Rika has May 01, 2009 10:37AM a terrific idea for a gridwide hunt that is neither gridwide nor a hunt that would keep everyone happy.
Rika May 01, 2009 06:38AM Shame I don't have the social clout or popularity to get designers to participate.
Rika May 01, 2009 06:49AM Well, here's the idea... Users subscribe to the event. Designers get a box and drop their best free sample in.
Rika May 01, 2009 06:51AM Every day, every subscriber gets ONE random free sample, and a landmark it came from. The rest is up to them.
Rika May 01, 2009 06:52AM No lag causes by strict gridwide chain order, or pain caused by trying to find a gift embedded in a wall.
Rika May 01, 2009 06:54AM I.e. it won't increase traffic, but will increase sales. Which should have been the point in the first place.
Rika May 01, 2009 07:01AM With a landmark and maybe a notecard with textures of other stuff in the shop in it.
Rika May 01, 2009 07:02AM 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.
Rika May 01, 2009 07:06AM No, they'd get sent a random freebie from the list of things they haven't got yet.
Rika May 01, 2009 07:07AM 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 May 01, 2009 07:07AM That way it prevents crowds of people who don't actually bring you business.
Rika May 01, 2009 07:16AM 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 May 01, 2009 07:19AM that is a very innovative and cool idea, no hunting, thank goodness *phew*
Rika May 01, 2009 07:20AM 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 May 01, 2009 07:45AM The more Rika explains her ideas...the more I fall in love with it...I replurked it already!
MissTress Ely thinks May 01, 2009 09:01AM 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 May 01, 2009 09:20AM rika i would definitely be on board for something like this (is a lil nobocy designer )...and yeah quality control lol
Rika May 01, 2009 09:22AM designed in a feature to turn a designer's dropbox off centrally, the question is how to handle the moderation workload...
Rika May 01, 2009 10:35AM Only one freebie per subscriber per day. That is, after 100 days, every subscriber will have your freebie.
Rika May 01, 2009 10:35AM Mind you, depending on how many subscribers there are, it doesn't have to be exactly one freebie per subscriber per day.
Rika May 01, 2009 10:37AM But it is supposed to result in a steady stream of visitors who actually think they want your stuff.
Maegen Parvenu says May 01, 2009 12:27PM 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!
Gabby Doololly asks May 01, 2009 12:55PM do i understand correctly that a random "group" of freebies goes out each day? not the same 1 to everyone each day?
Gabby Doololly May 01, 2009 12:56PM ex: on Tues I might get a gift from designer A while Codie gets a gift from Designer F?
Gabby Doololly May 01, 2009 12:58PM So designers have something going out to a group of subscribers almost everyday? *loves it*
RayvnHynes says May 01, 2009 01:28PM I would definately participate as a designer! This is a wonderful idea. Would each store have a *subscribe* kiosk in their store then?
Rika May 01, 2009 02:16PM Basically the system keeps a list of subscribers, a list of designers and a list of transactions.
Rika May 01, 2009 02:16PM Every morning, the system counts all subscribers and creates new transactions sending them a sample from a randomly picked designer that...
Rika May 01, 2009 02:18PM Dropboxes owned by designers themselves check that list and send out the samples as per unfilled transactions, marking them as filled.
Rika May 01, 2009 02:19PM 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 May 01, 2009 02:19PM ...get their sample sent to N subscribers (where N depends on how many subscribers there are) and after M days,
Rika May 01, 2009 02:20PM where M is the number of designers, every subscriber has received every sample.
Rika May 01, 2009 02:21PM 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 May 01, 2009 02:21PM ...every subscriber gets something from a designer they haven't got anything from yet.
Rika May 01, 2009 02:23PM I.e. once you set up, it'll keep operating for a year (probably longer), bringing in new prospective shoppers,
Rika May 01, 2009 02:39PM Right now I'm thinking of splitting the network into seven categories each of which functions separately:
Rika May 01, 2009 02:39PM Female Fashion, Male Fashion, House and Garden, Vehicles and Gadgets, Skins and Hair, Animations and Poses, Jewelry and accessories
Rika May 01, 2009 02:40PM 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 May 01, 2009 02:41PM 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 May 01, 2009 02:43PM 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 May 01, 2009 02:44PM The idea is specifically to have all the good points of a large gridwide hunt without any of the bad ones.
Rika May 01, 2009 02:46PM The good points of a gridwide is that you get to see a lot of shops you otherwise wouldn't.
Rika May 01, 2009 02:46PM 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 May 01, 2009 02:47PM By subscribing, we avoid all that messy jumping around and spread the sorting over a long period.
Rika May 01, 2009 02:48PM Randomness ensures everyone's got a chance and whatever interested visitors that result are spread evenly.
Rika May 01, 2009 06:04PM ...okay, the script backend is mostly done. Next up, the inworld scripts, then the designer web interface...
Rika May 02, 2009 12:38AM should have a working prototype ready in ~20 hours, the full working system will go online by the end of the week.
Rika May 02, 2009 12:43AM It needs a blog and a logo and docs, and docs need to be translated into languages and stuff...
Rika May 02, 2009 01:06AM Promoting it when I'm done, offering suggestions on product categories mentioned above (Is 7 enough?) ...
Rika May 02, 2009 01:07AM offering suggestions on a name (So far "Designer Showcase Network" suggested by Peter is best, but I'm not sure yet) ...
Rika May 02, 2009 03:51PM Subscription terminal works, transaction generator works, now I just need to see if the transaction actually fires when it should...
Rika May 02, 2009 03:52PM Then it's time for the web interface for the designers, stress testing it on a small test population and all the pretty bits...
Voshie May 03, 2009 01:30AM 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)
Nikadreamscape says May 03, 2009 03:09PM You are BRILLIANT. I want to join in on this, both as a contributor and a participant!
isle says May 03, 2009 03:23PM 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 May 03, 2009 03:24PM leaading to a more even spread of coverage for the designers and bloggers
Rika May 03, 2009 04:24PM As much as I like freebie blogs, seeing a picture is no substitute to actually trying a free sample on.
GiannaBorgnine wants May 03, 2009 04:28PM to participate, and I can have my clients use it as well! I'd also be happy to help anyway I can!
Rika May 03, 2009 04:32PM Well, the designer kit will include a copyable dropbox and a few variants of a billboard that will double as a subscription terminal.
ChefKarl will May 03, 2009 04:43PM be available to beta test for you, just drop me a line when ready.
ChefKarl May 04, 2009 09:21PM I your idea and I hope it works out for all involved. I will sign up as a designer when it is available.
oobscure is May 05, 2009 07:11PM this was an awesome example of effective realtime conversation .. or something like that
Spring Candy says May 05, 2009 09:31PM very reasonable. And then like a monthly fee similar to the SOMs? Great idea you're coding up there!
Rika May 05, 2009 10:28PM 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 May 05, 2009 10:29PM I will reserve the right to set a monthly fee if that will be required, but I hope that won't be necessary.
Mandy Fae says May 05, 2009 10:30PM 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 May 05, 2009 10:35PM no problem with that. It would be worth it for the motivated traffic. Best advertising money you can spend.
Spring Candy says May 05, 2009 11:00PM right - I agree that a monthly fee would be well worth it. Just asking questions
Spring Candy says May 05, 2009 11:01PM like I said, its a great idea - can't wait to see the finished product!
Hart Larsson says May 06, 2009 07:48PM this is a great idea... let mw know if u need help in coding too