I was thinking tonight that I have a couple of business ideas, but that I’d like to bounce them off someone. Unfortunately, most of the people I know, if creative or visionary, don’t often let it show. I foresee that I’d tell them my idea and they’d go, “hey, good idea”. And that’s where it’d end.
I’ve joined a few business mailing lists before, but found most of them to be filled with spam about get-rich-quick schemes and endless flame-fests.
Then I thought of the SDMB, but figured that this is just not the right forum to have ongoing exchanges of ideas, advice, and commentary on a specific topic.
And then I wondered if any specific sub-groups have ever formed here. Is there a business discussion list made up of Dopers? A moms’ or dads’ mailing list? Anything of that sort?
Would anyone be interested in participating in a business discussion list? Or any other lists? It might be worthwhile to set up some Doper mailing lists, have them advertised on a specific website where Dopers can find sub-groups so that they can find others who want to have ongoing contact with respect to like-minded interests. I mean, many of the members here are pre-qualified as very worthwhile contacts and such, rather than the typical blathering idiot one tends to find “out there” on the 'Net.
There is a depression-help Yahoo group that was started, as well as a cooking group on LiveJournal. I think there may be a writing group that was started as well (not Teemings). I’m sure that’s not a comprehensive group, but those are the ones I’m aware of.
I was thinking just today that it would be nice to have an LJ group devoted to people like me, who want to dismiss most of the 20th century; who listen to classical music, like paintings and sculpture by dead white men, and wear long skirts and woolen stockings; whose favorite ponderable problems are how to happily situate staircases inside of houses with symmetrical Georgian facades, and newer better ways to pin up their very long hair. People who love to live with Persian rugs, chintz carpets, silver serving trays, and Spode dinnerware; who salivate over cashmere shawls and Smithson of Bond Street address books. People who finish dinner with a cheese tray and fruit, every day, and have port around for special occasions.
Do I have a following or am I a complete eccentric?
sorry. it’s very late which means i am rather uninhibited. i’ll go back to bed now.
I’m a little suprised there wasn’t more reaction that this. Perhaps the Board does serve more specific purposes, in that virtually any topic can be raised and discussed by anyone here. Or perhaps those that have specific interests they might like to discuss are already doing so via other, completely unrelated message boards or mailing lists.
Why on earth not? If there’s a topic of interest, start a thread. People will post comments and links to that thread. If it’s not of interest to anyone, it will die. If it is of interest and use to people, it will thrive.
I started a musical-lovers’ group in Cafe Society. We use the main thread for signing up members and announcing what movies we’ll be watching, then start individual threads for the movies as they come up (and link them from the main thread). So far that seems to be working pretty well.
What do you envision a mailing list doing that can’t be done on the boards as they already exist?
I guess here was my thinking. Let’s assume there was a group of 12 Dopers discussing general business topics. “Hey,” says I to my mailing list cohorts, “here’s a thought I had for a new business that nobody seems to be doing”. After some interesting thoughts and feedback, that particular topic goes away for a bit. Then someone comes across an article or some such thing and says, “by the way here’s an interesting article that I think relates to what you had been talking about”. This would require bumping an older, dormant thread, or starting a new one. This is potentially taxing upon the hamsters, as perhaps just your little group of 12 is really even interested or has the necessary context.
My other thought is that I don’t read all threads. Not even close to all. If I don’t come online for a couple days, I could easily miss a new topic being discussed by my “group”.
Finally, I’m not a big supporter of “hiding” ideas…for example, I don’t believe most entrepreneurs are benefitted by not letting their ideas loose for fear someone will steal it. Chances are, somebody else has already thought of it. But with that said, I don’t necessarily want full publication and broadcast of this idea, but want to share it with my small group with whom I’ve had ongoing communications.
Whether there’s any real benefit to having “breakout groups”, I don’t know. But I think there is potential for benefit.