Hi all,
To describe what I have in mind is quite complex, so understand that what you're about to read is only a very small part of a much larger picture.
Some of you with a technical background may be familiar with the concept of Git, which is a decentralised version control software application written by Linus Torvalds ( the developer of the Linux operating system ), it is extremely efficient, and as such has gained much popularity, and is used by many large software developers, however it is not strictly limited to developing software, and there's another version of it called GitBook which is used to publish writing.
You may also have heard of Torrents, which are a decentralised file sharing protocol ... and then of course there's Blockchain, which is a decentralised ledger used for cryptocurrencies, although the principles behind this are not limited to applications with crypto.
Another group developed a thing called IPFS, which stands for the Interplanetary File System, which basically means it is content based addressing for files, as opposed to location based addressing ... normally what would happen when you seek a file, is you have to tell the computer WHERE the file you want is located so that it can download a copy, but IPFS combines Git Torrent and Blockchain to create this new paradigm of content based addressing, so that you don't need to know WHERE the content is, you just need to know WHAT the content is.
Now ... what I have in mind is a vision which utilises these things, and eventually combines them into what I refer to as a Project Collaboration Development and Resource Allocation Framework, so that any project can be undertaken in a decentralised manner, and this will all be developed around the concept of Story Telling, because no matter the project you want to develop, whether it is building a machine, or making a movie, everything begins with the story of what you want to do.
My goal is to create this framework, link it to several other things, and test it by way of publishing a story I have in mind, and which story relates to the whole vision this is all about.
Through testing the project on my own projects in this way, the development of the vision is effectively an outcome of the development of the vision, or in other words: each sub-project undertaken, gradually adds to the whole framework, thus bootstrapping itself into existence, and then evolving further every time a new project is undertaken.
Eventually when it is deemed ready, I would then like to open it up for anyone else to use.
That's not even the tip of the iceberg of what this is all about, but it should suffice for a rough understanding.
I hope to use Scrivener ( by Literature and Latte ) as the writing platform to start with, as their software is the closest thing that exists to the requirements I have, and thus it gives the greatest head start, however other software packages better suited to specifically script and screenplay writing would be integrated next, such as WriterDuet, as this story would evolve from text only to including audiovisual components, and then later expanding further to include interactive components.
By combining all these things, I hope to achieve a situation where a story can begin to be published in a decentralised manner, with a certain amount of initial free content to hook the reader, after which they would need to pay to access more content, and the system will remember what they have read, alert them to any changes made in previously accessed text or other content, and show them only that content they have paid to view ( on top of the free content ). Thus revenue can start flowing at the earliest possible stage, as well as building an audience and various other benefits of the system.
If you would like to know more and you have an interest in funding such a vision, please understand first of all that this is just a tiny part of a much greater vision, which is the culmination of a 30+ year academic obsession of mine, relating to the quantification of ecological and social justice and sustainability, and as such, I have a great many pre-requisites which would need to be fulfilled before I would consider partnering with anyone, as I cannot risk 3 decades of my life being wasted by mistakes ... so please, only contact me if you're genuinely interested, and you're willing to accept the idea that no matter how long you listen to me speak about this, you will likely never understand it the way I do, and you will need to be prepared to place a great deal of trust in me, and let go of a lot of control ... your role would be only as an investor, and only on terms that do not sabotage or undermine my objectives vision and principles, UNLESS I get to know you well enough and you convince me that you have something beyond money to offer. While I understand this caveat might put off a lot of investors, that's absolutely fine by me, because I am ONLY looking for the person(s) who remain excited after hearing that, because if you're not still excited, then I already don't trust you, and that's from a very long history of dealing with people of every kind across every industry and many countries.
HOWEVER also note that as I am very familiar with the requirements of investors, while you may not get what you're usually expecting in the way you usually expect it, I do understand the principles of hurdle rates of investment return, risk return, delayed gratification, exit strategy and so on ... and I have built into my plans a way of dealing with these concerns without underminding sacrificing or sabotaging the very reasons I am doing any of it in the first place ... so either you want to find out, or you don't, and that ball is entirely in your court now.
Interesting. I would like to learn more about this concept, which might be of interest to the growing IIPG. Please add me here and contact me directly.
Have you considered grants as well? Since you're attempting to research and produce a new workflow, I think there may be more support for the academic study of the workflow than private investment. Usually, investors want to focus on the ROI of a project or a slate of projects as that much is risky enough. Maybe you could start by studying the workflow of projects past as part of the research?
I have considered both grants and the academic route, but they're actually in the "too hard basket" for my circumstances, and I am also not keen on the government grants route, because the country I live in ( Australia ) is currently run by corrupt imbeciles, and I have no confidence in them whatsoever ... I wouldn't even trust them to make me a sandwich.