How to know you have a BIG IDEA!

Many of my engineering friends have ideas... most are small... some CAN be big....  How do you know when an idea could be BIG?  Having judged Moot Corp 3 years in a row, won it 5 years ago, and after reading hundreds of business plans, I believe I have a formula that can help any engineer-type thinker answer that question:

1.) Is there a burning need?  (e.g. are people hungry to solve the problem, or spending a lot of money trying to solve it or avoid it)????
2.) Is there a big Market? (e.g. are there a lot of people who WOULD be hungry if hey knew they could eat (buy) something to solve it?)
3.) Are people WILLING to pay to solve it?  (this one requires a test... see MVP)

If your idea is big, I encourage you to go for it... nothing is worth losing than opportunity!

A balance of "reward" and "honesty"

Please reply and help me find the balance points...

If someone gets paid to say good things (spokesman), do you question their honesty?


If they ask you to become a fan, and you realize they got entered into a contest as a result, does it lessen them?


If someone shares something with you in their feed, and they got entered into a contest as a result, does it lessen them?


Think about Facebook games:
When people share "achievements" and get "silver" for it, do you care?

When people write a review for a product, that was given to them, is it less of a review?

When people write a review for a product, and they get a free t-shirt, do you trust the review less?

If someone shares a link on Facebook with a comment, and they get a free hat for doing it, do you care?

THERE IS a line somewhere... where is it?

Crowdstorming: The Karmaback Value Proposition

Okay engineer-type thinkers, it is time for a pop quiz.  We are crowdstorming today... that is as a crowd, brainstorming.  So, what is the value proposition of a tool like Karmaback, and how much should we charge?  Post your replies here.  Below are the "features" of Karmaback and the "benefits" as I see them...  now the question is, what is the concise value proposition, and what is it worth?

Karmaback for Members (people who sign up and participate... e.g. everybody and anybody)
Features:
* Get to earn points for liking & sharing cool products & stuff.
* Get to spend points on prizes, discounts, and specials.
Benefits:
* Prizes, discounts, and specials, and stuff.
* Get to share feedback with Partner companies about products & stuff.
* Get to be 'heard' and their opinion counts and matters.

Karmaback for Partners (companies who choose to work with Karmaback)
Features:
* Get to put the like-it-flow on their websites.
* Get Karmaback members to post to their Facebook pages from the like-it-flow.
* Get to run Sweepstakes, Discounts, and Specials via Karmaback.com
* Get to post Sweepstakes/etc. in Facebook & Twitter.
* Can make Viral posts on Facebook & Twitter (that reward Members for "re-sharing" the posts).
Benefits:
* Get the word out about the products people like.
* Get feedback from users.
* Convert "visitors" into "fans"
* Convert "fans" into "evangelists"
* Convert "members" into "buyers"

Where games meet reality.

Anyone who knows me, knows I love games.  I'm a gamer.  I like games on PC, XBOX, PS3, Wii, iPhone, Facebook, and life.  Life games are the most fun, of course... if you have the right attitude.  Why not lie down in a crowded place?  Why not buck social norms and convention?  Why not try every possible adventure sport known to man (I'll be snow-boarding next week).  In fact, intersecting games with life is just about my favorite thing to do.

Karmaback walks this intersection of games and reality with aplomb and head on.  Who said we can't reward people for clicking on links?  Why can't we give people prizes for saying they like something?  And coming soon: why not collect points, earn ranks, get levels and achievements... all in the game of life, the game of marketing, and for products and stuff you love?