Refining the Desperate Idea
First, I used the "subcategories" feature and put all the entries on this idea under it. I thought it might make things a little easier, especially once we start debating multiple ideas.
After hearing each side, I like the idea of opening it to a wider audience and making it a site that people donate money to individuals instead of big corporations where they're not sure where there money is going. In other words, I don't think it is as exciting when it is just for students, and I think the quality of the stories will drive its diffusion across the web.
I picture people posting the following:
- A photo
- A blurb about themselves (100-words)
- A blurb about why they need the money (100-words)
- How much money they need
- When they need it by
People faking their identity is an issue. Having the .edu is a nice way to protect this if we were going the student route. There is probably other ways this could be done.
I think the easiest revenue route (easiest to get) besides Google Adsense would be taking a percentage of each donation. For example, let's say somebody wants $100 dollars. Our system could automatically make it $110 and then we'd take $10. This would be easy to do with the Amazon.com Honor System where I believe you can make a donation campaign with a set amount that shows how far you're along to your goal.
At the most simple level, this idea could be implemented by:
- Creating a blog on this domain.
- Registering a domain and pointing it to this one.
- Soliciting stories - It would be hard to get really good stories at first. I see this being the most time-consuming.
- Telling others
- Posting one new story a day.
As it evolves, there is many ways it could go:
- People submitting videos.
- Discussion boards
- People committing to doing something (ie - eating 100 hamburgers in an hour)
Posted at October 13, 2005 11:48 AM
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