This week it is going to be a little different for all posts. I am still going to follow the format from the past weeks, but all posts this week will be 400 words or less. Including the code posts I will be doing.

Up for this week:
Monday – Two People Get On an Elevator; Planning ideas and thoughts
Tuesday – Count the Number of Cakes; focusing on coding
Wednesday – Who Do You Like; ideas and code segments for people like me, social lepers
Thursday – Following the Yellow Brick Road; examinations on location services, social integration and strategy
Friday – 400 Words to Madness; fun stuff to finish up the week

Some of the best ideas are planned in 400 words or less. At one company, this was called the elevator pitch. You have that short of a time to sell someone on your idea. Have you planned it through? Do you even know what it will do beyond your own comprehension? These are things to remember when trying to plan for the pitch. Not everyone is able to just quit their job, work on their own project and be able to fund their ideas, equipment to get up and going, and market this thing. Many people need to have some kind of investor(s) backing. So how would you sum up some of the greatest products in less than 400 words.

One semester I had to come up with ideas to do this. We had to take products that already existed, examine what they did, what benefit they provided, and why they were in demand. These products were not necessarily ones that we knew of. And we had to present these benefits to the rest of the class, and had to do it in under 4 minutes. We could not talk fast, and we had to be coherent. Our grades were going to be determined by anonymous feedback from the rest of the class. If the pitched worked, we would get good grades. If not, we would fail.

In the real world, it is much the same. You have about 400 words to sell your idea. You have made the plans, models, diagrams, etc. Now you need to get someone to back this idea. Much like everything else, you must plan for this. Highlight good points, ROI, and ease of use. Practice on other products. In 400 words, describe the product and your vision.