Finding Originality

In a world with mash-ups, open source, and the Internet, it’s pretty tough to find an original project- something that has not already been done. For instance, I’ve thought of many projects that have already been done, most notably something similar to Facebook. About three months before Facebook got popular, my friend Steve Mekosh and I started planning what we were calling a MySpace for College Students. In retrospect, I don’t think we could have done something as awesome as Facebook is, but still the idea was there. I’ve also wanted to do something similar to Remember the Milk, a tasks website. So where do I draw the line and say, ‘This has already been done, forget it’ or ‘I can make this better?’

Right now I have two projects in mind that are out there that I can make better. So here is my process. I’ll come up with an idea, write some notes on it- basic plans, a mission statement for the website, etc. Then I will use Google to find similar websites. If I find something that’s strikingly close to what I want to do, I’ll sign up for it and use it. I will keep track of changes I’d make that I feel the general public would also like. After a week or so, I’ll decide if the project is worth doing.

I’ve done that with two websites now and I really feel with one website, my project would be an improvement. With the other, I feel the mission of my site is different enough that it is worth doing. The important part of this ordeal is not to get discouraged because something has already been done. Check out the product and see how many people actually use it and what they like/dislike about it. If you honestly think you can do better, try it out. If anything, it will be a learning experience for you. That’s the way I look at it. However, one thing I do need to work on is finding time to actually do the projects I have in mind.