🔊 Audio versions of this: http://soundcloud.com/sterbamedia/

This is an introduction to the Sterba project.  It is admittedly packed with information and you may have to pause and replay parts of it and listen to the entire presentation more than once.

This introduction is exciting to listen to, once you realize how the Sterba Network could end up being literally life-changing for so many.  While there will be different ways of making money by participating, the community impact may prove to be quite dramatic as well.

Project overview

The Sterba Network mainly consists of the directory which is a top-down categorized list of topically searchable entries that are maintained by a large number of designated admins. These admins are able to not only categorize their sections by location, topic, specialty, etc. but also assign editorial rights to as many editors working underneath them as they deem necessary.  The admins control not only what listings go into their category, but also what subcategories are created underneath and what their editors have access to.

Anyone may participate with very little training from anywhere in the world.  Thousands of people living in depressed economies can benefit by participating not only on a local level, but also managing data with others internationally, with the goal of earning advertising income coming from elsewhere.  Everyone can create content for and earn money from countries other than their own. Income streams include finding and entering content on behalf of others and getting paid for it, overseeing a number of entries and earning advertising proceeds, or by participating in the project in a number of other ways.  It is now also possible to place advertisements on behalf of others, in exchange for direct trade.  Admin initiated direct trade and cash transactions are 100% commission free.

Because of the system's ability to allow for sharing of editorial access among any number of individuals, an extensive list of community resources and individuals organized by expertise can be maintained within a particular community or neighborhood.  This list, and the entries within, can be updated by the residents themselves.  A self-maintained neighborhood index can definitely have a positive effect for everyone within by boosting economic activity, even with no money ever changing hands.

Sharing of knowledge

Information is best maintained by those who are closely familiar with the topic.

The interesting thing is that everyone is actually an expert - at something.

If you look around people in your life. Your friends... your neighbors... even just random people walking on the street - everyone knows more about some particular topic than you do.  

One person could be a farmer, electrician, barber or maybe a doctor. Another person could be a musician or a street vendor. Someone else could be a passionate video gamer, yet someone else still is really into cooking or real-estate... The list could obviously go on and on.

Everyone knows more about some topic than others around them.  We are going to try to utilize this, the knowledge spread among people out there. Categories will be assigned to those who have some ties to the topic, whether by interest, profession, language or the region they live in and they may in turn grant access to others to edit information that they know about…

In addition to knowing about the subject being categorized, being fluent in a particular language will also allow some to work from across the world on data in a country using it.

Directory listing

Each entry will consist of information about the topic being listed, whether it is a business entity, an institution, some celebrity or whatever else.

In addition to showing the basic information, links to elsewhere can be added.  They may point to a website, any related social media, photo albums, media repositories, event calendars as well as press mentions, venue appearances or an online store - basically any external resource.

A list of not only one, but several of each of the specific social media links can be kept track of in a listed entry.  Some businesses do have a need to have multiple entries.  For example, a restaurant may have separate social media presence for the restaurant itself, for the celebrity chef, for the sommelier, for their wedding offerings and yet another one for the lodging facility.

It is possible for an entry to have more than one Facebook, more than one Twitter, more than one anything.

Admins make sure listings appear in relevant topic categories and are responsible for information contained within. Each record may have several authorized parties with editorial access to ensure the information is complete, correct and up to date.

These pages offer a short web address that can be used on any social media and in print.  Each page also provides a self-addressed QR Code which may be added to fliers, business cards, websites, banners, etc.  Anyone pointing a smartphone at the QR Code is presented with all the information contained in the listing.

Every page is also assigned a numeric ID number, to make it easy to jump to a specific page when sharing information with someone verbally on the phone.

Unique tags can also be assigned to entries, similar to how Twitter and Instagram implements them.

Maintaining a directory section

While the admins benefit from any advertising placed next to their listings, they are responsible for the content quality and structural logic.  They may grant and suspend editorial access to any listing they control to anyone at any time.  

The editors working under the admins are free to update content of listings assigned to them at will. Those being listed may edit their own listings as well.  Restaurants can update their menus, businesses can update their contact information, hours of operation and any special events.  Artists and public figures can update their public calendars and update links to press mentions.

A section of the directory can also be run as a business, paying others to take over all admin responsibilities. Future advertising income would make the effort and any upfront cost worthwhile.

It is foreseeable that sections will be developed with the express purpose of making them valuable by the quality and quantity of the data they contain, and then be sold as an established business.

Data relevance

Once the data is entered, there will be the need to follow up and see not only whether everything is current, but also to see if additional information can be found.  

The system tracks the date the information was last updated, each entry has to show editorial activity at least once per year after it has been entered, plus it keeps track of public feedback on the validity of the data contained within each entry.

It is possible for the general public to contact the admin responsible for a particular listing directly, without revealing either party's identity.  A user of the system can report missing or erroneous information, as well as request editorial access to a listing about themselves, their business or organization.  Requests of editorial access to their own listing will require a proof of identity.

Any entry not showing updates or edit activity for over two years will display a warning message to users.  After an automated warning is sent to the admin for the listing, it may become "adoptable" by any other admin, who can take over responsibility for it and benefit by gaining control of the ad space next to it. The new owner may also immediately assign edit privileges to anyone working under their supervision.

Motivating participation

The way the project is incentivized is that each entry has an advertising space associated with it. The ad rates are set by an admin who owns the particular listing.

Being that they are likely very familiar with the target audience for the topic that they are working on, they also decide how much they think the advertising space should sell for. They decide what the advertising rate will be, whether they want to charge five, ten, or a hundred dollars per month  next to a particular listing. Whatever they feel is reasonable and the market will bear... If they ask too much, obviously it won't sell. If they ask too little, then the buyer may be able to lock that low price for a long, long time, up to several years if they are willing to pay up front.

Topic sponsorship

In addition to the standard advertising space that the users will be able to gain some of the revenue from, there will also be separate additional space for section sponsors.  

Those wishing to blanket advertise and support a particular admin or topic may choose to negotiate directly with the admin to pay a higher flat monthly rate to blanket advertise on all entries the admin of the section happens to work on.  This would saturate the entire topic with a single branding message, on top of any standard listing advertising by others. Every entry maintained by the sponsored admin would have a mention of the sponsor and their message, while at the same time still displaying any standard listing ads.

The section sponsorship may be more costly than the ad spaces next to the individual entries, but it will in turn be topically ever-present and therefore  quite valuable, while at the same time helping to have the topic actively maintained.

In addition to paying for individual ads and section-wide advertising, admins may be sponsored in a manner of anonymous support, to support content creation of a worthwhile topic.

Free advertising

Not all advertising on our system has to be paid for.  An admin may choose to maintain a section with a topic related to an existing business that they already have, and choose to display their own ad instead of selling ads on any percentage of the entries listed in their topic.

Admins may also instead choose to utilize the section sponsorship to promote themselves, while still selling ad spaces next to the listings as normal - or not at all.

Any income from sold ad space could be used to cover the expenses of maintaining their section, while at the same time benefiting by getting free advertising for themselves.

Zero commission transactions

Sterba can be used as a free platform, even when earning an income.  

Normally advertising on Sterba is paid for using privacy crypto such as Monero and resulting royalties are paid to admins with crypto as well.  

Not everyone can transact this way, or may be able to find advertisers themselves. Direct contact between the admin and someone wanting to advertise avoids any transactional friction and allows negotiation in cash and trade.  While Sterba does not earn a commission in these cases, the project still benefits by the increased admin incentivization, data depth, added relevance and worldwide market share.  

The overall aim of the Sterba Network project is market dominance, for the benefit of all involved as well as those who use it.

Branded directories

It is possible to entirely run a unique directory business on top of the Sterba platform.  A website can be built with its own branding, targeting a specific audience.  All support, marketing and payments can be done using this website, while the actual content resides on Sterba.  The Sterba hosted directory color scheme, branding and back links are all customizable to match the website the section is made for.  No other Sterba categories are displayed and even the Sterba logo is replaced with a custom one.  

As before, although this service is provided at no charge, Sterba benefits by increased data depth, market relevance and ever growing positively incentivized worldwide market dominance.

Economies of scale

The admin's ability to delegate editorial access to others is the key to the entire project's success.  This is where the magic happens.

Admins can assign and revoke individual user edit privileges to specific entries as well as entire topical sections and subsections to as many people as necessary. This allows for the distribution of labor, delegation of responsibilities and for those being listed to self-edit. In all, the economies of scale can come into effect.  

Based on topics and or regions, large segments of the directory, perhaps hundreds of thousands of entries deep, can be maintained by many hundreds of distinct and independent admins and their subordinates, with overlapping access.  These editorial groups are able to communicate among themselves, in their own native languages.  This removes or absolutely minimizes the need for any involvement by the Sterba top level administrator, as far as the directory content is concerned.

This is the key.  The ability for the project to efficiently thrive even on micro community levels at times of exponential growth.  

Variety of languages

Information in any language can be used when it is being entered.

So let's say somebody in Japan, who speaks Japanese, would like to maintain a local directory of restaurants. They can then use Japanese to name any subcategories, as well as entering all of the information.

As users of the directory come across information that happens to be in a language other than their own, it is automatically translated to whatever their chosen preferred language is set to.

Other ways of getting involved

Not everyone who participates has to be an admin or an editor. Another way to engage in the project is to inform others about the Sterba Network and help them get involved.  

We are going to have so-called evangelists - or ambassadors, who will be marketing and explaining the project to people on the Internet, public media, in classes and seminars - in whatever language in their respective countries.  

Those joining the project can either start new topics or combine forces with others on expanding existing categories already being worked on.  

Every applicant has to go through an initial crash course on the basics related to the Sterba Network.  In order to be endorsed and certified by an existing admin they will need to complete editorial tasks in the admin's section to their satisfaction.

In some countries, through partnerships with cybercafes, free or discounted access to equipment will be provided to those who need it.  A small percentage of future earnings will be deducted to reimburse these businesses for their partnerships.

Anonymity of participants

We have gone to great lengths to protect everyone's identity.  From generic usernames, to use of an encrypted messaging mobile app which requires no email address or phone number.  We also transact in crypto to avoid issues with bank transfers.  All this to allow participation even from countries where it could otherwise be problematic.

Source:

sterba.co/projectintro