And here's another part of my occasional, rambling ideas on businesses fans, geeks, and otaku can start. This one is not so much a business as a side business, but it'd be a great one for someone who makes money with costumes, cosplay, or photography.
A site for cosplay diagnostics.
See, many people would like to cosplay, and the inevitable question then arises – "who do I cosplay." People are often challenged with limits of age, height, build, modesty, and so forth. So how do they find who they can dress up as – within their limits?
That's where the cosplay diagnostic site comes in.
Imagine a website like this: You enter a series of parameters and limits – your height, your build, interests, etc. You could keep it simple, or take it as far as eye or hair color or genre. Then you hit the "Search" button and it recommends characters for you to dress up as.
Something like this would be simple to program – with matching parameters, perhaps ranked by importance, and a constantly expandable database. Volunteers and even site members could contribute to adding, classifying, and reclassifying characters. With an expandable system (and good editing), it could grow quite quickly.
Now this is almost certainly not going to be a profitable business – I could see it supporting itself easily, and perhaps making a bit of money from adds. However I can see it as a great side business for cosplay groups, costume shops, and more.
Something to think of, cosplayers.
Besides, I'm tired of being cast as Gendo Ikari or some other character's dad. I'd like some options, thank you . . .