What is Digg?Sponsored by Dragon Age: Origins
Join the Dragon Age: Origins development team on Facebook view!
facebook.com/DragonAgeOrigins - EA presents BioWare's new dark fantasy epic Dragon Age: Origins. '9/10' from Game Informer.
293 Comments
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -11/+670He's pitching the embedding of a catchy MIDI song automatically playing on Google's front page.
- iloveroundtable, on 10/12/2007, -47/+586All I have to say is so what, and here is why:
Business to Business sales people do this everyday. Entreprenuers do this everyday.
It's called a cold call.
Sure it takes balls and is respectable, but this sort of thing happens every single day by thousands of people.
digg me down. - RobbyDigital, on 10/12/2007, -0/+318He's not really a "kid"... I was expecting an 8-year-old genius that had some amazing plan to rule the world with the help of google.
- Wolfie351, on 10/12/2007, -5/+268Some possible outcomes...
1) pitches great idea, doesn't require Google to sign a non-disclosure, Google uses idea and doesn't offer this person a job, person sues Google
2) pitches great idea, Google is already implementing similar idea but can't disclose that fact...Google implements idea, person finds a lawyer to sue google.
3) pitches great idea, Google hires him, they all dance around in a circle singing kumbaya
4) pitches crappy idea, leaves Google with head down
There is a reason why entities do not accept unsolicited material, it's to protect their own ass. - quacker912, on 10/12/2007, -23/+236@wafflez
...You are an idiot. - Bean945, on 10/12/2007, -2/+196That kid's at least 25
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -21/+195What this story doesn't mention is that it was at 4:30AM when no one was in the office... SUCKER!
- kherzig, on 10/12/2007, -0/+166After searching through DNS records, e-mail address domains, and the internet archive, I might have found his idea.... This was posted on thenovelproject.com (back when aaron owned it). He still links from dreamwithme.net to thenovelproject.com, and his e-mail address on the whois record for cangooglehearme is aaron@dreamwithme.net. If you watch his first video, it mentions that he and his friend were working on a project called the Novel Project (prolly not a coincidence). So, here's what he has to say about it....
The Novel Project is . . .. . . a powerful tool for writers. By analyzing published novels and breaking them down into detailed statistics, then graphing those statistics scene-by-scene, we allow authors to better understand their craft in a way never before possible. You already know to start your book with a high interest scene, but do you know what to do with the scenes after that
Steps: 1. Find a book that's similar to the one you would like to write.
2. Use the Novel Project to discover its pattern.
3. Use what you've learned to sell your own stories.
You can see for yourself at http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://thenovelproject.com
Or, it could be something completely different. You never know... - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+145Coming soon: Gporn
- dmoney06, on 10/12/2007, -7/+126Why is he a 'kid'? Hes at least 25...
- gldfshnpcklejar, on 10/12/2007, -4/+115"The summary is done and in the process of being edited, so I've got just a second to break away from the work - I've been getting so many e-mails that I can't not post something about it. Since about 5:00 this morning, I've been getting e-mails from people wishing me luck at a rate about about 1 every minute and a half. :) It's simply fantastic. I've never experienced this level of support before, and I tell you... well... thank you. There's no way to describe how much that understates my sentiments, but there you go. "
Thats because I set up a macro to give him a false sense of support. - kosibar, on 10/12/2007, -11/+121@Wolfie351: You aren't from the US, are you? You left out the most important parts:
3) pitches great idea, Google hires him, they all dance around in a circle singing kumbaya, person is offended by the words "my Lord" in the song, sues Google
4) pitches crappy idea, leaves Google with head down, schedules appointment with therapist, sues Google - NickDouglas, on 10/12/2007, -3/+73"at 4:30AM when no one was in the office"
So you're one of those people who thinks Googlers sleep. - cthellis, on 10/12/2007, -2/+71*sigh* I wish Google were my girlfriend...!
- RoroCo, on 10/12/2007, -8/+73That is what I was wondering. What is the idea. Hopefully it is better than the production of the videos.
- arrozconevan, on 10/12/2007, -6/+68"I propose a Google email service"
- jackminardi, on 10/12/2007, -4/+53I wanna spell gay like that!!!
YOU'RE SO COOL - keikun, on 10/12/2007, -1/+42Kid?
- uberdesigner, on 10/12/2007, -3/+39dumbass, you can already open a beer with a lighter. bic lighters work best.
- ragipy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+36@chingy1788
This comment pretty much proves that digg is no longer a technology site. - Alexton, on 10/12/2007, -3/+37Mirror: http://www.aaronstanton.com
- kavaliro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+36Great story.
But for future reference, "kid" doesn't refer to anyone who's old enough to grow a beard or boobs, unless that person calls you "pop" or "mom." - NipGrip, on 10/12/2007, -2/+34When he got to the meeting, he realized he was short on time and must present his idea as swiftly as possible. He pulled his "Jump to Conclusions Mat" out of his briefcase and asked if they'd like to give it a go.
- FearlessFreep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31can't wait to pitch my idea for a 'search website' to them
- brandonhoth, on 10/12/2007, -2/+33@chingy
digg already has that
its called sarcasm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm - scabbers, on 10/12/2007, -6/+37Google bought YOUTUBE... therefore they will buy any old *****.
I'm just sorry it didn't end with him getting Tasered (and the video being posted on Youtube) - scabbers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+29Well, sir, there's nothing on earth
Like a genuine,
Bona fide,
Electrified,
Six-car
Monorail! - marcuschi, on 10/12/2007, -5/+34So whats the point of the story if his pitch wasn't accepted yet? This wasn't all that inspiring. I would find it more inspiring if he came up with an incredibly clever "campaign" or viral pitch to get their attention, instead of repeatedly breathing down their front door like some poor, wet, and hungry puppy.
- xrisnothing, on 10/12/2007, -8/+37If that is his idea. Google's response will be: "Hahaha, kid. Literature is art, not science. No real author is going to get published using a formula." To which, the kid will say: "Have you read a Steven King book?"
- tuxidomasx, on 10/12/2007, -8/+32as opposed to a warm snuggly call?
- canewediggit, on 10/12/2007, -6/+29good luck kid, but for $100 i would have given you the entire executive staff's direct dials. it's amazing what a combination of a hoover's account and the knowledge of how audix voice mail works can do when you're trying to sell something........
- Ahnteis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23I'm sure they have plenty of time to listen to every idea that comes in. They probably sit around eating cheetos all day anway.
- froinlaven, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19If the idea is unsolicited, I bet Google could just listen to him, say "hey, that's a great idea" and not pay him a cent for it. Now that's the American Dream.
- kherzig, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20After searching through DNS records, e-mail address domains, and the internet archive, I might have found his idea.... This was posted on thenovelproject.com (back when aaron owned it). He still links from dreamwithme.net to thenovelproject.com, and his e-mail address on the whois record for cangooglehearme is aaron@dreamwithme.net. If you watch his first video, it mentions that he and his friend were working on a project called the Novel Project (prolly not a coincidence). So, here's what he has to say about it....
The Novel Project is . . .. . . a powerful tool for writers. By analyzing published novels and breaking them down into detailed statistics, then graphing those statistics scene-by-scene, we allow authors to better understand their craft in a way never before possible. You already know to start your book with a high interest scene, but do you know what to do with the scenes after that
Steps: 1. Find a book that's similar to the one you would like to write.
2. Use the Novel Project to discover its pattern.
3. Use what you've learned to sell your own stories.
You can see for yourself at http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://thenovelproject.com
Or, it could be something completely different. You never know... - Pile, on 10/12/2007, -6/+24Every guy on the planet thinks his idea is great.
The fact that he needs to approach Google with the idea indicates he probably doesn't have much going for it, otherwise he wouldn't need to approach a mega-corporation.
If he even gets his fifteen minutes, it would be a miracle. - Derfus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17poor google is going to have a massive influx in the amount of unsolicited visitors with 'new' and 'brilliant' ideas
- itsmrdumass, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18@ufia: Hopefully it's the hamster dance
- FatShady, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17Yeah. He'll be a great telemarketer someday. Or possibly a door-to-door salesman.
- david76, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16Why in the world did he decided to add 3px letter-spacing?
- DisembarkedOne, on 10/12/2007, -6/+21Yeh its called a cold call. big f-ing deal
- canewediggit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16my take as a sales guy that pitches execs for a living-
1. "very intriguing" and wants more materials to put in front of the "right people" as the best news he can report- thanks for your time, not interested
2. goog wants breif summary- you're 25, haven't you heard of an "executive summary?" - sloppy, do your homework before you go pitch a major corporation
3. would rather watch lost than put together what google wants to help move his dream forward - lazy. entrepreneurs don't choose tv over work
in summary- i wish him luck, but i have no faith in this seeing the light of day - dggeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14I'm sure he doesn't want to go spouting off his million dollar idea so that someone else can take it. Even if Google accepts it, don't expect him to go telling you. They will most likely want to keep it under wraps until they have a Beta ready.
- lopla, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17Yawn ***** Yawn people! Wow this truly is AMAZING isn't it?!! He's gone to a company seeking a meeting, that is INCREDIBLE!! Are diggers so dumbed down that any schtyupid action is considered "AMAZING!". Hey I am going to go have a snack, I have decided to do this and am taking action right now, it's INCREDIBLE! DIGG ME NOW!!
- tyywebb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13I just hope step 2 of his pitch isn't "???????"
- JKraut, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Hows this an American Dream, all they have agreed to do is hear him out. They might tell him that his idea is the worst thing they have ever heard and boot him out. I dont think this can be considered a success story just yet.
- tcammack, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Here's the summary of his meeting:
I'm Exhausted, But I Think Things Are Moving Forward - 02/14/07 - 10:14 p.m.:
I had to talk fast, but I got my meeting. We were short on time, which means I flew through the presentation way faster than I'd originally planned, but I think that was alright. David (the fellow I presented to) was extremely sharp, and picked up on what I was saying even when it was coming at him fast. He referred to what I said as "very intriguing", asked the right questions to indicate that he got it, and asked for more materials so that he could put the idea in front of the right people. I'm sure at some point everyone that sees this page wonders if the idea is really worth it - I mean, it was possible I'd walk in, present my idea, and it'd turn out to be something that Google hears five times a day. My meeting with David seemed to suggest that I laid that fear to rest, thankfully. My only concern is that we covered so many details so quickly that there were a lot of elements I could have addressed that I didn't. But the basic question, do I feel like I was heard out? Yes. It might have been fast, but I was taken seriously, listened to and understood, and I think the basics of the idea were successful conveyed.
I've been asked to put together a brief summary that makes it easier for busy people - everyone at Google is busy, I think - to look it over. I'll do that later tonight and tomorrow, and I'll make it as good as I can, but right now... I'm tired. Today's been an intense day, and I'm in the mood to watch Lost, which is on right now. So everyone reading this, you have a good night. Oh yeah, and hello to the people that recognized me today at the complex and said hi. It's appreciated. :) - merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13"Google bought YOUTUBE... therefore they will buy any old *****."
Youtube had an established community. That's the most valuable thing *any* site can have. Digg, for example, wouldn't be worth a goddamn dime if noone used it.
This kid's an idiot though. No one's ever gotten anywhere pitching ideas to established web companies. The dotcommers that got rich all did it starting their own companies. If he really had an idea worth developing, he'll never make anything off it now. - ChronicColonic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11They would just look it up in Google cache.
- westbywest, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Aaron Stanton himself doesn't appear to be that obscure of a "kid." Googling for his name (the irony!) yields this URL:
http://www.zenithevents.com/GameConference/eDM_coorganizer_luckydraw.html
...along with a very familiar looking pic and the following details:
Aaron STANTON
Editor-in-Chief (GamesFirst) and Nintendo Editor (About.com)
GamesFirst.com (Games First Internet Magazine) and About, Inc.
And sure enough, here's Mr. Stanton again at About.com:
http://nintendo.about.com/mbiopage.htm - washcapsfan37, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10The ring came off my pudding can...
-
Show 51 - 100 of 294 discussions
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is