Plurk

144 responses to this plurk (Jump to bottom)

  • Rika
    Shame I don't have the social clout or popularity to get designers to participate.
  • Rika
    Well, here's the idea... Users subscribe to the event. Designers get a box and drop their best free sample in.
  • Rika
    Every day, every subscriber gets ONE random free sample, and a landmark it came from. The rest is up to them. :-)
  • Rika
    Pros: You get acquainted with shops you've never been to.
  • Rika
    No lag causes by strict gridwide chain order, or pain caused by trying to find a gift embedded in a wall.
  • Rika
    It doesn't have to start or end, designers can go on board at any time.
  • Rika
    Cons: If you gave out a worthless freebie, it won't get you any shoppers. :-)
  • Rika
    But most resulting visits will be visits with clear intent to spend money.
  • Rika
    I.e. it won't increase traffic, but will increase sales. Which should have been the point in the first place.
  • Rika
    can code that rather quickly but can't get people to join. :-)
  • Rika
    Subscribers will be *sent* a random freebie *once per day*.
  • Rika
    With a landmark and maybe a notecard with textures of other stuff in the shop in it.
  • Rika
    So - no searching, or hunting or trying to get it all in one day...
  • Rika
    You just start your morning with news of a new shop you might want to check out and a sample of what they have to offer.
  • Evie Miles wonders
    if every subscriber would get the same freebie each day.
  • Rika
    No, they'd get sent a random freebie from the list of things they haven't got yet.
  • Rika
    The offworld server would keep track of that and designer's dropboxes would check in and get a queue of adressess to send to.
  • Rika
    That way it prevents crowds of people who don't actually bring you business.
  • Rika
    Shoppers would have somewhere new to go every day, designers would have a steady influx of people with intent to buy, everyone wins.
  • Quaintly thinks
    that is a very innovative and cool idea, no hunting, thank goodness *phew*
  • Rika
    can code that, but making it worthwhile requires designers to understand why is it good. And I'm not very popular with designers. :-)
  • Gabby Doololly
    The more Rika explains her ideas...the more I fall in love with it...I replurked it already!
  • MissTress Ely thinks
    it would need to be moderated to ensure quality. too many crappy items in a row, and people will stop looking at future gifts
  • Voshie
    rika i would definitely be on board for something like this (is a lil nobocy designer :-P)...and yeah quality control lol
  • Rika
    designed in a feature to turn a designer's dropbox off centrally, the question is how to handle the moderation workload...
  • Rika
    Only one freebie per subscriber per day. That is, after 100 days, every subscriber will have your freebie.
  • Rika
    But every day it will get sent to N subscribers.
  • Rika
    Mind you, depending on how many subscribers there are, it doesn't have to be exactly one freebie per subscriber per day.
  • Rika
    Although more than three would probably be unwise.
  • Rika
    It's not meant to be a fast-acting promotion system. :-)
  • Rika
    But it is supposed to result in a steady stream of visitors who actually think they want your stuff.
  • Rika
    Working on it. :-)
  • Maegen Parvenu says
    I love the idea - and I'm a designer who'd totally sign up. I don't know many other designers, but you can count me in, at least!
  • Rika
    Well, I'm getting enough positive response that I'm coding already. :-)
  • Gabby Doololly asks
    do i understand correctly that a random "group" of freebies goes out each day? not the same 1 to everyone each day?
  • Gabby Doololly
    ex: on Tues I might get a gift from designer A while Codie gets a gift from Designer F?
  • Gabby Doololly
    So designers have something going out to a group of subscribers almost everyday? *loves it*
  • RayvnHynes says
    I would definately participate as a designer! This is a wonderful idea. Would each store have a *subscribe* kiosk in their store then?
  • *HP* says
    I'd love to participate in that!
  • Rika
    Basically the system keeps a list of subscribers, a list of designers and a list of transactions.
  • Rika
    Every morning, the system counts all subscribers and creates new transactions sending them a sample from a randomly picked designer that...
  • Rika
    ...they have not yet received.
  • Rika
    Dropboxes owned by designers themselves check that list and send out the samples as per unfilled transactions, marking them as filled.
  • Rika
    So - yes, while on a given Tuesday Gaby gets a sample from designer A, and Codie gets a sample from designer B, all designers...
  • Rika
    ...get their sample sent to N subscribers (where N depends on how many subscribers there are) and after M days,
  • Rika
    where M is the number of designers, every subscriber has received every sample.
  • Rika
    A new designer joining the system has just as much chance of exposure as any other one, no matter when they joined, and every day, ...
  • Rika
    ...every subscriber gets something from a designer they haven't got anything from yet.
  • ChefKarl
    as a new jewelry designer, I would defiantly participate in this.
  • Rika
    I.e. once you set up, it'll keep operating for a year (probably longer), bringing in new prospective shoppers,
  • Rika
    and throughout that year shoppers will see new shops.
  • Rika
    Right now I'm thinking of splitting the network into seven categories each of which functions separately:
  • Rika
    Female Fashion, Male Fashion, House and Garden, Vehicles and Gadgets, Skins and Hair, Animations and Poses, Jewelry and accessories
  • Rika
    Yes, it could be that way, which is why I'm not suggesting it be an item exclusive to the system in the designer's manual.
  • Rika
    The item is not supposed to be a gift or a prize. It's a free sample. A sample should be representative of a designer's work as a whole. :-)
  • Rika
    It's explicitly to be like a tangible calling card - "here's what I do, drop by if you liked it", not "ultrasuperrare collector's item". :-)
  • Rika
    The idea is specifically to have all the good points of a large gridwide hunt without any of the bad ones.
  • Rika
    The good points of a gridwide is that you get to see a lot of shops you otherwise wouldn't.
  • Rika
    The bad points are that you have to do it RIGHT NOW before it's over, and then you have to spend days sorting. :-)
  • Rika
    By subscribing, we avoid all that messy jumping around and spread the sorting over a long period.
  • Rika
    Randomness ensures everyone's got a chance and whatever interested visitors that result are spread evenly.
  • Rika
    ...okay, the script backend is mostly done. Next up, the inworld scripts, then the designer web interface...
  • SarahTheRed is
    very interested in this idea!
  • Rika
    should have a working prototype ready in ~20 hours, the full working system will go online by the end of the week. :-)
  • Rayne loves
    this idea!
  • Voshie
    wow Rika you are a super scripter O.O
  • Rika
    grins. :-)
  • Rika
    meant the *next* week, though. :-)
  • Rika
    It needs a blog and a logo and docs, and docs need to be translated into languages and stuff...
  • Rika
    Okay, subscription terminal works...
  • Gabby Doololly asks
    What can I help with...just name it
  • Rika
    Promoting it when I'm done, offering suggestions on product categories mentioned above (Is 7 enough?) ...
  • Rika
    offering suggestions on a name (So far "Designer Showcase Network" suggested by Peter is best, but I'm not sure yet) ...
  • Rika
    ...and ideas for a logo would be nice too. :-)
  • Gabby Doololly
    finishes up the MechLife blog and then gets to work!
  • Rika
    whews. Core code done. The rest is debugging and polishing. :-)
  • Rayne says
    .... as a budding coder I am impressed :-D
  • Rika
    Subscription terminal works, transaction generator works, now I just need to see if the transaction actually fires when it should... :-)
  • Rika
    Then it's time for the web interface for the designers, stress testing it on a small test population and all the pretty bits...
  • Rika
    One full cycle without stopping on a bug, complete. :-)
  • Voshie
    YAYAYAY awesome! well i know i definitely would like to participate in something like this and any way i can help...(isn't talented though)
  • Sanity Star says
    LOVE IT Rika!!! you go girl!!!
  • Nikadreamscape says
    You are BRILLIANT. I want to join in on this, both as a contributor and a participant!
  • Tigs is
    amazing idea & progress! I'd support it
  • isle says
    brilliant. Love the idea, and the randomness actually adds, since person 1 getting a different item may tell person 2 about it, or blog it,
  • isle says
    leaading to a more even spread of coverage for the designers and bloggers
  • ellie bellie
    i think this is awesome! i would totally participate!
  • Dr. Sam
    sayd Cool beans :-)
  • Rika
    As much as I like freebie blogs, seeing a picture is no substitute to actually trying a free sample on. :-)
  • GiannaBorgnine wants
    to participate, and I can have my clients use it as well! I'd also be happy to help anyway I can!
  • Rika
    Well, the designer kit will include a copyable dropbox and a few variants of a billboard that will double as a subscription terminal. :-)
  • Damo
    One of the most awesome ideas ever!
  • ChefKarl will
    be available to beta test for you, just drop me a line when ready.
  • QueenKellee loves
    this idea to bits!! both as a designer and customer :-D
  • Bea loves
    the idea! I would totally go for that as a customer.
  • ChefKarl
    (worship) I (applause) your idea and I hope it works out for all involved. I will sign up as a designer when it is available.
  • ❤Delora❤ says
    beautiful. Getting the word spread for you a bit maybe.
  • oobscure is
    this was an awesome example of effective realtime conversation .. or something like that
  • Mandy Fae wants
    in on this! where do we sign up? :-)
  • Rika
    Keep an eye on my blog and/or plurk, you won't miss it. :-)
  • Spring Candy wonders
    what the cost for designers to sign up will be...?
  • Rika
    Something between L$200 and L$500.
  • Rika
    Haven't yet settled on it.
  • Spring Candy says
    very reasonable. And then like a monthly fee similar to the SOMs? Great idea you're coding up there!
  • Rika
    Actually, I don't want a monthly fee. :-)
  • Rika
    Lots of problems involved in collecting it, accounting, etc, etc. Assuming I set the signup fee at L$400, I should have enough to run it
  • Rika
    for a year or so if designers keep signing up.
  • Rika
    I will reserve the right to set a monthly fee if that will be required, but I hope that won't be necessary.
  • Rika
    It all depends on how fast it will grow. :-)
  • Mandy Fae says
    well i don't think anyone would hold it against you if you made a bit of money off it, it's a great idea. :-)
  • ChefKarl has
    no problem with that. It would be worth it for the motivated traffic. Best advertising money you can spend.
  • Spring Candy says
    right - I agree that a monthly fee would be well worth it. Just asking questions :-))
  • Spring Candy says
    like I said, its a great idea - can't wait to see the finished product!
  • Hart Larsson says
    this is a great idea... let mw know if u need help in coding too :-)
  • Sylvie has
    just found out about this and loves the idea. Please count me in! :-)
  • Hart Larsson says
    great news i will try asap

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