Here's your next billion-dollar Internet startup idea. If it sounds like the dumbest idea in the world, remember that you didn't think of Twitter. That will keep you humble enough to get through this post.
Imagine a web site that allows any adult to post a ten-second video that is nothing but a statement of opinion, showing only the speaker's face. The opinion could be anything from "Diet Coke tastes better than Diet Pepsi" to a political preference. The web site would sort the opinions into as many categories as needed. Visitors to the site would be able to vote on the videos, based on agreement with the opinions, or the general attractiveness of the speaker.
Videos would also be sortable by most-viewed, and newest. And you could sort by speaker, to get all of the opinions of an individual. And let's assume the monetization of this site comes from ads.
That's the entire business idea. Now watch while I explain what makes this idea so brilliant. And before you leap to disagree, did I mention that you didn't think of Twitter?
Okay, first, there is a universal human attraction to faces. It's why magazines usually feature faces on the cover. Publishers know that people are drawn to human faces, especially famous or attractive ones. It's why
People Magazine thrives. It's also why movies and television shows fill much of their screen time with nothing but giant talking heads. Faces are interesting and objects are not.
Imagine a TV show about your favorite hobby, no matter if that is cooking, cars, technology or whatever. You wouldn't watch that show unless it had a lot of humans in it, preferably attractive ones, showing their faces. It says a lot that even your own favorite hobby wouldn't hold your interest on screen without faces.
Continue reading at
Dilbert.com.
More of Scott Adams' blog posts, and the Dilbert™ comic strip, can be found at Dilbert.com. He can be emailed at DilbertCartoonist@gmail.com.
