The Worldbridges Vision (circa 1998)

August 28, 1998 

     So, here it is - my first real attempt to answer the ever-daunting question  "What is Worldbridges?".  There is still a LOT of fine tuning and idea evolution needed and I very much welcome your feedback, ideas, suggestions, questions, and even your skepticism.  So that everyone I've sent this to can share in the   feedback/tuning process, I set up a discussion board at:... 

Alright, here goes. 

I.    What is Worldbridges? 
II.   Stage 1 - The Travelbridges Plan   

                       WHAT IS WORLDBRIDGES? 

* An Organization dedicated to helping citizens of the world 
better understand each other and get along. 

* A Company dedicated to the fairest possible compensation to those who help build it and maximum value for those who use its services and purchase its products. 

* A Network of internet sites dedicated to the efficient and innovative use of technology to inform, educate, and entertain its visitors. 


THE ORGANIZATION 
   The world is a mosaic of different cultures, languages, perspectives, food, etc.  These differences can be a source of wonder and a source of conflict.  Worldbridges is a place to explore and appreciate the  assortment of life's flavors and expericences.  It is also a forum where  different viewpoints can be openly presented and discussed in a hopes  of reducing the personal animosity too often present amongst those from 
different backgrounds.  Nothing too preachy or dogmatic - just engaging presentations and interactions in which civility is encouraged and common ground acknowledged. 
    The concept of world citizenship is close to the heart of Worldbridges. We are all residents of the same planet and as such share the common interests (and responsibilities) of protecting the global environment  and working toward a harmonious global society. 

THE COMPANY 
     Worldbridges will have two primary sources of revenue - online advertising and product sales.  The basic model for distribution of earnings will go something like this: 
Product Earnings 
   50%  to content creators/producers  (those who take the photos, make the videos and do the work of getting them online) 
   30%   to those who produce, distribute, and promote a product 
                   (mostly Books, CD-Roms, & Videos) 
   10%  to the shareholders in the form of dividends 
   10%  to the Worldbridges Building Fund 

Advertising Revenue 
   70%  to the site managers (management teams) 
   20%  to the Worldbridges Online Operations Team 
   10%  to the Worldbridges Building Fund 
   
     These are rough guesses at appropriate percentages and the numbers may  have to vary in order to cover operating expenses.  Still, the commitment to maximize earnings for those who actually  do the work (creating the content and products, and  maintaining the sites) will remain.  Of course for this system to work, accounting will need to be meticulous and public.  

   The ownership of the company should also evolve in a way to reflect the global nature of the company.  Although Worldbridges LLC is registered in the US and  the initial stock offering is being made to a predominantly American group,  I don't want this to be an American-centric/'made in the USA' kind of company.  This is 
partially why shareholding is currently limited to 1% of the company.  After the initial offering, another block of shares will be distributed as compensation for site managers and as prizes for outstanding content producers. 

    The purpose of the building fund is to provide assistance to those who wish to participate in bridge building, but don't have the financial or material resources to do so.  Some kind of advisory board will need to be formed, most likely from a combination of shareholders and site managers. 

   There are no doubt a lot of legal and logistic  hurdles to clear in order to  create this kind of company structure, so some of these mechanisms may not be officially set up right away.  Still, we will adhere these basic values as much as possible from the start. 


THE NETWORK OF SITES 
     The internet is increasingly becoming a broadcast medium.  With a standard modem, it is now possible to listen to streaming audio while simultaneously viewing a series of photos.  It is also possible to view small, relatively low quality videos.    There are hundreds of radio and TV stations who have put their broadcasts online, but there has been very little use of this technology by 
individuals who produce their own audio and video.  Worldbridges will do so, in effect creating a 'people's network'.  Everything from travelers' narrated slideshows to teachers' online lessons to someone's video coverage  of a news event that just so happens to be occurring around the corner. These kinds of materials have the addes benifit of producing materials well suited to publishing on CD-Rom and video. 

   As connection speeds continue to increase, the internet and television will  essentially merge.  I can foresee a time ( in the not so distant future) when  Worldbridges features hundreds of regular broadcasts. 
This Week on Worldbridges: 
* Tia Maria's weekly Mexican cooking show on Foodbridge 
* Sandrine's coverage of Milan's spring shows on Fashionbridge 
* The Kimchee Girls live concert from Seoul on Musicbridge 
So far, 33 domain names have been purchased.  As interest and funds 
permit, additional names can be reserved (currently selling for 
$35/year).  Names purchased thusfar: 

Wordbridge    kidbridge    teenbridge        
bestof98    familybridge    teacherbridge    artbridge    
musicbridge    sportsbridge    sexbridge    bestof97    
koreabridge    celticbridge    americanbridges    africanbridges    
asianbridges    foodbridge    schoolbridge    indiabridge    
thaibridge    eurobridges    lawbridge    bestof99    
moviebridge    travelbridges    newsbridge    photobridge    
timebridges    gamebridge    fashionbridge    worldbridges 
pusanweb 
        Strikethrough indicates domains that are no longer registered to Worldbridges  

II.  Stage 1 - The Travelbridges Plan 

    The first site to begin  building is Travelbridges (travelbridges.com). I plan to spend at least the first three weeks of September based on KhaoSan Road in Bangkok.  KhaoSan Road is one of the largest hubs of backpacker activity in the world.  People from all over pass through on there way to 
somewhere else or to take a break from the rigors of budget travel and enjoy  a vegetable burger while watching bootleg copies of the latest Western movies. 
   During this time, I plan to set up the basic infrastructure of the site  (including as many self posting travel info boards as possible), upload an online  exhibition of travel writing, photos, and videos, and 'get the word' out in a big  way that Travelbridges is the place to read and share the latest info and publish your creative works.  I also hope to find enough people willing to share 
the burden and profits of maintaining the site. 

 SITE INFRASTRUCTURE - TRAVEL INFO BOARDS 
     In the beginning posting categories will be rather general (i.e. 
travelbridges.com/Thailand/Beaches, travelbridges.com/India/Rajastan). 
Vistors can post information about the accomadations, food, sites, etc. 
As data accumulates, additional categories will be added and information will be sorted into appropriate topics in each section ( i.e. travelbridges.com/Thailand/KohTao/Accomadations, 
travelbridges.com/India/Rishkesh/Yoga )   Each section will need a technical manager and an editor (possibly the same person) to sort through the postings, compile the most useful into an online guide and probably delete nasty/inappropriate postings that will no doubt appear.  They can also produce multimedia materials 
for that section.  Those that manage each section will receive the bulk of  advertising revenues generated by that section.  Periodically, the accumlated  information can be published as a Travelbridges Guide.  Ideally, these will be supported by advertising and so can be distributed online and in the appropriate 
regions for free.  The idea is not to compete with Lonely Planet or Let's Go, but to supplement them with the latest info from the road.  After all, these will not be comprehensive, reliably researched guide books, but basically word of mouth publications. 

  THE ONLINE EXHIBITION 
   Most travelers either take photos or videos and are inspired to write journals, poems, funny letters home, or something, and of course everyone has at least a few travel stories to tell.  The idea here is to encourage  people to share this stuff online and in the process gain copyright protection and a share of the proceeds if their materials are used in any published product. 

   I will be putting up lots of flyers and sponsoring promotions at some of the many internet cafes on KhaoSan Road.  I hope to gather and upload the following kinds of materials: 
Writings:  Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction (Journals, Reports, Commentaries) 
Photos:  Stand Alone, Photos Essays (Written), Narrated Slide Shows (Audio) 
Video:  Clips from people's travel footage, Bangkok area travel guide pieces 
        On the street pieces (interviews, reports, sights and sounds) 

  I may also try to produce a Virtually Live Weekend from KhaoSan Road.  Aside from using online voice chat programs to have travelers phone home,  we would also produce something like Saturday Night Live from Khao San Road and upload before Saturday Night in Europe and the Americas. This would likely include coverage of real exhibitions here of materials 
already generated. 

  This is an experimental phase and there will no doubt be a lot of trial and error and unforeseen challenges.  If I am working alone, the amount of content will be limited by the hours in the day.  If, however, I can  generate enough excitement and participation amongst travelers, the local film making community ( I plan to visit the local film schools), and the omputer jockeys (here and those tuned in from afar), then this can wind up being one mega-exhibition.  At the very least, I will set up the basic 
infrastructure of the site, create examples of the types of content we  hope to produce, and hopefully find a few section managers willing to help manage the site.  After the exhibition here, materials will continue to be generated by online submissions and perhaps facilitated by a  newly recruited army of traveling online publishers.  When we think we have enough content to produce a marketable product, we'll do so. 

   Once the site becomes sustainable without my full time attention, I plan to move to another location and launch another site.  

   Well, that's all for now.  I'm off to get some Paad Thai and a banana shake. I will leave Bangkok on Thursday to attend my Grandmother's 80th birthday this weekend in Florida, so probably won't be online much. I'll be back and ready to launch on Sept. 2.  

JL

 --------epilogue (for now) July 10, 2005 ----------

Well, I had a great time on KhaoSan Road for a couple of months and really enjoyed the 1988 Asian Games, butTravelbridges never really got off the ground and still lies there, neglected and waiting to rise from the ether somdeay.  The financial necessity to return to Korea, and the wait to  for visa paperwork to be filed did lead to me the most gratifying web buidling period of my life - creating Worldbridges Tibet and connecting with the TIbetan community in Dharamsala, India.  Once back in Pusan, I got back to work on Pusanweb/Koreabridge and enjoyeda variety of adventures in webcasting, but didn't really attempted to launch Worldbridges again. 
   Now, after 7 years, I am once again attemping to answer the "What is Worldbridges' question in earnest.  To see how that goes, stay tuned to Worldbridges.com 

(stay tuned to Worldbridges.net for the 'ever-evolving epilogue'