Derek! Nice to have found you here! Keep writing that stuff, you're great and I'm a big fan of yours.
Also, a note: EVEN IF someone steal your idea and becomes rich with it, it doesn't necessarily mean that you would have been able to.
An example I come out with is Orkut vs Facebook. Orkut didn't go anywhere, Facebook did very well. If Mark Z stole the idea (don't know if he did) or not, would not have changed Orkut's fate by much.
I guess all those Social networking websites(MySpace,Orkut etc) can be involved here.If these sort of questions pique your interest.I'd suggest you take a look a the Chinese market. It can be treated as a parallel universe where apps/companies develop under different restrictions which brings about a unique ecosystem for the user. This is an interesting example [1].
Also, a note: EVEN IF someone steal your idea and becomes rich with it, it doesn't necessarily mean that you would have been able to.
An example I come out with is Orkut vs Facebook. Orkut didn't go anywhere, Facebook did very well. If Mark Z stole the idea (don't know if he did) or not, would not have changed Orkut's fate by much.