IdeaDate is an online portal that allows people to make meaningful professional connections which will serve as a platform for collaboratively manifesting positive world change. 

Collaboration with Claire Dierksen, and Shayne Ingham.

My Part:

Initial Concept
Branding Ideation
User Experience
Business Plan 

Currently 7.2% of the United States’ population is unemployed. According to an article Forbes published in May of 2012, only about 20% of the people who are employed are actually satisfied with their jobs. At the same time the world is confronted with a myriad of problems that are begging to be solved. While people need money to address their basic needs, a growing number of people, particularly Millennials, are also interested in serving a higher purpose.  

IdeaDate has the potential to improve the lives of people who are either unemployed or unsatisfied with their work. We aim not only to increase durable professional relationships but create a culture that values collaboration on global issues. That is, IdeaDate would be a means for people to find truly fulfilling occupations by connecting deeply with like minded individuals.

IdeaDate: A casual interaction via videochat, that is approximately 30 minutes long, in which the participants will discuss hobbies and world changing ideas to establish personal resonance.

HOW IT WORKS: 

Users will create a free profile. While making this, they will fill out basic information such as their names, contact information and professional experience. They will also provide links to other facets of their online presence. Next, users will answer survey questions similar to ones found on online dating sites. The questionnaire will address themes such as personality attributes, professional skills, hobbies and interest toward genres of positive change. Each question will call for answers about the individual and about potential collaborators as well as ask the user to rank how much weight they give to this particular question. 

For example a question about personality attributes might be:

How outgoing are you? (Least) 1 2 3 4 5 (Most)
How outgoing do you want a collaborator to be? (Least) 1 2 3 4 5 (Most)
How important is this to you? (Least) 1 2 3 4 5 (Most)

And a question about professional skills:

How effective at public speaking are you? (Least) 1 2 3 4 5 (Most)
How effective at public speaking should a collaborator to be? (Least) 1 2 3 4 5 (Most)
How important is this to you? (Least) 1 2 3 4 5 (Most)

The information provided by filling out personal details and answering survey questions will populate a user’s profile. However, it will not establish credibility or expertise. Users will be able to confirm their peers data by leaving reviews about performance in past work experiences and attesting to the accuracy of declared abilities/traits. Profile information, survey answers and outside reviews will be used to provide users with suggestions of people to IdeaDate with.

Based upon personal survey responses, users will be able to browse through suggested individuals, topics and projects. This is the primary way for a user to find a special someone to IdeaDate with. They will also be able to find potential collaborators by using our predictive search feature to look for people with skills or interests that complement their own. 

An IdeaDate will be exclusively able occur spontaneously— meaning two people will only be able to video chat if both parties are online concurrently. This is designed to encourage individuals assertion. For example, if someone notices that a prospective collaborator is available they feel inclined to immediately initiate a conversation as the alternative is to risk losing the opportunity to connect with this person by never being online simultaneously again. It will also ensure that there is a significant desire to connect before contact is made— that is, if someone really wants to IdeaDate a particular user they will have to wait for the other person to come online. This will, conveniently, also drive users back to the site. This feature also creates an element of fun by encouraging people to bask in synchronicities and jump on opportunities.