| The ManyOne Network by David A. Almoslino Imagine experiencing a digitally accurate, photo-realistic virtual universe that allows the observer to pilot through the stars (which are accurately placed), explore the depths of the Grand Canyon, fly through the human body, or explore the ocean floor. Imagine that this "Digital Universe" is accessible via the Internet on regular dial-up connections so it can be distributed economically as far and as wide as humanly possible. Imagine the creation of the "PBS of the Web," where the most respected organizations in the world have been invited to provide the sum of the best information in existence, translated into major languages for people all over the world. Who better to provide information about our solar system than the Planetary Society? Who better to teach kids about primates than the Jane Goodall Institute? Who better to educate kids about the ocean than the Jacques Cousteau Society? Imagine a reusable web portal service that enables individuals, companies and non-profit organizations to create private-labeled, world-class portals, complete with ISP services, e-mail, news and content feeds, trade, and Instant Messaging within a matter of days. Imagine that they can easily offer this functionality to their constituencies, and enjoy a significant revenue share from each subscriber they recruit. You have just imagined The ManyOne Network. It has been designed from the ground floor up to grow into a public, democratic, advertising-free, world-wide infrastructure capable of delivering information gathered from the best sources and partners. Global network The ManyOne Network (www.manyone.net) is a global network of trusted and authoritative Internet content providers, creating an open, democratic, web-based medium that inspires creativity, community, collaboration and learning. Stewarded by the world's foremost experts, with information for people of all ages and education levels, together, they are creating the world's first online collaborative encyclopedia of human knowledge, an ecosystem of intellect and culture beautifully rendered in 3D and rich media in an ad-free environment. Organized within a socially responsible financial and governance model, ManyOne's vision is to realize the original potential of the Internet as an open, democratic medium that inspires creativity, communication, collaboration and education by providing a next-generation open source browser and portal service that will empower people worldwide to co-create the next-generation Web. As a subscriber-supported global information service, ManyOne will catalyze the emergence of a new "Visual Web" medium through the collaborative efforts of an international alliance of non-profit institutions, educational organizations and domain experts. At the center of its technology is the groundbreaking ManyOne Universal Browser, which dramatically transforms the user's Internet experience by turning the text-heavy navigation model of the Internet into a breathtaking three-dimensional, photorealistic mirror of the natural world. Accessed through the Universal Browser and Portal Service, and distributed through membership organizations, ManyOne's reusable web portal service catalyzes this ecosystem of partners and members who will co-evolve it to create private-labeled, world-class portals, complete with ISP services, e-mail, trade, and Instant Messaging and offer this functionality to their constituencies via subscriptions, transforming their websites into revenue generators. This rich-media environment, called the ManyOne Digital Universe, can be experienced with nothing more than a dial-up connection to the Internet. Its navigation paradigm will tie more than 400,000 portals and four million of the web's best links together, and is organized according to a scientifically derived visual representation of the real society, Earth and Universe we live in. The result is a simple, intuitive web navigation interface comprised of "web spaces and objects" that encompass and contextualize the "pages and links" of today's web. Ethical compass ManyOne is a company with an ethical compass. An integral facet of its unique business plan is that it will become wholly owned by the international nonprofit ManyOne Foundation as of 2004. The Foundation's Board of Directors, which includes Jane Goodall, Paul Hawken, Maurice Strong and other social leaders and scientists worldwide, will ensure that the assets and activities of ManyOne Networks, along with profits paid out to the Foundation, go to advancing the greater public good. The ManyOne Network can be seen as the Internet°s first "public utility" -- a public information service without the constraints and priorities that prevent other major web portal and service providers from gaining the support of the world's most trusted content providers, an information service free of the conflicts that prevent today's providers from fulfilling such a pivotal and valuable role in the next generation Web. This combination of technology, business model and governance innovations yields an organization poised to meet unmet needs across online education, media, entertainment, communications and commerce with a philosophy capable of attracting and preserving a large and loyal community of subscribers. David A. Almoslino is Senior Vice President for Marketing and Strategic Relations for the ManyOne Network. Contact him at (831) 438-9800, ext. 180, or visit www.manyone.net Copyright © 2004 David A. Almoslino |
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March 2004 |
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