Week 9: Idea Napkin No. 2

Second Shot at Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. I am a current student and aspiring entrepreneur at the University of Florida. I tend to have a wide perspective on things and understanding opinions when it comes to controversial issues. That being said, I have this vision of an application that informs and involves the public in politics more. Clear Vote, an app to inform the user with UNBIASED politics, or unaltered facts delivered to the consumer, so they can have their own opinions based on facts not fluff, that the media and friends and society deliver. As a political science major and aspiring law student, this app remains relevant to my life, as to any one else who is a citizen of the United States.

2) What are you offering to customers? Clear Vote, provides a mobile application that focuses on candidates and their respective issue. It provides users a way to make voting easier and more specific to an individual’s values and beliefs. The application is a way to vote in a manner that veers away from biases. It takes away the face from the candidates and the prejudice they bring with it. Additionally, Clear Vote will offer a chance for users to register to vote from the own comfort of their cellular device rather then making a trip to the DMV if it is possible to gain clearance on this. It is possible to register online so the steps to making mobile application voting registration a reality is not too far a reach! Clear Vote will focus on more truthful, factual information on politics, educating the user with straightforward and easy to use information. Know exactly what, and who you're voting for.

3) Who are you offering it to? Voting is the most important civic opportunity given to citizens in the United Stated. So then why is everyone not voting? Out of the whole eligible voting population in America, only 64% of citizens actually voted. Voters have been misled by the government,media,friends, family and pop culture, and the internet biased views on politics, so what about an app that plans to fix all these issues. Clear Vote's main audience will be college students and the younger adult generation, ages 18-25. It is a shame how little the youth are taking a part in politics and our government when everyone is directly affected by these governmental actions and litigations.

4) Why do they care? So why download Clear Vote? People are sick and tired of misleading politics and are concerned with what the government is doing but do not always understand or trust what they hear from national news stations. Citizens crave the truth; no one wants to be ignorant of what is happening around them. Our application remedies these issues: we provide not only the issues that affect them, but also the truth about those problems. Our app will revolutionize how political news is conveyed. 

5) What are your core competencies? Clear Vote is unlike any other app or news source out there. The only true unbiased source of politics is the government network CSPAN, and lets be real, unless you're like me who looks forward to governmental addresses or speeches like the State of the Union, you aren't going to be watching CSPAN. Soundbites delivered by CNN or Fox or any news source for that matter, are shaped with a certain view and often frame the truth.

Feedback Memo

My application idea, ClearVote seems to attainable and within my reach. There are a few aspects of the application that will be difficult for my team and I to accomplish, such as having reporters gather the news and information we will be using for the basis and foundation of the app. Since, ClearVote aims to deliver unbiased news, we will have to rely on our own reporters and CSPAN to gather information as it is directly. This will obviously be costly and one of the roadblocks we will encounter.

Regarding the feedback I received on my napkin idea #1, I gathered some good outside points and tweaked my business plan and idea to be more suitable and enjoyable for customers. One thing that I thought was a great consideration was implementing a way for users to register to vote via this application. Technology is taking over this world and lets face it, people use their phones and computers for everything nowadays, especially if it means saving them a trip to the DMV. Someone did suggest to make it possible to vote directly from this app, however, that is something that cannot be exclusive to an app because voting is a privilege that needs to be monitored at a poll booth to make sure it remains as honest as possible. However, I was inspired to implement registering to vote via the app through that feedback. 

I also removed the word "unbiased" from my business plan as it was pointed out in my feedback as something that does not mix well with politics. "Unaltered facts delivered to the consumer" sounds more realistic. Another thing I need to consider regarding the feedback is how I am going to develop this application. That is another roadblock I would need to tackle. Overall, I really appreciated all the feedback I received and I am glad I took time to thoroughly read them and consider them, as they are helping me eliminate future issues I may encounter and offer more to the table. People seemed to really approve of my idea!