Grants/Search for me.
Describe the project you are proposing as clearly as possible in just five sentences.
I am looking to do human search assistance right. Through a frictionless mobile payment system, a rating system similar to Guru.com and Ebay.om, and a transparent "get-to-know-your-search-assistant" CRM (getsatisfaction.com)- "search for me dot com" (working title) will spawn in the University-minded networks like our ubiquitous pal- Facebook.com. Hot-headed and cramming for that exam? Try your cool-headed search sister or brother (they may be down the hall). Each definitive query is only a buck. One US dollar...
Detail the tangible project output (e.g., paper, blog post, written materials, video/film, etc.; this would be in addition to the final written report that successful grant recipients will be expected to deliver to CC at the conclusion of the project).
Using a tentative but robust (API-centric) masheable (Twitter.com, UStream.tv, Zong.com, Amazon AWS, more...) whereby I promote a singular professional logo (and I Mean, Promote.) across the WWW that is attached to a slogan, "Leverage your time. Let us search for as little as a $1 USD"; "Search4me.com" (working title) will search for University test-crammers, Business deadline-procrastinators, Doctors saving a life, “shopaholics”... I do the promoting. You interview for an 2, 4, 6, or 8 hour work day with benefits (to be announced as soon as monetarily possible). Yes I said BENEFITS. (Web company benefits may be a dimension where Creative Commons.org may be especially interested.) Just come to one URL and join today!
Describe the community you are targeting. How would the project benefit the community?
As we mentioned above in the "Tangible Project Output" the community is the world. If a kid in Tanzania has found an unusual fascination with the web and has a demonstrable; inordinate ability to "connect the dots" in relation to his English skills and helping people find what they need on the web then his reputation goes up across our platform model. (We are looking at a Guru.com system or Ebay.com but please consider us allergic to the idea of "quantifying" any human being.) Special note: Once our platform becomes successful, I have a personal plan for my local community of Rochester, NY. Its economy, like everyone elses is 'in the toilet'. Additionally, I am very interested in Googles view on linguistics and namely 'L.L. Zamenhoff'- the inventor of 'Esperanto.' To help facilitate young adults who have a nacent English speaking-and-learning program we can develop an Esperanto system that is incorporated into a YouTube like closed-captioning narration platform. Translateable into over 30 languages. :)br />
I am an idea freak. I have no demonstrable proof of previous projects. I compulsively make ideas and document them. If I were considered for this small grant, I would use it directly to ignite 'working title "search4me.com"' and get the attention I require to make this project a reality in the time delineated. One year maximum. The subsequent self-esteem gathered from succeeding at having my first of several viable ideas would be a "tipping point" that would veritably plaster the entire web with my lifes vision(s). (Sorry but its been a long time a comin'...)
How will you measure and evaluate your project’s impact - on your main participants? Other contributors? On the larger community?
I intend on using simple widespread tools such as Google Analytics for growth watching, http://getsatisfaction.com/ for grassroots forum support and www branding proliferation, 'Basecamp' et al for small-business micro managing. Additionally, I have been approved to have 'Spiral' downloaded for educational reasons as well. I am a guitar teacher by nite. Feedback will be collected in more than one way. As mentioned earlier a rating system will be implemented but also I will use http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/ email tracking system.(JIRA sample snapshot: http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c371/dogbreath24/FreebasecomAtlassianJIRA.png) It at least says to the consumer, "Hold on, we're getting to you and in the mean time here is your request laid out on paper." A contract if you will.
How many participants do you expect to be involved in your project? How will you seek and sustain their involvement?
A tight team of four maximum for a long time. Then, when we have the talent and/or money- we will hire special workers as needed. Andrew Carnegie began his business by writing "promissary notes". He would sit down with a possible partner and rollout his plan on paper. If they liked what they saw as well as heard, they got a 'promissary note'. It was a contract saying that for their time now, they would be rewarded in-kind by a specific and measurable deadline in the future. I also have had some interpersonal training at 'enrolling people in ones vision'. This is a kind of skill-set that, among other things, articulates to your listener just "what is in it” for the listener. This is a fundamental business relationship centered around the age old definition of business, "Find a (human) need and fill it."
Additionally, I have spent many hours in the 'grant and proposals' section of sites like Guru.com and iFreelance.com. I feel there is hope in finding at least one talented writer who relates to my business plan as outlined here today. :)
Describe how your project will benefit Creative Commons' mission to increase the amount of creativity (cultural, educational, and scientific content) in "the commons".
The working title "search4me.com" will come in direct-opposition to the search engine giants themselves. Bing, Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia (Powerset, Cuil, Ehow, Freebase,..) etc. will witness an unprecedented WWW monetizing platform. I am not, nor is anyone else, allowed into these entities most coveted algorithms. However this idea- born from the market of iPad.com and Googles 1000-city broadband experiment (not to mention Broadband.gov) reveal the imminent reality of video-chat being more and more ubiquitous in society. The smart-phone market is said to have over forty-million users already (WIKI 'smart phone'). Doctors are giving out their email addresses to patients- preparing for video consultations on the horizon. Admittedly, even with 4G being the next fastest in wireless, mobile- my biggest market will not be fast enough for two-way streaming video transactions at the present time.
Describe what technologies and tools your project will use. What kinds of technical skills and expertise do you bring to the project? What are your technical needs?
I will use UStream.tv for live streaming where and when applicable. There are several chat and email managing clients. Basecamp is a great intranet manager. For internet (a website UI), I am looking at spicebird.com. Zong.com for expediant and accessible payment options. There are also facsimiles I am looking at currently. Google check-out is also an ubiquitous and viable option. Personally I had an identity theft incident with PayPal.com and getting resolution has soured my taste for Paypal.com to be included here as an online payment option.
More importantly, I need a platform and server after the mash-up generates enough cash to pay for about $750 a month in bandwidth. Amazon AWS servers are my main choice as of now. Facebook technology to promote and connect -as well as Twitter. My technical needs will be basic website-running jargon- a decent vocabulary that either I can describe or another web-designing developer can use effectively. I will need this 'know-how' when mashing-up existing entities and and ultimately moving it all to Amazon servers.
What challenges do you expect to face, and how do you plan to overcome them?
The main challenges I expect to face are: (1) Communication- using the right tool for the job. I have enough awareness about how to move my mouth muscles at the age of 42. However, understanding a bug in my 'pipes/API' will require capturing accurate descriptions of the problem, retrieving that info, and then delivering it in a request to a help desk such as iyogi.net and syschat.com. We cannot do alot of explaining on behalf of the masheables parts- Ustream.tv, Zong.com, Google checkout etc. We will have to in some cases lose a customer or two if they simply cannot approach our masheable as it exists in its First stage. We fully expect the masheable to function and deliver and the Second stage- an Amazon platform will be much more serious but easier to divine because Amazon has a help desk. Additionally during a popularity spike we may become inundated with emails. I hope I can handle these if I realistically convey my (and my teams) time and/or talent limitations and abilities respectively.
How do you plan to sustain your project after the Creative Commons funding has ended? Detail specific plans. How do you plan to raise revenue to continue your efforts in the future?
As I have gradually indicated in the previous questionaire boxes, I have visited Guru.com and iFreelance.com sites and there are many gifted proposal and grant writers within their 'hallowed halls'. I know I can approach them for a solution. Kickstarter.com and Ycombinator.com also come to mind If I actually 'win' your careful consideration, I will naturally use that as endorsement for future requests of money building-blocks. I have latent promoting talents (please see my frequency on the web) and am a gregarious and out going self-promoter. I actually thrive on promoting the human spirit. :) Lastly, I am a profiteer. I build to profit. If I were a Jimmy Wales, I would build first and then attract fans sympathetic and empathetic to my cause(s). At this point in my appeal to you, I hope I can convey my certainty that the "search4me" working title exists to profit the human being intrinsically, but also in the purse!
How can this project be scalable, or have a scalable impact?
Anyone during this economic time that can go to work for an eight-hour day on their laptop or internet kiosk (with any amount of breaks in between) and build a 'virtual rapport' with complete strangers from across the globe will develop a scalable Self-Esteem. :) Together with 'over-communication' from their head team (me and the gang) and positive ratings and personal endorsements from customers we hope to fill this company out like Tony Hsiehs Zappos.com! Please see http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com/. And if I may, like Joichi Ito.
What resources and support do you expect Creative Commons to provide to your project to ensure its success (if any)?
Their may not be a fraction of what I may come to expect of Creative Commons.org presently. I have older, bolder ideas. And they all involve peopleware for some reason. So sites like Groklaw and Pamela Jones are are of importance to me. The People begin to tell you how they would like your business to be run when you reach a point. This is a good place to be. And I will be listening when 'Search4me.com' reaches those people.
Describe how your organization currently communicates with its community members and network partners. (100 words)
SpiralUniverse is a good employee managing and calendar software. It is geared for lesson plans for students but I see using it just as well with monitoring and implementing suggestions for 'employees' performance. We are also interested in the open source modifying of this software: http://citizen-dan.org/.
It will be altered only minimally in order to preserve its core onus of design. Other than that we hold meetings face to face over virtual as often as work and family permits.
Legal
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