Our Mission

Above everything else on my project I hope to convey to you that it is my priority is to create value for others in the marketplace. My greatest belief in business is that a business must create value for the marketplace in which it serves in order to making a lasting impact and survive the competition. Right now social media applications have focused on the value provided to the user. This is great for connecting to people on platforms such as Facebook, however I believe the true value of these applications are in what they can provide for the content creators. 

I have thought of a three (3) tier value approach to bring value to a this new platform. The first value that this project will create in the market place is through the proposed application/website in this project. The second is value created from the project will create value for the content creators. Third, the content creators will create better content, which will create more value for the consumer. 

If I had to sum up my mission for this project in one sentence it would be, to create value in the platform for creators who can give value to the consumers.

Hi, I Need Your Help

Hi, my name is Peter Crawford and this is my first kickstarter campaign. I am currently in law school getting my JD Degree. I have a undergraduate background in Political Science and Business Management from my undergraduate experience. 

I need your help to solve a problem. We have all come to recognize that there is an issue with the production and consumption of our news. The news is told by a small number of large companies that puts people into one or two catagories. The problem is there are more perspectives and more topics than politics that aren’t being discussed. In short, there are huge markets where their needs are not being met. So I propose a way to meet the demands of these markets by creating a website and application that gives people a platform to disseminate, commentate, and create content on a news topic of their choice. I want to create a social news network. This platform was originally going to be called “River News”, as you can see from the profile photo, because I thought it would be a unique way to “stream” news. Instead, I have opened the name up to a poll to see what you guys would think would be an original name for this application.  

 My thought process behind a social news network is that I have noticed, myself included, that we are all addicted to entertainment, whether it is the news, television, social media, or any other content that we are always consuming. This realization began me thinking about how the entertainment industry has expanded over the last 40-50 years and more recently how it has expanded with social media. We have moved away from television being our only source of entertainment to platforms such as Youtube, Facebook, and Tik Tok. These platforms do more than just entertain, they create jobs and they sustain creators through monetization of the platform. They have opened up the world of entertainment to more than people just in Hollywood. It has given people new career opportunities where there were none before, and thats is what truly interest me. How can I help to create a way for people to earn a living doing something that they love? After all these platforms simply are a medium in which to reach an audience, and I want to create a new platform to reach new audiance for new people to realize their dreams. 

How does this tie into news? 

I want to create an environment through this platform that can facilitate new jobs for those who have valuable information to give and want to interact with other human beings. The old news platform is dehumanizing and impersonal, which is why it is falling by the wayside.  This new social news network platform will change the news culture so that we follow a person for a certain topic of news rather than organization. The people delivering the news are what make the viewer so invested in the topic as well as the way it is delivered. 

We have seen examples of people like Philip DeFranco, Tim Pool, Steven Crowder, and Sam Sedar all gain attention for their commentary on politics. However, the social news network wont just be about politics it will be about anything and everything news. This could relate to science, education, finance, and so much more. If you look at social media websites there are many accounts like this that get attention

The truth is smaller news outlets have become more and more popular to the general public. They are giving more accurate and well rounded perspectives on the news than the typical large news conglomerates, and have hit markets that have been typically untouched by previous news conglomerates. 

 I believe this for two reasons. The first is that when someone executes a vision for a news station, it is there own unique perspective that makes their commentary and station great. Once you try to expand that vision to others, who then take on their own vision of what the news should be, wires can be crossed, and effective appeal and vision are lost. Therefor, everyone should be empowered to execute their own vision of how they want to connect to their audience to convey the news. 

The second reason is because social media applications have been controlling and delivering more of the news cycle. We consume media faster than ever and all generations, according to poll research, are receiving more news from social media applications than traditional news stations. An example of just how powerful the influence of social media has been on the news can be seen in politics. Politicians have shortened their statements specifically for sound bites or to fit within designated time period of apps so their message can be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the old model is running out of time and it is only a matter of time before some other form of media will take its place.

The social news network is tailored specifically to the news so that we as a society can take ownership of our news and stories. So instead of mixing social media apps like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Snapchat who use short form media to portray the news, or use them to post links back to their website, lets instead create a short and long form social media application for journalist and individuals who haven’t been given a proper voice who want to report the news or simply their story. 

It is the people that will make this application great, but it is our job to provide them with the tools to do that. 

Facts

Our society relies on receiving information instantaneously and according to PEW research a total of 62% of adults receive there news from social media. On its face, it may look like social media controls 62% of the news, but this isn’t correct. Right now 62% of content is being delivered through social media, but it is still echoing the same news of the large news conglomerates.  We have found a fantastic way to deliver the news, but the content being created is not being created specifically for the platform and there is no platform specifically for the news. Originally, social media was used to just amplify or gain more recognition for the media business’, but now it is a standalone business. 

What We Can Accomplish 

TheThree Levels of Value 

 Like I previously stated above there are three levels of value that I believe the market can be best served by making this website and application a reality. First value must be created in the application and website itself. Value will be created through the website and application for two reasons: (1) resources, and (2) tools. Resources will include the the earnings, availability of markets, and customer service for the content creators. Tools will include, long and short form media, the software creation tools on the website and application and varies ways to interact directly or indirectly with your audiance. 

Earnings will be kept almost entirely by the creators. I want content creators to be able to make this their full time job, and in order to do that they need to be paid. In addition to the job itself this will incentivize creators to move to this platform over Youtube and TikTok. This is a resource that will bring more value to creators

Markets will open up to the diversity of opinions and personalities. An event can be viewed by a many different perspectives and there are many different people to deliver them to different markets. This is a resource that will allow a new user to find their niche within the market and bring more value to content creators. 

Customer Service will be available to the content creators. For someone starting out I want to provide them with access to tutorials and customer service on how to use the platform. This will create a easy to learn environment for people starting out if they need it and will provide value to the content creators.  

Long and short forms of media will be available as a tool to create your content. This will include long and short forms of video and audio on which to deliver your content. Currently it is either audio or video through Youtube or Podcast and long or short forms of media through either TikTok and Snapchat or Youtube. This will create value for content creators by giving more option for delivering their content all in one place rather than having more than one platform. 

Software will set this platform apart from another platform on the market. It will include production and editing software for both audio and video for the content creators. This will create a better production value that can create more quality content than any other platform and it will give the opportunity to all entering the market. There will also be an OPEN SOURCE portion of software creation where people may create editing tools to create and design certain filters, effects, and anything that they can possibly think of. This will create value for the creators because they will have more options to create from the platform itself than ever before. 

Interacting directly with followers is key in keeping up engagement to you page. This will be provided by live streams, individual live stream rooms with only a number of your followers, live stream gifts, and more.  This will create value for both the content creators and users of the content. 

Lastly, a very unique feature that will be on this application is the ability to vote on content. Voting will be for truthfulness of the articles and will create more user engagement and value. 

How I Plan To Make It Happen/ Where Your Money is Going 

I plan to make this happen through marketing and unique website and applicaiton design. First, we must draw attention to the platform through a pre-release marketing strategy. This requires a marketing strategy team and campaign. The marketing team  that these proceeds would go to is VaynerMedia. Gary Vayner or Gary V is a marketing expert and would be able to create a campaign that would reach the audience needed. Here is a link to his website: https://vaynermedia.com

 This will bring users to the platform in order to give the content creators an audience to deliver there news. We will superficially create the market before it becomes organic through the content itself. 

Second, is the design of the platform itself and the software that will be used on the website and application. This will use up the majority of the funds. The company that would handle this is hyperlink info system. 

Here is a link to there website: https://www.hyperlinkinfosystem.com

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