A lot of people says there are no new ideas or innovation; whether you believe them or not: you are correct. Since ideas are the very things startups are built upon, death of new ideas is not a good thing.
This is perhaps the reason why we have so many bland, colorless and non-exciting startups springing up everyday. Startups that are generally dead on delivery, startups without any UVP (Unique Value Proposition) whatsoever.
Even though majority claim there are no new ideas anywhere, I still think too many people waste their time and life savings on a not very original idea. No, I don’t mean that you have to start a Google, but I do mean that you must be clear, very very clear, about how your new Job search site or social network will be “dramatically different” from the current offerings we have.
A great example of this Spinlet, the idea of streaming music over the Internet is not new. Truspot and NotJustOk have been doing it for years, Spinlet simply created a better experience by making a mobile app and signing exclusives with record companies. What if Spinlet had created yet another wordpress powered site and streamed music from it? I wouldn’t be writing about them.
If there is nothing new or innovative about your forum/blog/mobile app, just toss the idea into a trash can, go find something else to do and save everyone the headache.I’m not saying you should build the next Google. I’m simply saying bring something new to the table. Is that too much to ask?
You may also want to read this piece from Jesse Oguns, where he talked about the lack of innovation, especially where the problem of funding has been solved.