I’ll admit that my interest in this whole cognitive surplus concept (per Clay Shirky) may be bordering on obsessive, but apparently I can’t stop writing about it.  The idea of being able to harness even small fractions of surplus brain cycles that many people tend to throw away while watching television or otherwise passive pursuits and then do cool things with them is an awe-inspiring concept.

The other morning I did a brain dump of potential projects that could be crowdsourced or distributed.  Some of these items already exist.  Most of them already probably exist in some fashion.  Perhaps, however, there are one or two useful ones here that no one has thought of before.

PLEASE NOTE:  these are not money-making ideas! These are ideas for collaborative action to make some part of the world a tiny bit better, more interesting, or more fun.

I want you to add to this list.  Critique it.  Find examples of where these kinds of projects are already happening.  Come up with something completely crazy that no one would ever think of doing and then add it.  You can add it in the comments, you can write your own blog post (please link back here, thanks!), whatever.  I think we could come up with some really cool, innovative, and crazy ideas if we really put our minds to it.

And then… we should pick one and actually try it.

What say you?

Here’s the list:

1. Listings of amateur photographers who are willing to do special events at cost
2. Listing of Zen Buddhism masters
3. Listings of Zen Buddhism temples/schools/clubs
4. Maps showing the known locations of criminals of all sorts
5. Database of photos showing civic neglect (potholes, building code violations, etc.)
6. Locations of comic book stores by town/city and state/province/territory
7. Listings of adult entertainment retail outlets
8. Where you can find rare commodities (e.g. books, collectibles, sporting equipment, industrial equipment, scientific supplies, etc.)
9. Locations of safe homes (e.g. Block Parents) where kids can go if being bullied or are in trouble
10. Locations of companies that offer plant or facilities tours
11. Locations of all religious groups, etc. within a community
12. Locations of charity organizers
13. Locations of volunteer workers willing to help out with fundraising and volunteer work
14. Tutors of any/all kinds
15. Music venues, both free and paid
16. Amateur musicians who are ready to jam with you
17. Amateur actors willing to participate in local theatre
18. Book reviews (e.g. Amazon.com)
19. Miscellaneous review sites (e.g. ePinions)
20. The restaurants where I can find the best specific dishes of food
21. Road condition reports updated interactively by drivers
22. Pet sitters
23. Pet clubs
24. Activities for senior citizens
25. Volunteers for helping senior citizens
26. Listings of kids interested in certain kinds of activities so parents can form play groups and find new friends for their children
27. Games clubs: who likes to play which board games/card games, etc.
28. Best fishing holes in an area
29. Ways to navigate government bureaucracy (how to get a marriage license, drivers license, building permit, business license, etc.)
30. Support groups for families with handicapped or otherwise challenged members
31. Orientation information for people who move to a new area for the first time
32. People who will help new immigrants with their special language or cultural needs
33. Listings where people can get
34. For writers: a gigantic database of premade characters, crowdsourced, that can be used freely by any author for an attribution credit
35. Also for writers: scenes; locations; scenarios, images, etc.
36. Maps tracking the locations and types of violent crimes in a community
37. Crowdsourced manuals of ideas of how to deal with deaths, breakups, violent crimes, etc.
38. The best chess players in a given city/state
39. Where to find the best poker games locally
40. Volunteer teachers/instructors of any kind
41. Where to find the best fiddleheads (fiddleheads are a kind of edible fern/plant)
42. Locations of all stop signs/traffic lights in a community
43. Parking maps: where is the best/closest/cheapest parking in community (include overflow or private parking for special events)
44. Listings of local heroes/accomplishments
45. Local experts, who you can meet face to face, of all kinds/shapes/sizes
46. Where are the best park benches in a community?
47. Where can you find water fountains/pools/streams/rivers locally?
48. Where can you go ice skating locally?
49. Databases showing the results/impacts/opinions on local legislation
50. Listings of bloggers in a community
51. Where you can get shoe repairs, ice skates sharpened, sporting equipment fixed
52. Listing of people who will do yardwork
53. Listing and reviews of local auto mechanics
54. Photos of local achievements
55. Amateur videos of local cultural events (e.g. dance recitals, plays, concerts, variety shows, etc.)
56. Listings and rankings of yard sales
57. Websites listing yard sale items in advance of the yard sale
58. Locations/timings of local charity fundraisers, including places for donations, volunteer requests, etc.
59. Hottest/coldest locations in an area
60. Places where you can exchange funds into different currencies
61. Employers looking for summer students; summer students looking for employers
62. Teenager reactions to local legislation and
63. Custom LEGO model designs from existing LEGO sets
64. Listings of places where people tend to find lost or spare change floating around
65. Listings of places where you can get change for a $20 bill and the time of day when you can get this change
66. Listing of optimal travel routes which minimize stop lights, stop signs, etc.

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Other posts that you might enjoy reading:

• Amazon Mechanical Turk – abandon hope all ye who…
• Why do we participate in group projects?
• Cognitive surplus in action – counting to one million
• Clay Shirky interviewed on CBC Radio show Spark