Kluster Sets Launch Plans for Open Source Knewsroom.com

What I Did On My Summer VacationWhile still in high school eighteenyearold Kaufman had an idea for an iPod accessory It was an instant success and enabled him to launch Mophie an entire product line of iPod addons When Kaufman made his second appearance at MacWorld after winning Best of Show his first year he had an epiphany He proffered quotThe Illuminator Projectquot amp8211 asking attendees to submit ideas for the next big thing Within four hours he recalls there were 120 working concepts The MacWorld community spoke 30000 voted for the best ideas and in a matter of weeks three products were put into production Seventeenyearold Jared Fiovorich created Bevy a combination bottle opener and keychain embedded in an iPod Shuttle case and the product was launched on CNBC The success of Bevy made it clear to Kaufman quotIt was our process not our productquot He soon decided that he didn39t want to be in the iPod accessory business and sold Mophie for an undisclosed sum last summer plowing back the proceeds into KlusterBut just what is Kluster If as Malcolm Gladwell wrote the Tipping Point was the quotbiography of an ideaquot than Kluster is its incubator Kluster marries heart and mind by creating a hybrid a social network for idea creation that leverages its algorithmic infrastructure to assess track and empower collaboration In this sense then Kaufman is Steve Jurvetson crossed with Mark ZuckerbergUnder the HoodThe basic unit of currency is the Watt Upon registration Kluster allots a member 1000 watts more can be earned in myriad ways inviting others to join investing in ideas that are eventually quotgraduatedquot and through participation contributing quotsparksquot or proposed solutions and quotampsquot tweaks or refinements Every single project on Kluster whether it39s a Manzier yes Frank Costanza39s bra for fleshy men was a recent project here or developing a new prototype for digital music distribution is broken down to its elemental parts of production they are here called phasesEverything in Kluster is timed the project manager decides on whether each phase lasts hours months even years and the inflection point when a concept gets traction is of particular concern Even gaming the system has been taken into consideration it can identify which users are connected if they39re conspiring in a bloc Ideas are either quotbackedquot which is to say that there is a projectbased reward Bevy39s designer got 5K for his efforts or it is bootstrapped where community members may invest their watts in exchange for a stake of the project39s proceeds when it is completed with Kluster owning the IP and receiving a percentage of reward fees Asked if this makes the contributions work for hire Kaufman asserts that this is quotthe only way this is going to work You own the UI until the community validates itquot While an occasional episode of seller39s remorse is inevitable Kaufman emphasizes quotthe bottom line is that we39re here to get ideas out into the worldquot adding that quotthe best protection IS a community They are investing time energy and reputation in seeing something come to lifeIs the social network layer relevant quotAbsolutely we39re banking on it The human element is key People say quotyesquot or quotnoquot and validate an idea emotionally risking their reputations Go on the site and define interest experience click on quotbrandingquot for example and retrieve anyone with that experience Look at their portfolio and historyquot Indeed one39s homepage resembles Facebook39s Minifeed Here you can see quotpropsquot they39ve left for peers sparks or amps towards a project watts invested But rather than Facebook Beacon39s glimpse into a pattern of purchases you have a holistic snapshot not merely of consumption but of actionIn a sense Kluster is a 21st century version of Eames Office run by industrial designers Charles and Ray Eames staffing up based on the needs of a wide array of projects from museum installations films or architectural undertakings There too process was key Asked to contrast Kluster with Current TV39s system of bubbling up the best video projects for broadcast Kaufman expresses admiration suggesting that a key difference is beyond their core businesses Kluster39s reporting system quotWe39re a little bit more mathematical algorithmic and analytical which could be good or badquotThe median age range of Kluster is thirtysomething a surprise to Kaufman He39s finding that retirees and housewives are participating unleashing either ideas of their own that had nowhere to go or iterating on concepts based on interest andor experience While a board game designed to encourage cultural awareness is a nice takeaway from TED the conference gave him a more profound outlook quotIt got us to reassess whether we only want to run projects with organizations sponsor them within Kluster or engage the community on our own terms as well We don39t know exactly what we are and we love that There are three different directions we can go in Private label community quotPowered by Kluster allow small businesses to run projects be they marketing campaigns or events but the most exciting piece is to structure this community in the sense that we have a series of brands a working group I prefer the latter but we going to try all threequotThis week Kluster is launching Knewsroom Coming out of TED Kaufman and Bo Peabody Kluster Board Chairman founder of Tripodcom and VC Village Ventures looked at the popularity of news aggregation and settled upon creating a daily media publication that is entirely consumeroperated applying Kluster39s architecture to a traditional format The consumer will decide on content on advertising everything including whether it39s printed or online Pressed that such anarchy could realize either a product centered around the Dalai Lama or the cult of L Ron Hubbard for that matter Kaufman is unfazed quotIt39s an experiment We had the idea a week ago and BAM It costs us nothing to run to put together As long as the community is using it there will be no reason to take it down It represents the first among a series of communityowned and operated brands under the Kluster umbrella Every decision is in the hands of the communityquot In theory you will have the most democratic of papers supported by the most loyal readersBut don39t get the impression the Kluster is amateur hour Its algorithm like its projects is goaloriented quotEveryone should understand that communities can be diverse Qualified and unqualified participants are welcome Mathematically we are credentialing letting everyone in We provide specific goals and everything else happens organicallyquotKluster39s broad architecture can be leveraged in all decisionmaking activity On the site folks are in the middle of a threemonth project to create a black box that anticipatesenables the future of the cell phone industry recently completed Napkin 20 allows VCs to assess capacity of personnel and balance riskreward Others still are working on collaboration dispute resolution as an alternative to litigation Products then range from the social political commercial even to the environmentalWhile every entrepreneur aspires to take their company public such talk is premature to Kaufman quotMy focus is to simply empower groups to make decisions and collaborate If I39m successful other doors will openquot Klustercom archives a halfdozen videos including the pitch that secured their TED invite At the end of that clip adlibbing in the background a staffer blurts quotEverything comes togetherquot This is the soul of KlusterFor further information on Kluster contactamp160Tiffany Markofksy at TiffanyKlustercom

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Kluster Sets Launch Plans for Open Source Knewsroom.com

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Kluster Sets Launch Plans for Open Source Knewsroom.com

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