Introduction to Modern Geek
This morning I wrote a blog post which encouraged readers to dust off their App Ideas and get the ball rolling. In the post I suggested that everyone has an idea for an app and while that is in my opinion completely the case, I have had some further thoughts about this.
While we all have an app idea, what is stopping us from having many app ideas? I remember reading once (I can't remember where it was so it may not have been bassed on anything but an opinion, however I think it does illustrate the point well) that for every ten innovative ideas, only one tends to be profitable. Even Sir Richard Branson had a crack at selling Christmas trees and bugerigars before creating a successful magazine!
I remember 11 years ago talking with a friend about innovative ideas and how the seemingly simple ideas are always thought up before I think of them. It turns out that this was a defining moment in my life, as I started to think differently from then on. How could something be made better? How could something be made easier? I found that the more I thought of ideas - some crazy and some not so crazy - the easier it became.
That said, it's not always easy to think of ideas when you don't know what is possible.
My business coach once introduced me to the realisation that we don't know what we don't know. The concept wasn't his own thinking (apparently it originated at the Landmark Forum), but it is quite simple and is demonstrated by the following chart, where number 1 represents What We Know. Number 2 represents What We Know That We Don't Know. Finally, number 3 represents What We Don't Know That We Don't Know.
I'm passionate about different languages and have spent years learning (or trying to learn) German, French, Spanish and Italian to name a few! It's always much easier to understand than it is to speak, because if you miss a few words when listening, you still get the context. If you miss a few words when speaking, you can unfortunately very easily change the context!
The internet and technology are a bit like learning another language (here after referred to as Modern Geek), in that when you can understand it, you can work out how and when to use it.
So welcome to Modern Geek and you can look forward to life on the front line of innovation! As this series progresses, it should definitely get your cogs ticking. Stay tuned as we dive into custom maps, bluetooth beacons, geo location, qr codes, live streaming and more!