I have an interesting side-project The Janta and Durbar . You can signup on the launch page.
Given enough interest we will launch before the Delhi elections. But at this point, I don’t think the proposed platform will have any effect on the same.
What is Jantadurbar?
Jantadurbar is an attempt to provide an independent news and media website.
We are building a community of news enthusiasts – interested in culture, politics and sports. Janta or people submit and upvote on news links. They have discussions, and voting determines what comes on the frontpage. Durbari’s or handpicked experts drive meaningful discussions, in parallel to an open discussion by Janta (which we expect to be more noisy).
I think of Jantadurbar as a movement. Money and power does not play a role in determining whats on the frontpage. I never plan to raise money for this website and would take a call on opensourcing the code (at some point).
Why do we need Jantadurbar?
We need to give more power to better journalism; and less to the media networks. Given how political parties use media, we need some disruption in this space.
What do I need from this forum?
Please signup on the launch page and fill up the survey. If you know any potential Durbari’s, please introduce them with me – my twitter handle is @navalsaini and mail address is navalnovel@gmail.com .
I am the right person to do this because I really want to make a difference. I have volunteered with Aam Admi Party (though this website is not associated with AAP) since the very beginning. I am not driven by making insane amount of money, but yes I would like to put advertisements on this website at some point and build a team.
So if you are convinced, signup on The Janta and Durbar and drop me a mail navalnovel@gmail.com / twitter @navalsaini .
What going forward?
I would like to explore other engagement points – like local MLA and Janta interaction. I am keen on trying it the reverse way, instead of Janta asking MLA questions, MLA will ask Janta questions (and Janta will answer). Say, the MLA can ask, “what do you think about XYZ?” . In addition, we can give opposition parties also a platform to raise relevant voices. This makes it a bit more complex, but less noisy.
At some point, I would explore different ways of scaling the idea (not the organization) to different places on the planet.
What else?
Well I am looking for people to subscribe and send me mails, about why this is needed or blog about it etc. That will give me the drive to build it.
I have build many things earlier (www.convflow.com, www.silentninja.co, and currently www.rewq.co etc and have worked at Qualcomm & Conexant earlier).
So if you are still here, signup on The Janta and Durbar and drop me a mail navalnovel@gmail.com / twitter @navalsaini .