Another tip, create a military application of your technology-- It helps Wall Street appreciate the magnitude of your idea. The government only funds large, expensive projects, so militarizing your idea will give Wall Street an instant warm fuzzy.

Fear is another important aspect of the Next Big Thing. You need to spread fear that others will be 'Left Behind' by not supporting your idea. No one wants to fall behind, and fewer still want to be immediately left of behind. That's no good. Even though you'd think you could see better than being Right Behind, you can't.

A further look at the Ipv6 article:

It could be the most significant development for IT spending and government sales since the Y2K threat loomed large at federal agencies, industry insiders say: Imagine a soldier in a war zone taking misfire information from his weapon and feeding it directly into his Web-connected handheld computer, sending an alert out to his command post, and saving lives in the process.

A little later:

Frankly, the industry is getting a bit giddy in anticipation.

The IPv6 guys are on the right track. They've managed to combine future vision, disasters of the past and military applications into one sentence.

Finally, you need to start the hype for your product at just the right time-- not too soon, and not too late. Consider High Definition TV. The hype around HDTV has been too gradual, we'll all be sick and tired of HDTV by the time it hits 30% market share.

So remember, when defining your Next Big Thing: pick a big name, solve a mystery, make sure its sci-fi with government funding, spread the fear, and don't hype too soon. That is, unless you want to make a killing without actually making anything.

Half Baked