| You can discuss them anywhere. However, given the simple nature of the question I am wondering if there is some missing subtext here. One common concern I have heard when folks ask this particular question is that someone will 'steal' their idea and run with it, ruining the chances of fame and fortune. The truth is, ideas are like offspring, they are always more attractive to the progenitor than they are to the unrelated viewer. Many times when an idea is shared in a collective, a number of people will assert that it is a 'stupid' idea, and for folks who did not originally have that idea they will read or hear those comments and believe them more strongly than your assertion that it is a good idea. Further, an idea expression is rarely communicated as clearly as an example of an idea does. So just talking about ideas rarely gets them stolen (except perhaps in the case of movie scripts) Ideas are by their nature unproven, which is to say their merits are a matter of opinion rather than rigor, so few people feel compelled to rip them off or otherwise attempt to develop them. I had the pleasure of working with Bill Joy at Sun Microsystems for several years, and one of the things that struck me about him was his ability to stretch the idea box way out of shape. He proposed some truly horrible ideas, but in the discussion enabled folks to step outside their own limitations and come up with some great things. Certainly not all of Bill's ideas were horrible, but wide ranging discussions were empowering on several levels which one would not have predicted. So if you've got some ideas that you're wondering about, talking about them with others, any others, will help you develop them. Its one of the great things enthusiast clubs are good for, robust discussions about ideas related to club activities. |