Are there other sites like Good Ideas? What does the landscape of ideas sites look like? Here is a quick description of the types of sites in this sector we see:
Targeted Ideas Sites: Many organizations have turned to “ideas sites” to generate consumer or constituent feedback. These include Dell’s “IdeaStorm“, Starbucks “My Starbucks Idea“, and other company sites. They are typically focused on a narrow topic with a defined audience.
Global Ideas Sites: Some sites gather the best ideas of pundits, such as TED, the Aspen Ideas Festival and The Ideas Project. There are also a number of commercial ideas sites such as Springwise and Betterific.
Contest Sites: Many organizations run contest sites, including large initiatives such as the XPrize Foundation and Ashoka’s Changemakers. Some companies provide tools to this sector, including IdeaScale.
Answers / “How To” Sites: There are a number of very successful “answers” and “how to” sites online, including Quora, Answers.com, eHow, and Yahoo Answers.
“Best of” Sites: Many media sites present annual (or periodic) “best of” lists compiled by their editorial staff.
All of these sites gather and rank information, but are quite diverse in terms of objectives, topics, community involvement, longevity, and other dimensions. We hope Good Ideas has a useful role to play.
Feel free to describe other good efforts in comments below.