The world is overflowing with rapidly accelerating technology. Software that is "state-of-the-art" at the beginning of the month is outdated, flawed, and replaced by the end.
In Bill Gates' day and age, he built computers out of his own basement and that worked out great. But in these days, those who aren't already on or can't get on the boat are lost. A single Google search can tell you within a few results, that there is lots of "flea market" technology out there with applications such as "BurnDVDPro" or "BuyAHouse.com" (These are examples and have nothing to do with the real businesses/applications which probably exist, but I don't know.)
There are tons of talented and innovative people out there, even amongst those "flea market" shops - the problem is that the market shoves aside the 'unprofitable' ventures of small time artists, programmers, musicians, writers, and so forth.
This is where Open Box comes into play.
The problems with those "flea market" products is not that the developers are untalented or "don't have what it takes". The problem is that the the artists, programmers, musicians, have no place to meet and collaborate.
The programmer for "BurnDVDPro" was no marketing genius, and wasn't 'big time' enough to get artists who could design an attractive interface and web site. But the programmer was just as good as any one of those programmers working for Mr. Gates.
Open Box combines the ideas behind Open Source, Shareware, and YouTube, to provide an online community that helps all those freelancing creators.
Here are the main functions of Open Box
- Provides an online storage center where people can upload their work
- Provides an interface that helps people find the work (i.e. code, art, etc.) to be used for their own productions.
- Provides an interface that allows people to 'put themselves out there' to assemble teams and find the help they need.
- Provides an interface that helps people find the people they are looking for.
- Provides an interface to help people present their ideas (much like this, but on a much more specific scale) to get interest and generate a project.
- Provides a new avenue for investment and fund-raising.
- Empowers the collaboration and production of the following:
- Software
- Console games
- Books
- Scripts
- Screenplays
- Movies
Honestly, I can see Open box working (in many ways) as an extension to the "entrepreneur challenge" here, but it is not a necessary part of the project.
Wait a sec, how is this funded?
We all know that a successful business can't be powered by dreams and good-will alone - so where do the dollars that fund this project come from?
First off, Membership is free, and uploading is free...When someone joins and uploads their work to Open Box, they aren't charged a cent. The downloading is free too, so now we have a whole lot of oxygen being exchanged and still no revenue.
Revenue is generated through licensing and royalties. Now, you may think "That's not a very reliable source of income", it is really the best dynamic for this venture. If people use the content provided by Open Box, and end up distributing it (equating to their own success), then the business profits. If people aren't using Open Box successfully, then Open Box doesn't work after all and will not generate Revenue.
In order to download anything, people must agree to the terms of service. When someone just downloads something to try it out or for personal use, they don't pay anything and are not allowed to distribute it. The code, art, and so forth provided in this way may be slightly truncated or watermarked to help ensure that there is no violation of this agreement. To help ensure this even more, Users that don't pay for licensing have other restrictions as well - including a limited number of downloads a month, and limited type of downloads (for example, large pieces of code, elaborate art, and so forth would be off-limits). Users could opt to pay an optional membership fee which would include the attainment and verification of the downloader's real place of residence, phone number, and so forth - to help keep tabs on potential thieves.
If a user wanted to attain a distribution license, they could purchase one for the work being considered. The licenses come in many different kinds and variations, but the key traits of a license would be:
- Commercial or non-commercial - Whether the purchaser can sell the work
- Royalty or non-royalty -Whether the purchaser will pay royalties to the creator and Open Box
- Creative Rights - Whether the purchaser can modify the work (Only valid if the creator opts for Creative restrictions on the work)
The cost for a license is directly affected by the type. A Non-commercial license (obviously non-royalty), would be the least expensive, and the Commercial + Non-Royalty license would be the most expensive. Open Box would handle the exchange of all the works, fees, and royalties - in exchange for a cut of the fees and royalties (probably ranging between 5 and 15%).
Works being used for public institutions such as schools, government, and non-profit or charitable organizations can be used with a free license and specialized terms of use.
Sharing work
The site would have a built in search engine, and would have everything arranged into categories to help people find exactly what they are looking for. (possibly Google). The engine would spotlight unnoticed works, popular works, and so forth, to give everyone a fair chance.
Not all work on the site is open to everyone. One function of the site allows users to collaborate, and have a space to collaborate.
That's the idea behind it all. I am presenting it here to see if there is anyone who has the resources to help bring it to life, and who wants to.
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