When we launched Idea Bounty in October 2008 crowdsourcing was a concept that was beginning to become not just a buzz word amongst marketers but something that they were actively tying into their brand strategies. From Doritos and the continued sucsess with their 'Crash the Superbowl' competition to Volkswagen in the UK and their "The Peoples Review" campaign its clear that crowdsourcing is very much here to stay.
Picking up on this trend 'The Entrepreneurial Edge' - one of the shows that airs on CNBC Africa - took a closer look at how crowdsourcing is being applied in business and kindly asked us to join them on the show. Enjoy.
In early January this year I was lucky enough to attend a gathering of some of the finest minds working in the online/ tech industry in South Africa - You can read a bit more about what I discovered there in this post. There was one particular project which I really thought stood out from the crowd - possibly becuase it works on one of the simplest (always the best) ideas around: Merging the online world with the offline.
Basically Personeraallows you to order a physical printed calendar which uses information from yourFacebook profile (photos, events, birthdays etc) to tailor the calendar so it represents you 100%. We managed to grab a couple of hours with Sheraan Amod and Jaco De Wet, Personera's two founders, and dug a bit deeper into what they do.
Im sure will agree its a simple service but thats what makes it so great - and I honestly think the best is yet to come. Having printed products with are based on what goes on in the online world is fast becoming a trend - You can buy books full of Tweets now! - and I personally cant wait to see what the guys at Personera come up with next. In the mean time be sure to go and check out Personera and remember to use your free code "IDEABOUNTY" to claim your free calendar!
So a couple of months ago Iwrote a blog post abouttwo ideas - Crabvertising and Pooblicity. Granted both are really out there ideas (although im convinced there is a business model in the idea of Pooblicity) but at the same time they are brilliantly ingenious. The creator of these two ideas is none other thanThe Ideas Man, otherwise known as Shed Simove.
Believe me when I say this - I had one of the wildest skype conversations with him soon after I wrote the aforementioned post - Shed is one of the most idea filled people I have ever spoken to. Ok maybe thats not quite correct. We all have ideas, the difference is Shed makes them happen…. And thats what makes him a real champion of the humble idea. He carries his ideas through to the end when ever he can.
Shed sent me a copy of his book ‘Ideas Man’ - yes, I do recommend you read it - soon after our crazy skype conversation. Its filled with stories of ideas, the ones that succeeded and the ones that didn’t. You really do want to listen to the man behind these ideas, he has some wise words to impart. So on that note we managed to get Shed to stop thinking about ideas for a few minutes and he kindly agreed answer some of my questions. Enjoy.
Shed Simove - The Ideas Man
1. So before we jump straight into talking about ideas - tell us a bit more about yourself and what you do to put food on the table?
In a nutshell: ‘I get away with it’. And I believe anyone can do the same. I do a lot of things. if you’re creative, you can turn your mind to whatever fires you. I used to make TV shows (‘Big Brother’, ‘Space Cadets’, ‘The Big Breakfast’). Now, I create and launch novelty gifts (approaching a million units sold), I write books (a mixture of entertainment and secrets to success), I work with companies to help them come up with brilliant ideas for their businesses, plus I perform (comedy gigs, TV presenting, acting). I don’t sleep much…
2. Tell us a bit about your novelty products - essentially ideas that most people would dismiss as, well a silly idea.
Some say ‘silly’, some say ‘inspired’. There’s a fine line! ‘Madness’ and ‘genius’ are well known to be closely linked. And in the business world, one man’s silly idea is another man’s goldmine. And the second man is usual a novelty gift creator or manufacturer. The gift industry is worth over 10 billion pounds in the UK alone, so you can see there’s a rich vein to tap. People love to buy presents! Most of the ideas I think of, everyone can think of (and they probably do), but I make them happen. I become so gripped with making something, that I then spend ages creating products like the ‘Martin Loofah King’, birthday candles that spell ‘You’re Old’ or the ‘Designer Beaver’. It’s a thrill to think something you created might make someone smile. When it does, and a customer buys it, it’s hugely rewarding. We’re not curing cancer, but we’re entertaining in a focused and passionate way. Most people come up with great ideas whilst in the bath, lying in bed, or out with mates - but they don’t do anything about them. I do and that’s the key.
3. You probably get this question quite a bit but what’s is your favourite product? I’m a personal fan of the "flying fuck" and hide your "identity specs"
You have great taste! When I show people those the FLYING FUCK or the HIDE YOUR IDENTITY SPECS, they tend to get a big ‘LOL’ (as the kids say), which is great. I’m very proud of my novelty remote control range – like the CONTROL-A-WOMAN and the CONTROL-A-MAN. They’ve sold over a quarter of a million units combined! I’m also proud of the Sound Machines I created – they came from an idea I had to allow anyone to live their own sitcom – by adding a laughter track, applause or funny sounds to your life. We now have four versions – Original, Horror, Football & Cartoon… Also, it’s the new items that I’m about to launch that really excite me…I’ve got over three hundred concepts in my portfolio, all ready to go…and there’s something exquisitely thrilling about seeing a new novelty gift on the shop shelves….
4. Why novelty products? Any ideas that could become something other than a novelty (not knocking your ideas!)
Novelty is wonderful! It’s both innovative and fun. In a strict sense though, novelty means ‘new’. In a sense , all businesses need novelty products because unless every company keeps producing new ideas that stimulate their customers, they’ll be overtaken. I’m drawn to novelty gifts because they’re a neat little gag in one package. They’re uncomplicated, light hearted and sometimes mischievous. And there aren’t too many ‘barriers to entry’ in terms of getting them out there…
And yes, I can think of ideas for any area of life and business and then make them happen – you just need some good techniques (which I talk about in my books and presentations) and great people around you… Plus, the insatiable urge to make the goal come alive, of course… I currently have dozens of ideas that I’d like to partner with experts on – from Apps to Websites to Fashion lines to Food ranges and even Movie Scripts…
5. Coming up with an idea is one thing - making them happen is another. Is there any bit of wisdom or advice you can give on this?
Reward yourself. Perhaps with a meal at a posh restaurant, a new outfit or a hot date with a blonde – whatever will spur you onwards. Pursue what you love, pour your energy into some area you think about all the time, steer clear of NEGNETS (my term for people who are ‘negative magnets’, pouring negativity on your idea and sapping your energy,) and never, ever, give up. Focus hard on choosing to pursue something that what would make you really happy if it happened. We could all put our minds TO anything – and achieve it – if we have the will. And that’s what’s important. Just start something new and you’ll naturally go on an adventure, learn loads and eventually succeed...
7. You have mentioned that presentation is key when it comes to selling your products - can you elaborate on this?
Packaging is vital. Details are vital. If a hundred of us all made the same product ideas come to life, we’d all deliver it differently. That’s interesting - and pivotal. Once you have an idea, how you deliver it is everything. You have a very short amount of time to engage people, so your idea (in any field) needs to be attention-grabbing, instantly understandable and new in some way,
8. How many ideas fail? More importantly how do you escape the depression that can come with having an idea fail?
Many fail. in order to success, we must ‘Fail upwards’. By that I mean, we should aim to fail at something, because at least then you’re trying to do it. Your awesome human brain will automatically start learning and you’ll be sure to have an exciting adventure – and quite possibly make loads of money too…
9. I really enjoy the very true statement you often make that "opportunities are everywhere" Your story about "The Amazing Dry Cleaning Adventure" illustrates this perfectly - any tips for spotting these opportunities? I can imagine they become more obvious over time.
Absolutely. You can train your mind to focus. Whenever you’re dissatisfied about ANYTHING, there’s an opportunity. Make it better, test it slightly, add another function onto it…then you’ll have a new idea. That’s all innovation is – taking an idea and doing it slightly differently – and better!
10. I must say one of the things I admire about you is your ability to peruse an idea to its conclusion. Would you say this is a quality you have always had?
It’s a learned skill, and something everyone can do. It comes from a deep desire to see something happen and send it out into the world.
11. With so many good ideas how do you choose the one that you chase?
Anything where it makes me think “if that happened, it’d make people LAUGH or THINK – or both… Therefore, the ideas that tickle me tend to be what some people (the majority) deem ‘subversive’ or ‘naughty’. But attitudes change – so what’s subversive or naughty today is normal tomorrow – which means that by shocking people sometimes you get them to think differently and then accept a new - and better way of living…
12. I think one of your more fascinating ideas is your personal currency 'The Ego' - tell us more about this? And how has the recession treated it?
It came from me seeing Linden dollars (a virtual currency in the online game ‘Second Life’) being sold online. That’s mind-blowing – an ‘unreal’ currency begin sold for ‘real’ money, which again is only a confidence trick (the money we use is after all, just a promise). So, I released my own currency in both note and coin form – and It’s risen steadily in value since day one, even through the ‘Credit Crunch’. It currently has a better exchange rate than the dollar, Euro or Yen.
13. You have done quite a bit when it comes to building you own personal brand. Tell us a bit more about when you managed to change your name to 'God'
It started when I read ‘The God Delusion’ by Richard Dawkins. It made me think about the word ‘GOD’ and how it has so many meanings – and how the concept means something different to every person. If you put another word in front of the word ‘God’, like ‘Greek’, ‘Love’ or ‘Sex’…then it takes on a different meaning, but if you just say ‘God’ to someone, then it has a unique emotional connection to that person. That’s fascinating. I began to wonder if it could be possible to change my name to ‘God’ as no one had ever done it before. After a long search, I found a solicitor who agreed to formalise me and change my name by deed. When I went to my bank and tried to get my credit card in the name of my new name ‘God’, the bank were furious and threatened to close my accounts. The press picked up on the stories and some articles appeared in the media – one was titled “BANK SNUBS GOD”.
15. Has building up you own personal brand like you have made selling your novelty products easier?
People are only starting to find out about my brand. You’re only as good as your last idea… this keep you on your toes and always wanting to deliver…
Wonderfully, my brand is growing exponentially and I hope it’ll grow more as more people discover - and hopefully engage with – what I do.
16. Tell us a bit more about your comedy routine and the 'Shed Heckling Device"
I invented a ‘Heckling Device’ in case of heckling emergencies – it’s an audio box that shouts “Fuck off You C**T”. I’ve only had to use it once and it worked surprisingly well.
17. As I understand it your book "Ideas Man" is basically your show in book form... am I correct?
The show is the book in presentation form! It’s a manual for success and gives you the skills to make anything happen in your life. What makes it unique is that all the techniques for success are embedded in stories from my life – including the big wins and massive failures too...
18. You are not the typical idea of who a successful entrepreneur would be - Do you think that you have changed the idea about who can start a successful business? Is it working?
Goodness, any person can do anything these days. We’re LUCKY to live an age where there’s a democracy about being able to be successful that isn’t tied to family history or wealth or status. The internet is such a freer. There are no barriers to entry and no one who can tell you NOT to do something. You can find experts or manufacturers within two clicks…this means any human endeavour is within your grasp because you can easily find people to help you.
19. One of the examples - and its a small one - of you doing things differently is the fact that you post some of your Ideas In Development on your site. Why do you do this and don’t you worry that someone will steal them?
I have over four hundred (really good) ideas in my portfolio for everything for novelty gifts, toys, web businesses, iPhone apps, and new book concepts… And those are filtered from the less good ideas I come up with. I put a smattering of these on my site so that they might get some interest from brilliant experts. I stopped being too cautious about my ideas years ago when I realised three things: 1) People are generally decent 2) Most people are much less interested in your idea than you are, so they’d rather do their own ideas 3) An idea is only is good as it’s implementation. If all of us made the same idea come to life, some of the results would be much better than others. So, you need to both think up good ideas and make sure they are carried out very well too. This is vital. Finally – 4) It’s not in anyone’s interest to rip off my ideas because once they’ve done that, they’ll cut off a rich source of more ideas – they ‘kill the golden goose.’ And I’m the sort of goose that will keep on laying great eggs for a long time… All of that said, it’s always better to hold your very best ideas back until you trust someone…and meeting face to face is the only real way to get a feeling for someone.
I’m currently thinking about setting up a website called I’ve started so I’ll finish .com - it’ll allow you to upload any goal you’re aiming to reach and then have everyone visiting the site to encourage you in your goal or actually help you make it come to life…
18. Another thing I love that you do is the section on your site titled "Your Ideas" which made us smile since you are in essence crowdsourcing. How has this worked out?
Your brain is amazing! And it allows you to come up with all sorts of incredible concepts, meaning most people have fantastic ideas. It’s about doing them though…and it’s not that hard these day because the internet let’s you find an expert to help you or a factory to make your idea, very quickly. People often come to me with ideas they want to develop, but I don’t take many on, as my schedule is chocka block. If something fits into my range though, and I think it’s really great, then I’ll spend time launching it. For example, this happened with the ‘Parent Child Contract Pad’…and I’m delighted with the results.
19. And lastly tell us about your bid to become world famous. Tell us a bit more about this - and how can we help!?
Fame is a tough mistress. She demands a lot of attention and is not easily pleased. I’d love your readers’ help! Please take a look at BetYouillBeFamous.com, follow me on Twitter, read IDEAS MAN and give it a review on Amazon (if you enjoyed it!), invite me to your company to speak, get me on a chat show or radio show, give me a part in a Bollywood movie, hook me up with a Page 3 girl…or simply invite me to dinner - meeting new people is always thrilling…
One of the reasons I love the Internet so much is that it is the perfect place to waste hours looking at awesome content - ranging from in depth academic articles to entertaining but rather pointless websites like Animals With Lightsabers. Because of this the net is also the best place to find examples of some of the best creative ideas, design, film and fashion out there.
One of my favourite creative showcase sites has to be Between 10and5. In their own words the site is a "showcase for the South African creative industry." Each day they feature the best work from agencies, freelancers, illustrators, artists and other creatives... Between 10and5 is almost one year old and so we sat down with Uno De Waal, one of the sites founding fathers, and had a bit of a chat about what the ride has been like so far.
1. Tell us a bit more about Between 10and5 and the concept behind it, why did you decide it was needed?
We were struggling to find all the creative work that was being produced in South Africa. We had to go to each individual artist/agency site to find new work, and it was a mission. We thought that if we're doing it, we might as well start by building a central repository for all that content.
2. There is a bit of a story behind the name Between 10and5 - can you fill us in on it?
Our initial brief to the community (and still is to an extent), is to show us between 5 and 10 things that you've been up to. Less than 5 is too little, and more than 10 things and you start getting lost in the content. The domain 5and10 was already taken. We thought 10and5 is also a little bit different, so it might stick in your mind a bit more.
3. How long have you been running and what has the general feedback been?
Our first post was put up on the 28th of September 2008. So, since then. We're almost a year old! The feedback has been great. We've built up a cool community and following, and met some awesome people along the way as well.
4. You have new work up everyday, it must be quite time consuming to run with no obvious benefit to you. How do you practically run and manage the site?
It is... Apart from Johann and myself, we also have Kate and Mari who put content up. It's awesome having other people to help out. We also do batch processing, so we try to gather content during the week, then on Sundays we'll schedule content until about Wednesday, and then we do the same on Wednesday. It is very time consuming though, also because all the other contributers work at other companies (I'm the only one who has a "flexible schedule") I end up taking a lot on myself, but everyone helps out equally at the end of the day. We do try and connect with people to offer us scoops as well, and we're always looking to publish more articles in our Content Pillars. Regarding the benefits, you'll notice that 10and5 doesn't run any ads, or has no directly obvious revenue model. It's because we don't :) 10and5 is actually a "product" from our consulting and research company MaxRover. 10and5 puts us in contact with a number of ad agency's and creatives, plus it keeps us up to date with the trends happening in the ad world.
Am I Collective's BARE's range - showcased on Between 10and5
5. What work makes it onto the site? Is there any gatekeeping of work so to speak?
We do try and gatekeep to some extent. We feel that the value that we bring is in the editorial process. That being said, we also want to have deep content - so even if it is terrible work, we still put it up because it's important to showcase that as well. We'll often put up very corporate, boring work that has been produced by some of the most cutting edge design companies, just to show that you sometimes also need to do the bread and butter work.
6. Between 10and5 is a showcase of work from the South African creative industry - does this mean only work destined for the South African market is showcased or only work done by South Africans?
Both - If you're a South African living abroad (like Motel7) then we'll showcase your stuff, or if the ad was produced in South Africa and flighted in Scandinavia, we'll show it because it has a connection to South Africa.
7. You must get lots of the work you showcase sent to you - how often do you actively go out looking for examples of great South African creative work?
We do it quite a lot. It's also a great way for us to introduce the site to other creatives. We have a couple of people who send in regular work (love you guys!), and then we'll also browse the web and find SA stuff. Kate and Mari are quite connected to the grass roots of the scene, so we get lots of cool news first hand from creatives who produce the work! We've also setup groups on Flickr and Behance for people to upload work to, plus we've got a few RSS feeds that notify us of new work as well.
8. What type of community do you find uses your site the most? Other creatives searching for inspiration or brands looking for portfolios etc?
We find that we have quite a lot of illustrators and graphic designers, but also people who are not involved with the actual creative production (account execs, etc).
9. Are there any other sites out there locally that are doing something similar?
Yeah quite a few. There's Cherryflava, they've been doing what we're doing for a while, but our content is different in ways. MarkLives is also quite close, we have a pretty cool relationship though - we'll share some content and work on some things together. There was South African Design Link Love, but they died down a bit. Then you get the digi-mags, Chew Magazine, Voice, Audrey2. We're all featuring cool creative content, and we have our niches. We're not seeing them as competitors at all - we'll even feature the new issues from the magazines when they are released. At the end of the day, we're all featuring something a little bit different, and we feel that the more work being shown, the better!
10. Do you model yourself on any international sites or are there any out there that are at a level you would one day like to reach?
I suppose there are parallels to a number of sites - international ad sites are all over the place. It's really not difficult to find awesome creative work. But we're more about our community and stimulating them. We'd like to be able to offer a one-stop solution for designers, from jobs (we're live with that by the way - check it out here), through to classifieds, to being able to promote your work.
11. Do you do anything to promote the site or do you find that word just spreads organically?
We do a lot of social media marketing. A lot! And we also ask our contributers to punt it as well. We're ranking quite high for agency search terms as well, so that helps, plus any featured campaigns are also ranked quite high. It's a mix of a lot of things. Our social presence was lacking a bit a while back, and we decided to do something about it. We started organising social campaigns that we run through Twitter and Facebook, and I think this graph speaks quite well to our success rate. So, technically that could be considered promotion, but also organic spread!
12. You see most of the South African work that gets produced - how does it compare to work from overseas and are there any local trends that you have noticed.
SA has quite a big slant to iconographic imagery. I have no idea why this is and I don't really think it's visible in the big corporate work, but some of the smaller agencies are definitely punting it. There is some awesome top-notch creative work being produced.
13. What are your personally opinions on crowdsourcing sites that asks for completed work (99designs etc) compared to something like Idea Bounty where just the Idea is being sought?
It's a tricky thing. 10and5 is very hesitant to do it, I don't think we'll ever run a crowdsourcing campaign ourselves, but we will put other crowdsourcing competitions up for other people to enter. I think that if you have an issue with crowdsourcing, then don't enter it, but for a lot of people who haven't made a name for themselves, it's a great way to get out there and become established. We have commissioned quite a few pieces (all our 10and5 wallpapers are done for free), but it's never a crowdsourced thing. Idea Bounty is great - the incentive is REALLY good (prize money is excellent!). I haven't seen any of the ideas executed though, which is a bit worrysome. I'd like to see some of the ideas, and also some of the ones that didn't make it (but I suppose then someone else might take it...)
14. Do you think enough is being done to promote South African creative work?
No... There are loads of showcases, but I think SA creatives need more support, in the form of channels to promote their work, and also in training and services support (like offering cheaper Photoshop licenses!). It's also not always the cool stuff that gets seen. I think it's OK, adequately sufficient, but it's not amazing.
15. What are your ties to the creative industry, are you an active creative yourself?
I'm not really, Kate and Mari are both copywriters at agencies (Kastner&Partners and Mari is starting at Quirk), and Johann is a digital producer (at Stonewall+). I know how to work Photoshop, but you don't really want to see what comes out... My focus is more on research (which is a large part of what 10and5 is). As mentioned earlier, the 10and5 "holding company" is a research firm and 10and5 allows us to keep on the pulse of the creative industry in SA and offer insights that is relatively unique. So it's more about being creative in a business sense than the other sense..
16. Cape Town has always been a central hot spot for creativity in South Africa - do you find that work differs considerably depending on the city the creator lives in?
Kind of, but we haven't had enough work to compare though. We've been struggling to get content from Johannesburg and other areas because we aren't on the ground. We get some creative stuff, but not enough. Cape Town creatives have a bit of a struggling artist mentality (specifically in the arts scene), while JHB guys are much more switched on business wise. I might be biased, but I do prefer the Cape Town creative work. The only thing now is to commercialise it!
17. Do you have any favorite artists/creatives that you especially enjoy featuring?
Hehe, yup we do, all the creatives who send us regular work! We have a couple of favourites, but we'd never punt them more than any other. We like to reward our contributers through other means (like a free shirt here and there).
18. What do you think the future of creative talent in South Africa is going to be like?
I have no idea. Bit of an open question? I think we're going to see a lot more online sales - people are going to start selling more of their products online. At the moment, the only way for an artist to sell their work is through an exhibition, or through some physical distribution channel like a brick and mortar shop. Online opens up a lot more channels. There are also loads of artists who are great at what they do, but get tied up in admin. I reckon we'll see a couple of creative agencies pop up (similar to Word of Art) that help creatives connect with business. I think that's exciting because it allows the creatives to do more of what they're good at - producing great creative work.
