I carry around a lot of ideas.
They roll around in my head like ball bearings made of Jello, bouncing off each other, merging together, and splitting apart. They are always in motion, either ambling or whizzing by…and it sometimes takes a glass of wine (or two) to get them to rest.
So while I do my day-to-day, they simply roll around and roll around and roll around in my head, taking good care of themselves.
Until one rolls out.
And then I’m the one taking care.
Grrrr..rrr..rr..rrrr!
Most ideas that find their way out get tossed back in. They’re all worth keeping, but not all worth acting on. Either it’s not the right time or it’s not the right place or I’m not the right person…or all three.
So when the rare Idea Worth Acting On pops out, it’s worth protecting, yeh?
Now, I don’t mean Rapunzel-level protection. A hidden idea is an unhappy idea. A happy idea is worked on and played with and wondered over. It has to be seen. It has to be shared.
So the intention is to balance mobility and safety, like when we cross the street: We look left-right-left to make sure it’s clear before we step out into traffic, otherwise that next step might be our last one.
Guarddogging ideas is as simple and sensible as that. Most of the work happens in the background, it just takes a little prep and sometimes a little cash. Here’s how I do it—
How to Guarddog Ideas from Prying Eyes
Private WiFi
Your home network is probably secured, but the public WiFi at your favorite coffee shop or local library is surely not.
I resolved that issue with a MiFi mobile hotspot from Virgin Mobile, which is way portable, way private, and connects anywhere I can get a cell signal. Now I can work almost anywhere—not just places with free WiFi—knowing all my webwork is secured.
Bummer: $50/month. Bonus: It’s pay-as-you-go, so no long-term contract to maintain.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
SSL is a security technology that keeps your information private while it’s in transit, even when you’re on a public network. If you do online banking, use Gmail, or buy things online, you’re already using SSL.
When you see a web address that starts with HTTPS and a lock icon on your browser, SSL is doing its job. These are signs that whatever you type will be invisible to digital passersby after you click the Pay, Send, or Buy button. Anything sent through a website not using SSL could be read by anyone watching. Yikes.
That’s why I require SSL in any web application I use for storing, working on, or sharing my ideas…even if I have to pay for it. For example, Gmail and Basecamp include SSL security for free, but Toodledo and MindMeister require a premium account for protection.
How to Guarddog Ideas from Impatience
An idea requires action, but I’m not a big fan of urgency. Seth Godin says: “Hurry, but don’t rush.” I say: If an idea is worth doing, then it’s worth waiting for, even if it takes a month or a season or a year. Or two.
I used to get an idea and rush headlong into a project, investing weeks of time and energy before I’d tested the market, considered the obstacles, or even thought it all the way through. Invariably, those Ideas With Urgency either had false starts, fell flat, or made little or no money.
Now I have folders in my Inbox for each Idea Worth Doing, so I can take immediate action with minimum investment. It’s super-simple: I create a folder in my Inbox that starts with “Ideas:”, add the idea name, and then fill it with the goodness that appears in my Inbox.
Email newsletters, articles from blogs I’ve subscribed to, notes from friends…if it’s related to an idea, it has a safe place to go as it arrives. I even email project notes to myself, especially when I’m away from my laptop. My phone is always handy for emailing on-the-go thoughts and photos from the real-world.
As you can imagine, ideas bloom or wither in their folders. If an Ideas folder is still sparse after a month or six, I delete it and forget about it. But if it’s bulging to burst, I roll up my sleeves and get my butt in gear.
So.
Those are some ways to protect your idea when it’s moving around the Interwebs and quietly gathering its momentum. In Part 2 I’ll point out ways to protect it from yourself and the other people you know pretty well.
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Photo credit: walknboston
