Tobeexact,thePewInternet&AmericanLifeProjectsDecember2008trackingsurvey

foundthat35%ofadultinternetusersnowhaveaprofileonanonlinesocialnetwork
site.Ifyou'reateenager,thenumbersjumpto65%,but,it'stheyoungadultswhoreally
arebehindthesocialnetworks.75%ofthembelongtoatleastonesocialnetwork.Since
then,thesocialnetworkshaveonlycontinuedtogrowatanexplosiverate.
ITWorld

1.0

Inpursuitofanewideaandpathinsocialnetworks,wehaveformulatedandconstructedanew
anduniquesocialplatform.TheNetwascraftedtosatisfytheworldpopulationoftheirthirstfor
theperfectmeetingplace,instantmessageboardandtosharetheirstorieson.TheNetis
anchoredupononproviding1.Safeandsecuremeansforexchangeofinformation2.Fast,
affordableandreliablemeansofcommunicatinginformationand3.reducingthegeographical
distancesbetweenplacesovertheinternet.4.connectingpeopleoflikemindsandpassions
whowouldhavenevermetunderanyotherwaythroughourplatformMakingtheweb
experienceexhilaratinginwaysneverbeforeimagined.Ourproductasweshallrefertoitinthis
document,isbasedonthe4aforementionedconceptsthatwillenableustoachieveourgoals
andaimsthatarefurtheroutlinedindetailonpage___andwillalsopositionourcompanyas
oneofthestrongestnamesintheregionandworldatlarge.
Itisnodoubtthatthis3clustersystemwillenableustoprioritizeoureffortsandprojectsinabid
torealizesatisfactionfromourusersandcustomers.
Thefounders,developersandmembersofourdesignteamwillplayaleadingandpivotalrole
asoverseersofthedesign,analysisandimplementationprocesstoensuretargetsarereached
andthemarketiskeptsatisfied.OurvisionisTowardsaglobalcommunitylinkednotbyroads,
railwaysorairlines,but,byTheNet

1.1
Themobileappbusinessisthefastestgrowingareainthemobilesectortodayandwillcontinue
todosointheforeseeablefuture.Manypeopleunfortunatelycurrentlydonotpossessthe
expertisetocreateapplications,computergamesorcomputercreatedgraphicsthatcanbe
usedonaninternationalscale.Atpresentthereisaneedtobridgethedigitaldividebetween
countriesandtheircitizens.Thishindersthoseinruralandremotelocationsfromgaining
accesstoinformationandotherservicesavailabletothemontheworldwidewidewebandthe
currentcommunicationplatformssuchasWhatsappandFacebook.Socialnetworkingsites
havebecomeverypopularinalmostallages,nationalitiesandgenders.Theincreaseintheir
demandismainlyattributedtotheirabilitytolinkpeopleingeographicallydispersedlocations.
Mypartner(s)andIhaveadopted,improvedandperfectedeachandeveryaspectofthevarious
socialnetworkingsitesavailableontheWorldWideWebtodateandbelievewehavecomeup
withaproductthatisgoingtorevolutionizemoderndayinformationandcommunication
platforms.Asthedaysprogressthereisneedforsocietytoshiftfromholdingmultipleaccounts
onvarioussocialnetworkingsites,itiswiththiskeynotionthatourteamofdevelopersare
puttingtogetheraproductthatwillencapsulateallthefeaturesofagreatsocialnetwork
experiencethatisavailableontheinternet.Thenumberofsitesavailabletodayonthemarket
reflectstheimmenseaccumulationofknowledgecoupledwiththeinterestofpeople.Itiswith
thisinmindthatwehavenodoubtswhatsoeverthatourproductwillbeverypopularandwill
garneralotofusers,followersandpartnerswithinitsfirstcalendaryearonthemarket.Given
theknowledgebaseofourteamtheprojectispoisedtobeacompetitiveleaderontheWeb.

Statisticsandusageratingsoverthelastfewyearsforsocialnetworksareoffthecharts,
howeveritisimportanttonotethatmajorityofthewebsitesonlineareownedbyAmerican
companies.Theyareoftenfreetouseandreceivemostoftheirgeneralincomefrom
advertisers.Theyaresetuptoallowgroupsoflikemindedtocommunicate,sharestoriesand
collaborate.ThegoalofTheNetistoallowcreativeindividualsandcompaniestocreatea
securespace,shareideasandseeknewopportunities.Thespacesorcirclesasweliketocall
themwillformspecificgroupsofinterest.


Oursmallworldnetworksaregenerallypopulatedwithpeoplewhoseinterestsand
knowledgearesimilartoours.Findinganewjob,asanexample,oftenoccursthrough
weakties.Thisprinciplehasgreatmeritinthenotionofserendipity,innovation,and
creativity.Connectionsbetweendisparateideasandfieldscancreatenewinnovations.
GeorgeSiemens,Alearningtheoryforthedigitalage

Thenetwillbeawebbasedsystemwhichwillbegearedtowardshelpingsocietyreducethe
gapthatsocialnetworkshavefailedtocloseinon.Ourwebsitewillallowindividualstocreate
theirownpersonalcirclesallowingthemtoshareimages,videos,textetcbetweenaselect
groupofindividualsandalsotothegeneralpopulousofthesitewhilstmaintainingtheabilityof
ausertoimposerestrictionsonwhocanseetheircontent.
TheNetwillbedesignedtokeepinpacewithmoderndaytechnologiesandwillworkonmobile
devicessuchasthoserunningontheAndroidsoftware.Thiswillallowpeopletointeractwith
TheNetcircles,andmembersofTheNetwillbeabletoaddcontenttoitwherevertheyarein
theworld.ThisfunctionalitywillencourageregularcontributionstoTheNetandasteadystream
ofvisitors.Inaddition,mobileaccesstoTheNetusingWiFior3G,peoplewillbeableto
browseandinteractwithTheNet.

2.0

TheNetisalargeundertakingandonethatneedstobetimedperfectlyandcarefully.The
projectbeganbeingconceptualizedinSeptember2015,inordertobeinapositiontotrialouta
prototypeofTheNetwebsitewithafewselecttrialtargetpopulationeg.localtertiaryinstituition.

FeaturesofTheNet

Thewebsitewillhavethefollowingfeatures:
CentralNetwebsiteThiswillbedynamicallydrivencontentgeneratedbytheNet
communityanddevelopers.Thisareawillbedrivenbyacontentmanagementsystemtoallow
additionalinformationandpagestobekeptuptodateandmanageTheNet.
BlogsThisareawillbeusedforTheNetmemberstoaddideas,research,adiaryor
anyotherinformationtheywishtoshareonline.
ProjectsThisfacilitywillbeusedtopostanythingthatyouareworkingonorhave
alreadycompleted,whetheritisasetofphotographs,website,gamesetc.
SlideshowfunctionalityThisisthepartwhereyoucancontrolanimationsand
slideshowonyourhomepageofyouNetspace.
StatusupdatesProvisiontoshareyourideas,thoughts,dailyprograms,specialevents
etc.
Themaincrowdpullerofthissiteandwhatsetsitapartfromalltheothersavailableon
themarketwillbetheprovisionitgivesausertorateapost,videoorsharefromanother
memberonTheNetonascalefrom0to5dependingonitsrelevance,humour,creativityanda
varietyofotherfactorswhichtheviewerchoosestobasetheshareupon.

Arunningtotalwillbekeptandarankingwillbeallocatedtoeachuseronthesitedependingon
theirtotalofratings.Popularityandrankingwillbebasedonyourcontentandthenumbersof
crowdsthatyoucanpull.

ProfileThiswillallowusersaccesstocontrolovertheirnetspaceandallowforeasy
locationofindividualswhentheirnamesarerunthroughasearchengineonthewebsite.This
spacewillalsobeusedtochangethegraphicaloutlookofyourNetspace.Userswillhavethe
optiontoselectavarietyofmediaastheirmainprofile.Alsoessentialtonoteisthatinsteadof
theusualprofileimagesoursitewillhaveauniquefeaturethatallowsuserstoinsertavideoas
aprofileiconthatcanbeplayedbackbypeoplewhoviewtheirprofile.
HelpBasichelpfunctiontoallowuserstoreportbugs,problemsoranythingelsethat
needsfixingonTheNet.
MemorabiliaSectionThisareaallowsyoutosaveanyspecialmomentthatyoumay
havepostedonyourspaceorinothercirclessoastobeabletolocatethemwithease.

2.1
Averyimportantpartofourprojectwillbetoencourageaninitialsetofpeopletocontributeand
testTheNet.Atfirsttheprojectwillbeadvertisedtostudentsatalocaltertiaryinstitutionwhich
isyettobeselectedbyemail,flyers,wordofmouthcommunication

Certainpeoplemattertotippingwordofmouthepidemics.Connectorsthesocialgluethat
knowandwantyoutointroduceyoutoeveryoneyoushouldknow.Salesmencanconvinceyou
tobuy.
AmyShuenWeb2.0astrategyguide


FundingandManagement

Manyofthegiantsocialnetworkingcompaniesspendhundredsofmillionsofdollarsannually
bybuildingandmaintainingdatafarmsthathousetheirmanyserversfortheirdata.Howeverit
isimportanttonotethatintheirearlystagestheydidnothaveserversbutreliedonhosted
virtualserverstohosttheirnetworkon.Itiswiththatinmindthatintendtoutiliseexisting
structuresthatincludeCarbonitesPrimepackage.


SecurityMatters

Likeanyotherbusinessventureasocialnetworkhasalotoflegalissuesalongwithsecurity
risks.
Firstlyandmostimportantlydatacollectedfromindividualsispassedinconfidencetothesite
andshouldbeatallcostskeptconfidential,uptodateandkept/usedforthepurposesoutlined
inthetermsandconditionsstatedatsignup.
Oursitewillabideby7maindataprotectionprinciplesthatwillensurethatdatawillbehandled
andprotectedtothebestofourabilities.
Dataprotectionprinciples
Personaldatashallbeprocessedfairlyandlawfullyand,inparticular,shallnotbe
processedunless:
Personaldatashallbeobtainedonlyforoneormorespecifiedandlawfulpurposes,and
shallnotbefurtherprocessedinanymannerincompatiblewiththatpurposeorthosepurposes.
Personaldatashallbeadequate,relevantandnotexcessiveinrelationtothepurposeor
purposesforwhichtheyareprocessed.
Personaldatashallbeaccurateand,wherenecessary,keptuptodate.
Personaldataprocessedforanypurposeorpurposesshallnotbekeptforlongerthanis
necessaryforthatpurposeorthosepurposes.
Abouttherightsofindividualse.g.personaldatashallbeprocessedinaccordancewith
therightsofdatasubjects(individuals).
Appropriatetechnicalandorganisationalmeasuresshallbetakenagainstunauthorised
orunlawfulprocessingofpersonaldataandagainstaccidentallossordestructionof,ordamage
to,personaldata.

Itisimportanttonotehowwearegoingtodefinepersonaldataaswhenhandlingit.Our
definitionofpersonaldataisdatawhichrelatestoalivingindividualwhocanbeidentified
fromthatdata,or
fromthatdataandotherinformationwhichisinthepossessionof,orislikelytocome
intothepossessionofTheNet.
Sensitivepersonaldataconcernsthesubject'srace,ethnicity,politics,religion,health,sexlifeor
criminalrecord.
Alleffortswillbemadetoprotectdata,howeverthefounders,partners,ownersandanyother
administrativepersonnelofTheNetcannotandwillnotbeheldaccountableforanydataloss
thatwillhaveoccurredasaresultofmattersthatareoutsideofjudicialandsocialjurisdiction.

Assuchanyuserwhowillbeonoursitewillbeprotectedbyclientandserviceprovider
confidentialityuponsignup.Howeverletitbenotedthattheuserwillhavewaivedthis
protectionuponparticipatinginunlawfulactivitiesoranythatmaybeseentobecontravening
anyStatelaws.

Finances
Websitedesignanddevelopment
Originaldesignelements
Ecommercecapabilities
Contentmanagementsystem
Paypalintegration
Customerportal
Softwarepayments

Webhosting(permonth)

SearchEngineOptimizationservices(SEOperyear)
Salaries
Developers

Equipment,StationaryandHardware
Cost

AdvertisingandPromotions

Thereasonbehindthefailureofmostsocialnetworksthathavecomeaftergiantslike
Facebook,twitteretc.hadalreadybeenestablishedisthattheylackedsomethingdifferentthat
wouldbeacrowdpuller,thereweremainlyAmericanandtheywerenotadvertisedadequately.
Howeverwewilladdressalltheproblemslistedabovebyembarkingonanintensivemarketing
campaigntoensureourproductiswellknownaroundtheglobe.Duetothenationalitiesofmost
thedesignersworkingonthisproject,itissafetosaythatthisproductwillbeanAfricanchild
anditiswithkeyfactorthatwewillbebankingoursuccesson.Oursuccessishingedonthe
factthatAfricanduetotheirnaturalpatriotismwillflockintheirthousandstooursiteasitwillbe
thefirstofitskind.Inthefirstfewmonthsweexpectaslowbutsteadyflowofincomingusers

Goconfidentlyinthedirectionofyourdream.LivethelifeyouhaveimaginedHenry
DavidThoreau

Theideaforthenextbigthingisrootedintheknowledgethatthereisnothingnewunderthe
sun.Havingsaidsuchwerealisethatallthatweneedinlifeisalreadyaroundus.Whatwe
needdoiscollectthesepiecesandputthemtogethertocreatetheperfectpiece.

Weappliedthisconcepttosocialnetworking.Overtheyearsmanyingenioussocialnetworks
havebeenformed.Thesesiteshavegarneredunimaginablefollowers,shockingtheworldand
eventheirdesigners.InthisleaguewementionthelikesofInstagram,Facebook,Pinterest,
Twitter,Whatsappetc.AllthesecompaniesaregivenvaluationsofbillionsofUnitedStates
dollars.Yetallunique,acommondenominatoramongthemallishowtheybringpeople
together,allowthemtosharemoments,ideasandyeteachofferadistinguishingfeature.

Ananalysisofthisindustrywouldleaveanypotentialsocialnetworkdesignerwithasmileon
theirface,thenagainafterlookingatthefeaturesofferedbyeachofthesenetworksonemay
thenbedisheartenedwhentheyfindallaspectsseemtobecoveredalready.Howeverthisis
whereweviewthecasedifferently.Beforefacebookcamealongtherewerethesocialnetworks
FriendsterandMySpace.Theymonopolizedsocialnetworksinthoseearlydays.ThencameMr
Zuckerbergwiththeideaoffacebook.HeimprovedontheconceptsofFriendsterandMySpace
andtodayheisintheworldstop20billionaires.SothequestionisdidMrZuckerbergcomeup
withsomethingnew?Special?Unheardof?Theanswertothesequestionsisno.Mr
Zuckerbergimprovedonaconceptthatwasalreadyinexistence.Chattingtopeopleindistant
placesovertheinternetdidnotcomewithfacebook.Proof?Wehadchatroomslongbeforewe
hadfacebookandtheemailcouldsharepicturesbeforefacebookstarteduploadingpictures.So
whatisthepoint?Thepointistoprovethatfacebookdidnotstartsomethingnewbutonly
broughtalreadyexistingfunctionstogethertoprovideaproducttheconsumersneeded.With
thespreadoftheinternetinthepastdecade,thesiteexperiencedunbelievablegrowthwhich
evenMrZuckerbergadmitsheneveranticipatedwithwelloverabillionusers.

Sonowinrecentyearswehaveseenothernetworkscomeupandthrive.Itisclearfromthe
successofsocialnetworkingsitesthatthemarketisripe.Thiscanbecontributedtotheriseof
smartphoneownershipallowingpeopletoaccesssocialnetworksontheirphonesandthe
increasedaffordabilityandspreadoftheinternet.Itissafetosaythataslongaspeoplehave
thesesmartphonesandinternetaccesstheywillbeinterestedinsocialnetworksthatallow
themtosharemomentswithfriendsandkeepthementertained.

Comingbacktoanearlierconceptwediscussedonnothingbeingnewunderthesun,and
friendstergivingwaytofacebooksglobaldominance,wefeelitisnowtimefacebookstepped
asideandgavewaytothenextbigthing,US.Ourstrategytobecomethenextbestthingisnot
tocomeupwithsomethingunheardof,butsimplytobringtogetherfunctionalitythatalready
existsallovertheworldandintegrateitintothatonespecialsite.

THEIDEA?

Sonowtheideawebelievewillshifttheterrainofsocialnetworkingstemsfromtheideathatthe
leadingsocialnetworksintheworldallcompriseofuniquedefiningfeatureswhichattractusers
tothem.Howeverweareyettofindonesitewefeelencompassesallthegreatfeatures.We
intendtodesignthat.Theideaistotakethebestfeaturesofthemostpopularsites,fusethem
withourownuniqueonestocomeupwiththebestsiteyet.Belowisashortanalysisofthe
existingsocialnetworkshighlightingwhatwewishtoemulateandwhatwewishtochange.

FACEBOOK
Facebookhasdominatedthesocialnetworkssceneforthepastdecade.Cominginasthefirst
sitetoofferyoutheabilitytoupdateyourfriendswhatyouweredoingthroughstatusupdates
anduploadingpicturesitspopularitygrewexponentially.HoweverImsurethisfactis
indisputable:Mostpeoplesharethesentimentthatfacebookisold,itslostitsshine.Wearestill
onitonlybecausethereisnobetteralternative.Nonethelesstherearelessonstobelearnt
Thefirstthingwewanttoadoptfromfacebookbutimproveonistheaudienceyour
updatesareopento.Facebookwasexclusivelyforfriendsandfamily,peopleyouknow.Our
sitewhilebeingacentretoupdateyourfamilyandacquaintancesondevelopmentsinyourlife,
weintendforittobeyourportaltotherestoftheworld.Literally.Weintendforyoutoshare
specificpostswhichyouwouldliketoopentotheworld,givingyouaglobalaudience.
Withtheaforementionedfeaturetheissueofprivacycomesintoplay.Facebookwas
knowntohaveanumberofissueswithpeoplesprivacypolicies.Weintendtogiveourusers
thehighestlevelofcontrolontheiraccounts.Thecontroltoseewhoseewhatposts,offering
youdifferentoptionsofprivacycontrolwhichgiveyouasatisfyingfeelingofcontrol.Unlike
facebookyourprivacyissueswillnotbehandledcentrallybuteveryaccountwillhaveitsown
verysimplifiedcontrolcentre.
Upondiscoveringsomeonewhosepoststrulyintrigueyou,unlikefacebook,weareno
longerconnectedbyassociationbutourmindsandthoughts.Upondiscoveringsomeonewhose
mindamazesyou,youcansendthemarequesttochat.Sohereweareadoptingtherequest
andthechatfeatures.
Anintegralparttooursitewillalsobethenewsfeedthiswillbewhereyouwillfindall
theupdatesfromthepeopleandtrendsyoufollow.Thiswillbetheheartofyoursite.

TWITTER
Whenyoulookattwitteritsaverygoodsite.Youwouldprobablysaythereislittletonothingto
addortakeawayfromit,butIhavefoundthattwitterhasdeeprunningflaws.HereshowI
cametothisconclusion.PersonallyIhavebeenontwitterfor4years,Ibarelyusethething
becauseitdepressesme.Ihave1follower.Whoismybrother,sothesightdoesnotmotivate
metopostanything.Itseemsquiteobviousthattwitterisasightdesignedtokeepupcelebrities
andorganisations.Itisnotaplacetogainrecognition.Thisflawisdeepwithinthemechanism
ofthesite.Okletusputmybadexperienceaside.Mynextsourceofproofisthis:thereisa
prettygirlfrommyclass.Iwontsugarcoatthis.Iwasstalkingheronline,Iwenttohertwitter
page,andfoundthatsheisquitetheregularuser.Postafterpost,updatingonherdaily

routines,religiousviewsandemotionaldistresses.Thoughshehas500followers,allthese
postswentunnoticed.Thisisbecausetwitteroffersyoutheoptionsretweetandaddto
favouritesONLY.Thatswereliestheproblem.Failuretobeingacelebrity,peoplewillnot
retweetyourpostsandthelasttimeIcheckedthemajorityoftheworldisnotcelebrities.
Secondlyasmuchasyoumaywanttorespondtooneofhertweetsyoucant,allyoucandois
addittoyourfavouritesnowasmuchasIlikethisgirlImnotabouttostartsavingeveryword
shesaystomyfavourites.No!Withthatbeingsaidletslookattheconceptsoftwitterweaimto
adoptandimprove:

Adoptthetrendingsectionwhichshowsyouwhichissuesareleadingintheworldand
beingdiscussed.
Adoptthewholetweetconcept,butwewontcallthemtweets.Andtheywillnothavea
maximumnumberofcharacters.
Adoptthe#hashtagconceptasameansoffindingtrendingtopicsandlabellingyour
posts.
Enablecommentingonposts
KEYFEATURE:INTRODUCERATINGSONPOSTS,BETHEYPICS,VIDEOS,TEXT

So,thosetwosocialnetworksaretheonesweintendtoadoptfeaturesfromandimproveon.
Sonowthatwehavecreatedthepictureandputitincontextwewillnowsummarizethe
featuresandideabehindoursite.
TheabilitytoCREATE,TAG&UPLOADEithertoyourcircleortheWorld
thesitewillallowyoutouploadpictures,videosortext.
Followtrends(#hashtags),peopleandpages,groups
Ratepostsonascal
Viewglobalrankings
Memorablesectionwhereyousaveallthepoststhatyoufoundamazing
Personalizeyourpagewithslideshowassignedpicturesandevenbackgroundmusic
playing

Theideaistocreateanaddictivesitethatwillkeeppeoplepostingforhoursonendastheytry
toscorepoints.Thisproductisaimedtoattractintellectualsandthenotsoscholar.Everyone
shouldfeelliketheycanexpressthemselvesonthissiteandfindsomeoneintheworldwho
understandsandorappreciatesthemandtheirwork.

Apartfromjustacquiringratingstheideaistobuildasitethatwillhelppeopledeveloptheir
talentsandevenfurtherthosepotentiallyopeningopportunitiesforsponsorshipetc.
Putrathershrewdlythissiteisexpectedtobeasuccessbecausepeoplenowadaysareshallow
andmainlyconcernedwithimageandperceptions.Thiswillgivetheworldastagetocompete
oninafutileexercise.

Theratingsystemwillworkonasummationbasis.Youwillgetatotalofthepointspeople
awardyourcontentandthiswillgiveyouaworldranking.Secondlyyouwillhaveanaverage

ratingwhichwillshowwhatscoreyouhaveonaverage/5.Yourscorewillgiveyourelevance
whentagsoftrendsarepoppingup.Thehigheryourscore,thequickerpeoplecanaccessyour
posts.
Thisfeatureissouniqueandimportantasunliketwitteryourpopularitywillbebasedonyour
content.Themoreyoupostsubstantialupdatestotheworld,thehigheryourscorebecomes.
Thehigheryourranking.Thiswillbethemainfeatureofthesite.OURUNIQUESELLING
POINT.
PeoplesfixationwithInstagramisbasedonlikes.Instagramisaveryverysimplesite,allyou
doisuploadpictures,buttodayitisvaluedatover10Billiondollars.Imaginethepossibilitywith
oursite.

References

1.AlexFentonMACreativeTechnology2010
2.Siemens,G,Connectivism:ALearningTheoryfortheDigitalAge
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm>
3.Shuen,A,Web2.0,Astrategyguide,OReilly,2008
4.DavidThoreau