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Kid Does Something Amazing, Google Pays Attention: It's the American Dream
cangooglehearme.com — Hell of a story - kid has an idea he wants to pitch to Google, but can't get through by phone or e-mail, so he flies to Mountain View, CA without an appointment to sit in their lobby until they hear him out. And after three days, they do! He's got a meeting today at 4:30! I have no idea how this got missed earlier, but here it is again...
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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. wafflez, on 10/12/2007, -439/+15@ufia..
are you serious!?!?!? >_>
that is so lame. quacker912, on 10/12/2007, -23/+236@wafflez
...You are an idiot. mistarojaz, on 10/12/2007, -103/+11buried as blog spam
...just kidding 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. 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. Ireland, on 10/12/2007, -5/+14http://cangooglehearme.com.nyud.net:8080/#takingchance 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. Bean945, on 10/12/2007, -2/+196That kid's at least 25 gldfshnpcklejar, on 10/12/2007, -4/+116"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. 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........ 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
seanalltogether, on 10/12/2007, -19/+7iloveroundtable - "All I have to say is so what...Business to Business sales people do this everyday. Entreprenuers do this everyday...."
But this is different, its more genuine. This kid isn't out there pitching the same idea to Microsoft and Yahoo, hoping to get someone to bite on a very generic idea. He's very specifically targeting Google and saying 'Google should do this cause no one else could'. Nevertheless, I've seen this kind of thing happen before, chances are he'll get some people to listen to him, but more then likely those people have bosses that aren't willing to move other projects off their plates to take a chance on his idea.
His best bet is to build the service himself. 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... 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. mraustin1337, on 10/12/2007, -39/+10[opinion]
It would help if he weren't breathtakingly ugly and has a kind of annoying voice.
Have a cute girl pitch it.
[/opinion] 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?" 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.
itsmrdumass, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18@ufia: Hopefully it's the hamster dance 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. ronin2040, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9@Pile
Thats why he actually got an appointment, and has already given his presentation, and was apparently well received, right?
RTFA 6cyV7dpXUrZomP3, on 10/12/2007, -24/+4I hate these stupid ***** ***** who reply to the first goddamn message just so they can be before the other ***** messages. Congratulations, retards. I still won't read you're stupid ***** comments. prelude, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7"well received". They know the spotlight is on him so they are just going to politely decline eventually after showing some initial feigned interest. mtxe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@kherzig if that's it I'm not sure he'll get it
look at the example at the top left aznboi04k, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8KID?!?! this fool looks like he's 21 or older. maiios, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This is the only way that anyone from University of Idaho can actually be heard. Every conversation I have about my school goes something like this
"Where do you go to school?"
"The University of Idaho"
"Iowa?"
Yeah for Idaho. tyywebb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13I just hope step 2 of his pitch isn't "???????"
The summary is done and in the process of being edited"
I'm sorry, but why in the hell didn't he have this ready long before getting on the damn plane. Maybe that's why Google didn't want to hear from him; he had nothing to present to them except to say, "Hey, I've got this great idea, wanna hear about it?"
***** that tool, I hope Google laughs in his stupid face. gldfshnpcklejar, on 10/12/2007, -18/+6Because he's a total douche. foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3Business week called Kevin a "kid" on their front page...
And this dude is obviously around Kevin's age.
Anyway, 4:30 CA time is up. what is up? beerbaron, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2***** Google, if this guy had any brains and really wanted funding for his project he would go to Sand Hill Road jacobnut, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Hill_Road
Home of the famous Bay Area VC's.
Seriously, though, it does take some guts to do this, and I hope it turns out good for him.
Beta version? don't you mean Alpha? I thought all Google final versions are Beta versions (i.e. Google Beta) Malarie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@TexasPit
"So I want to know what the idea is!!!!!! Man, that's mean. Get us cheering for him, and then doesn't even tell us what the idea is. :)
Seriously, though, it does take some guts to do this, and I hope it turns out good for him."
This is what i call Faith my friend :)
Believe in something you cant prove. ( kinda like religion)
Believe in something you CAN prove. (kinda like science)
Archimboldo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1CanGoogleHarmMe.com
"Thanks for the billion dollar idea, kid. As a token of our appreciation, please accept this $5 discount on a Google t-shirt of your choice."
Umm, isn't the whole story about how Google is generally too busy to consider new ideas from random people? This story is the exception to the rule, not the norm. Talk about missing the entire point of story... xedd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Not sure if that is really the story.
I my opinion, this seems more like a classic case of day-dreaming that "My prince will come", (or like number 2, below...)
There are two major ways one can look at new business ventures:
1.) If you have a great business idea, then put the effort and time into it to make it work. It probably won't be easy. But over time you might make some good money. And maybe, if you are lucky, after getting the project off the ground and running someone with big bucks like a Yahoo or a Google will buy you out. But don't count on it.
2.) If I can come up with a new idea, I should make a valiant but short-term effort seeking specifically to gain the attention of a big corporation who will pay me millions for it, (hopefully) before I need to put much work into it.
Seriously though... go get em by the balls! Sqeeeeeeeze those Googles! arrozconevan, on 10/12/2007, -14/+2Does anyone know what the idea is?
Back when I wanted to look at dirty pictures in high school GIS was the way to go.
should i be ashamed of the Hudsucker reference?
YOU'RE SO COOL
This sounds really interesting, though. Does anybody have a mirror? EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3Can anybody post the text? Site is down and there don't appear to be any mirrors that got it. mancat, on 10/12/2007, -5/+14Of course he's not going to tell you his idea - he plans to make money off of it! You know, that whole "intellectual property" thing that some of you have so much disdain for? Alexton, on 10/12/2007, -3/+37Mirror: http://www.aaronstanton.com
http://www.aaronstanton.com/battalion/battalionwars.swf deff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2So he's ripping off Pop-Up Videos?
Only if one reads the article. Otherwise one can just make up random *****.
Here is a link to the cached version
http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?p=cangooglehearme.com&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz2&u=www.aaronstanton.com/&w=%22cangooglehearme+.com%22&d=aONZNuxsOR-Z&icp=1&.intl=us proudcanadian, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Well, his server has crashed. I just hope it wasn't hosting all the stuff he was planning on using to sell his idea to Google.
I'm just sorry it didn't end with him getting Tasered (and the video being posted on Youtube) 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.
http://aaronstanton.com is another site that mirrors the content. cyberpass, on 10/12/2007, -11/+4looks like a typical j?w to me...grow up man... arrozconevan, on 10/12/2007, -6/+68"I propose a Google email service"
its called gmail
www.gmail.com brandonhoth, on 10/12/2007, -2/+33@chingy
digg already has that
its called sarcasm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm ragipy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+36@chingy1788
This comment pretty much proves that digg is no longer a technology site.
Litespeed, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8I, for one, welcome our new sarcasm-deficient overlords. on 10/12/2007, -0/+6don't you mean underlords?00011000,
just viewed this a moment ago DisembarkedOne, on 10/12/2007, -6/+21Yeh its called a cold call. big f-ing deal
i fight you if you say hes not a kid.
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."
The guy has man boobs. noopan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Or if his name is actually "Kid".
but regardless, good luck to him! 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. :)
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 KMye, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1His chances seem slim-to-non-existent. And so far he's missed out on converting all his traffic into anything useful. *sigh*
Taking a chance - 02/05/07:
On February 11th, 2007 I'm getting on a plane to fly to Mountain View, California, headquarters of Google, Inc. Once there, I'm going to try to pitch an idea to them that I think fits right in with the Google spirit and business model; catch is, I don't have an appointment, they don't know I'm coming, and I'm literally going to be showing up at their door and hoping they give me a meeting.
And if they don't give me one? Then I'm going to sit in their lobby like a spoiled child in hopes that they'll change their mind. :) Every once in a while you have to give an idea a shot, or you spend your entire life passing up ideas that seem just beyond your reach.
Best,
Aaron
I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane - 02/11/07:
I spent the last few days preparing my presentation on the assumption that I need something to say when I do manage to sit down and talk with someone. Now, the hours of building a Flash presentation are behind me, and I'm getting on the plane to California in about three hours. The presentation is going with me in many back-up forms; I've got versions that work on Mac, Windows, and Linux on CD, flash drive, my laptop, and uploaded to the Internet. I figure that if you're going to show up at someone's front door, you might as well come prepared. Anything less would just be rude. I've got the camera with me, so I'll try to make a video update once I'm down there.
Arrived in Cali (Day 1) - 02/12/07 - 9:00 a.m.:
So, I'm here. I'm staying with a friend's brother, Kit, in San Francisco, about 40 minutes outside of Mountain View. It's about 9:00 a.m. and I'm about to get in the car and drive to the Googleplex. I'll see if I can get a video post up tonight, depending on how things go, but until then, here's me in San Fran.:
It's getting late, though, so I've got to run. Wish me luck.
Roadblock #1 - 02/12/07 - 9:00 p.m.:
I figured one of two things would happen at the Googleplex this morning. 1.) The process would be easy, I'd set up a meeting, and come back in a few days to make my pitch. 2.) They'd turn me away at the door. Unfortunately, they did the second one. You can't talk to anyone at Google about setting up a meeting, not in person; you have to submit your business idea via a form on their website. Here's the thing, though: their web form expresses less interest in knowing about you and your idea than the one Jack-in-the-Box uses to ask you how much you like their hamburgers. I wish I could say I was joking, but I kid you not. Look at this:
The Google form is on the left, and Jack-in-the-Box form is on the right. After you fill out Google's, you get a form e-mail saying that Google can't take the time to respond to your proposition via an actual human, but they appreciate your thoughts. It doesn't exactly give you confidence that they've really heard what you have to say, which is why I'm here in California. I went ahead and put together an online flash presentation of the idea - with audio - and submitted the link to them, anyway. Let's see if that does any good. If not, it's only the first day of the week.
First Things First - 02/13/07 - 8:53 a.m.:
First things first, a good portion of my morning is going to finishing the second video. Hopefully that will be done by noon. Then I have some other plans to see what we can do. :) There have been some minor successes to offset yesterday's rejection, but I'll tell you about those after the video! See ya soon.
The Video of the Slow - 02/13/07 - 4:30 p.m.:
The video finally got done (four hours later than intended) after some computer issues - my laptop is a lot slower than my desktop back home. But, now the video is uploaded to Google Video and in processing, so it should be here on the site in an hour or two.
So I promised some good news, right? Well, since this morning this site has been taking off, and it seems to be getting noticed by the right people. About 600 people have arrived at this site in the last few hours from somewhere inside of the Googleplex at Mountain View, CA. So hello, Google friends. Welcome to the site. You have no idea how much I appreciate your taking the time to glance at this, and I hope you realize that I come in peace.
As I mention in the video back when there was only one person that had visited from the Googleplex, I came home yesterday and submitted a flash version of the presentation (with audio) to the biz. proposal form, but as of right now no one has watched it. I'm a little worried that - considering how many of these things they must get a week - the process will take too long and I'll be on a plane back to Idaho before anyone sees it.
So, if you're from Google and feel like cheering a little, please go find someone and tell them to look for the business proposal from Aaron Stanton, submitted on Feb. 12th, 2007, and to watch it all the way through. Please? :)
In the mean time, I'll have the next video up soon enough.
Nearly Success!! Big Progress!! - Sometimes You Say, "Hello, World," and the World Says Hello Back - 02/14/07 - 1:37 a.m.:
I stayed up late battling a computer that couldn't figure out how to render a video file like it's supposed to. I was tired and frustrated. I was worrying that maybe I was just pissing people off inside of Google, and not accomplishing anything.
...And then I finally finished the video, got it uploaded (almost two days later than I meant to - you'll understand when you see the video), and checked my e-mail one last time before crashing. The short of it? Looks like I'm going to get a chance to be heard out. I just got an e-mail from Google with the heading, "We can hear you :)"
There's no official time or details yet, but it looks like I've got someone to talk to, now. This makes me happy. More than anything - more than worrying that Google might hear the idea and not like it - I was worried the idea might not be heard at all. Can Google hear me?
Turns out that they can.
It makes the video I just spent all day on sort of obsolete, but I'm going to post it anyway simply because I battled my computer too much not to. Not posting it now would be like letting the computer win, and if that happens... well, pretty soon it forgets who is boss. I often miss my OSX.
I'll keep things updated here as I learn more. But now I'm tired, and I'm heading to bed. Thanks, Google. I owe you.
True Success! - 02/14/07:
I've got a meeting. In the video I say that it's at 2:30, but it was moved back to 4:30 following that. Who knows if they'll like the idea, but Google has stepped forward and done what I asked them to: take a chance, and hear out someone they could have easily ignored. But I don't have time to chat. I've got things to do. :)
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. :)
Thanks for the Support, Everyone - 02/15/07 - 7:30 a.m.:
Look at that; you sleep for six hours and people go and decide to cheer you on. :) I woke up this morning to an outpouring of e-mails from people wishing me luck, and it's just... well, it's amazing is what it is. So, I just had to mention that before I got to work this morning. Every e-mail I get is appreciated, trust me. I've had a few people worry that I'd stop updating the blog before we had a conclusion, but don't worry, I'll keep you updated until I have a firm end; if I send in my summary, it gets heard, and they say no, I'll tell you about it. If they say anything else, well, I'll certainly tell you about that, too. You'll be the first to know... well, after a number of key people I call first on my cell (I woke my parents up at 1:30 a.m. when I originally got confirmation of the meeting).
The other great mystery that seems to be plaguing people is: What is the idea? Hmmm... I'm convinced that half of you are paying attention because it's like the next episode of Lost - the mystery of it is driving you nuts. :)
Anyway, I have much work to do, so I don't really have time to be writing this. Thanks again, everyone.
A Little Update - 02/15/07 - 1:50 p.m.:
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.
Now, back to work. I'm an hour behind where I wanted to be as is.
Just in case you feel like you want
to send me a note, you can contact me at:
Aaron Stanton
aaron@cangooglehearme.com mogdor, on 10/12/2007, -15/+5Why does this guy think he's so special............and how the heck did this make the front page?
If I had an idea that I knew was a multi million dollar idea that google could help with (for whatever reason) I'd do the exact same thing. I have no idea why this guy's so special.
http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?p=cangooglehearme.com&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz2&u=www.aaronstanton.com/&w=%22cangooglehearme+.com%22&d=aONZNuxsOR-Z&icp=1&.intl=us
Audacitor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I can see the magnitude for actually getting Google's attention. I mean its big. And good. Google rocks, and those who touch Google tend to rock too, but I don't think it's worth a whole website. Especially when you won't even say what the idea is that you're pitching. matthall28, on 10/12/2007, -12/+1the reason he isn't telling everyone his idea is so that someone else can't steal it, like Yahoo or Micro$oft
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