Outsourcing Good Ideas

My mother sent me a clipping from a newspaper article that pointed to this site: http://www.sinceslicedbread.com. It is a contest for the best new idea for America. People submit their ideas in 175 words or less and the winner will receive $100,000.

This sounds like a lottery to me but I might as well throw in my ideas. I get to submit as many ideas as I like. In the coming days, I will blog my ideas and maybe your ideas as well (I will explain below).

Many of my readers live in India and the rules prohibit anyone other than a permanent resident or a U.S. citizen from applying. Bummer. Aren’t ideas from citizens of other countries just as valuable?

Here’s my idea: outsourcing these ideas. You submit your idea to me at mhiggins826@yahoo.com with a note saying “idea”. If I like your idea enough to submit it, I will submit it in my name. If I win with your idea, I will give 80% to you and keep 20% for my troubles. Since the odds of winning are probably 1 in 100,000, my expected return on my effort is only 20 cents, so I think that I am not really being very greedy. And if I have to repair poor grammar or faulty economic reasoning, I am really being generous.

But you are certainly welcome to shop around for a better deal.