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	<title>Golden Age Info Arch &#187; Victoria&#8217;s Tech Sector Branding</title>
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	<link>http://g-a-i-a.org</link>
	<description>CEO diary while founding questionCollector</description>
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		<title>Victoria&#8217;s Tech Sector Branding</title>
		<link>http://g-a-i-a.org/opinion/victorias-tech-sector-branding/</link>
		<comments>http://g-a-i-a.org/opinion/victorias-tech-sector-branding/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:37:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jazzmann91</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[victoria]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://g-a-i-a.org/?p=743</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Garden's are a very powerful symbol of growth and sustainability.<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/opinion/victorias-tech-sector-branding/ ">Victoria&#8217;s Tech Sector Branding</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Apparently our tech sector needs a name.  I think it&#8217;s a great idea.</p>
<p><a title="Hello Victoria!" href="http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/RegionsCities/Victoria.htm?media=cpc&amp;referrer=google-adwords&amp;CMP=KNC-NA&amp;HBX_PK=victoria%20island%20BC&amp;HBX_OU=50&amp;gclid=CO3Kn-LAnKcCFQhubAodNhJWbg" target="_blank">Victoria ~ The Garden City</a><br />
Vancouver Island ~ Paradise North?</p>
<p>Are we Island focused or Victoria focused?</p>
<p>What is technology bringing to us?<br />
Talent, community, wealth, information, &#8230; , gadgets, research, the future?</p>
<p>Garden&#8217;s are a very powerful symbol of growth and sustainability.</p>
<p>A &#8220;Garden of Tech&#8221; will be built around a few trees which have:<br />
- roots research &amp; development (universities, government funded research)<br />
- a trunk: large well-funded development shops (CGI, Sierra Systems, Quartech, IBM)<br />
- branches: community groups (VDevs, VJUG, VIATec, SocialMediaClub, and many more)<br />
- leaves (geeks, nerds, programmers, technology experts, people who contribute to the whole)<br />
- fruit/seeds (startups)<br />
- if they&#8217;re lucky they become seedlings (funded startups) and a new tree is added to the &#8220;Garden of Tech&#8221;. &#8230; Or the wind picks them up and they get planted in California. <img src='http://g-a-i-a.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>What other plants could we use to develop the analogy?</p>
<p>Is Victoria wild enough to swing for &#8220;Forrest of Tech&#8221;?</p>
<p>Add your thoughts here or at <a title="Dan on EmpireAvenue" href="http://empireavenue.com/dangunn" target="_blank">Dan Gunn&#8217;s</a> <a title="VIATec ~ What's in a name?" href="http://ow.ly/41ksI " target="_blank">original post!</a></p>
<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/opinion/victorias-tech-sector-branding/ ">Victoria&#8217;s Tech Sector Branding</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
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		<title>Re: invention</title>
		<link>http://g-a-i-a.org/journal/re-invention/</link>
		<comments>http://g-a-i-a.org/journal/re-invention/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Nov 2010 04:03:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jazzmann91</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[character]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invention]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leader]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[storytelling]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://g-a-i-a.org/?p=619</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It's been 6 years or so and I've become attached to a variety of stories, myths, and philosophic memes.  I make these attachments lightly, because of their epic nature and then wait for others to connect the dots.<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/journal/re-invention/ ">Re: invention</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;Invention is a creative process.  An open and curious mind enables one to see beyond what is known.  Seeing a new possibility, a new connection or relationship can spark an  invention. Inventive thinking frequently involves combining concepts or  elements from different realms that would not normally be put together.  Sometimes inventors skip over the boundaries between distinctly separate  territories or fields. Ways of thinking, materials, processes or tools  from one realm are used as no one else has imagined in a different  realm.&#8221; ~ <a title="Wikipedia ~ Invention" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention#Process" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></p>
<p>I wanted to open with invention, because I am attending <a title="Storytelling conference" href="http://reinventionsummit.com/" target="_blank">The Reinvention Summit</a>; a virtual conference on storytelling.  My new <a title="Michael on fb" href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/michael.margolis" target="_blank">friend</a> <a title="Michael on twitter" href="http://twitter.com/getstoried" target="_blank">Michael</a> <a title="Michael on the web" href="http://getstoried.com" target="_blank">Margolis</a> has been working his ass off to make this happen and I am proud to support his efforts. I also look forward to watching and hearing all the great presentations.</p>
<p><span id="more-619"></span>I could tell you my story, but I&#8217;m afraid it isn&#8217;t one of reinvention.  My story is mostly bland for the first 26 years, then I started inventing myself.  It&#8217;s been 6 years or so and I&#8217;ve become attached to a variety of stories, myths, and philosophic memes.  I make these attachments lightly, because of their epic nature and then wait for others to connect the dots.  Thus I can&#8217;t tell you how I do it, but if you watch, listen, and ask good questions, I&#8217;m sure you can find out what I&#8217;m trying to do.  It really isn&#8217;t about me and tends to come straight out of our collective imagination.  By mixing characters, themes, and living my life along a path I do not own, I hope to invent myself until I die.  No need for reinvention at all. <img src='http://g-a-i-a.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' />   One thing that never changes is my anal tendency towards wordiness and technical definitions.  What is reinvention anyways? Isn&#8217;t invention good enough?</p>
<p>One thing is certain to me: We are all artists with differing sets of talents and skill levels, with infinite opportunity to expand both.  If you want to take that next step into your own story of invention, you should sign up for the <a title="Reinvention registration" href="http://www.reinventionsummit.com/registration/" target="_blank">summit</a>.  I&#8217;ll meet you there!</p>
<p>Thanks for reading!</p>
<p>Also, buy stock in our influence while it&#8217;s still affordable.  Find us on <a title="Social Influence Stock Exchange" href="http://EmpireAvenue.com" target="_blank">http://EmpireAvenue.com</a> <a title="CEO on EmpireAve" href="http://EmpireAvenue.com/GAIA" target="_blank">GAIA</a> &amp; <a title="Company on EmpireAve" href="http://EmpireAvenue.com/GAIA7" target="_blank">GAIA7</a></p>
<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/journal/re-invention/ ">Re: invention</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
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		<title>reworked the slidedeck</title>
		<link>http://g-a-i-a.org/business/rework-slidedeck/</link>
		<comments>http://g-a-i-a.org/business/rework-slidedeck/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Sep 2010 02:25:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jazzmann91</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pitch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[problem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solution]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://g-a-i-a.org/?p=593</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I would love any and all critical feedback.  Does it make sense?<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/business/rework-slidedeck/ ">reworked the slidedeck</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="prezi-player"><!-- .prezi-player { width: 700px; } .prezi-player-links { text-align: center; } --><object id="prezi_waxcmub1str3" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="700" height="700" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="name" value="prezi_waxcmub1str3" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff" /><param name="flashvars" value="prezi_id=waxcmub1str3&amp;lock_to_path=0&amp;color=ffffff&amp;autoplay=no&amp;autohide_ctrls=0" /><param name="src" value="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf" /><embed id="prezi_waxcmub1str3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="700" height="700" src="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf" flashvars="prezi_id=waxcmub1str3&amp;lock_to_path=0&amp;color=ffffff&amp;autoplay=no&amp;autohide_ctrls=0" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" name="prezi_waxcmub1str3"></embed></object></p>
<div class="prezi-player-links">
<p><a title="Crazy wizard seeks rebels, thinkers, believers, and jesters to bring their questions, answers, and debates, out to play. It's time to write a new story of freedom." href="http://prezi.com/waxcmub1str3/got-values/">Got Questions?</a> on <a href="http://prezi.com">Prezi</a></p>
<p>I recommend full screen so the text is readable. <img src='http://g-a-i-a.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' />  I would love any and all critical feedback.  Does it make sense?</p>
</div>
</div>
<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/business/rework-slidedeck/ ">reworked the slidedeck</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Positions &amp; Props: the Play with no Prototype</title>
		<link>http://g-a-i-a.org/business/position-prop-proto/</link>
		<comments>http://g-a-i-a.org/business/position-prop-proto/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:12:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jazzmann91</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[model]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[passion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[value]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://g-a-i-a.org/?p=482</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For rebels, jesters, believers, and thinkers the QuestionCollector is a debate hosting website for people who care about our collective future.  Unlike Yahoo!Answers, StackExchange, and Quora we create a deep cultural experience to organize us around our questions and values, while empowering people to participate in a story of freedom.<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/business/position-prop-proto/ ">Positions &#038; Props: the Play with no Prototype</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s time to go to the last all day session of the Market Entry Program.  This is my homework, though I&#8217;ve failed to do it as suggested.  I may have gotten into the program a little ahead of schedule.  I definitely qualified by having no customers, but I also have no product. Thus I am mostly bringing my brain to market.  However, maybe it has positioned me well for a different route.</p>
<p>Last week I got into my #1 competitor&#8217;s beta: <a title="my competitor unless they hire me" href="http://quora.com" target="_blank">Quora</a>. This application is amazing and their name is way better than mine. <img src='http://g-a-i-a.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' />  I love that they share the same central idea in their product: No duplication of questions.  There are some great strengths and obvious weaknesses to me, but I&#8217;ll save that post for later.  Today I redo my go to market strategy for my non-existent prototype, which I can&#8217;t seem to start by myself.  I keep saying I&#8217;m more of a fixer than a build-from-scratch guy, but maybe I should just get on with it.  I&#8217;m definitely way behind these guys technically.  I hope my story will catch their eye and we&#8217;ll talk about teaming up.  Either way I&#8217;m sure we&#8217;ll talk eventually.<span id="more-482"></span></p>
<p><strong>My initial target market:</strong><br />
Brands trying to market on twitter and facebook that aren&#8217;t satisfied with the effectiveness of their campaigns.  As well as, other social companies and organizations, that want to capitalize on their value conscious way of operating in the world.</p>
<p><strong>Positioning statement for economic buyer$</strong>:<br />
For socially aware organizations who need to engage with online audiences in a meaningful fashion, the QuestionCollector is a value centric debate community, where we can all share our big picture values.  Unlike twitter and facebook we offer a rich cultural experience for brands to grow their online social identity.</p>
<p><strong>Positioning statement for user buyers (free):</strong><br />
For <a title="Are you a rebel?" href="http://g-a-i-a.org/business/rebels-jesters-believers-thinkers" target="_self">rebels, jesters, believers, and thinkers</a> the QuestionCollector is a debate hosting website for people who care  about our collective future.  Unlike Yahoo!Answers, StackExchange, and Quora we create a deep cultural experience to organize us around our questions and values, while empowering people to participate in a story of freedom.</p>
<p><strong>Value proposition for organizations:<br />
</strong>We believe that organizations with social capital should be able to increase effective engagement with their people by achieving a greater reputation in the marketplace, through our ability to organize people around their deeply held beliefs and values, as a result of our unique multicultural experience.</p>
<p><strong>Value proposition for users:<br />
</strong>We believe that honest, caring, thoughtful people should be able to increase their freedom by participating in their own unique way, through our ability to provide an organized, cultural debate site, as a result of our unique ranking and privacy systems.</p>
<p>Just by doing these exercises repeatedly I&#8217;m finding great value in the process.  The sentences quite often end up absurdly too long, but they are excellent at squeezing out the answer, of what our product will be, and what we know it will do for our subscribers and our users.  &lt;~ I think it&#8217;s training me to make my sentences too absurX&#8230; nevermind. It has also helped me see my business model more clearly, along with helpful advice I&#8217;ve been getting.  I look forward to getting a whole bunch more.  If you have any questions about what these mean,  I want to understand your perspective.  Please bang out a quick comment or <a title="Gaia on twitter" href="http://twitter.com/wizard_71" target="_blank">tweet me</a> and I&#8217;ll be sure to respond.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading!  I can&#8217;t do it without you.</p>
<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/business/position-prop-proto/ ">Positions &#038; Props: the Play with no Prototype</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
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		<title>Help me make it to round three!</title>
		<link>http://g-a-i-a.org/business/help-me-make-round-three/</link>
		<comments>http://g-a-i-a.org/business/help-me-make-round-three/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 May 2010 18:13:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jazzmann91</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adviser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[contest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[high performance teams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[problem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[product]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[questions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solution]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://g-a-i-a.org/?p=436</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sharing with everyone is not for everyone, and we respect that choice. If you are a rebel or a comedian, a follower or a conspiracy theorist we want to keep your secrets, manifestos, joke-lists, votes, and most of all, the questions that matter to you.<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/business/help-me-make-round-three/ ">Help me make it to round three!</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>May 10 is the deadline for my submission to qualify for round three of the <a title="New Ventures site" href="http://newventuresbc.com" target="_blank">New Ventures BC</a> 2010 contest.  I&#8217;m writing this post to detail my current draft plans and get feedback from you.  Is it clear? Did I answer the questions? What else should I consider?  I would love your harshest criticisms and any encouraging comments you can spare.  Thanks for reading!!!</p>
<p><span id="more-436"></span><strong>Baseline information:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Product/Service:</strong> Describe your product or service  and the nature of the technology.</p>
<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --><strong><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/wp-content/uploads/hepto.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-438" title="hepto" src="http://g-a-i-a.org/wp-content/uploads/hepto-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="120" /></a></strong></p>
<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->The QuestionCollector is an advertising delivery and identity management system in the form of an online social game.  Think you have an answer to one of life&#8217;s &#8220;unanswerable&#8221; questions, share it, and get your friends to vote it up, until maybe the broader community picks up on your genius and lifts your perspective to new heights.  Follow the questions you identify with, whether funny or serious; vote for the answers you like; the people you like; the brands you like; or debate the things you disagree with. It doesn&#8217;t matter to me what you want to support, or rail against, as long as you can do it without a weapon sharper than a word. Or maybe a virtual sword. Game play includes organized debate channels to do &#8220;battle&#8221; in; hierarchies to achieve prominence amongst your friends or enemies; support your true issue-by-issue thought leaders; or just watch as communities form around questions, that don&#8217;t replicate, day-after-day, like they do in today&#8217;s media.  If you are as passionate about questions as I am, I want you to play this game with me.</p>
<p>Our focus is to supply a complete identity control experience for you and your opinion, whether you are an organization or a person.  Sharing with everyone is not for everyone, and we respect that choice.  If you are a rebel or a comedian, a follower or a conspiracy theorist we want to keep your secrets, manifestos, joke-lists, votes, and most of all, the questions that matter to you.  When it comes to the brands you support they will be playing to gain your trust by showing their values and opinions.  Thus we will provide an entertaining way for socially aware companies to engage their communities and target their advertising to the people who will most likely care about their products.  If you&#8217;re trying to reach an audience with your product and you have high social capital, I want to advertise you.</p>
<p><strong>Technology Development:</strong>Describe the development  stage of your product/service.<a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/wp-content/uploads/alphaProfile.png"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-439" title="alphaProfile" src="http://g-a-i-a.org/wp-content/uploads/alphaProfile-231x300.png" alt="" width="231" height="300" /></a></p>
<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->I&#8217;ve been working on documenting and honing my concept for about a year.  I&#8217;ve worked hard to build a well rounded concept with a core engine that can be tested before adding more advanced features.  I&#8217;ve got object oriented data designs on the go.  Screen designs including alpha and minimal viable product are partially complete.  Object interaction diagrams with select use cases such as Doug; the comedian, Craig; the heckler, Bob; the laughing guy, and Edna; Doug&#8217;s mom.  Also, I have a copious diagrams for technical explanation of core system modules. My current step is to find a technological partner to help progress prototype development and determine the best platform for delivery.</p>
<p><strong>Team:</strong> Describe your company’s strengths and  weaknesses. List the credentials of your technical and management teams,  and if applicable, advisors and board of directors. If you don’t have a  team, describe the key positions and critical skill sets that you need  to add.</p>
<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->My technical background include data design, programming, and product support in the following industries: mentoring, forestry, and heath. My strengths are comprehensive vision, strategy, a passion for peace, visualizing and translating complex business requirements into usable interfaces, tenacity, design, adaptability, technical understanding, team support, and communication. I have a distinct love of  helping and can&#8217;t wait to serve a team of talented individuals who will share our vision.  My goal is to lead the design and architecture of the software, while assuring the quality of the product, and move into marketing after we have something to sell. My search for advisors and partners is accelerating, and the more people I talk to the more encouraging, and useful, feedback I&#8217;ve been getting.  I am excited to bring on board my first business partners and begin development of the prototype.  My major weaknesses are: my lack of business connections, systems administration, as well as missing some polish, and a shortage of cash.</p>
<p>Current advisors:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mark Payne is mentoring me through the ACETECH Market Entry 	Program and has been of significant help.</li>
<li>Marco Guardigli is a successful business owner of a systems 	administration company in Italy whom I&#8217;ve been getting informal 	advice and encouragement from.</li>
<li>A fellow entrepreneur, and ex-CTO, has recently helped me 	understand my revenue model ideas more concisely and may become more 	involved as the business grows.</li>
</ul>
<p>Key positions I am looking to fill:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mentors and advisors &#8211; I need more guidance to develop myself 	as an entrepreneurial leader and to gain access to key talent and 	investment.  A financial advisor would be most excellent to add to 	my list above.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Technical lead / Partner &#8211; A lead developer and system 	administrator.  I can code, but I need a better geek than me to lead 	on that front. I also need someone who can make IT infrastructure 	decisions and develop clear testing plans.  I am currently in 	partnership discussions with another contestant, who needs a 	break-through client for his rapid development platform, which 	sounds very promising.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>CEO / Partner &#8211; I am interested in finding someone with 	startup business experience, especially someone with the network to 	attract financing and other business talent. I am slowly learning 	these skills, but feel my business could drastically benefit from 	additional experience.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Business Plan Status:</strong>What research has been  conducted, what remains to be done, and how and when do you anticipate  doing so. What key sources are included to document and support your  plan?</p>
<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->Over the past six months I&#8217;ve been studying the social games and startup industry via a multitude of blogs and conferences.  I&#8217;ve learned a lot about what I need to develop in order to make my business into a convincing story.  A story about the questions that drive people, and organizations, to create value in their communities.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve been conducting personal consumer research via one hundred or so ad hoc, undocumented conversations with a wide variety of people at parties, on the ferry, at art shows, conferences, and networking events.  More recently, I&#8217;ve been finding business people to talk to about my idea and have enjoyed events such as Mentor Speed Dating and the Market Entry Program. Thus far my research suggests that 80% of people are highly enthusiastic, 19% are confused and 1% think it won&#8217;t work, or has major challenges.  I need to work on formally capturing this kind of data and finding other credible sources, but the foundation is laid to begin the serious research and prove my assumptions.</p>
<p>I have drafted a skeleton business plan, which include my worst-case financial and hiring projections. However, my revenue model is expanding to include ideas I had discounted as secondary, so it must be revised as well as get some more experience financial eyes to validate it. I had formed most of my assumptions around getting users, who may, or may not, pay me money.  Now I&#8217;m focusing on both attracting early adopters and paying customers.  Specifically brands that are searching for the next step in online advertising, that gives them meaningful customer interaction.</p>
<p>My marketing plans rotate around how to match my company to a story. If you look at my &#8220;futuristic&#8221; organization chart you can see me as the Wizard (Product Manager), now I just need a good King/Queen (CEO) and a few Knights (Technical peeps) to get to the next step. The biggest trend I&#8217;ve been hearing, that I think is exciting for a lot of companies, and scary for some of the bigger ones is that story telling is becoming the defacto way to influence audiences to make purchase or even electoral decisions.  This idea seems to attract not just the consumer but also the modern angel investor. Both want to be involved in a  good story. Thus I have plans for my business story and I&#8217;m trying to tell it.  Now I just need to find the other characters and storytellers to help validate and bring credibility to what I have got, as well as fill in key gaps.</p>
<p><strong>Evaluation information:</strong><em><br />
<strong>Question #1:</strong></em><strong> Intellectual Property.</strong> Describe the various forms of intellectual property  (IP) related to your product/service that are needed in connection with  your business and whether you own such IP, are developing it under  license or otherwise. Describe your intellectual property strategy,  including any plans for intellectual property protection.</p>
<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->No patents, yet.  I remain unsure if any of my ideas are patentable and after conversing with my mentor about it, it seems clear that copyright will be my main tool for protecting my original way of presenting the technology.  I plan to consult with my lawyer, as I complete incorporation, about potential for any patents.  My website material is copyrighted and I hope to trademark my company logo once cash is available to do so.  As part of my self-marketing plan, I have two amateur dance videos (more coming soon) which include copyright material produced by other musical artists. The use of the music is covered under fair dealing (aka fair use in the USA), as I have combined it with my own dance moves, have credited the artists, and am giving it away.</p>
<p>Development of detailed plans for IP will be produced as the business moves forward and as it becomes clear which IP has original value.  We shall be vigilant in how we use others property, as we develop the technological aspects of the product, by using known verification methods and dealing fairly with any complaints.</p>
<p><strong><em>Question #2:</em> Market:</strong> Who is your customer? Describe the  value proposition: the value your customers will derive from purchasing  your products or services. Why will they buy it? Describe the target  market in terms of size, segmentation and trends. What are the barriers  to market entry?</p>
<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->My first target customer is opinionated and speaks English. Rebels and jesters are the two archetypal customers I want to focus on attracting.  They will lead the generation of important and entertaining content respectively, and will attract audiences.  The value I intend to provide for these customers is a feeling of empowerment, freedom, and community around the questions and debates they value and engage in. They will buy it because it&#8217;s free, entertaining, useful, and adds significance to their lives.  My initial targets are students age 14-30 with a plan to expand into other segments as we achieve traction and profitability.  The main barrier to entry is getting hyper busy people to try it and keep coming back at least once a week.</p>
<p>My second target customer are companies and organizations that want a targeted way of approaching customers with their innovations.  I also believe that the organization of tomorrow wants to share their opinions, values, and stories in an environment where they can control their image and gain valuable understanding of what their customers or followers want from them.</p>
<p><strong><em>Question #3:</em>Distribution.</strong> Describe how you will take your  product to market and reach your customers from a sales and marketing  perspective. What alliances do you intend? How will you overcome  barriers to market entry?</p>
<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->The plan is to build a stand alone web application, then as the alpha product becomes validated by test users, we want to expand the user base by creating a facebook plugin, an iPhone/iPad application, and perhaps other user platforms.  We plan to partner with Google and/or other advertising platforms to provide ads for the site.  My friend Jon Taylor is working on an new ad platform that provides greater returns for high traffic sites called PublisherParnter (<a title="A new ad serving platform" href="http://www.publisherpartner.com" target="_blank">http://www.publisherpartner.com</a>) which could also be a strategic choice.</p>
<p>I use the terms alpha and beta as signposts for major new features and design upgrades.  I want to use agile development practices, and continuous deployment to keep iterating as much as possible between these versions.</p>
<p>After the alpha version has traction (1st quarter of 2011 or sooner) development of a simple multi-theme system will be added. Then for the beta version (end of 2011 or sooner), we will create portals to the game for our initial target market, as well as expand into other verticals.</p>
<p>Later marketing plans include a speaking/party tour at select universities and colleges to attract beta testers. Otherwise I plan to make use of social media campaigns, viral video campaigns, and current online advertising to expand the client base.  I&#8217;ve been tinkering with my own dance talent as a promotional tool, and initial test videos can be viewed for your entertainment at <a title="My youTube channel" href="http://youtube.com/jazzmann71" target="_blank">http://youtube.com/jazzmann71</a></p>
<p>After go live (end of 2012 or sooner) I want to add multi-language support to move into broader cultural market segments and really see if we can scale to hit as much of the world as possible.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve been working on aligning &#8220;the story&#8221; of the company and the product with legendary themes like the magical peace that occurs in Arthurian legend. If plans and execution can speed up successfully, I would like to match our marketing efforts, for the launch, to the end of the Mayan calendar in late 2012 for additional effect. What better time for a revolutionary world opinion system to come into play, than the beginning of a &#8220;new&#8221; age.  Also, I believe these stories are deeply embedded across cultures and provide a cheap way to catch the imagination of potential customers.</p>
<p><strong><em>Question #4:</em>Competition.</strong> Who are your existing or potential  competitors? Describe your company and product’s primary competitive  differentiators. What makes you unique, better? What makes your  competition threatening? How might competitors react to the introduction  of your product or service?</p>
<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->My competitors include: Facebook and other social networks; Yahoo Answers and other answer focused providers; eRepublik and other social gaming companies; as well as news media sites and their comment systems. I believe we are different from these sets of competitors by combining key ideas from all four in a new and unique way.</p>
<p>First, social networks are great for connecting and sharing thoughts and media, but they provide a one way spew of information and create massive amounts of repeat data.  We want people to connect around reusable content in a much more focused environment.</p>
<p>Second, answer focused providers are great at providing fact based information, but what about opinions and the questions that people identity with around &#8220;unanswerable&#8221; or debatable ideas.  They have the engines for what we want to accomplish, but have a very different vision of what customers want.</p>
<p>Third, social games are focused on creating entertainment value and are generally regarded by non-game players as a &#8220;waste of time&#8221;.  eRepublik in particular has done a superb job of virtualizing ideas like newspapers, and elections, but they have included many terrible ideas too.  These include the division of the world into nations and military components as the game&#8217;s main driver.  Thus they tend to encourage radical nationalism and a very immature form of competition. We want to divide people into virtual roles based on how they participate in game, create collaborative competitive systems, and virtual elections based on who you know and agree with. Also, by dividing the virtual world into borderless colored kingdoms, rather than states, we hope to create a way for people to understand humanity as a whole and help encourage peace and free discussion across cultures.</p>
<p>Last, news media sites repeat the same questions day after day.  They also provide comment sections where people tend to rage against either the media or the people in the stories.  The problem is they treat these comments as &#8220;worthless&#8221; and end up shunting repeated argument after repeated argument into massive archives.  Sure you can search and mine it, but why not treat users comments as more valuable by providing a system where people can share their opinion without repeating themselves.  They might even feel more heard and be less angry over time.</p>
<p>Furthermore, privacy and sharing are common issues to all of my competition and they tend to approach it haphazardly.  Social networks have gotten a handle on private and public sharing, but lack a way for anonymity.  News sites provide public anonymity, but quite often lack ways to connect with other commenters.  We have an advanced approach for allowing privacy and connection that no competitor I can find has implemented yet.</p>
<p>Facebook could pivot into us, but they seem focused on expanding their sharing model rather than changing it&#8217;s core functionality.  News sites could also revamp the way they approach editorials, but are unlikely to stop their repetitive ways, since that is how they get people to come back day after day.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m unsure how the competition will react to our entry, but I expect the news sites to attempt to mirror what we are doing, if we are successful.  There is also the potential for governments to develop similar systems, but it seems unlikely that they will pair their content management with game mechanics, since games are often viewed as not &#8220;serious&#8221;.</p>
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<td rowspan="2" width="160" height="68" align="CENTER"><strong>Feature</strong></td>
<td width="124" align="CENTER"><strong>GAIA.org</strong></td>
<td colspan="4" width="620" align="CENTER"><strong>Competitors</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="CENTER"><strong>QuestionCollector</strong></td>
<td align="CENTER"><strong>Facebook &amp; Social Networds</strong></td>
<td align="CENTER"><strong>Yahoo! Answers and Answer focused services</strong></td>
<td align="CENTER"><strong>eRepublik and other social games</strong></td>
<td align="CENTER"><strong>News media and their comment sections</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="17" align="CENTER">question centric</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#23ff23">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">somewhat</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">over duplication</td>
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<tr>
<td height="17" align="CENTER">organized debate system</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#23ff23">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
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<td height="17" align="CENTER">virtual elections</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#23ff23">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
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<td height="18" align="CENTER">participation based roles</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#23ff23">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">eRepublick, but not others</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
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<tr>
<td height="17" align="CENTER">user selected themes</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#23ff23">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">usually a different game</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
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<td height="17" align="CENTER">collaborative game</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">somewhat</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
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<td height="17" align="CENTER">user network</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
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<tr>
<td height="17" align="CENTER">ranking system</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">like</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">like</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">thumbs up or down</td>
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<tr>
<td height="17" align="CENTER">privacy controls</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">public and private</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">all public</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">all public</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">mostly anonymous</td>
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<tr>
<td height="18" align="CENTER">reusable opinion storage</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">hard to get to</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">mostly facts</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">eRepublick newspaper</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">archived</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="17" align="CENTER">identity management</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#00ff00">x</td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ff0000"></td>
<td align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00">mostly anonymous</td>
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<p><strong><em><br />
Question #5:</em>Financial.</strong> Describe your revenue model— how you  plan to make money.  What have you spent to date? What funds have been  raised? How much money do you need? When do you need it? What will you  do to raise any additional funds required for your product/service? When  will your venture be cash-flow positive? What significant assumptions  have you made?  What risks have you identified?</p>
<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->The main sources of revenue I intend to go after include selling: online advertising space, a subscription model for companies and organizations to access the game, virtual goods/currency for players, and no-ad subscriptions for players who want the ad-free experience.  I also have an idea for users to sell their data to subscribed organizations and collect a transaction fee while passing the payment to the user.  The brokerage idea is out of scope for the moment, but I think it has potential to really add significant revenue down the line.  Other ideas include brand licensing, a centralized theme store, and party tour ticket sales.</p>
<p>I have spent approximately $1500 to date. Mostly on hosting, logowork, and  self development via business seminars, as well as, entry into this contest.  I plan on spending another $1200 or so to incorporate in the coming weeks, so that I can apply for IRAP funding.  I have very little funds available to me and my runway is about 6 months or I may have to get a &#8220;real&#8221; job again.</p>
<p>I have raised zero dollars. I am looking for a seed round of investment in the range of $50,000 to $200,000 to get to validated alpha version within the next 12 months or so.  If discussions with my potential partner go well, I may need even less than this to get through these initial stages.  I want to get funding of some kind arranged by September 2010 or sooner so that I can speed up my efforts.  As the business grows, I, or someone more qualified than I, will raise additional funds ahead of when they are required. I would approach angel investors, investor groups, and venture capital funds to secure the required funds, but would like to run as small a ship as possible until we have some positive cash flow occurring.</p>
<p>I have assumed, based on overwhelmingly positive feedback, that people want such a place to vent their opinions, and while many don&#8217;t understand how it can be a game I&#8217;m positive I can build it. I am assuming that companies and advertisers are still looking for the next big thing even as facebook and twitter make moves to work out their business models.  I am assuming that companies will pay a subscription fee to gain access to the valuable information that I am assuming my users will generate as the game gains traction.  I assume that the online advertising market will continue to expand rapidly and that the social gaming market is going to continue to explode.   I also have assumed, based on other virtual game companies success, that a small percentage of users will pay for virtual goods to enhance their experience.  Lastly I&#8217;ve assumed that the site will have high repeat traffic and be able to generate significant advertising revenue.</p>
<p>Risks I&#8217;ve identified are Facebook or other social gaming companies developing a similar game.  Another is that people won&#8217;t play or that we won&#8217;t achieve the virality necessary to retain users and keep content generation up.  There is a risk that governments begin taxing virtual good sales.  Another would be that advertisers may not want to advertise with us due to our policies or the customers we attract.  There are technical risks associated with repeated use content, especially when many interrelationships form in the data.  There is a minimal risk that storage becomes an issue as contributions of content rise quickly.  Of course, we could run out of money trying to make it both fun and cool and investors might shun us for some reason, but I don&#8217;t know what reason that would be.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s it.  It&#8217;s due Monday the 10th at 5:30 PST. I would love any last comments or suggestions for inclusion or modification by 1pm.  Again, thanks for reading, if you made it this far, I&#8217;m forever grateful.</p>
<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/business/help-me-make-round-three/ ">Help me make it to round three!</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
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		<title>Dance Video #1</title>
		<link>http://g-a-i-a.org/journal/dance-video-1/</link>
		<comments>http://g-a-i-a.org/journal/dance-video-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:05:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jazzmann91</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crazy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dancing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peace]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wizard]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://g-a-i-a.org/?p=355</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After having seen the videos, I know I should practice and choreograph way more.  For some reason I pride myself on my innovative freestyling, but on video it needs to snap and pop...<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/journal/dance-video-1/ ">Dance Video #1</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I mentioned before that <a title="dancing guy response" href="http://g-a-i-a.org/gratitude/im-a-nut" target="_self">I&#8217;m a nut</a>, and also that I am doing <a title="Shpongolese Spoken Here" href="http://g-a-i-a.org/inspiration/shpongolese-spoken" target="_self">tribute videos for my biggest musical heroes</a>.  The main goals of this marketing project are to:<br />
1) get some attention from my friends and see if anyone else wants to watch a crazy person make a fool of himself<br />
2) attempt to pierce public imagination and start a viral campaign to drive some traffic to my website<br />
3) during Take 1 show my raw craziness and dedication to my role as wizard for peace (someone called me a propeller head once (I think they were right) (I should get a purple wizard hat with a propeller on top))<br />
4) during Take 2 release do some market research to help identify: A) who my customer is and B) will they play this game with me?</p>
<p>I&#8217;m pretty sure it will take more than the first few videos to get much traction, but I&#8217;m happy with the results and want to give a big thank you to <a title="Dan's website" href="http://www.hoggwildfilms.com/" target="_blank">Daniel Hogg</a> for <a title="Dan's YouTube" href="http://www.youtube.com/hoggwildfilms" target="_blank">filming and editing</a> this round.</p>
<p><span id="more-355"></span>Here it is: <a title="My youTube debut" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP4blNQuPKU" target="_blank"></a><a title="My youTube debut" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP4blNQuPKU" target="_blank">Easy featuring Valeska  by Trick &amp; Kubic on Tall Paul&#8217;s album The Beat Technique</a>.<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EP4blNQuPKU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EP4blNQuPKU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> <a title="Gaia on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/wizard_71" target="_blank">Follow us on twitter</a> or <a title="Gaia on Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Golden-Age-Information-Architects/226206111822" target="_blank">facebook  fan page</a> for release of Take 2 ~ Jamiroquai</p>
<p>I learned a few things about filming dance videos in one short sunset on <a title="purple costume buying" href="http://g-a-i-a.org/business/purple-wizard-dance" target="_self">Canada&#8217;s Gold Medal winning day</a>.  First was lighting and location.  My original spot wasn&#8217;t good due to the setting sun, but we found some spots that worked nearby.  After the game everyone in downtown Victoria was honking and yelling, as most Canadians were all across the country of King Crosby.  I got some funny looks walking through the red and white crowd dressed in my purple and white outfit.  The celebrants made me a little late, because the gridlock slowed transit to a standstill.</p>
<p>I made it in time, before the sun went down and we quickly shot three songs in three different spots, along the inner harbour.  First mistake was choosing songs that were around 4-6 minutes long, which was more than enough to wear me out quickly.  I may be in decent shape, but I definitely lack endurance.</p>
<p>I think when we do the best of compilation, a few years from now, we&#8217;ll take clips of some of my more proficient looking bits and somehow stitch it together.  Aside from avoiding shadows and weird guys who said I should be black to where a white suit, my next lesson was &#8220;Tuck your shirt into your underwear!&#8221; to avoid unnecessary unkempt looking bits.  You&#8217;ll know when you see it.</p>
<p>After having seen the videos, I know I should practice and choreograph way more.  For some reason I pride myself on my innovative freestyling, but on video it needs to snap and pop, and I can definitely improve by practicing at home first.  The other thing I noticed is too much bent elbows, look passive somehow.  I&#8217;m going to go setup my youTube account now.  I&#8217;ll add the link as soon as I have the first one up.  I&#8217;ve decided to only use two of the first three.  The third one goes in the secret archive.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading and watching!</p>
<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/journal/dance-video-1/ ">Dance Video #1</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
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		<title>seminars and pitch update</title>
		<link>http://g-a-i-a.org/business/seminars-pitch/</link>
		<comments>http://g-a-i-a.org/business/seminars-pitch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:52:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jazzmann91</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kingdom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pitch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seminars]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://g-a-i-a.org/?p=307</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The QuestionCollector is a sociopolitical game of debate, for Internet users who want to create peace with words instead of weapons. It provides a fun and neutral architecture for questioning everything. Unlike current social  games the QuestionCollector is fun AND useful to your world.<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/business/seminars-pitch/ ">seminars and pitch update</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Over the last two days I attended two seminars at the local technology park.  One was on product positioning and marketing and the other was on intellectual property and business structure.  Both were useful and it was good to get out and meet some local entrepreneurs.  Thanks to <a title="Lawyers site" href="http://www.gowlings.com/" target="_blank">Gowlings</a> and <a title="Technology Business Association" href="http://viatec.ca" target="_blank">VIATec</a> for hosting!</p>
<p>Here is our current positioning statement:<br />
The QuestionCollector is a sociopolitical game of debate, for Internet users who want to create peace with words instead of weapons. It provides a fun and neutral architecture for questioning everything. Unlike current social  games the QuestionCollector is fun AND useful to your world.</p>
<p>Read on for the draft text of my media pitch and let me know what you think of it or my positioning statement.</p>
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<p><!-- 		@page { margin: 0.79in } 		P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->My name is Scott Lewis.  I am chief wizard at Golden Age Information Architects. My mission is to encourage peace and free discussion. Watching the social game market grow through it&#8217;s infancy has led me to believe the easiest way to get people talking about what really matters is to build a game for debating.  Thus, I am designing a text based gaming network that will help us identify our unifying ideals and our most divisive issues.  Then, maybe we can get on with the ones that have a clear mandate and continue to slug it out with words for the remaining ones.</p>
<p>When I tell people I&#8217;m making an online game, people automatically assume it&#8217;s not serious and that it&#8217;s just for entertainment purposes.  While the game being fun is very important, I also think games can be very serious and powerful tools for change.  You may have noticed politicians have been playing games, often with less than desirable outcomes, for centuries. Often they end up playing in ways that stop progress rather than encourage it.  If the amount of apathy in western democracies is any indication, most of us think those in power don&#8217;t represent our collective interests and .  Additionally, the power games they play have long favored those who use force against others, whether it be economic, military, or religious in nature.  It&#8217;s time for a new game!</p>
<p>This is where GAIA comes in.  The sandbox we&#8217;re creating will combine the power of social networking with a structured platform for everyone to express their philosophies, opinions, and debates.  Users will create and manage content and earn experience and virtual goods to promote or oppose the positions they agree or disagree with.</p>
<p>The game will be free for people. In the initial stage, profitability will be driven by the sale of advertising, no-advertising subscriptions, and virtual goods.  Virtual goods are items that augment players in-game abilities and can be earned through participation or paid for by those who want immediate access. At a future stage, we plan to broaden the revenue stream by opening the door to non-people players via a subscription basis, so organizations and corporations can share and promote their values and opinions too.</p>
<p>One key to the game will be the non-duplication of questions. The world is facing some big questions like &#8220;Why are we fighting?&#8221; and &#8220;How can we control climate change?&#8221;, amongst others.  These questions are repeated ad nausea in current media regimes. In our playground we will stop the repetition and create permanent communities around questions.  People will be able to follow the questions they identify with and add their answers, select the ones they like, oppose the ones they think are wrong, or just watch the debates rage.</p>
<p>A second key aspect will be a  borderless, non-partisan election system with a hierarchy for each of the ten role types, such as Moderators and Questioners.  This will allow leaders of all types to advance and work together in a whole new way.  Additionally, user will have the ability to compare themselves with other users and see where they agree and disagree, which will make selecting people to follow and support much easier.</p>
<p>Finally, beyond the core engine of the game there will be multiple themes to add flavor and hit multiple market segments.   Some people will like it straight up, some will want to be the King or Queen and will use the monarchy theme, while others will be able to write their own themes and share them with friends.  The theming system won&#8217;t affect user driven content, it will simply provide a more interesting way for people to interact depending on their personal tastes.</p>
<p>To wrap up I&#8217;ll touch on the revolutionary intellectual property I&#8217;m working on.   A multicolored ranking system will determine which kingdom each question, answer, tag, user and debate falls into.  An advanced privacy control system, also using the seven colors will allow users<a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/wp-content/uploads/heptogramObjects.png"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-225" title="heptogramObjects" src="http://g-a-i-a.org/wp-content/uploads/heptogramObjects-300x231.png" alt="" width="300" height="231" /></a> to operate on thier own terms.  Some will stay anonymous and use the system as a personal journal, others will only share with their colleagues, and as current trends indicate, many will have lots to say publicly too.  All this combines together in the seven colored kingdoms of the Question Collector.  I hope you&#8217;ll come play with me when it&#8217;s ready.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading!</p>
<p><a href="http://g-a-i-a.org/business/seminars-pitch/ ">seminars and pitch update</a> by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to <a href="http://g-a-i-a.org">Question Everything</a>.</p>
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