| I |
| Objectives...
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| II
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| For the
Concept... |
| For the
Project... |
| For the
Business... |
| For
Society... |
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I
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| Introduction.
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| II
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| There are a
number of broad Objectives... for the Concept... for the Project... for the
Business as it progresses through its various stages of development... and
in the longer term... for Society as a whole. In many ways the
different sections and their objectives are intertwined... and as an
online Project where the agenda could keep changing... it is difficult to
give very specific long term Objectives. The following is just a
basic road map...
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I
I
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| For
the Concept... |
| I
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- To
further develop an
Information based System... which reduces the level of Road Accidents,
Injuries and Deaths by
utilizing the power of the Internet.
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- To refine the process of... harnessing the
skills and knowledge of experienced drivers so as to identify the problems associated with...
high-risk Individuals, deficiencies within the general Road Culture and any problems due to
the physical Road Environment.
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- To develop a
range of strategies to rectify the problems of Individuals based on... Motivation:
Deterrents: Targeted Education: Social Pressure: Enforcement and
Punishment.
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- To develop a co-ordinated multi-strategy approach to
changing a Road Culture.
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- To develop a method of using 'Reporting
Blackspots' as a way of identifying and rectifying problem areas in
the physical Road Environment.
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| I
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| For
the Project... |
| I
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- To
provide a range of Interactive facilities so as to become the 'Hub' of a
Social Network of
Communities. [Read: The
Project.]
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- To help develop and refine all the
different strategies outlined under The Concept.
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- To publicize and promote the
Concept of using Technology as a means of empowering the Individual and
Communities. [Read: Help
Us.]
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- To engage the
various Stakeholders in a public dialog which addresses the issue of new
Technology and the various options it presents for reducing Road
Accidents. [Read: New Technologies.]
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- To assess and discuss possible
alternatives... i.e. Speed Cameras: G.P.S. Satellites: ISA: Electronic
Vehicle Identification: etc.
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-
To let visitors submit articles, to re-write sections, to
become involved with every aspect of the Concept, its development and
promotion.
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- To create a highly Interactive experience for
visitors so that they can... organise themselves... [discuss local
issues with local people, or common problems with people from
anywhere]... set the agenda,
change the rules, call for a debate, propose a vote, influence a
change??? and effectively, become the driving force behind the
Project.
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| I
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| For
the Business... |
| I
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| Stage 2.
Development should be a transitional phase where the site changes from an
ordinary website into a Social Networking site with a whole range of
Interactive features. Objectives would be... |
| I
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- To have the entire Website professionally
re-designed.
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- To
have a Logo, new graphics and the Copy re-written.
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- To rename and re-launch???
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- To add more content and links to
articles.
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- To increase some sections like News
and Stats.
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- To develop Interactive elements, like
Forums and Blogs.
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- To develop a weekly e-letter... monthly
Newsletter/Magazine???
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- To building traffic by using low cost, online
techniques, like Viral
Marketing.
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| I
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| Stage 3.
Development should be a case of replicating the same processes over and
over again. Lessons learnt during the Stage 2 process could be applied to identical
websites targeted at individual Countries or States. Sections
could be translated into other languages, either done by us or by a "Franchisee"
who lived in the country in question. The system should become
flexible and technically, more sophisticated... |
| I
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- To make contacts and build
relationships...
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- To enabling members to widen the
debate...
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- To upload photos or videos...
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- To start their own discussion group...
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- To start reaching some conclusions...
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| I
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| The
Measure of Success.
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| If we go down the
Commercial route, there are two very different Measures of Success... there
is the Success of the Project... and there is Commercial Success. If
the Website is commercially successful it improves the chances of the
Project succeeding... but the success of one certainly does not guarantee
the success of the other. Some
possible scenarios... |
I
I
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| Failure -
Failure. |
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| One scenario
would be... that the Project never gets far beyond Stage 1... the Concept/Plan is never
implemented anywhere... and funds are limited to a small amount of
advertising revenue.
Another scenario would be... that the Project does quite well... generates a
lot of publicity... but still never gets implemented anywhere... and somewhere down the
track Financial commitments are made based on projected Revenues which
never materialise. Result... Failure on both fronts! |
I
I
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| Success -
Failure. |
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| It could be the
Project is a resounding success... in no time at all senior Politicians
enthusiastically implement the Concept/Plan right across the World... and very
quickly the Website has nothing to write about... and generates little
Revenue. This being the case... it would have made a huge difference to Society: saved many Lives:
lots of Heartbreak: enormous sums of Money: and [at least, from our point of
view]
would certainly have been a very worthwhile exercise. |
I
I
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| Failure -
Success. |
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| Another possible
scenario is... that this issue goes on for years and years without being
resolved. In the end... the Concept/Plan is never implemented anywhere... but
in the mean time the Website becomes very popular... has lots of
Visitors... lots of Members... lots of Advertisers... Sponsors... relatively few
Fixed overheads... low Variable overheads... making it very successful in
Commercial terms. |
I
I
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| Success -
Success. |
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| Would be the best
possible outcome. This would mean that the
Concept/Plan was introduced in one or more places and proved to be effective... which then provided further impetus to carry on with the
Project and have it implemented in more places. And again... as with the last
section... has lots of Visitors:
lots of Members: lots of Advertisers: Sponsors: with relatively low Fixed
or Variable overheads... making
it very successful in commercial terms. |
I
I
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| Our
Best Estimate. |
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| Success or Failure in either category is a definite
possibility... the issue will not be resolved quickly... major changes will
come about over the next 10-20 years in all Industrialised Countries... and
gradually in developing Countries as well. So... we are just
putting another option into the public domain. At this Stage... it is
impossible to tell what the outcome will be... whether there will be blanket
coverage of Speed Cameras: compulsory use of electronic speed limiters
controlled by Satellite: an Electronic
Vehicle Identification system: a Road Supervisor type solution: a combination of all the
above... something
totally different... or just becomes an ever changing shambles that
pleases no one! |
| I
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| Affect? From a
strictly Commercial
point of view... it does not matter that the concept is Radical... or
that Politicians may not like it... or that it drags on for years... it only matters that
you can generate and sustain sufficient interest
in the subject so that people want to express their opinions.
Demographically, this is not a
small niche market so the potential for... Visitors: Members: Commercial
Supporters: Sponsors: and Advertisers is almost unlimited. |
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| I
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| At the
same time, you are only maintaining a relatively simple, text based
website. Processing and promoting Ideas and Opinions. Fixed
Overheads are low... and there is
also a lot of leeway when it
comes to keeping Variable Overheads within a budget. At this moment
in time, we would simply describe this as an "Opportunity"... which still
requires a lot of hard work and innovation to turn it into a success.
Commercially... all that requires is that you have more Revenue coming in than you have going
out. Given
the basic cost structure... that should not be that difficult! |
I
I
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| For
Society... |
| I
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| The Ultimate
Objective... would be to change the direction that many Societies are
heading. At present the trend seems to be for Governments to look at
new technologies for ways to monitor, control and punish its citizens in
more effective ways. This type of system would spread a small amount
of influence across a very broad base... rather than concentrate power
into the hands of the State. It would empower ordinary citizens and
communities so that they could address their own local issues rather than
relying on the Authorities... and should, ultimately lead to a more civil and law-abiding
Society. |
I
I
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