I went to write down a book name and founded an internet empire instead.
Yesterday Joel told me, 'hey you really should read
"The Big Short"
by Michael Lewis' -- and I thought, yes, I'll write that in my list of books I must get and when I have a chance I'll order it and all the other books in my list of books i must get.
Looking through my iphone I was shocked to find I don't even *have* a list of books I must get. I've got a list of which Woody Allen movies I haven't seen, and I have a list of which Jeeves and Wooster books I own (or own twice) so I don't accidentally buy them again (or again again), but no "Books I must get".
And I realised it's not just books that I keep forgetting. It's everything in our stupid materialist world. It's gadgets, music, movies, games, t-shirts, toys, gifts for my wife, baby stuff, apps, power tools -- a whole big fat materialist world full of stuff I must get, that, realistically i'll never get, but which my inner taxonomist wouldn't mind having a list of somewhere.
Suddenly, before I could stop them, my hands had rushed off and spent 9.95 to buy all of the following websites...
- http://things.youmustget.com
- http://books.youmustget.com
- http://movies.youmustget.com
- http://games.youmustget.com
- http://gadgets.youmustget.com
- http://apps.youmustget.com
- http://stocks.youmustget.com
- http://software.youmustget.com
- http://dvds.youmustget.com
- http://jokes.youmustget.com
- http://vaccinations.youmustget.com
- http://tattoos.youmustget.com
- http://cars.youmustget.com
- http://piercings.youmustget.com
- http://hookers.youmustget.com
- http://starewarsstuff.youmustget.com
- http://drugs.youmustget.com
- http://websites.youmustget.com
- http://cakes.youmustget.com
- http://clothes.youmustget.com
- http://bikes.youmustget.com
- http://girlfriends.youmustget.com
- http://babystuff.youmustget.com
- http://diseases.youmustget.com
- http://travel.youmustget.com
- http://tshirts.youmustget.com
- http://shirts.youmustget.com
- http://wines.youmustget.com
- http://beers.youmustget.com
...and so on, because i bought 'youmustget.com'.
And now I have a slight dilemma. I already own too many urls that I'm not using (this brings my total internet empire to 11.5 sites) And I don't have time to execute on even the simplest ideas in my idea log.
So: how can I crank out a social recommendation/shopping app in under 5 bus trips!?
I want something that produces an output a little bit like this is why i'm broke dot com but where the recommendations come from people i respect, and with affiliate dollars flowing into my wallet on every recommended purchase. (And i'd like to come up with a less-sleazy way to monetize, if possible, but I do have to recoup that $9.95 somehow)
I've begun by creating a Trello board to capture all my ideas. I've got details for the home page, a products page, a user page, and a topic page. I've got a backlog of features that I won't implement at first, and I've got a list of ideas for what technology I'll use where. Next I'll put together some screen mockups and put them in front of my extended team of insult generators lunch buddies.
In the mean time I'll need to keep a cricket bat handy with which to repel the hordes of nodding VCs.
Thoughts?
'Jason H' on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 01:08:57 GMT, sez: Surely you didn't spend 9.95 for *each*? Since subdomains are no charge as long as you own the main domain? Did I miss something?
'lb' on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 01:14:48 GMT, sez: Don't worry Jason -- I spent 9.95 just once. If you read it carefully I think that's what I said.
And really it was less than 9.95 since I was renewing other websites in the same purchase, and had big discounts applied to them.
'Kirk' on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 07:16:56 GMT, sez: Nice domain name... My latest non-business is this:
http://how-long-until.com/nats-birthday?
Tracks how long until the all-important next cake arrives in the office :)
Don't mention the other eleventeen domains I've purchased on a whim!
Kirk
'Goran' on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 08:35:54 GMT, sez: I'm not a VC but I'm nodding :)
'Angela' on Sun, 13 Nov 2011 02:24:55 GMT, sez: Honestly, my first thought is... how is your empire comprised of a half site (in addition to the 11 others!)?!
'lb' on Sun, 13 Nov 2011 07:03:35 GMT, sez: @Angela I jointly own TimeSnapper.com with my buddy Atli.
@Kirk now how to expand that to perform global cake countdown duties?
'Angela' on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:10:25 GMT, sez: Ok, that's a logical and sensible explanation. Maybe I was hoping for something bizarre like "godaddy only let me register www.secret because someone else owns geek.com" or "I lost half of a website in one night of stupendously delicious whiskey and poker.". :)
'Caroline' on Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:54:02 GMT, sez: Thanks for the laugh, I need one and this is awesome.
Jokes close the bone are always best, I have indeed purchased some unused domain names, dream of internet domination and waiting for VCs to call.
Can we be partners? Way too much dreaming and too little doing, that's the best way to attack the problem!
'Mohan Arun L' on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:47:30 GMT, sez: Why buy a separate domain for it (I am refering to the youmustget)? Why not use a readymade personal wishlist platform? You can create different 'catalogs' in Omnea - movies, books, etc... You could also try wishlistr dot com...
'Joel' on Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:21:05 GMT, sez: I'm curious how your website does without any subtext. I am new to the game, but isn't it important to have some sort of text to your site to get any SEO traffic?
|