Ask HN: Who is your sounding board?

[samlev]

Do you have a couple of good friends who you bounce your ideas off? Do you throw your ideas out on twitter, and see if there's a response? Do you keep a blog somewhere with all the pieces of something (possibly) that pop into your head?

I want to know who you use as your sounding board. Are they someone who 'gets you', who easily shares your vision, or someone who can quickly spot the strengths and more importantly weaknesses of your ideas?

Personally, I have a few 'trusted' friends who I know will listen to my ideas, but aren't afraid to point out when I'm being an idiot. I've been known to flood an IRC channel at times trying to get all my stupid thoughts out before I forget them.

I've tried blogging, text files, and carrying a note-pad, but being able to bounce ideas off a real person (and one who doesn't just say "yeah, that sounds great" in a disinterested tone) is by far the most effective way I've got of fleshing out ideas.

So what works for you?

[revorad]

If you're based in London, I recommend taking up Rob Fitzpatrick (robfitz) on his offer of free 30-min office hours - http://thestartuptoolkit.com/blog/2011/10/open-office-hours-...

I did it last week and found it to be quite useful just talking him through my ideas and marketing strategy. Rob's been working with startups for a while, so he's got a lot of data. He is a great listener and gave me some good actionable suggestions.

Even if you're not based in London, he might be up for a skype call.

[richo]

I use my Geeks circle on G+, a few close friends on IRC and there are a couple of close friends I'll call in a pinch.

Although are we talking about geeky ideas or life crap?

[samlev]

Geeky ideas, for sure.

I have recently started a few new side projects, but due to the fact that my regular sounding boards weren't available at the time (timezones... blergh), I keep getting this dread that they're not actually good ideas.

[steakbomb]

Stop talking about your ideas and build something.