Monday 27th April 00:57
The following is the first in a series of pieces I wrote (and am writing) as a stream of consciousness. When I feel like it, I’ll open Word and write whatever comes to my mind at that hour, the only editing done to it, is the occasional internal debate about punctuation and the creation of paragraphs. I am posting them several weeks past writing date so I don’t have to worry about what I am sharing real time.
It’s Monday 27th April 00:57. At this late hour, I wanted to put on paper my vision for the company I am trying to build. Twollars started as a funny little project, an idea, something that could go viral. We wanted to create a Twitter behaviour like retweeting but for thanking. In retrospect it was superficial, when we thought of the idea, when we launched, we didn’t have a clue of the opportunities and power Twollars could hold. Frankly, neither Mac or I had figured out yet what was next. It had all come so fast, from idea to launch in a matter of weeks.
Upon launch I was enjoying the fast paced hectic life I was leading that day in London. First from Starbucks to Starbucks trying to find a working wifi connection. Time and time again pointlessly ordering hot chocolate, later espressos. With the help of Mac I finally found myself jumping in a cab, going to a Radisson hotel where I would launch Twollars from a netbook, sitting in a big leather chair with fresh orange juice, water and olives by my side. In the coming weeks I found myself all over Western Europe, The Netherlands, Barcelona, Geneva, Grenoble, Paris and then home.
Home is a tiny village named Ojén, in the South of Spain, in a province called Andalucía. I am there right now, writing this. It seems that it is taking me some time to get to the point. Putting down on paper my hopes and dreams for Twollars. Maybe it is so hard because even at this point, nothing is certain yet. The feeling of potential is there. Seeing, hearing and feeling the interest in what we’re doing. Getting excited when there is an email in my inbox from a journalist or this morning from a partner at an investment firm. However as little moments of validation and joy they both give, I know that together with Mac I’ll have to build this company. There is no easy path to success and one of the many things I am learning is that I can’t outsource a vision, I have to do it myself, hands on, one step at a time, and along the way resist the temptations of taking the easy route. I am not saying that one should always choose the harder path. I am saying to follow your instinct and have faith in yourself; money, recognition, so called fame, the underlying human desire for them seems to create the moments where you consider taking a shortcut.
For me the temptations are, funding and living the Silicon Valley lifestyle. I am only human. I am happy though that I am recognizing them and taking the time to think about them, write them down. Putting words in print seems to make them final… lasting. I guess it allows me to look back on something, maybe even create a reminder for myself, fixing this moment in time where I believe I am completely honest with myself and the reader.
Along the way, in the last two and a half months since Twollars launched, I created some of the greatest memories of my life, met some incredible people, sat humble, listening to conversations where I for once didn’t have anything of importance to say, it has been an incredible ten weeks. Those ten weeks could have been spread out over a whole year and even then it would feel like one of the busiest times of my life. Not because of the hours but because of all the different impressions. You’re living them, one after another, sadly not taking nearly enough time to process them.
Right now I just have one focus and that is bringing the next version of Twollars to life. There’s nothing on paper about it. It’s a picture in my head, it’s a hope, it’s a dream. This is the first time I am really writing it down. Somehow I sense a hesitation to put the words on paper. I don’t know why.
Twollars is a currency of appreciation, right now a nice way to thank one another on Twitter. From the start we realized that the only way we wanted Twollars to be converted into Dollars is via good causes. We endlessly discussed models, ideas, figuring out how this could change marketing. I think we figured it out. I want to create an ecosystem on Twollars where all good causes can join, where they use Twitter but also websites and blogs to ask people to send their Twollars to them. Letting people choose which charity they support. Not by donating money but by donating their Twollars.
Everyone on Twitter starts with fifty, so everyone can join. As Twollars can be sent amongst people as a token of appreciation they can also be an appreciation to a charity. The charity builds a Twollars balance, a growing number of Twollars people gave to them. Some charities will get more than others. I hope that the ones which will flourish are the ones which can show to people where the dollars end up, how each penny is spent and where and how it is changing the world.
Twitter as a base for all this is perfect because it allows even the tiniest charity to reach an audience. So dozens, hundreds or maybe thousands of charities will be building the number of Twollars in their accounts while raising awareness through Twitter. So how could we get from Twollars to dollars? Each charity can give away its Twollars. They can give them to businesses that choose to donate to them. They are selling their Twollars. Since Twollars are not infinite and everyone just has fifty, people who want more, to give again to others or to good causes, can now get them from businesses.
I am building an application programming interface (API) which allows any website to send its companies’ Twollars to whomever it may wish. Imagine the following. You gave all your Twollars to friends and charities and would like to do more good. Go visit the website of any business that chose to buy Twollars. You can even pick the website that bought them from the charity you care for most. Now get a Twollar because you visited their site. Get Twollars because you left a comment on their blog. Get Twollars because you … the options are infinite and are up to you to think of, up to the community to develop and share. Everyone wins, charities raise awareness and get dollars to do their work, websites get the people and interactions they want, and you, you get to do good. [02:07]
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About
I am blogging with my real name at the top of each page. This means that I stand behind what I say. As an individual I am looking to engage in a conversation with you, the reader. What I hope for the future of this blog is that the comments become more valuable then the text I initially wrote.
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Email: contact@nulleiso-kant.com
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