Notes from April 2003 session

Locations/scenarios for board games, asterisks indicate ideas preferred in votes

Office* Drug dealing Zoos Used cars Terrorism Shopping - malls, high street War - strategy, fighter pilot Media/advertising/broadcasting mogul Career (changing, choices)* Home buying, decorating, selling Modelling/image* Share dealing Piracy (seven seas, musical, technical)     Banzai/betting*** Truth or dare* Conservation

Time travel Reforming NHS Government Desert island (survival, top 10s) Space colonies** Travelling Space wars Exploring Fighter Pilot* Pop music/manufactured band Banks/money Love/dating Car theft

Banzai or betting was popular - what appealed about this concept?
- ability to bet on performance of other players e.g. buy shares in Al to win a stage, balance with raising capital
- dual incentives and choices

What else is important?
- put you in position of control
- not clear who is winning
- other players emulate market/life forces
- your position is empathisable and inspiring

Actions

• Marc - bring a game proposal to the next idea beers night
  
• Alex - resend blog details

Moving on from games...

Speed dating... what is the next "speed" as things get busier? - highly structured, pre-organised, stimulating, gut reaction is all, limited time

Selling
Holiday (two day trips to multiple locations)
Job interview (multiple applicants)
Meetings (multiple issues, limited time)
Shopping (presented with many options)
House buying (video presentation or 3 minuted in 10 houses in 1 hour)
Experience - travel
Learning
Bar/entertainment
Life mentor
Online auction for permission/attention

Innovative and cheap ways to market porn ties

• Word of mouth - give out ties to stylishly dressed men on condition they tell x people (sneezers!)
  
• Force publicity/scandal/PR e.g. cheating A-levels
  
• Whiteboard tie/secret message
  
• write your own message
  
• Buy sets of x (e.g. club, stag weekend, project team) a la purple cow
  
• Target peoplt who want the post (18 year olds)
  
• Include business cards with ties (discount URLs for refer a friend)
  
• Oxbridge drinking societies
  
• Varsity/Cherwell ad
  
• Discret patterns on outside (hidden detail) /magic eye pic
  
• Art angle - use museum shops and mailing lists
  
• Networks
  
• Seeding and nurturing the virus
  
• Make it easy for your mate to get the product ->beam to frien, URL on tie, business cards sent out
  
• Celebrate great tie wearers -> celebrity endorsement - blind date, richard whitely, media friendly politicians, charity (secret pudsey)
  
• Freemasons
  
• Tie in with Hypertag
  

Until next week....

Some more notes from the inaugral idea beers session about board games

Different ways of categorising board games:

• Type of fun - in winning (mental games e.g. TP, risk) or in playing (physical games e.g. Twister)
  
• Type of skill - specific (scrabble) or generic (Tantrix)
  
• Amount of luck required - high, med, low
  
• Type of winning - decisive (Monopoly) or no big deal (Articulate)
  
• Rules - simple or complex (someone has to read the rule book)
  
• Visual clues as to how close someone is to winning - graphic (TP), not clear (Tantrix)
  
• Universally enjoyable activity (TP)
  
• Escapism vs. able to relate to situation/ able to aspire to situation
  
• Important to control time - keep everyone involved (speed versions e.g. Risk?)
  

Idea of ownership important - how can you come to own things?

• Collection
  
• Theft
  
• Win/inherit
  
• Barter/negotiate/pact
  
• Buy
  
• Take by force (war)
  

Why do you play?

• Social oiling - safe form of interaction
  
• Pass time
  

Discussion
- how could you make an interactive board - setting up the game involves creating and defining the board?

Very good, Mr Rickard finds the 21st century.

Free things very interesting. Especially when the (re)production cost is low / zero. Case in point being the Ideavirus book: Give away free pdf copies (the marginal cost is zero). Then a few months down the line sell people a nice shiny hard-backed version. The hard bit is working out how long to leave it before you release the shiny version - too soon and you will never sell any, too loate and the buzz about your idea will be gone... Another interesting point is that he still gives it away for free - traditional marketing wisdom says withdraw it when you start selling in the shops. i think this might work for other things too - mobile content anyone?

I am lax on the board-games front. I am going for a last minute spurt though. See you all on Tuesday.

Cool, I am signed up and this is pretty cool.

I was chatting to Chris last night about business plans - and your idea virus thing came up - interesting evidence of the value of free things maybe?

Anyone found anything on board games yet!? (Fraid I have not).

Our first Idea Beer...

Well, we met up for the first of our Idea Beers sessions last night. The venue was a the rather pedestrian sounding (though oddly perfect) family area of JD Weatherspoons' The Moon & 6d on Wardour Street.


Everyone brought along their coolest possession...

Marc brought his Brain represented by the 'Think and Get Rich' book
Pippa brought her Internet connection represented by the irrepressible Nodding Jeeves
Alex brought his free copy of 'Unleashing the Ideavirus' downloaded to his Palm Pilot and easily beamed to Marc

...and completed this week's phrase...

"In the last 50 years ... completely revolutionised ..."

In the last 50 years email completely revolutionised the way we tell jokes
In the last 50 years the sampler completely revolutionised the way we make music
In the last 50 years email completely revolutionised the way we do business
In the last 50 years the inside toilet completely revolutionised hygeine and hygeine products

Idea Beers Blog launches

This is the first post to our Idea Beers Blog. Idea Beers is about

* putting aside one night a month to invest in our future
* discussing interesting ideas with like-minded people
* remembering why you found business interesting and exciting
* having a few beers and maybe the odd meal

Currently there are three of us: Pippa, Marc & Alex. In the future there may be more.