You need to type in what you're looking for ('photos of Texan stamps') after that, it's up to you. The fields are what, where, who, and special needs. Is there someone out there that might better able service your request? A historian, a stamp collector? Then you might type that in the 'who' field. Do you want to limit your request to Texans, or the US? Then you'd type that in the 'where' field. Would you like your photos made with a DSLR or reflex camera, then you'd type that in the 'special needs' field. You click 'search'. You're then shown a list of Arkies that match your search criteria. Arkies type keywords in their profile. When you scan them, you can search by those keywords. For more info, please click here.
If you ask Aviark to send out a request to everyone in Belgium, every Arky in Belgium with their notifications set to 'all of Belgium' will see it. An Arky can choose what he or she wants to be notified about - the parameters are: geolocation (set a radius), profession / hobby, chosen keywords ('WWI memorabilia', 'drone'). If an Arky receives a notification and taps on it, they'll be able to learn more about the nature of your request (they'll see your *Ark-card). They can then choose to chat with you about your request, or not.
We believe that even if there are only three Ark-capturers in say, Paris, they will be eager to take on all the work they possibly can. If the amount of incoming requests is too much, we’re hoping that they pass prospective work to friends and colleagues. In the early days, if a request is made and no Arky can be found in that area, we’re going to ask for 24 hours of patience and do our best to find someone there for you.
If it doesn't meet the specifications you both agreed to the Ark-card (what's this?!), you don't have to pay. What's important to know is that Aviark is a platform for two parties who genuinely want to collaborate, help each other out. Please click here for more about 'what if I'm not happy'.
We don't guarantee good source material. That's up to you when reviewing an Ark-capturers profile. Do you feel confident this person can deliver? We aim to give you everything we can so you can discern that for yourself. Please see here for more info on that.
Aviark was conceived for sharing audio / visual data, material anyone with a smartphone can point and capture for you. In this realm, it's information that's usually the most important of importances (what brands of cereals are there in a Kenyan supermarket shelf), not aesthetics. Having said that, there are also Arkies who believe they are capable of capturing media fit for publishing or broadcast. It's up to the Ark-requester to comb through their profile and have a look: What kind of websites do they have? Are they verified? What does their Insta or FB account look like? We can guarantee a contract between you two, but we cannot guarantee aesthetics. You have to work that out with your fellow Arky based from their profile and your chat with them. We're confident there will be enough people out there that really can service what you're looking for, merrily so, if you're willing to engage with them.
We became aware of that criteria through our research and therefore chose to implement a strict verification system for those who option for it (1.0 version). The verification system works from government issued ID's, passports, drivers licenses, as well as facial recognition. It's strict! Aviark's policy is basically to provide you with every tool we can think of to assure who you are talking to is who they say they are, but after that, it's really up to you to discern if you think you're potential collaborator is trustworthy. The verification process is strict, and transparent, but after that you can still comb through an Arky's profile: do they have a linked FB or Insta account? A linked website? Are there research papers that they may have uploaded? CV's? Do they have Arky reviews? Before any potential work is agreed upon, you also have the opportunity to chat with any fellow Arky, ask him or her (or they can ask you!), whatever you want... are you able to share and trust one another? Aviark is a platform that's built off of people willing to share, learn, and genuinely collaborate. Every fabric of our architecture aims to encourage, guide, support, and provide tools for this.
Aviark ensures that you will be sent uncompressed media. If you and your fellow Arky wish the media to be 'public' (i.e., available on our platform for others to come across, to share, buy, etc...) please click here for more on that. We will store the media with compression and a lovely watermark. If anyone else wants to use that content, by clicking on the media, they are put into contact with you. It's up to you if you want to send them the original, uncompressed media and let them use the material further.
It's all about the Ark-card , what you and the Ark-capturer agree to. Aviark transfers are, by default, unique. If you ask for a recording of a waterfall and receive it, and someone else asks, one week later, for a recording of the same waterfall, the Ark-capturer must either go make a new recording, or re-contact you and ask if her or she can use it again for the new Ark-request. How can we police that? For the moment, we can't. In future versions, we'll investigate how we can signature an image so it sets alarm bells off wherever it's reproduced.
The platform is based off of trust. If there's abuse, and you catch an Arky having used media in a way the two of you did not agree to (it shows up in a Justin Bieber song), the Ark-card IS legally binding. You can take action with it and we will support you in every way we can. To be an Arky, you gotta be honest.
You don't. Yet... yet we try to give you every way possible to ensure that the person you are working with is who they say they are, and that they can also be held accountable if they are not. In an Arky's profile, you can see linked websites, reviews, term papers, linked FB and Insta accounts, as well as whatever else they wish to put on there. You can also see if they are verified, and if not, you can ask them to be. The verification is strict, and transparent. You also have the chance to chat with an Arky before you decide to work together. Later versions of Aviark aim to scan embedded data and verify the media was taken when and where it was stated. Like with journalism, you need to vet your sources. The goal of Aviark is to create a community that fraudsters and crooks just don't feel comfortable in.
User defined. You and your fellow Arky define the rights, and you own them. Not us. Rights are super important. To read more about rights in detail, please click here. For commercial use, we will provide guidelines that prospective Ark-capturers will have easy access to (and be encouraged to consult) so that they can be more informed when gauging what fee they'd like to ask (magazine inlay, church pamplet, billboard?!).
Unfortunately, you don't. Just like if clips from 'Bohemian Rhapsody' are used in a laundromat ad, the only way for someone to know is if it's witnessed and somehow gets back to the rights holders. By filling out the Ark-card, however, an Ark-requester has to write what he or she is going to use the media for. If an Ark-capturer (or Ark-requester) learns of other usage, the Ark-card is legally binding, and he or she can take the action they need. Aviark is a platform for trust and transparency. Those who violate that trust are ejected and we will give all the support we can so that you may hold them accountable.
By the EULA every Arky signs when registering (we will encourage an option so, if you choose, you can hear or see Ben reading it), and by the terms on the Ark-card that you and your fellow detail, the nature of the missions you request, or agree to undertake, like anything is BOUND BY LAW (great film, btw). In our EULA, no Arky is allowed to ask for, or send material with content of nudity (yep), spying, espionage, cruelty, or abuse. If a journalist asks for unauthorised pictures of private property, the journalist and his Ark-capturer are both responsible for that. They're not Arkies, if so. It's not our platform.
User defined. It can be free (free’s fine), MWC (*see next question! we're proud of the MWC), or whatever an Ark-requester and Ark-capturer find fair. If you make a media request, you’re asked from the get-go what you are willing to pay for it. If an Arky responds to your request, he or she can accept your offer, raise, or lower it. The two of you negotiate until you find something reasonable. Aviark will take 15% off all transactions so that we can continually support the platform's community and expand Aviark's utility, value, and safety.
MWC stands for ‘minimum wage calculator’: a price proposal based upon the minimum wage of the requester’s country. The MWC is simply a way of thanking someone for their time, kind of like if you show up to a dinner party with a bottle of wine. A simple calculator, accessible on the platform, will have input fields of time, transport, and additional / required costs. The Ark-capturer fills in the fields and the MWC spits out a number. It's fair, and meant to represent a token of gratitude that both parties are happy to operate with.
The moment you and your fellow Arky agree to a mission, the money goes off the Ark-requesters account and we hold it. If the Ark-capturer fulfils all that is written on the Ark-card , he or she will be paid. If there is a dispute, we review it. The criteria is: did the media fulfil what you and your fellow Arky wrote on the card? We can not judge aesthetics. That's up to you two and your collaboration to hammer out before hand. Please click here for more info!
The person who intends to capture the photo (can also be an audio or video recording) does indeed set the price. It's up to the Ark-requester to accept it or not.
15%. We ask this for only one reason, so that we can continually expand Aviark's utility and create a progressively more valuable service for our community. Our goals for Aviark's growth are to expand safety, reliability, and guidance so that every potential Arky can learn from and enjoy collaborative, mutually beneficial exchanges.
We're doing our best. We want to make an architecture that encourages people to share, not take advantage of each other, make win-win situations (is that a passé term?), and learn. We believe there are enough other people out there who want that.
Aviark was conceived to connect one of the 3.5 billion smartphones to another- ie, visual data (just take a some media of this or that detail, please, so I can see or hear it) - media anyone can take that will be of great help to what you're looking for. Yet.. yet if you're looking for professional content and the material is heavy, yes, the Ark-Pro on the other end will be able to upload it from his or her computer. In this way, the Ark-Pro can also edit, colour grade, etc, with their desktops before uploading.
Aviark is a platform to bring together people that normally could not meet, but have common interests and want to share, collaborate. The default mode of interaction is peer to peer, a unique exchange that really is just between you two. If the two of you, however, wish to make your work 'public', it simply means that the media you've gathered you want to share with others. Maybe you gathered the sound of wind from seven different continents, and would like others to be able to hear it. Then, as long as you and your other collaborators agree, you can make it 'public' and others can comment on it, click and contact you with questions, or - if they'd like to use the media - ask you for permission. You can give it to them for free or ask royalties, that's up to you, the content creators. Please click here for more.
You can post your own work in your profile via your websites that represent you or links such Insta or FB accounts, and 5 media samples that you feel represent you. You can post Aviark work if you and your fellow Arky agree that it can be 'public'. For more on 'public', please click here!
Aviark is different than say, Twitter or FB, because everyone registered either is willing to capture media from what's around them or what they are interested in, or willing to ask for it. You don't need to introduce and prove yourself. It's in your profile, and by being registered with Aviark you're already saying, 'I'm willing'. What's different with Aviark is that when you ask for content, or when you upload, the two of you define the rights. When that is done, you own it. We might not be able to compete with FB or Twitter in capturing images of the Notre Dame burning on the spot, but maybe you want to interview a fireman or firewoman the following day? Or people in the neighbourhood? Or an architect specialised in 12th century joints?
Yes, there will be a limitation, a quota, on how much one can upload and download without needing to pay for it. We have not determined it yet. We will make this as generous as we possibly can. If we need to charge for extra space, it will most likely be for Pro Arkies, who need to send heavier files, and who have higher commissions. Again, we're going to scale this as generous as we possibly can, with rates comparable, or hopefully far less, than other large data transferring platforms.
We love Craigslist. The only difference we can see is that Craigslist is a bit of wild west, as much good is on there, there is also plenty of place to get extorted. We want to curate and develop our platform and develop our platform for honesty, guidance, safety, transparency, and mutually beneficial exchanges.
We're working on that and hope that it can be in our 1.0 version. It's crucial for us that two parties not versed in the same language can understand one another.
Yes. We do that to protect the registered Arkies. The more in depth an Arky makes his or her account, the better other Arkies will have the opportunity to trust you. Accounts (Arky profiles) may have relevant websites, linked FB or Insta accounts, CV's, Arky reviews, external reviews, research papers, etc.. listed on them, as well as if they are verified or not.
Yes. Two ways: you send a set of questions and ask an Ark-capturer to record them for you... he or she does, with or without the help of others, and uploads the result. Second way is live: the two of you can set a live feed up via third party platforms you are both familiar with and comfortable in.. like WhatsApp, Signal, of FaceTime. In this way, you can shoot and talk at the same time. Uploading, and payment (if any) can later go through Aviark. Why stick with Aviark and not just work out the details on your own? Via Aviark, your data will be sent uncompressed. Via Aviark, the terms you both agreed upon in the Ark-card are legally binding and created for one reason, to protect you. Via Aviark, payment (if any) is already sorted and easy to implement. Our aim is to put you two together so you can collaborate and have transactions that are fair, transparent, and mutually empowering.
That's right, the more info the better, simply because it allows others to know more about you before they ask for, or accept, a task. It is up to you to you how much info you put on your profile! We aim to make a platform of transparency, and of safety. The more info an Arky provides, the better others can trust him or her, or know what they might be good at. Think of LinkedIn, if you want work or are aiming to give it, you'll want to provide as much info as you can, and in as much detail as you can, to get the right people. The system is built off of trust, and our aim is to continually curate, guide, and develop that quality.
No there is not. We hope people will be both requester and taker.
There is an essential difference in the way the services work. On Aviark you actively search for a service. On Fiverr it is the other way around. People can put up a service and you can hire that person for that service.
Absolutely.
An Arky can send either a general message to all the Arkies registered in a given locale (e.g. Queensland, Australia), to a specific hobby or profession (e.g., zoologist, car collector), to the entire world, or some combination of these (e.g. zoologist in Queensland). It depends what you’re looking for. Arkies who correspond to your search criteria will receive a notification, e.g., ‘Arne would like an image of a duckbill platypus in a Chevy Impala - 35 euro’.
An Arky can also browse through individual profiles and reach out to other Arkies via private message. If Arne chooses to reach out to, say, Sally (something in her profile suggests that she could be the right person for the job), she’d get a notification (‘Hi Sally, Arne would like a picture of a duckbill platypus in a Chevy Impala - 35 euro.’)
If an Ark-capturer taps on a notification, it’ll open Aviark. He or she'll be presented the requester's Ark-card, where the request will be laid out in more detail (for example due date, intended usage, etc). If the prospective Ark-capturer thinks the mission is interesting, he or she will tap ‘chat with ....’.
A chat window will then open and the two prospective collaborators can begin communicating about what’s needed, ask questions, and so on. At the end of the chat (and always accessible during the chat), the Ark-card is presented to both sides detailing all the specifications of the mission, including intended usage (this is very important for in order for the prospective Ark-capturer to gauge his or her rate, as he or she will likely ask something different if the Ark-requester wants to use the image commercially). Both sides must agree that all the necessary details are present in order to successfully complete the mission.
If they are not satisfied, they can continue to edit and chat till the card is clear for both. Once clear, they click ‘deal’! The money will then go off of Ark-requester's account and stay ‘in the cloud’ till the Ark-capturer delivers the media according to the details on the Ark-card.
It can be free (free’s fine), MWC (*see next question!), or whatever an Ark-requester and Ark-capturer find fair. If you make a media request, you’re asked from the get-go what you are willing to pay for it. If an Arky responds to your request, he or she can accept your offer, raise, or lower it. The two of you negotiate until you find something reasonable. Aviark will take 15% off all transactions so that we can continually develop the platform’s value and safety.
MWC
MWC stands for ‘minimum wage calculator’: a price proposal based upon the minimum wage of the requester’s country. The MWC is simply a way of thanking someone for their time, kind of like if you show up to a dinner party with a bottle of wine. A simple calculator, accessible on the platform, will have input fields of time, transport, and additional / required costs. The Ark-capturer fills in the fields and the MWC spits out a number.
If the media meets the specifications listed on the Ark-card* that both the Ark-requester and Ark-capturer agreed to (*scroll to previous entry!), the amount of money agreed upon is immediately transferred to the Ark-capturer's account. In case of dispute, it always comes back to the mutually agreed upon card. If the Ark-requester forgot to put ‘red Chevy Impala’ and he or she is not happy that they got a green one, that's on the Ark-requester, not the Ark-capturer. If the Ark-capturer took a picture of a Ford Mustang, the Ark-requester can choose whether or not to still honour their deal. He or she is not obliged to, because it was not on the card. Likewise, if the Ark-capturer turns in the media later than they agreed upon, the Ark-requester has a choice as to whether or not tap 'mission accomplished'. Of course if the Ark-requester doesn’t, he will not receive Ark-capturer's image.
If not looking to acquire media, an Arky can scan a live feed of world-wide requests. An Arky can also limit and sort their feed, choosing what variables they wish to scan or be notified about. Filters are: geo-location (set a radius), profession / hobby, and *pro or not pro (see below!),
Once a transaction is completed, both sides are asked whether or not they’d like to make the material public:
- If they decline, the transaction remains private. The Ark-capturer may never send the same image again unless he or she contacts the original Ark-requester and a new deal is made. Nor may the Ark requester ever use the media for anything other than what he or she stated. If the Ark-requester would like to use the media for something else than initially stated (‘everyone who saw it on my wall wants to buy it!’), he or she can contact the Ark-capturer and make a new deal. In this way, every Ark exchange is unique. If someone else asks Sally, a week later, for a picture of a duckbill platypus in a Chevy Impala, she has to either recontact Arne and make a new deal… or shoot a new image for that someone.
- If the two sides want to make their work public, however, we’ll place their work on Aviark’s audio / image banks so that others can have opportunity to come across the material they created. Pinboards and themes will also be available (‘Larry’s pictures of sheriff’s badges’). If a visitor to the platform sees media that he or she would like to use, they can click and contact the original team that produced it. If the original team agrees to the further usage the visitor specifies, the proceeds are split 50 / 50 (they can also choose to give it away for free). Usage is stated on the mutually agreed upon card and must always be transparent. If someone wants to use an image for a billboard, they must state so (obviously this might increase what an Ark-capturer would request for said mission). Standard price guidelines for professional usage will be accessible on the platform so that Ark-capturers will have an idea of what the going professional rates are and be able to price accordingly.
Ark-capturers are responsible for taking care of their subjects. If an Ark-capturer photographs someone wearing a t-shirt in front of the HOLLYWOOD sign in LA, the photographer must have a fair deal with the model. Whereas it’s the two Arkies’ responsibility to insure this, copy / paste blank contracts will be accessible on the platform. There are cases where models in stock photography have had their image used on 100’s of different products and were paid next to nothing. Aviark is a platform to mutually empower requester, capturer, and possible subject(s).
When browsing through Aviark profiles, one can see any or all of the following: a handful of photos or audio samples, verified or not verified, web-links (portfolio), profession, hobbies, Arky (or other) reviews, research papers, links to CV’s, as well as ‘pro’ or 'not pro'.
‘Pro’ simply means that the Arky believes he or she can turn in media that is publishable or suitable for broadcast. It’s up to the Ark requester to look through the prospective Arky’s websites, references, and so on, to know whether he or she might be qualified for the mission at hand.
An Arky may also choose the option of verification. Ark-verification is strict. If sensitive material is to be exchanged (someone wants to interview refugees at a given border), many Arkies will want to be assured that both sides are who they say they are. There are int’l standards for ethical research. The verification process holds applicants to these standards.
In short
The rights are defined by what both parties agree to on the Aviark card. You own the rights, we don’t. If you sell the media further, other than what you’ve stated on the card, you need to re-contact the original Ark-capturer and strike a new deal.
In detail!
When an Ark-requester fills out the Aviark card, he or she must state what the media will be used for (i.g., ‘a church pamphlet’, ‘gift for my daughter’, ’an inlay for ‘Coolbox’ magazine’, ‘a poster to advertise my pizzeria’). The Ark-capturer will be encouraged to gauge his or her price based off of what the Ark-requester’s intended usage is.
Guidelines will be accessible to help with this, i.e., reference rates pertaining to intended use (e.g. flyer, billboard), duration (e.g. 2 months, forever), and territory (e.g. North America, worldwide). All of this is stated on the Ark-card, available for both parties to see. The fee that the Ark-capturer receives guarantees those rights to the Ark-requester. What’s stated on the Ark-card is legally binding. If the Ark-requester wants to use the media for something other that what he or she initially stated, the Ark-requester must re-contact the Ark-capturer and strike a new deal. If, for example, an Ark-requester acquires an audio sample for free for his or her research paper, but later wants to mix it into a commercial song, he or she has to recontact the initial content provider and make a new deal. If there’s a subject involved, for example, an interviewee, or some musicians, it is up to the Ark-requester and Ark-capturer to notify them and strike a new deal. Of course if the Ark-requester said from the get-go that it’s for a commercial song, and still gets it for free, than there is no need to contact the Ark-requester. Likewise, if the Ark-capturer is asked for the very same audio sample a week later, and would like to re-use it, rather than record a new one, he or she has to recontact the Ark-requester and strike a new deal.
If an Ark-requester and an Ark-capturer both agree that their work can be made ‘public’, Aviark will store the media on our platform, available for anyone to come across. If someone else wants to use that media, for whatever reason, commercial or non-commercial, by clicking on the image they will be put into contact with the original content creators and likewise, be able fill out a card stating how they’d use it. The original content creators will split whatever the proceeds might be 50/50 (they can also just choose to give it away for free). Aviark will take 15% off of the transaction, just so we can keep our service running. If it’s free, of course we don’t take 15%.
Aviark forbids any content involving stalking, espionage, taking advantage of individuals, political advertisements and / or cruelty.
Aviark is for sharing, collaboration, learning, building, and creating mutually beneficial scenarios.
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