Meet The Fun-O-Meter
The question keeps coming up… the emails keep pouring in… the people want to know how exactly I’m planning on monetizing the site? Really and truly, I hadn’t thought of it. Until now.
Mom, MasterCard, my landlord, if you’re reading this, it’s time to breath a sigh of relief. There is a plan in place and it’s name is the Fun-o-meter (aka Robofun, the Fun Idea Machine, or Funulator). I hadn’t planned on posting the details this early, but as some other sites somehow got wind of the project early (I’m not mad, I should’ve figured, I watched dozens of people photograph it), the time is now.
Without further ado, behold Zoomdoggle’s first brand extension / money-making venture.
I know it doesn’t look like much. But it is. The way I see it, it’s pretty much the best bargain on the planet.
“Why’s that?” You ask.
Just think about it. Fifty cents gets you:
-1 fun idea. If you’re been reading the site, you know the type of stuff, Zoomdoggle is loaded with them. #318 reads: Write “B” and “R” on opposite ends the back side of a One Dollar Bill. Stick your boner anywhere you like. But the fun doesn’t stop there.
-A map, in case fun idea requires travel.
-You also get 1 toy. You know the type. Standard vending machine stuff.
-And 1 quarter back… I kind of got ripped off on the toys, and only wanted to charge 25 cents anyway, but the machine is configured for 50 cents, so I put a quarter in each egg. Free money. That’s fun!
-Plus a lucky penny you can leave heads up for someone else to find. How cool is that?
Here’s the thing though, I tried it in a few different spots. The liquor store.
The bus stop.
A toy store.
Even with others of its own. (I actually got chased from here by other machine’s owner. He wanted to fight. Oops. That’s no fun.)
Cousins maybe?
The only place people really seemed to cotton to it was Times Square.
NOTE: This is the only post where all the pictures don’t click through to fun stuff as well. They were meant to go to videos, but I didn’t have time to edit on account of the leak. I’ll have them up soon though.
This guy got the “Freeze, like the Improv Everywhere people did. Now watch people watch you.” He just stood there for a minute or so, while his friends tried to read over his shoulder. It was pretty cool.
This guy got one about riding the Roosevelt Island Tram. He didn’t go. But that’s cool too. Sometimes fun has to wait too.
All in all, once it got going, the machine made almost $5 in just over an hour (true, it gave away more than half of that, but who’s counting).
Long story short, I’ll be dropping it off at a different location (mainly tourist spots, as they seem to do the best) every day next week. It you see this guy coming, know that fun can’t be too far behind.
What happens next is on you.
I’ve got the weekend to tinker though… any thoughts on how to make it better?
PS: Check back in a day or so for video of the thing in action!
July 11th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
It should be covered in sample ideas. You know, prime the pump, let people know what they’re getting into. Bet if you had that your five bucks would be fifty.
July 12th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Only one comment?! You are amazing and the idea machine is brilliant. It would do well here in Melbourne, Australia. Maybe you could leave treasure close by and the idea be a map to the treasure!!
July 12th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Where can I get my own machine? Franchise this idea and you can make some real money!
July 12th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
This is genius. Pure genius. I would leave out the quarter inside. Good Fun is worth 50 cents if you ask me.
Man I want some fun too. Where is it going next? Let me know and I will promote on my blog!
July 12th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
I love this idea. I hope you spread the action. love love love everything about it, from the rebate to the toy to the idea. Keep going!
July 13th, 2008 at 1:05 am
Great Idea! You should add a “Build an ideas dispenser” idea too, just to make it self-inclusive.
Then you could open a post to harvest comments about new ideas from all over the world and maybe something less NY-related
Anyway, coolest art project (whether it was intended to be an art project or not) I’ve seen in a while.
July 13th, 2008 at 8:02 am
God this is genius!
July 13th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Get three or four more machines and add a map, or directions, to the other machines. Failing that, addvertise where it will be next. I bet that you would get a lot of people that would start seeking it out each day. Then the idea machine itself would become a sort of mini adventure.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Your idea is fantastic. Congrats!
Unfortunately, in Brazil is pretty difficult to realize it, but not impossible.
Hugs.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:40 am
I like it. If I lived in a bigger town, I’d do it myself. Kudos to you.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
amazing!!! can we work something out through paypal? i want in on the fun.
July 14th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
This is fantastic!
July 14th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Please, please make this a franchise. I’m tired of seeing those $2 plastic things that 8 year-olds put on their keys. You could probably control a good amount of the world’s population with that thing too, just leave a treasure map leading to more suggestions with you bidding on them……xD
July 14th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Hey do you know where you’re going to be? I would so try this.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Great idea! This really should be taken national. I smiled just reading about it!
July 15th, 2008 at 8:08 am
I love it! I’d love to see this taken from city to city. I’m sure you could enlist volunteers to set-up and document this for you. Heck, I’ll do it just tell me where to sign up!
July 15th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Sorry to repeat what everyone has already said but this is completely genius. If I walked by it I would have a problem not putting 50 cents it. The whole reason I buy stride gum is because of the to do list inside it.
Franchise, and pwn the world.
Glad I stumbled on this.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I think .50 for an idea is well worth it. Youre not charging enough!
I did something similar in Richmond Va and put a $5 bill in one of the capsules. That really made someone happy!
Little bits of poetry to accompany ideas would be nice as well.
July 15th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Love your idea. I have several suggestions… each more absurd than the last. Any or all of these can be freely used with no credit to me. If you decide to give me credit I will vehemently deny ever submitting them and will sue you for slander.
1. Instead of giving them a quarter back, give them 25 pennies with instructions to throw the pennies on the ground in front of the dispenser. On the front of your machine (inside), have a note with a down arrow saying, “take a penny, leave a penny”.
2. Leave a dollar in a few ‘chosen’ ones with a note declaring “Bank error in your favor”.
3. Make some of the eggs into jello eggs.
4. Leave magnetic poetry pieces in each egg and let people express themselves.
Ok, I thought I’d have a lot more but this will do.
July 15th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
[...] eine wunderschöne Idee: Gepimpte Kaugummiautomaten von Jake Bronstein – statt Bonbons gibt´s hier für 50 Cent ne Idee! Mehr schöne Kaugummiautomaten hier, via. [...]
July 15th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Amazing!
Patent it & start with big cities across North America. Us folks in Canada want Fun Ideas too
July 15th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I have an idea for where to put it this weekend: http://www.hope.net at the HOtel PEnnsylvania.
We might fill up the coin box and empty the capsule storage, but I’m sure most of the attendees would appreciate it.
(I was actually planning to make a trek to the grocery in the picture on boingboing.net, but I’m glad I now know it is eminently mobile!)
July 15th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
The idea is perfect! Ignore all suggestions! You know what you’re doing… Well, actually, I love the idea of the wandering vending machine, but if you want to sell, you’re going to have to find a permanent home for it. That way, friends will be telling friends where they say such wonderfulness, and you’ll grow your customer base. Just think, if BoingBoing had been able to say, “…and you can find it at Joe’s Lace Doily Emporium,” how much traffic you would have had?
July 15th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Heard of geocashing? Could be fun. Try googling it.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:38 am
i really love this project. I’ve always had tons of ideas what to do with these machines. It never occurred to me to put ideas in the machine. The Social Practice conference in Santa Cruz could have had a couple of these!!! Good Job. Rad.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:28 am
What a great idea for a project. Interesting read!
July 16th, 2008 at 8:07 am
[...] This is the fun-o-meter and it looks like a blast! For only $0.50 you get a suggestion of something fun to do. Perfect. Just think about it. Fifty cents gets you: [...]
July 16th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Please patent this idea if you haven’t already – you’ll make even more money out of it when it gets so popular people want to copy you and have to pay money to do so. Some day some big corporation will buy your IDEA and you’ll be a millionaire.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:08 am
[...] Bronstein has developed The Fun-O-Meter a toy vending machine that dispenses fun ideas that he has been placing at various locations around [...]
July 16th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
it would be so awesome to have one in seattle!!! i would get one like all the time. teens get so bored so it would be fun
July 17th, 2008 at 11:32 am
FREAKIN’ AWESOME!!! Way to go! I love it. Thank goodness someone else believe in spreading imagination and fun. Bravo. and Encore and all that jazz!
July 18th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
[...] the Fun-O-Meter Good ideas for 50 cents! That’s right folks, coming to a corner near you is a vending machine fully equipped with [...]
July 21st, 2008 at 9:49 am
great idea! and the Roosevelt Tram is a one of a kind special, see the movie Dark Water! also be sure to include the East River waterfalls for July and August.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:09 pm
will be heading to NYC in 2 days…Ill keep my eye out, my quarters ready and my anticipation for “fun” high!
July 21st, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Wonderful! coming to Jax Fl.? Youll do fabulous here! Just give me a tap!
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I stumbled upon this through wooster and I have fallen in love with this idea- no, this whole website. For the past few weeks I have been debating with myself on what to do with my life. I have no major and with no course of action planned out, I have been looking for something fun, spontaneous, and hopefully life-changing to help me decide whether I should go back to school or enjoy the fuck out of life until I figure out what to study. This might be one of those things.
I’m a friendly, outgoing 19 year old living in Orange County, California and I think I just might find the cheapest way possible to get to New York to buy one of these ideas and have fun with it. I just hope I can find something as small as an idea-dispenser in the middle of the Big Apple.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
This is a super fun and creative idea. I think i would like you.
July 24th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Oh wow, I LOVE this idea it’s so simple and inviting and sweet and.. FUN! Good luck with everything Jake , I would love to get into contact with you when i’ll be doing something similar here in Holland.
I’ll send you some pictures if it all works out.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I’d rename it from “Funometer” to something more accurate, since a “funometer” would be a device for measuring fun, not dispensing fun. Maybe the “Fun Dispenser” or the “Ideatron”? Or maybe just “Fun Machine”.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Seconding the vote for Seattle! I would LOVE to try your fun machine. I’m always making my own spur-of-the-moment adventures but they’re even better when suggested!
July 24th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
I think the potential of this machine is being misunderstood. This is really a brilliant experiment in submission. With the Internet and modern focused niche-marketing, people are just sick of getting what they want. It’s a lot of stress, always having to come up with what you specifically desire. This machine offers relief. Plug in your quarters, and submit to the random orders of the Fun Idea Machine.
July 25th, 2008 at 12:52 am
This rocks in some may ways, keep on the good work!
July 25th, 2008 at 4:02 am
We should go into business together! Branded fun-o-meters for our (soon to be) new website: http://beta.smynx.com/
July 25th, 2008 at 5:53 am
You should bring it down to D.C., people down here need to chill out and smile more. We are in need of your fun ideas. If you take the D.C. Chinatown bus you would only need to sell 80 fun ideas to get here.
P.S. My fun idea is to go to Starbucks or some place where they ask for your name when you order and then give a fake name like Napoleon or Shakira.
July 25th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Brilliant!
I agree with M.D.
Bring it down to the D.C area! Or let people run wild with the idea! :3 Definately some of our DC tourists are a little bland. (Prime spots museums, white house, presedintial memorials…)
July 25th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Even better… try to get local sponsors interested in the idea… movie theaters… clothing stores… and put the occasional movie pass or gift certificate into the plastic containers for a real treat for fifty cents.
The marketing potential of this idea is barely being touched.
Good luck!
July 25th, 2008 at 9:38 am
I made one a couple of years ago. Mostly sold small art by local artists. Sometimes little ideas and hidden treasures to look for around town. Some of the same things you’re doing! I’d put little notes about fruit trees on public property, hidden street art that I thought was inspirational, really beautiful parts of the local river to go visit.
I’m glad to see more of it!!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/22/33056231_b28fb24db8_o.jpg
July 25th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Seriously, will you please go out with me. That is the freaking coolest idea ever. As soon as I saw it, I wondered where you got the idea. And then it occurred to me – you must have gotten it from a vending machine.
July 26th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
You know this would be great in a bar. Most of the time if I go to a bar I’m bored sitting around drinking with friends. If I saw one of those things I know I’d try it. You could probably have suggestions for drink mixes, bar games, outrageous suggestions for the juke box, pick up lines for guys and girls, jokes. The possibilities are endless.
July 27th, 2008 at 11:07 am
That made me smile. ^_^ Great idea.
July 27th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Bring one to Chicago!
July 29th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Great idea – definitely worth 50cents!
July 31st, 2008 at 10:51 pm
this is an awesome idea drop it off in astoria around places like steinway and such cause id use it lol great idea though and good luck with more results
August 4th, 2008 at 7:36 am
I need to hire this for an event
Please contact me ASAP
The event is in NYC on saturday Septemebr 13
Thanks
Daphne
August 16th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Allow me to echo the “fantastic idea” sentiment!
This is a fantastic thing, and would have WONDERFUL applications outside, say, a tourist interpretation centre for a national park, or the downtown of a city! It would be a great way for new tourists to learn about things to do on a vacation, or even for longtime residents of an area to discover something new in their city! “Rent a kayak and take in the sights from the ocean”, “Laugh a little at the local comedy club”, “Spend the day picnicking at Seaside Park”, etc.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Great idea! Our group is definitely going to implement our own version of this for some urban scavenger hunts. I like that its an altruistic venture, we are expected to pay for entertainment too much, and the beauty of this idea is that it can be only a quarter away. Keep up the fun!
Sassy Wagon Club
September 7th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Where can I get one? This thing would look great in my store.
Also Sassy should tell more about these “Urban Scavenger Hunts,” that too sounds fun.
September 10th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Alright, sign me up too, I want one.
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:10 pm
[...] ZoomDoggle {Meet The Fun-O-Meter} [...]
September 24th, 2008 at 5:18 am
[...] you want to pay 24 cents for a cool idea… and some other goodies? Head over to meet Fun-O-Meter. Share this story with the world: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers [...]
November 18th, 2008 at 5:05 am
[...] Jake Bronstein compró una de esas máquinas expendedoras de juguetes en Internet y le dió un nuevo uso: por 50 centavos puedes comprar una idea. Las ideas tienen relación con actividades que puedes hacer alrededor de NY y además incluyen un juguete y un pequeño mapa para llegar al lugar propuesto. ¿Una alegorÃa del mundo de las agencias? [...]
December 5th, 2008 at 2:06 am
[...] low on inspiration? The Idea Vending Machine gives you more than just ideas! For just 50¢ you get (1) idea, a map if travel is involved, (1) [...]
February 20th, 2009 at 10:51 am
when i grow up, i, probably, wanna be u! u inspire me in every way! I wish I was in NY now! i’m in SA and in varsity (Rhodes University) and this wud make such a cool trend here! I smiled and , almost cried after reading this! u are awesome! I’m in love!
keep it up! u’ve restored my lost hope in human beings and human potential. as an artist, i’m not “there” yet (or maybe i have not realised that i am) but now believe i can be.
this is particularily cool for school kids so please make ur next stop at all the schools you can.please, for unbelievable inspiration
PS
question on every ones mind: why didn’t “I think” of that?!? or more specifically: why didn’t i think?
February 27th, 2009 at 8:34 am
[...] Can something so simple be any more brilliant? My heart aches for something this wonderful. [...]
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:24 am
Hi there,
This is an excellent idea. We are interested in contacting you personally. Could you please e-mail me as soon as possible?
Thanks a lot.
May 19th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
wow you guys really go nuts for these gumball machines… lol
July 31st, 2009 at 5:32 am
ohmigawd, genius! love it! patent it!
October 25th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Great Idea, but someone could just pick it up, and steal it.
December 1st, 2009 at 1:03 am
Fun idea: Light a bag of dog shit on this guys front porch and ring the door bell.
December 1st, 2009 at 11:07 pm
good idea:-),i think you’re a Angle !Good luck !when will you come to China? many chinese also need you!
December 27th, 2009 at 2:38 am
We have several of these in my city, they were part of a college art project about 10 years ago. There used to be several permanent ones and one traveling one, but the traveling one retired when the students graduated, and a few of the permanent ones went away when the stores they were in closed.
Anyway, my suggestions: first, find a permanent home for your machine, to build a fan base and give the opportunity for word of mouth. Second, make your machine less portable, so it won’t get stolen. The machines in my city were the old cigarette vending machines, which were retro cool and difinitely more attention-grabbing.
Good luck!
January 15th, 2010 at 1:01 am
Best. Ever.
I love the idea of a treasure map with a hidden gem somwhere nearby!
Awesome!
Make these come to Norway and I’ll support you!
January 17th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Couldn’t you glue a quarter into one of the slots so one would only have to insert one quarter?
February 8th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
I want one of these to set up in Atlanta. I will take three, please!
February 27th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
please put one on staten island over here we love bucky balls and all ur stuff the si mall would be great THX
May 5th, 2010 at 5:08 am
This is the best idea! it would be so much fun! it would be cool if someone in australia started this.