CreativeScout Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 I hope this is the right forum for this. I’m an avid forum user, so I want to make clear that I’m not selling anything I saw a lot of talented people here that I thought could benefit from and contribute to a project I’m working on. I'm designing a website to provide creative professionals with the online networking, e-commerce, and business resources they need to achieve their goals. More details are available if you’re interested. I’m focusing on the following types of creatives: Architects Art directors Fine artists (e.g., painters, sculptors) Graphic designers Interior designers Landscape architects Multimedia artists and animators Music directors and composers Musicians Photographers Set and exhibit designers Singers Web designers Writers and authors I want to build what people really want not just what I think you want, so I’m trying to involve folks early on. If you’d like to participate in recommending/voting on features, beta testing, etc., let me know and I will give you more info. Thanks, Brandon PS, I’m knowledgeable in Unix and Windows web administration, networking, etc. If anyone has any questions along those lines, I'm here to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 I think you'll find that the people here have quite specific needs. The kind of site you are talking about seems very general indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreativeScout Posted December 14, 2007 Author Share Posted December 14, 2007 I think you'll find that the people here have quite specific needs. The kind of site you are talking about seems very general indeed. Thanks for the comment. Yes and no. This is how I think of it. On one hand you have completely generalized things like MySpace. It tries to appeal to practically everyone, and they have tons of happy members. On the other end of the spectrum you might have something with only a handful of users dedicated to some obscure topic. This also serves its purpose. I think customizing a system for 10 or so groups of people from related but different creative fields is do-able, and I think the interaction between people from different creative fields would be beneficial. I may be wrong, but that's why I'm looking for input. The specific needs that you speak of are exactly what I am interested in hearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 OK, Ill play. My name is Tom. I do architectural rendering. Why would I go to your site? Why would I re-visit your site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreativeScout Posted December 14, 2007 Author Share Posted December 14, 2007 The final feature specs are not yet finalized; however, here are just some of the ideas that I already have in mind: Opportunities to network and hold ongoing discussions with other *professionals* in your field and other creative fields. Seperate easy to use E-commerce capabilities for you to interact with your clients before, durring, and after a project. Freelance projects system, and full time job opportunities. Educational information and knowledge base related to your field. Hosted online portfolios. and anything else you might request that can be reasonably accomplished Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karl zacharias Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 the range of target audiences...singer to architect (ie) is ridiculous...IMO...need to narrow that down a bit...alot a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Hmmmmn, sounds like the whole internet on one site.....I read the whole internet once. It was a bit boring but well written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreativeScout Posted December 14, 2007 Author Share Posted December 14, 2007 the range of target audiences...singer to architect (ie) is ridiculous...IMO...need to narrow that down a bit...alot a bit Other than singers and possibly musicians then, what do you think of the rest of the mix? Some sites do cater succesfully to more than a few groups. In this case, I was going for "creative professionals." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Some sites do cater succesfully to more than a few groups. In this case, I was going for "creative professionals." Can you give us a couple of examples? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreativeScout Posted December 14, 2007 Author Share Posted December 14, 2007 Can you give us a couple of examples? Elance.com Monster.com Myspace.com Also, if individual sites per field is a common request, that could be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreativeScout Posted December 14, 2007 Author Share Posted December 14, 2007 Hmmmmn, sounds like the whole internet on one site.....I read the whole internet once. It was a bit boring but well written. It isn't the whole internet, I would have to get permission from its inventor Al Gore to do something like that . The idea is to create something that creative professionals want. Then while you have a group of creative professionals all in one place, invite the public to do business with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horhe Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 It isn't the whole internet, I would have to get permission from its inventor Al Gore to do something like that . The idea is to create something that creative professionals want. Then while you have a group of creative professionals all in one place, invite the public to do business with them. Sounds nice but i think ive seen that somewhere before... its probably been done a dozen times. My wishes to you are for this to be groundbreaking. Honestly i dont think itll break the internet sound barrier though. And im not saying this to put you off. The first thing you need is advertisment. Advertisment to attract specialists at first, then secondly you have to spread the word for the client to know its there. Youll surely need to input a lot of your time. And capital. Yep. Ive been doing some research on advertisement. Its all about sitting and spreading the word with peanut butter and jelly, being at the right time in the right place. Wish you all the best and good luck. Maybe someday ill stumble across your page Sure i will. Youll probably end up posting a link on the forums here. ;] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneis Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 I can appreciate the idea of bundling every creative professional under one roof, but wouldn't it be the same as creating a Google Group called "Creative Professionals"? I really don't think you'd have the volume of subscribing artists you're counting on either. It's like having a telephone business directory for the entire globe - why would I buy an ad in a directory like that? At any rate, clients/ customers go directly to the type of service they're looking for and make the choices from there - either by Google or subscriptions to sites like cgsociety.org, for example, which has had the 2D & 3D indutry wrapped up for years. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that your site would need to have something pretty ground-breaking to attract all the world's creatives to move from their long established and reputed sites. I don't think that anyone with any business sense would consider a directory/ site that forced their company to directly compete with the rest of the planet's artists as a viable advertising solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreativeScout Posted December 15, 2007 Author Share Posted December 15, 2007 True, similar things may already exist. When you think about it, this will probably be the case in anything worth pursuing. We have many choices for cell phone service, internet service, search engines, etc. It didn't stop Google from launching another search engine when everyone knew that Yahoo was #1 and had already "been there and done that" for quite a while. There are literally millions of creative professionals, and it wouldn't take but a small percentage of that number to make any site a success. There is always room for someone to differentiate themselves in some way and compete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horhe Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 I see your really confident in this matter. From what i read no one can drag you away from pursuing this. If you really think its worth a shot then just do it. Hope im not going to get sued by nike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreativeScout Posted December 15, 2007 Author Share Posted December 15, 2007 I see your really confident in this matter. From what i read no one can drag you away from pursuing this. If you really think its worth a shot then just do it. Hope im not going to get sued by nike Heh. Well yes I do think it is worth it, but to get back to my original topic, would anyone be interested in participating further in things like recommending and voting on features, seeing early tests, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronel Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Elance.com Monster.com Myspace.com Also, if individual sites per field is a common request, that could be done. ah it could something like this http://www.pixila.com/ and this http://www.cgsociety.org/about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreativeScout Posted December 15, 2007 Author Share Posted December 15, 2007 ah it could something like this http://www.pixila.com/ and this http://www.cgsociety.org/about Yes, those two cover certain aspects, although not all, of my concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic H Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 For me it would have to be highly customizable in functionality and aesthetics and have a unique web address to delineate it from others in the field. (i.e basically a gallery / interface generator thats easy to use - hmm pretty much like a normal webpage) I looked at Pixila and it looks pretty amateur due to the fact your folio page is the same as everyone else's, there is a very sterile feeling and little chance to show off what you might be about rather than the work, something that is often overlooked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodT Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 I belive that the scope of what you plan to do is a huge undertaking. To do a site well, compeling enough to draw in and keep a visitors intrest on an ongoing basis, what an advertiser would want, on a project that wide ranging, would require a large commitment in HR on an ongoing basis. You would suffer from a lack of identity for a period of time which would draw on resouces. BTW, you have posted you comments on a site with a vibrant community limited in scope, and frankly to spend enough time to read the posts on this site limits my desire to visit additional sites. So, a first visit to your site had better knock the visitor's socks off to get them back. Pick one or two specific areas and develop a team who can handle that task and plan to grow over time letting your base help you develop the content. Play to your audience so to speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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