening in the world. Perfect for the busy professional who doesn’t want to seem ignorant. 

[encyclopideas]

151. Chopped For Bad Chefs

A spin on the popular cooking show "Chopped," except for very bad chefs. Terrible, terrible cooks are given random ingredients and forced to make the best dish they can out of it. We'll see what kind of terrible creations they come up with. Can’t wait to see the judges be forced to eat it. 

[encyclopideas]

150. Group Gamble

A gambling app that allows friends to bet with each other, on anything, for money. It could be linked to Venmo, and all gamblers would have to validate a third party to regulate the bet. They could then make a custom bet...Will “Steve” show up tonight? Can Jim make this 3-pointer, etc. Once the amount and bet are validated, the regulator, who is agreed upon by all members of the group, enters the result. Yes, Steve showed up and yes, Jim made the 3-pointer...bets would then be automatically squared by pulling from the gamblers’ venmo account for example. The app could take 10 cents on the dollar for profit.

[encyclopideas]

149. Layover Networking

Now I’m not a successful businessperson, but if I were I wouldn’t want to waste layover time at airports. This is an app that would function like Tinder. A user, said business person, could enter their field of expertise along with what they would want out of a potential networking opportunity. When they are stuck in a terminal for a couple hours and want to go have a drink, they can log onto the app and see if there is anyone else in their field nearby also wanting to maximize this waiting time. 

[encyclopideas]

148. Dead But Alive

Not sure if this is within the parameters of technology, but given that we can land on rocks in space it has to be possible. An app that emits a default message to those trying to call or text you, saying that your phone is dead so they can stop worrying....mom.

[encyclopideas]

147. Generationally Weighted Voting

This would be very controversial, which is why it’s just a crazy idea and nothing more. Basically, yes two people are equal hence their votes should be counted the same. That makes sense. But it also makes sense that politicians have a greater affect on the young, as they statistically have longer to live and either benefit from or suffer because of the policies which are in place. What if a vote was some sort of factor of age? A 90 year-old’s vote would note be weighted quite as heavily as that of a 30 year-old, given that, well, they probably won’t be around the same amount of time. This could be backed heavily by life expectancy data to ensure it’s fair, and any 70 year-old complaining that their vote is weakening would have to check themselves, as they were once younger with a heavier vote. I guess the only down side is that we are all constantly evolving and a variance in opinion is healthy...rather than having one demographic dictate an election. Food for thought though, there is something there. 

[encyclopideas]

146. A Way To Compensate College Athletes

It’s no doubt that college athletes contribute to the wealth of their universities, while sacrificing their bodies and time for no monetary gain. Sure, it’s a great experience, resume builder, and perhaps there are some professional aspirations that could come to fruition. They might even love their sport. But for many, the opportunity cost of playing a sport in college is not fully offset. Without getting into the debate, this is an idea to have players bank a certain amount of money per game, season, etc. which correlates to how much the university makes from their program. Upon graduation and completing their degree, this “banked” time could be turned over in the form of paying off debt, direct compensation, etc. etc. This is a way to incentivize good work in the classroom and give the athletes what many people feel they deserve. 

[encyclopideas]

145. Family Stories Platform

There is so much about my family I don’t know, which is probably a good thing. I’m reminded of this every time I see a distant relative and hear some new story about a different family member I had never heard. This idea is for a centralized platform, essentially a communal blog, that allows authorized users (family members) to post anecdotes, stories, and memories to be organized and archived for years to come. Imagine how interesting this would be to future generations, being able to go to one central place to read about relatives they know little about. 

[encyclopideas]

144. Greeting Card Generator

It’s sad that there is actually a need for this, but it’s true that some people don’t have the time, energy, or creativity to come up with a nice card for someone else. This is an idea for a website that could generate prompts or card ideas for those struggling. Maybe you can customize the name or image. They could then just print the card, save a little money, and have more options than at Hallmark. This probably exists, but throwing it out there just in case. 

[encyclopideas]

143. Smarter Voting

There is a lot of debate going on regarding voting these days, and I’m not going to insert myself into the middle of it - mostly because no one will see or read this. I just think it would be useful for votes to be validated. We have to validate so much in our lives...we even have to prove that we aren’t robots before entering a website. This would require each person to answer a very basic, factual prompt about candidates before leaving the polls. Is Donald Trump a male or female? Is Bernie Sanders from California? If their answers aren’t mostly correct, how can we think they made an informed choice? I’m not talking about political views or stances on issues, just very, very basic questions to prove you are a functioning human being who knows enough about the candidates to make an educated choice - whatever that may be. 

[encyclopideas]

142. America In Pictures

This is an idea for a national photography contest, culminating in a collaborative monument or exhibit of sorts. Essentially, whoever is running this thing that doesn’t exist would gather a winner from each state. The winner’s photograph would then be placed, in the shape of their state, on a map or mural of the US. When all of these pictures are accumulated, you’ll have a nice little version of the US made up of images characterizing each state.

[encyclopideas]

141. Personal Stock

This is an idea for those who track the stock market, or are a little more aware about tracking personal finances. When you look at a stock, be it daily, weekly, monthly, etc., it’s easy to take note the change. But even with lots of services available, it’s hard to see your own finances increasing or decreasing on a daily basis. This app would allow a user to enter all of there reoccurring net income and expenses, which would be amortized over 365 days. That way, you know exactly how much you are making or losing every day. Next, you could link this to any accounts from which you might spend money. Together, they could function to give you a live look at how your “stock” is doing that day. If you don’t spend any money and make a net of $100.00/day, you’ll see that your stock is up that day. If you go out and buy a cute pair chaps, alligator of course, then you might be down 1% on the day. If nothing else, it will encourage mindful spending which is always financially healthy.