explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

827: My Business Idea

2023-10-02T13:28:26Z

Orsonxkcd: Remove 'needs explanation' tag

{{comic
| number = 827
| date = November 29, 2010
| title = My Business Idea
| image = my_business_idea.png
| titletext = We didn't believe you at first, but we asked like three people who were at that party. They not only corroborated your story, but even said you totally mentioned wanting to start a company someday. Sorry! If this isn't enough money, let us know.
}}

==Explanation==
Many people have shared [[Cueball]]'s experience of seeing someone else make a profit from an idea that they themselves had. This comic plays with the thought of what would happen if {{w|intellectual property}} thinking was taken to an extreme, and if companies or people were keener on "setting things right" than money.

In reality, having a great idea alone, of course, does not create a profitable business; there must generally be an enormous amount of effort put in to create a business from scratch, popularize it, and keep it standing. Having done none of this, Cueball would probably not deserve close to the "30% cut" he claims even if intellectual property did work the way it is presented here. Multiplying $20,000,000 by 30% gives $6,000,000, which would be a lot of cash for doing nothing but having an idea and telling it to someone.

The delivery address is to an address on 'Ash Tree Lane', referencing the space-warping house on the same street from the mysterious 'House of Leaves' book.

The title text is an extension of this story, presumably coming from the company, comedically apologising for not knowing sooner about [[Cueball]]'s idea, and revealing that they corroborated this claim with his friends at a party about this venture, even kindly offering him a larger share of their revenue.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at his desk, pointing at his laptop.]
:Cueball: Dude! I had this idea like five years ago, and some company just got rich doing it! - I want my cut.

:[Cueball starts typing.]
:Person off-screen: That's not how it works.
:Cueball: Sure it is. I'm applying for my share now.
:Person: Wait, what?

:[A browser window with the title 'Department of Ideas'. It has a series of text boxes.]
:Date you had the idea:
::Like five years ago.
:Proof you had it:
::I told my friend Mike - you can ask him! I was all "you know what would make a great business idea?" and he was all...
:Their profit so far:
::$20,000,000
:Share you deserve (be fair!):
::[Drop-down.]
:::25%
:::'''30%'''
:::35%
:Mailing address:
::137 Ash Tree Ln

:[Cueball still at the laptop, above him is a SUBMIT button, and it shows a pointing hand cursor.]
:CLICK

:[Last panel set slightly lower than the rest.]
:[Cueball is in front of an open box full of cash, with cash in his hand. A FedEx delivery guy is on the other side of the box with his PDA and pen.]

==Trivia==
This comic was originally called [[827: Business Idea]], but Randall renamed it on 11:35 AM UTC to resolve a conflict on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]. The conflict was created when he released the comic [[1721: Business Idea]] around five years after this comic's release because both comics shared the same name and filename. This is the third time Randall has released a comic with a [[:Category:Comics sharing name|name exactly the same]] as a previous comic.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Business Idea]]

827: My Business Idea

2023-10-02T13:27:29Z

Orsonxkcd: Added explanation for House of Leaves

{{comic
| number = 827
| date = November 29, 2010
| title = My Business Idea
| image = my_business_idea.png
| titletext = We didn't believe you at first, but we asked like three people who were at that party. They not only corroborated your story, but even said you totally mentioned wanting to start a company someday. Sorry! If this isn't enough money, let us know.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The article doesn't explain the reference to House of Leaves. (the article itself is also pretty small, it should be longer). Do not remove this tag too soon.}}
Many people have shared [[Cueball]]'s experience of seeing someone else make a profit from an idea that they themselves had. This comic plays with the thought of what would happen if {{w|intellectual property}} thinking was taken to an extreme, and if companies or people were keener on "setting things right" than money.

In reality, having a great idea alone, of course, does not create a profitable business; there must generally be an enormous amount of effort put in to create a business from scratch, popularize it, and keep it standing. Having done none of this, Cueball would probably not deserve close to the "30% cut" he claims even if intellectual property did work the way it is presented here. Multiplying $20,000,000 by 30% gives $6,000,000, which would be a lot of cash for doing nothing but having an idea and telling it to someone.

The delivery address is to an address on 'Ash Tree Lane', referencing the space-warping house on the same street from the mysterious 'House of Leaves' book.

The title text is an extension of this story, presumably coming from the company, comedically apologising for not knowing sooner about [[Cueball]]'s idea, and revealing that they corroborated this claim with his friends at a party about this venture, even kindly offering him a larger share of their revenue.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at his desk, pointing at his laptop.]
:Cueball: Dude! I had this idea like five years ago, and some company just got rich doing it! - I want my cut.

:[Cueball starts typing.]
:Person off-screen: That's not how it works.
:Cueball: Sure it is. I'm applying for my share now.
:Person: Wait, what?

:[A browser window with the title 'Department of Ideas'. It has a series of text boxes.]
:Date you had the idea:
::Like five years ago.
:Proof you had it:
::I told my friend Mike - you can ask him! I was all "you know what would make a great business idea?" and he was all...
:Their profit so far:
::$20,000,000
:Share you deserve (be fair!):
::[Drop-down.]
:::25%
:::'''30%'''
:::35%
:Mailing address:
::137 Ash Tree Ln

:[Cueball still at the laptop, above him is a SUBMIT button, and it shows a pointing hand cursor.]
:CLICK

:[Last panel set slightly lower than the rest.]
:[Cueball is in front of an open box full of cash, with cash in his hand. A FedEx delivery guy is on the other side of the box with his PDA and pen.]

==Trivia==
This comic was originally called [[827: Business Idea]], but Randall renamed it on 11:35 AM UTC to resolve a conflict on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]. The conflict was created when he released the comic [[1721: Business Idea]] around five years after this comic's release because both comics shared the same name and filename. This is the third time Randall has released a comic with a [[:Category:Comics sharing name|name exactly the same]] as a previous comic.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Business Idea]]

827: My Business Idea

2023-10-02T13:17:50Z

Orsonxkcd: Added more on title text explanation

{{comic
| number = 827
| date = November 29, 2010
| title = My Business Idea
| image = my_business_idea.png
| titletext = We didn't believe you at first, but we asked like three people who were at that party. They not only corroborated your story, but even said you totally mentioned wanting to start a company someday. Sorry! If this isn't enough money, let us know.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The article doesn't explain the reference to House of Leaves. (the article itself is also pretty small, it should be longer). Do not remove this tag too soon.}}
Many people have shared [[Cueball]]'s experience of seeing someone else make a profit from an idea that they themselves had. This comic plays with the thought of what would happen if {{w|intellectual property}} thinking was taken to an extreme, and if companies or people were keener on "setting things right" than money.

In reality, having a great idea alone, of course, does not create a profitable business; there must generally be an enormous amount of effort put in to create a business from scratch, popularize it, and keep it standing. Having done none of this, Cueball would probably not deserve close to the "30% cut" he claims even if intellectual property did work the way it is presented here. Multiplying $20,000,000 by 30% gives $6,000,000, which would be a lot of cash for doing nothing but having an idea and telling it to someone.

The delivery address is to an address on 'Ash Tree Lane', and as shown in [[472: House of Pancakes]], Randall knows how to mess with people who've read {{w|House of Leaves}}.

The title text is an extension of this story, presumably coming from the company, comedically apologising for not knowing sooner about [[Cueball]]'s idea, and revealing that they corroborated this claim with his friends at a party about this venture, even kindly offering him a larger share of their revenue.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at his desk, pointing at his laptop.]
:Cueball: Dude! I had this idea like five years ago, and some company just got rich doing it! - I want my cut.

:[Cueball starts typing.]
:Person off-screen: That's not how it works.
:Cueball: Sure it is. I'm applying for my share now.
:Person: Wait, what?

:[A browser window with the title 'Department of Ideas'. It has a series of text boxes.]
:Date you had the idea:
::Like five years ago.
:Proof you had it:
::I told my friend Mike - you can ask him! I was all "you know what would make a great business idea?" and he was all...
:Their profit so far:
::$20,000,000
:Share you deserve (be fair!):
::[Drop-down.]
:::25%
:::'''30%'''
:::35%
:Mailing address:
::137 Ash Tree Ln

:[Cueball still at the laptop, above him is a SUBMIT button, and it shows a pointing hand cursor.]
:CLICK

:[Last panel set slightly lower than the rest.]
:[Cueball is in front of an open box full of cash, with cash in his hand. A FedEx delivery guy is on the other side of the box with his PDA and pen.]

==Trivia==
This comic was originally called [[827: Business Idea]], but Randall renamed it on 11:35 AM UTC to resolve a conflict on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]. The conflict was created when he released the comic [[1721: Business Idea]] around five years after this comic's release because both comics shared the same name and filename. This is the third time Randall has released a comic with a [[:Category:Comics sharing name|name exactly the same]] as a previous comic.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Business Idea]]