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The InfoValet Project -- Overview

Challenge: How to sustain values, purposes of journalism?

• Mass markets splintering
• Search advertising effective competitor
• Classifieds have done better on the web
• What sustains journalism in that environment?

News as a service not a product

• Helping user find access on poker en ligne to info from anywhere
• Creating a conversation, community ... network
• Not just about the story; smaller, larger remix
• The news social network
• New concept: The "InfoValet" -- trusted advisor/broker
• But how to be rewarded?

Making the market for digital information -- HOW?

• Consumer/user establishes account with InfoValet
• Shares as much demographic, preference info as desired
• This information may be released by the user to multiple participating sites
• Records of activity logged, aggregated to InfoValet, purged
• Establishes "shared-value network" for commerce, service

Making the market for digital information -- ADVERTISING

• Rewards for activities, viewing ads, sponsored material
  • Example: The Ford Explorer PDF download
  • Advertising network based on interest not inference
  • Higher CPMs for the news online jobsindustry
  • Consistent with Federal Trade Commission privacy guidlines

Making the market for digital information -- NEWS/CONTENT

• Shared-user network for news-oriented social interaction
• Subscription access to multiple websites (cable model)
  • Access by time, or bundle
  • Economic purchasing on a per-item basis (music, video, text)
• Enables "public radio model" too (Kachingle, others)

Benefits to consumers/users

• One account, one ID, one password, (one bill or reward)
• Personalized service over a network of sites
• Demographic privacy portable, trusted (no more crumbs everywhere)
• Rewards for sharing info (like the supermarket card)
• Access to "deep web," premium, personalized content
• Freedom of choice in picking InfoValets (unlike PayPal, etc.)

Benefits to other parties

• CONTENT PRODUCERS -- Free market for digital info
  • Newspapers / magazines
  • Music, video, entertainment
  • Speciality publishers
• 'USER OWNERS' -- Share yet maintain ownership of user base
  • Newspapers/magazines
  • Google, Yahoo, PayPal, Amazon
  • Banks, affinity groups
  • Other namespace companies (travel, sports, retail)

Adoption strategy: Journalism Trust Association

• Started with Dec. 3-5 "Blueprint" to frame issues
• Non-stock, non-profit JTA guides early years
• Non-competitive ownership, trusted control
• "Founding members" advise early decisions
• Broadly representative board gradually enlarged
• Controlling owner of InfoValet Service Corp.

InfoValet Service Corp. -- Convenor, integrator

• For profit LLC or L3C / controlled by JTA
• Convenes industry around specific system
• Makes/enforces rules for use of InfoValet logo/service
• Integrates, contracts with advertising, tech, financial-service pieces
• Any profits dividended to JTA and other stakeholders
  • Possibly transaction fees, license fees

How financed?

• RJI inclubated through Densmore 2008-2009 fellowship
• JTA will give note to RJI/Mizzou, convertible to stock in IVSC
• Plan for self-funding of IVSC
• Among startup funding options for IVSC:
  • Foundations (if formed as L3C), as program-related investment
  • Strategic investors (who may be licensed/contract partners)
  • Debt financing
  • Equity stakeholders (nonvoting?)

Meeting goal

• New business for news organizations
• New ecosystem for news aggregation, customization, sharing
• Connects news with social network
• Possibility of dividends to JTA to support journalism
• resume writing

• Critical Internet framework guided by journalists

How will it work?

• InfoValet specifies a "pluggable framework" that allows multiple players to fulfill different roles and compete for business.
• APIs enable different applications to share data according to the framework specification.
• The architecture of the ecosystem is distributed as much as possible (instead of being centralized).
• Security is enhanced by decrypting user information only on the user's most-trusted service provider or the user's machine/device.
• The user can then control the release of his information to other services, depending on the degree to which he trusts those services.