BACKGROUND/MOTIVATION
· Passion for chocolate of all kinds, on all levels
· Passion for world travel and culture
· Academic interests in history and social science
o Shaping culture and society
o Touches on related disciplines like anthropology, sociology, economics, etc.
WHY THE WEBSITE, CHOCOLATE JOURNEYS?
· The intersection of chocolate, world travel and culture, and history
· Website as a treasury of information on world history of chocolate
· Website as a one-stop portal for chocolate lore all over the world, catering to various interests and degrees of curiosity all in one place
· Website is appealing, easy to navigate, and entertaining for the mainstream Web user
PROPOSED CONTENT AND FEATURES
· Introduction
· Clickable navigation world map
· Featured countries and histories:
o Venezuela
o Mexico
o Italy
o Belgium
o USA
o Japan
· Historical Content:
o From first chocolate influence to present-day
· Special Features
o Multimedia
o Chat forum
o International Chocolate Recipes
o Contests for website visitors
· Related Links
· About
o Developer/Contact
o Assignments
NAVIGATION AND ORGANIZATION
· Opening page with introduction and clickable map
· Sidebar with links to each country’s section
o Featured history in each country’s section
· On lower sidebar:
o Special Features section
o Related Links section
o About section
TARGET USERS, APPEAL, AND USER BENEFITS
· Intended for English speakers with any degree of interest/curiosity for chocolate, culture, or history
· Appeal derived from vivid visuals, ease of navigation, functionability
o Color scheme, images of chocolate and world locations for visuals
· Education, fresh perspective, and entertainment for user benefit
DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES
· Development Stage 1
o Timeframe: 1 week
o Chocolate Journeys begins on free Wiki domain
o Site ideas developed
o Rough outline of site's features and navigation composed
o Resources
§ Free wiki domain
§ Minor technical support from peers
· Development Stage 2
o Timeframe: 4 weeks
o Initial research and information for featured world regions and histories
o Wiki domain style improved
o Chocolate Journeys domain begins move to improved domain for more features and design
o Resources
§ Internet, Stanford Library research tools and materials
§ New domain space
§ Initial seed investment for domain costs
§ $100 on reserve from Creator's personal funds
§ Initial donation requests to peers at Stanford
§ Grant money from Anthropology, History, or related social science academic departments at Stanford University
§ Grant money from outside foundations, related interest groups
§ Bechtel International Center request for donation
§ Technical support from friends familiar with website creation
· Development Stage 3
o Timeframe: 5 weeks
o Begin compiling formal collections of texts, excerpts, and analyses for featured world regions and histories
o Seek volunteer research assistants at university for research credit
o Finalize move to improved domain
o Begin applying for grant money, minor donation solicitations
o Resources
§ Additional research tools and materials
§ Additional seed investment for domain costs
§ Donation requests
§ Grant money
§ Technical support from friends familiar with website creation
· Development Stage 4
o Timeframe: 20 weeks
o Consult experts in chocolate, history, and related social science disciplines for content
o Visit featured countries, consult native citizens
o Finalize content
o Add and finalize special features for website
§ Website priority on historical content, later creation of special features
o Continue seeking grant money, donation solicitations
o Compile related links, with potential for donation collection
o Resources
§ Previously collected funds for travel, expert consultation costs
§ Additional seed investment for travel, expert consultation costs
§ Technical support from friends familiar with website creation
· Development Stage 5 (Maintenance and Expansion)
o Timeframe: ongoing
o Updating content with news, trends, and developments every 3 weeks
o Update special features for website every week
o Seek and maintain partnerships with related or complementary interest groups, websites
o Consider new content
§ New featured countries
§ Expansion into related social science topics relating to chocolate
o Resources
§ Funds for overall website maintenance
§ Technical support from friends familiar with website creation
SUPPORT TEAM
· Creator
· Miscellaneous friends and acquaintances for technical support
· Two volunteer research assistants for content creation and maintenance
COMPETITION
· Sample competitors:
o Chocolate: The Nature of Indulgence by Ruth Lopez
o http://www.chocolate-world.net/history-of-chocolate
o http://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/exploring_chocolate/
· Differentiation from competition:
o Material is targeted solely toward chocolate, world culture, and history with minimal skewing toward other interests/motives
o Special attention to chocolate’s international history, with sections for individual countries
o Includes discussion of current chocolate influence in featured countries
o Multimedia and interactive features, i.e. chat forum
o Improved navigation and organization
o Connectivity to related sites, resources
o Appealing and user-friendly, through writing style and visual features
ADVERTISING
· Search engines
· Partnerships
o Educational foundations
o Interest groups involved with chocolate, world culture/travel, history
o Museums
o Chocolate vendors
POTENTIAL OBSTACLES AND RISKS
· Website development and logistics:
o Questionable dependency on grant funding
o Questionable dependency on technical support from friends
· Content:
o Wide scope of historical topics to address
o Historical content compiled from Western point-of-view, bias present
o Featured countries do not represent all regions of the world
§ Skewed toward industrialized countries
§ Does not address other, more somber aspects of chocolate history, current issues
· Ivory Coast, Western Africa
· Website Appeal
o Effective advertising and communication issues
o Potential difficulty in striking balance between informational and fun, user-friendly qualities for website
o Lack of complementary chocolate products to offer
§ Sample competitor websites sell chocolate and products as well as offer historical content about chocolate
o Lack of frequent content updates could likely hinder visitors from visiting repeatedly, potential problem of stale content
ANTICIPATED TRENDS
· Changes in chocolate’s usage and role paralleling societal changes and advances
o Political, economic, sociological changes in countries
o Evolving cultures and heritages
· The influence of cultures on each other
o Potential culture fusions
· Other general trends
o Evolution of chocolate as a food/ingredient
o Technological advances pertaining to chocolate
o Nutritional and medical findings relevant to chocolate