CitySpotters
Users 'spot' ideas that make their cities better and are rewarded with local promotions and gifts.What's the big idea?
CitySpotters is a mobile and web platform(building on the foundation of 11k subscribers at IAmYoungDetroit.com), that will allow users to earn points by ‘spotting’ a promising new business idea or movement led by a young doer in one of our featured cities or by playing a ‘supporting role’ as mentor, resource provider, or educator. Accepted contributions may appear on one of our city blogs and be rewarded with gifts from doers previously spotted. We’ll be using this data to digitally map people, businesses, neighborhoods, and movements in ways that inspire, inform, and evolve in real-time.
Describe the nearest player in your field.
Using its magazine and website as a platform, GOOD’s(based in LA & NYC) GOOD Ideas for Cities empowers users to tackle the challenges of select cities. The top proposed solutions are presented live, online, and in print. Later the best idea is rewarded with possible funding and guaranteed support.
How are you different from that player?
CitySpotters empowers users to spot existing ideas led specifically by young people that are moving cities forward. Our model will join in with other small efforts helping to boost local economy by rewarding both the users(with ‘shop local’ incentives) and the idea-makers(with dollars and support).
How's the world different with your idea in it?
We have faith that this will work in other cities where we’ll eventually expand at IAmYoungAmerica.com. Websites highlighting local businesses are launched frequently, though few have engaged the public as ‘spotters’, mentors, educators, resource providers, and consumers the way CitySpotters will.
There have been 29 replies to this idea
Margarita Barry
I’m really excited about this opportunity! CitySpotters has been two (almost three) years in the making, and I’m really excited to launch this platform as a part of I Am Young Detroit 2.0 later this year. Friends & Supporters, please log on to StartGarden.com (using facebook), and “endorse” this idea one time this week! We have 6 days to make it happen!
Andrew Kopietz
Endorsing because this sounds forward thinking and innovative. Plus, where would i be without my local business savvy entrepreneurs?
Arthur Mitchell
I’m on board!
Margarita Barry
Thank you both for endorsing! Please let me know if you have any suggestions or feedback.
Jessica Noel Candace
Love the idea. Anything to bring the city together more and create opportunities for the younger crowd, I’m all for!
Margarita Barry
Thanks for supporting Jessica, ecstatic that you love the idea!
Rasheda Kamaria Williams
I would love for this idea to become reality. It’s a great way to promote local businesses as well as a great support for community. It’s like a new economy in of itself.
Margarita Barry
Rasheda, I hope it becomes a reality too! I think this platform has the potential to expand and grow with time. Thanks for your feedback and support!
Graves Neal De Armond
As always, Magarita - Right on top of things! I’m happy to Vote and back endeavors featuring you and your backing!
Margarita Barry
Graves you’re always such an avid supporter of my ideas, let me know how I can repay the favor my man!
Margarita Barry
...besides money of course, because I don’t have that.
Stephanie Gray Chang
This is great! Just “endorsed.” Quick Q, what about residents of Metro Detroit who might spot great ideas in their cities but aren’t (yet) citizens? Would they be able to participate? I figured that you mean citizens in a non-technical sense, but maybe there’s another word choice that makes it clear?
Margarita Barry
Stephanie, thanks for your endorsement! As for your question, users will NOT be required to reside in a particular city in order to participate, however, the ideas that they spot must be based in one of our core cities. Starting out we’ll be focused on the City of Detroit. Later on we’ll have to do a bit of research to determine additional cities that would benefit the most. It’s our hope that we’ll increase spending dollars in these targeted cities and help support the small businesses and movements led by the young ‘doers’ in them. I think it’s important to not exclude users living outside of the core cities and their surrounding metro areas—who knows there could be a few expats out there who prove to be our most active CitySpotters! Once we prepare to launch I think we’ll really have to pin down the right terminology and statements to make all of this more clear and concise, on this platform we had a limited word count so I had to really think about how best to describe the concept under those constraints. Excellent point and thanks for the helpful feedback!
Stephanie Gray Chang
Okay, cool :) I think there would probably be plenty of non-naturalized immigrants who would like to participate!
Adrian Montague
Endorsed! Wishing you the best of luck :)
Margarita Barry
Thanks for the endorsement and well wishes Adrian!
Nana Dansoa
I love I Am Young Detroit…keep up the great work!
Margarita Barry
Thank you Nana! I’m a big fan of your show, means a lot coming from you!
Peter Kageyama
I like this idea because it facilitates a key ingredient in making better, more lovable cities: discovery. When we are able to discover something new about our cities, it is like discovering something new about an old friend. It makes us smile and we connect with the person or the place. This app enhances our ability to discover the great stuff in our own backyards.
Margarita Barry
Thanks for your feedback Peter, if anyone knows about cities it’s you! I’ve read your book and work on emotionally engaging people with their cities, and I agree that empowering people to ‘discover’ new things about their cities adds value and contributes to making communities stronger. Appreciate your support!
Melissa Dunkelberger
I think it’s a great idea to engage the community and everyone in it to discover inspiring people and businesses. I feel this would be a positive addition to my bookmarks in that it would not only give exposure to the grassroots ventures started by the young, “hopeful” generation—but also by giving me an incentive to actively seek them out. I also love the idea of earning cash to spend locally, I’m a bargain hunter and am always looking for ways to shop locally, and wisely. So many young people have the opportunity to make something of themselves in here in the great state of Michigan…with just a little ingenuity, a dash of creativity, and big passion. I would like to see these people get the exposure they deserve on I Am Young Nation, and how cool would it be if everyday citizens and fans were the ones to empower them to do so? It’s a win-win for everyone! Go I Am Young Detroit! Can’t wait til you expand to other cities. I can see something like this working in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor too. When do you think you’ll get to doing that?
Margarita Barry
Melissa, thanks for the lengthy response! Seems like a that’s a point that no one has mentioned yet, it really IS a great way to earn and save money towards local purchases. I really hope to work with a plethora of businesses that meet everyday needs: food, clothing, drink, dining..there’s so many possibilities, adding new rewards/partners regularly. I’m a penny-pincher too, and take advantage of websites like www.ebates.com and retailmenot.com to find deals for my favorite online stores. I think what really will set this apart from her loyalty and coupon programs, is that things really come full circle: Scenario A) You’re on IAmYoungAmerica.com reading about a young entrepreneur from your city…you think hey that sounds cool, how can I support them? CitySpotters! B) You’re logged on to CitySpotters and want to learn more about the local companies listed and the entrepreneurs behind them. And how? Click the link to read their story over at IAmYoungAmerica.com C) Your friend from high school just started a cool cupcake shop in the city, but it’s totally under the radar. You want to support her in any way that can..What do you? Log on to CitySpotters, ‘spot’ her shop, and earn points to redeem later to shop once her shop gets listed or with another local business you love. As for your question, we’re hoping to launch a second city after one solid year of running the platform in Detroit. That way we can really pinpoint what’s working, what’s not, and tweak if necessary. This will also give us time to research the perfect cities to tackle next. I would love to explore other Michigan cities, I think Grand Rapids and Detroit have a lot in common and I’d love to see more collaboration between the two!
Margarita Barry
Forgot to mention in scenario C) Your friend also gets her cupcake shop featured on IAmYoungAmerica.com—putting her on the radar, and on the map with CitySpotters, That’s how everything comes full circle.
Kent Alverson
Endorsed! Sounds like a very worthwhile concept. A few ideas….First is a tool that promotes collaboration between small businesses and non-profits. Second is a reputation ranking which acknowledges the goodwill and efforts of those in a “supporting role.” Third is a method to track the popularity/influence of the spots over time. I’m thinking of something a little more comprehensive than Yelp ratings or Foursquare checkins.
Margarita Barry
Kent, love your ideas! We were working on a separate program that enabled nonprofits to work with young entrepreneurs outside of CitySpotters, but I agree that there could definitely be some synergies there with CitySpotters. I love the idea of rating or ranking the ‘spotters’ too—Definitely was planning on tracking spotters (they’d get the option of keeping their submissions anonymous of course) through a basic tagging system, but that sounds even cooler and would provide even more incentive. Thanks for the input, awesome stuff!
Young Detroit
Team IAYD here! We just wanted to thank everyone who’ve posted feedback and endorsed our ‘CitySpotters’ concept. Win or lose, we’d love to move forward in the near future and ask that you join our mailing list over at www.iamyoungdetroit.com to keep on top of the latest progress. We’ll be following up within the next several weeks with a survey where you’ll be able to earn your first CitySpotters points.
Patti Conahan
You are and promoting the city in so many ways that this would be a wonderful addition to your work. You make a difference, Margarita!
Delphia Simmons
I think this is a win-win for citizens and doers! I can’t wait to see it launched!
Margarita Barry
Thanks Patti and Delphia, I’m really looking forward to bringing this to life soon…Lord, willing. Mega thanks for your support!
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