Promoting an idea on the Web

Let's say that you have a new idea that you would like to promote. You want to introduce people to your idea, get comments and see how much the idea spreads. It could be something totally normal (a new way to save the whales) or totally outlandish (a new way to create a perpetual motion machine). If so, then one way to promote the idea is to use the Web.

One of the best examples of a idea-promoting web site that I've seen is this one:

http://www.exploremarsnow.org/

The site has been around for several years now. Even a few years after its creation, it is still a gorgeous site. When first released it won awards and got a lot of exposure.

Along the same lines but not nearly so involved is this PDF file:

A permanent settlement on Mars: The architecture of the Mars Homestead Project

It has no animation or interactive features, but it gets its idea across.

Here's a site that is promoting a new way to think about space travel:

SafeSimpleSoon.Com

Whatever your web site does, it expresses some sort of idea and functionality. Is it possible to create a compelling explanation of that idea that gets people excited when they see it? We see this kind of stuff all the time and we often take it for granted and ignore it. However, it can sometimes make a big difference. Click, for example, on the flash animation available on this home page entitled "Flywheels and Frequency Regulation". Is that a sexy topic? No. But the explanation offered in the flash animation is very clear. Here is another example -- and let me warn you that it is very incorrect politically -- Pee dude.

What we are talking about here is sometimes called "viral content" -- content that is so weird/interesting/funny/compelling/whatever that people actually will send it to their friends. In some cases it is specialty content intended to be passed around. In other cases it is simply a compelling explanation.

Think about different ways to explain your site or product. Then consider the possibility of creating an explanation so compelling that it causes people to sit up and notice it (or better yet to email it to a friend).