Clothes, books, accessories. These are the types of items people normally buy and sell on a daily basis.
How about a marketplace for ideas?
Online since August, IdeaExchange.com offers a platform where people can request, list, sell and buy ideas on the Web. On Sept. 25, the Web site launched Campus Tour 2000, which targets college students.
IdeaExchange representatives will visit the University from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Fishbowl Terrace in the EMU to talk about the Web site and answer questions.
Kristina Faraclas, IdeaExchange representative, said College Tour 2000 aims to prove to students that all ideas are significant and can make a difference if pointed in the right direction.
“We’re trying to teach students that ideas have value, and if these ideas are supported, they can turn into something,” she said.
For a handful of lucky students nationwide, the value could be a full scholarship or a new car.
IdeaExchange has partnered with Student Advantage, a media marketing services company specializing in the student market, to give out College Creativity Awards. Between Sept.19 and Feb.28, Web site users can earn points for buying, selling, listing and requesting ideas on the site. At the end of the time period, points can be used toward a variety of awards, including a four-year scholarship and a 2000 Range Rover.
The site has two main categories for ideas: a business section and a humanitarian section. The business portion focuses on ideas that users hope to sell and purchase, which includes issues as simple as “keeping bees away from a barbecue” to more complex innovations such as “keeping your insurance company from knowing about you.” These ideas are automatically copyrighted and can be posted online for a fee of $2 a month, with a three-month minimum commitment.
IdeaExchange collects 20 percent of the profits from each idea sold.
The humanitarian section of the site includes ideas that can benefit the world globally, such as environmental issues. These innovations go into the “Ideas for a Better World” portion of the site and are divided into sub-categories that include human rights, personal and social responsibility, environmental issues and poverty. These ideas can be posted and viewed at no charge.
David Whitby, college program coordinator of IdeaExchange, said college students are targeted because of their overlooked place in today’s market.
“College students are more apt to hear our message and what we’re all about because they were raised with the Internet and technology,” Whitby said. “College students have lots of valuable ideas. Unfortunately, in our marketplace, we look at the college market in a cynical view because students aren’t in the real world. This is a program where students can not only express ideas but get value out of them.”
But some think the value of ideas is the last thing the site promotes.
“This commodifies the creative process and devalues thought,” Survival Center coordinator Randy Newnham said. “Creativity is such a wonderful thing and by commodifying it, you’re cheapening it. Creativity is something priceless, and some of the best ideas in the world aren’t going to make a dime. But in this society, every idea has to have value that can be expressed in dollars.”
However, students with a business interest in the site don’t seem to mind that the site allows price tags to be placed on ideas.
Freshman business major Jared Dairy, who plans to post an idea on IdeaExchange.com about an unnamed feature for a television remote control, believes the site can benefit many people.
“I always have random ideas, especially about products that could be made better,” he said. “But I never know what to do with them. This is a good place to try them out.”