My UNA Epic
So one of the first tasks is to describe in the broadest, most heroic terms what my website is going to be about. This is ‘The Epic’.
The Epic helps any one on the UNA.IO team who is new to your project get a quick handle on what it is all about.
And it’s been surprisingly hard.
As Einstein said, if you can’t explain something simply, then you probably don’t get it.
It’s my project and I probably don’t get it.
Writing the Epic has made me realise how many vague notions I have floating around this project. It’s like I have bunch of jigsaw pieces laid out on the carpet in front of me. The pieces come from three separate jigsaw pictures, but I’m just trying to complete one.
And I’m still not sure what that ‘one’ looks like exactly.
So the Epic has forced me to focus on exactly who my community is, what their needs are, and what I’m offering. It's time well spent.
This is my first cut. It’s still a little clumsy. What do you think?
Somecoolnametba.com
Mission:
To create space for and encourage artistic relationships and art-rich communities.
The Problem:
Outside the mainstream, it is possible to thrive as an artist if we focus not so much on the “products” we sell, as on the “relationships” we have with the people who enjoy our art. Patreon and their ‘subscription’ support service are a proof of concept.
However, we do not have the tools to reach out to new supporters, or to actively engage with existing supporters. Artist websites are too blunt and non-social, and Facebook Pages are useless and/or expensive.
As experiencers we want to be able to intimately relate to the artists we get excited about, to see into their creative processes, and be part of their artistic conversation. We also want to be able to share our passions with others, and find more acts that inspire us.
The Solution:
This site will be a social network focused on artistic relationships. Somewhere between a personal website, and a facebook for art lovers. It will be a place where artists can:
- Showcase their work
- Network with other artists
- Collate inspiration from other artists or the broader web
- Share insights into their creative practice
- Initiate conversations with their supporters and other artists.
- Monetize their creative endeavours.
The curating tools offered to artists will be offered to everyone, enabling people to construct their own personal galleries, playlists, reading lists etc.
There will be tools to ‘share the love’ so that people who land on one artist’s site will be offered suggestions to similar artists.
-
It would be better to mention the name of your project - some short name to reflect the idea. I'm going to create a project and use your Epic for reference.
-
Thank you, Tom! This is a great example of the project "Epic". We use the term "Epic" as it is descibed by Agile methodology: "An epic captures a large body of work. It is essentially a large user story that can be broken down into a number of smaller stories."
Every project starts with an Epic, helping UNA team to know the general idea and purpose of the new community. It's like listening to a song before trying to play by notes - makes it so much easier to make sense of smaller bits. -
Thomas, it's a relief to hear you say "it's surprisingly hard!" So many times, I've had it mentally conceptualized, (e.g. in the shower...the one place where there's nothing to write on & not even a device for a voice memo) ...and then sit down at the computer, or with a notebook, and go completely blank. It's the most frustrating thing in the world.
It's kind of paradoxical for one person to take on the challenge to create something new and exciting for a community, without the community. At least it's been that way for me. This is a phenomenal opportunity we have, but incredibly challenging in isolation.
Your Epic made me think of that story about the brand new college campus, with all the separate buildings, without any walkways- only grass for the first year; then they paved the paths that formed naturally by the students.
I can't wait to see it come together! ...I'd love to collaborate /brainstorm for each other.