Show Posts
1
General Discussion / DAC proposal: BitMindshare -- a paid messaging service
« on: June 13, 2014, 03:50:12 pm »
Hello Bitshares community
I am a php/mysql developer and the creator/founder of the MyMindshare paid messaging system, which can be found online at MyMindshare.com. I am new to Bitshares, but I do have experience in working with Bitcoin -- this year I denominated MyMindshare in Bitcoin.
I would like to propose the creation of a DAC which will be granted a MyMindshare affiliate license. Below is the short business plan I have written for MyMindshare which describes how MyMindshare and its affiliate program works. The DAC will be a prototype for subsequent DACs that will have to purchase MyMindshare affiliate licences. We can call the prototype DAC "BitMindshare".
I would like to invite an established and trusted member of the Bitshares community to act as a mentor for me, since I am new to Bitshares and have a limited understanding of some (okay, many) aspects of Bitshares and DACs.
In addition to the site at MyMindshare.com, which is fully operational, and the business plan below, you can also view some videos that I made here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq13ETGL8l9E-TFep92bc2Q
MyMindshare Paid Messaging System
Introduction
Sometimes a message is more valuable to the sender than it is to the receiver, especially when there is a weak or non-existent relationship between the sender and receiver.
Imagine that Alice and Bob are members of a dating service. Alice is very attractive and receives many messages from men in the dating service, to the point where she finds it tiresome to sort through the messages. Bob thinks that Alice is fantastic and he really wants to tell her a little about himself and ask her for a date. How can Bob make it worthwhile for Alice to read his message ahead of all the other men who are sending her messages?
Can you imagine other situations which are analagous to Alice and Bob's? One example that comes to mind is advertising, where consumers play the part of Alice and advertisers play the part of Bob.
When a message is more important to the sender that it is to the receiver, the sender needs to attach some value to the message to make it worthwhile for the receiver. This is especially true in an environment where there are many senders competing for the attention of a receiver, and it is especially true when the marginal cost of sending a message is near zero -- an environment full of spam.
MyMindshare is a paid messaging system that enables senders to attach real value to their messages (“Twitter with an eBay business model”). It does this by combining a bidding and rating system with a surveying and targeting system.
The Bidding System
At MyMindshare.com, users find messages with a bid amount attached to each message. A “bid” is the amount of money a sender attaches to a message for the recipient. The sender can also place a bid for the recipient to visit a web page.
After the recipient reads a message or visits a web page and accepts the bid, the bid amount is transferred from the senders’s account to the recipient's account.
Senders set their own bid amounts, including the option to set a free bid. Messages are sorted by the bid amount so that the highest bids appear first.
A keyword search function allows users to narrow the list of messaages to those that s/he is interested in at the time.
The Rating System
When a recipient accepts a bid, s/he also has an opportunity to rate the message, giving simple feedback in answer to the question, “Was it worthwhile?” The message is then given a rating based on the average of the feedback given by recipients.
By default, the message list is sorted by bid amount, then by rating, so that the highest bids with the highest ratings appear at the top of the list. Users have the option to re-sort the list by rating so that only the highest rated messages appear at the top of the list.
The Surveying System
A surveying system is integrated into the bidding system in such a way that it is a natural part of the process of viewing messages, enabling users to easily build a dynamic profile.
Survey questions appear one at a time as simple yes/no questions and when a user answers a question, new messages are immediately added, based on how s/he answered the question. The new messages will be more relevant and tend to have higher bid amounts, thus rewarding the user for answering survey questions.
The Targeting System
The key to unlocking the value of mindshare is to deliver the right message to the right person. The surveying system enables users to voluntarily profile themselves and the targeting system enables senders to deliver their message based on that profile.
At no time do senders see personally identifying information, thus protecting the privacy of users. Senders know that their messages are delivered to the people who fit the desired profile, but they never know who those people are individually.
In addition to enabling senders to target their messages, the combination of the surveying system and the rating system enables senders to learn the profile of the people who respond positively to their message, thus enabling them to finely target their message to just the right people.
For example, a sender might place a low bid casting a wide net and learn that men between the ages of 25 and 35 who are parents and dine out regularly respond positively to their message. The sender can then post a higher bid amount targeting just those people who fit that profile. This is how messages get more relevant and more valuable to users.
Marketing Plan: The Affiliate Program
The purpose of the affiliate program is to promote the propagation and adoption of the MyMindshare messaging system.
There are two parts of an affiliate business:
-- Growth business
-- Core business
Both businesses require the purchase of an affiliate license to operate.
Growth business: 50% commission on license sales
The growth business is the business of selling MyMindshare affiliate licenses. The advantage of selling affiliate licenses is that the commission on license sales can be as much as 50%, which means that it can get very profitable very quickly. There are, however, some risks in the business of selling affiliate licenses.
New license sales may be limited, suspended, or terminated altogether depending on market conditions related to the Ponzi Risk Factor (see below)
The commission rate on new license sales may change (10% - 50%) depending on the Ponzi Risk Factor.
License holders can re-sell licenses, and may do so at a price below the price of a new license, which may make it more difficult to sell new licenses.
Ultimately, the true VALUE of a license, regardless of the price, will be determined by the quality of the core business that is developed with the license. Due to these risks, only experienced Internet marketing organizations and professionals should consider the purchase of an affiliate license.
Core business: 10% commission on message volume
The core business of MyMindshare is the trading of mindshare, or the sending and receiving of messages. Typically an "Advertiser" is the sender of a message and the "Consumer" is the receiver. However, in the MyMindshare system, anyone can be a sender or receiver.
In the MyMindshare messaging system their are two events from which commission revenue can be generated:
Deposit of funds: 10%
Cash out of funds: 10%
Commission is generated when any user for whom the licensee is indicated as the "source" completes one of these transactions. For example, when an "Advertiser" deposits funds in their account, the licensee will collect a 10% commission, and when a "Consumer" cashes out, the licensee will again collect a 10% commission. Licensees who are the "source" of both the Advertiser and the Consumer will collect a total 20% commission on the transaction value.
There are three ways to grow the core business:
1. Increase registered users
2. Increase the volume and value of messages
3. Sell an affiliate license to someone who does the above
The ultimate value of an affiliate license is determined by the core business that is sourced by the license. A license will become worthless if the core business is not developed.
Ponzi Risk Factor (PRF)
The Ponzi Risk Factor is a calculation of the ratio of growth business to core business in the MyMindshare system. A PRF is calculated for every affiliate license.
If the growth business gets out of proportion to the core business, there is a risk that the business will be perceived as a Ponzi scheme (or a pyramid scheme), which is unethical and possibly illegal. When the PRF is outside an acceptable range, measures must be taken to bring the business into balance by increasing core business or curtailing affiliate license sales.
NOTE: The core business of client licensees is included in the calculation of each license PRF, which means that it is better for PRF to sell licenses to people/organizations that can build the core business.
Create your own affiliate site
MyMindshare affiliate licensees can create affiliate sites on any topic or for any community. A site can be created for a home town or a favorite hobby. Licensees can build a business on the topic they know or topic they love, whether it's fly fishing or financial products.
I am a php/mysql developer and the creator/founder of the MyMindshare paid messaging system, which can be found online at MyMindshare.com. I am new to Bitshares, but I do have experience in working with Bitcoin -- this year I denominated MyMindshare in Bitcoin.
I would like to propose the creation of a DAC which will be granted a MyMindshare affiliate license. Below is the short business plan I have written for MyMindshare which describes how MyMindshare and its affiliate program works. The DAC will be a prototype for subsequent DACs that will have to purchase MyMindshare affiliate licences. We can call the prototype DAC "BitMindshare".
I would like to invite an established and trusted member of the Bitshares community to act as a mentor for me, since I am new to Bitshares and have a limited understanding of some (okay, many) aspects of Bitshares and DACs.
In addition to the site at MyMindshare.com, which is fully operational, and the business plan below, you can also view some videos that I made here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq13ETGL8l9E-TFep92bc2Q
MyMindshare Paid Messaging System
Introduction
Sometimes a message is more valuable to the sender than it is to the receiver, especially when there is a weak or non-existent relationship between the sender and receiver.
Imagine that Alice and Bob are members of a dating service. Alice is very attractive and receives many messages from men in the dating service, to the point where she finds it tiresome to sort through the messages. Bob thinks that Alice is fantastic and he really wants to tell her a little about himself and ask her for a date. How can Bob make it worthwhile for Alice to read his message ahead of all the other men who are sending her messages?
Can you imagine other situations which are analagous to Alice and Bob's? One example that comes to mind is advertising, where consumers play the part of Alice and advertisers play the part of Bob.
When a message is more important to the sender that it is to the receiver, the sender needs to attach some value to the message to make it worthwhile for the receiver. This is especially true in an environment where there are many senders competing for the attention of a receiver, and it is especially true when the marginal cost of sending a message is near zero -- an environment full of spam.
MyMindshare is a paid messaging system that enables senders to attach real value to their messages (“Twitter with an eBay business model”). It does this by combining a bidding and rating system with a surveying and targeting system.
The Bidding System
At MyMindshare.com, users find messages with a bid amount attached to each message. A “bid” is the amount of money a sender attaches to a message for the recipient. The sender can also place a bid for the recipient to visit a web page.
After the recipient reads a message or visits a web page and accepts the bid, the bid amount is transferred from the senders’s account to the recipient's account.
Senders set their own bid amounts, including the option to set a free bid. Messages are sorted by the bid amount so that the highest bids appear first.
A keyword search function allows users to narrow the list of messaages to those that s/he is interested in at the time.
The Rating System
When a recipient accepts a bid, s/he also has an opportunity to rate the message, giving simple feedback in answer to the question, “Was it worthwhile?” The message is then given a rating based on the average of the feedback given by recipients.
By default, the message list is sorted by bid amount, then by rating, so that the highest bids with the highest ratings appear at the top of the list. Users have the option to re-sort the list by rating so that only the highest rated messages appear at the top of the list.
The Surveying System
A surveying system is integrated into the bidding system in such a way that it is a natural part of the process of viewing messages, enabling users to easily build a dynamic profile.
Survey questions appear one at a time as simple yes/no questions and when a user answers a question, new messages are immediately added, based on how s/he answered the question. The new messages will be more relevant and tend to have higher bid amounts, thus rewarding the user for answering survey questions.
The Targeting System
The key to unlocking the value of mindshare is to deliver the right message to the right person. The surveying system enables users to voluntarily profile themselves and the targeting system enables senders to deliver their message based on that profile.
At no time do senders see personally identifying information, thus protecting the privacy of users. Senders know that their messages are delivered to the people who fit the desired profile, but they never know who those people are individually.
In addition to enabling senders to target their messages, the combination of the surveying system and the rating system enables senders to learn the profile of the people who respond positively to their message, thus enabling them to finely target their message to just the right people.
For example, a sender might place a low bid casting a wide net and learn that men between the ages of 25 and 35 who are parents and dine out regularly respond positively to their message. The sender can then post a higher bid amount targeting just those people who fit that profile. This is how messages get more relevant and more valuable to users.
Marketing Plan: The Affiliate Program
The purpose of the affiliate program is to promote the propagation and adoption of the MyMindshare messaging system.
There are two parts of an affiliate business:
-- Growth business
-- Core business
Both businesses require the purchase of an affiliate license to operate.
Growth business: 50% commission on license sales
The growth business is the business of selling MyMindshare affiliate licenses. The advantage of selling affiliate licenses is that the commission on license sales can be as much as 50%, which means that it can get very profitable very quickly. There are, however, some risks in the business of selling affiliate licenses.
New license sales may be limited, suspended, or terminated altogether depending on market conditions related to the Ponzi Risk Factor (see below)
The commission rate on new license sales may change (10% - 50%) depending on the Ponzi Risk Factor.
License holders can re-sell licenses, and may do so at a price below the price of a new license, which may make it more difficult to sell new licenses.
Ultimately, the true VALUE of a license, regardless of the price, will be determined by the quality of the core business that is developed with the license. Due to these risks, only experienced Internet marketing organizations and professionals should consider the purchase of an affiliate license.
Core business: 10% commission on message volume
The core business of MyMindshare is the trading of mindshare, or the sending and receiving of messages. Typically an "Advertiser" is the sender of a message and the "Consumer" is the receiver. However, in the MyMindshare system, anyone can be a sender or receiver.
In the MyMindshare messaging system their are two events from which commission revenue can be generated:
Deposit of funds: 10%
Cash out of funds: 10%
Commission is generated when any user for whom the licensee is indicated as the "source" completes one of these transactions. For example, when an "Advertiser" deposits funds in their account, the licensee will collect a 10% commission, and when a "Consumer" cashes out, the licensee will again collect a 10% commission. Licensees who are the "source" of both the Advertiser and the Consumer will collect a total 20% commission on the transaction value.
There are three ways to grow the core business:
1. Increase registered users
2. Increase the volume and value of messages
3. Sell an affiliate license to someone who does the above
The ultimate value of an affiliate license is determined by the core business that is sourced by the license. A license will become worthless if the core business is not developed.
Ponzi Risk Factor (PRF)
The Ponzi Risk Factor is a calculation of the ratio of growth business to core business in the MyMindshare system. A PRF is calculated for every affiliate license.
If the growth business gets out of proportion to the core business, there is a risk that the business will be perceived as a Ponzi scheme (or a pyramid scheme), which is unethical and possibly illegal. When the PRF is outside an acceptable range, measures must be taken to bring the business into balance by increasing core business or curtailing affiliate license sales.
NOTE: The core business of client licensees is included in the calculation of each license PRF, which means that it is better for PRF to sell licenses to people/organizations that can build the core business.
Create your own affiliate site
MyMindshare affiliate licensees can create affiliate sites on any topic or for any community. A site can be created for a home town or a favorite hobby. Licensees can build a business on the topic they know or topic they love, whether it's fly fishing or financial products.
