Hello everyone,
Sorry for the long post, but Iâ??d like to propose something to the group.
I’d like to see if there is interest in working on a collaborative
project (eventually a set of projects as things grow), that will
a) Give everyone more experience in working on some of these new
technologies,
b) The ability to go as cutting-edge as possible), and
c) Share in the revenue as the site grows.
What I have in mind is a site deals with a specific industry, and
approaches it in a new way, and that offers all the combined
functionality of a number of different sites, both commercial (pay) and
free sites - plus more. My idea will offer more functionality than any
one of the sites individually (none of which take advantage of any
cutting edge technologies such as AJAX or RAILS). The site would be
much cleaner and much more visually appealing, and will do it in a way
that will appeal to a much broader audience than any of the existing
sites do individually. I’d really like to see this project become a
showcase for the new technologies such as RAILS, and I think it would
make a perfect fit.
The plan is to make a site that has vast appeal, easy to use/navigate,
attract a large number of people through viral growth and the creation
of buzz that then attracts the attention of the more mainstream
communication channels, and monetize the site via Google’s Ad Sense -
keeping the site totally free and thus much more desirable to a much
larger audience. (I’m also open to exploring other ways to bring in
revenue as well).
Long story short, I have a never ending river of great ideas, as Iâ??m
sure we all do, but not enough technical skill or time to implement them
alone. I do have a decent web design skills, a strong design sense and
graphic design background - and experience managing projects.
What I’m looking to do is develop a small group of people who would be
willing to work on these various projects as a collaborative effort, in
their spare/free time from where they are and really develop something
special. I envision that as this starts out and begins to grow some
roots, it would generate a lot of interest just from the fact of its
collaborative nature being worked on by geographical disparate
engineers, coders, designers, etc.
That would then start to get people talking, and people interested in
visiting the site and registering, etc., ultimately resulting in viral
growth and Ad Sense revenue.
At first, the site obviously wouldn’t make much, but a really well done
site that offers more than any other similar to it, with lots of
actually useful functionality for free to the user, and the has the
ability to become a social scene / viral marketing centerpiece, has the
ability to grow quickly and generate a huge recurring revenue stream. I
can give you examples of sites that quickly grew from nothing to several
million users generating tens of thousands of dollars per month in
revenue, primarily or solely from Google’s Ad Sense. Some of the more
well-known sites generate tens of thousands of dollars per day in
income. These are not necessarily massive sites managed by large
companies, with a team of engineers working 24x7. Many of these highly
successful sites were started by 1 or 2 people, and grew quickly from
there. I realize Iâ??m preaching to the choir here, but I donâ??t believe
there has been an opportunity for a group of people to collectively work
on a project like this, and have everyone profit as the site grows more
profitable, over a long period of time. In other words, have ownership
in not only developing something special that brings value to a lot of
people, but marketing it, creating buzz around it, and making money as
the project takes on a life of its own.
If you’re interested in potentially being a part of this, which I hope
you are, I’d need to have an NDA signed so I could talk with each person
in detail about the idea one on one. I’m really looking for some sharp
people who can see the big picture and how they can play a part in it.
The concept has a huge potential, and if I can get a decent number of
people working on the project, no one person would be crushed on time or
effort, but could profit as things grow.
Once the overall methodology and framework is in place, we could apply
that same design/infrastructure to any number of niche markets and
repeat the process, growing and refining things along the way.
Thanks again for reading through this, I know itâ??s a little long, and
please let me know if you’re interested by contacting me at
[email protected]