Saturday, 4 June 2011

I feel like a loser, and the world doesn't want me?

I got interested in programming in high school and I got bought my first computer with scholarship money after I graduated in 2005. I did a lot of experimenting with different languages and gradually got better at php/mysql applications. After about 3 years of playing around with my scripts I naturally wanted to build a website. I started small; login/logout scripts, then I figured out how to upload photos and videos and even converting videos to flash in the process. I built a web crawler and a simple search engine. I won 3rd place in yahoo%26#039;s hack week at georgia tech with a flex application I built. Then I started to make an alternative to craigslist, but after a few thousand lines of code I began to feel like no one wants to use my stuff, besides there%26#039;s kijiji, which is already better, so I went back to the drawing board. I thought job search engines are crap, so maybe I can make a better one. I worked and worked and had the basics online, but I shot myself down again and figured monster is too big of a competiter. Then I started to make rss feed service, got a basic site setup, but I quickly found that that area was dominated by feedburner. My next idea was to build a dating site. I built lots of features, search results were sorted by compatibility and everything, but I just couldn%26#039;t bring myself to put it online because its been done by so many other companies that I can hardly contend with, plus I want to do something original. So, I started to make wedding planner service, nope, weddingwire has that on lock down. I thought I could make a collaborative painting tool, webcanvas already did it. Tried to make a tutorial database, ehow has it already. It seems like I am incapable of coming up with something original, and even if I did, I hardly have the confidence to go through with it. I%26#039;m a bit of a loner so I don%26#039;t have a handy co-founder. I know I have the programming skills to make great services, but I%26#039;m terrible at design and I have no money to find help. I get so frustrated when I think about how crowded the web is and that there%26#039;s no room for little ol me. My dream is to make a web service that reaches millions of people and changes the world, but I feel like all the good ideas are taken and its all just too big for me to tackle. Any suggestions?|||1. youur verrrrry verrrry smart so just because youu have come up with the right idea yet definately dosnt make you a loser..





2. Even if your computer thing didnt work out for youu ( which im sure it will cuz your so damn smart !) there would still be people in the world that would want youu. Therefore the world wants youu.





3. Dont expect to come up with something easily.. youu need to be patient.





4. Seeing as youu have made your dating site there is no reason not to put it on the internet.


( even if it is just to show off your skills to someone who might have the idea but not the knowledge )





5. If your websites are missing the looks i would read up on the effect colors have on peoples moods.





6. im sure there will be somebody out there with an awesome idea but without the skills to put it together and im sure if youu show off your skills they will find youu.





7. im sure if youu keep on trying youu will come up with a wonderful idea yourself.





8. dont be a loner. that is a choice. go out and meet people. That will help youu lots even if it only helps youu to feel better about yourself





9. Put a question on yahoo answers for website ideas. Repost intill youu get the help and ideas youu want.|||Hey Caleb, I%26#039;ve been down this road on more occasions than one. I%26#039;ve spent days at a stretch guzzling down coffee and cigarettes, brainstorming to come up with something unique, something original. Some ideas that seemed to be highly original at that time, turned out to be highly impractical as well

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|||Although I am not very handy with languages, we could talk online and see if that helps. I had been looking for someone to brainstorm with, and came across your post. You could add me on yahoo @ get_me_the_life@yahoo.com(Don%26#039;鈥?use yahoo anymore, so I haven%26#039;t had a better id). Best wishes.

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|||You have very high standards for yourself. That%26#039;s why you feel like a loser. Reading about you makes me feel like a loser. I recommend a book for you. It%26#039;s called Think and Grow Rich. I%26#039;m certain that reading it will completely change your outlook and motivate you to do great things.





http://www.amazon.com/Think-Grow-Rich-La鈥?/a>|||I guess people do not respect people who are really good with technology, because the media makes computer genius look bad, or either people are jealous of their talents.





They also take technology for granted without showing appreciation for how much programmers contributed to society.





I%26#039;m pretty sure that you%26#039;ll find someone with similar ambitions and interests in the field of computer technology.