Creating community web site

A community Web site is created quickly and inexpensively in a two-step method. The first step is to create a prototype Web site having general content and local content. The second step is to provide a licensed Web site to a community, the licensed Web site sharing the general content with the prototype Web site and having local content that is specific to the community.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A. Overview The invention is a method to be used in providing various services to selected persons and organizations using the Web sites on the World Wide Web. In this method, a licenser who owns and operates a prototype Web site, for example www.QuincyNet.com, provides a complete Web site based on the prototype for a selected Licensee in a separate city. The licenser typically hosts the provided Web site on its computer. The provided Web site is adopted to the facts and conditions of the licensee's city. The licenser also provides the necessary training so that the licensee can begin immediate operation of the Web site from the Web site and, at the same time, conduct revenue operations to sustain the business profitably. The Web site thus provided is referred to as the licensed turnkey hometown community Web site. B. Characteristics There are several distinctive characteristics of the invention. Some of the more distinctive characteristics are as follows: The licenser is a corporation that owns hometown community Web sites, and is prepared to enter into licensing agreements with local interests (the persons who will finance, create, and operate the business corporation that will maintain the Web site) in the smaller cities throughout America, and to assist them in the effective and profitable operation of such Web sites. The licenser applies a list of criteria in the selection of the next city for the development of a licensed turnkey hometown community Web site. When that city is determined, the licenser prepares the hometown community Web site and begins its search for appropriate local interests. The licenser is the owner and operator of the prototype hometown community Web site (www.QuincyNet.com), which contains (1) a large content of general information, links to many thousands of Web sites on all subjects, and other content that is of equal interest to all people in America, and (2) thorough coverage of local information, which is detailed information about every component of the community wherein the licensee is located. The licensee is a business, normally a corporation, the purpose of which is to serve its community in various ways and, most particularly, to present an attractive showcase to the businesses of America, displaying every bit of pertinent information about their community in a way that is most conducive to attracting new businesses, branches, offices, plants and other extensions of their operations, that will bring good jobs and revenue to their community. In addition, the licensee provides to all the people of their local community a portal to the World Wide Web. The portal is an attractive, carefully designed site that contains a vast array of information on countless subjects. With the exception of special services to other businesses, such as the creation of Web pages, all the services and the content of every licensed turnkey hometown community Web site are free to all viewers. Their cost is supplied by the corporation that operates that Web site. The licensee in each community is generally a for-profit corporation that has been created for this purpose by the local interests. It operates its licensed turnkey hometown community Web site as a platform to launch and operate various forms of revenue production. The most important of the corporation's revenue streams is the providing to local businesses expert assistance in building and maintaining their own Web sites. Business models for other forms of revenue streams are complete and ready to be incorporated into each licensed turnkey hometown community Web site's business when it has sufficient trained staff to perform them proficiently. The licenser also provides to all its licensees detailed plans for, and assistance in, the creation, implementation, and operation of other sources of revenue streams, which are to be incorporated into their operations as soon as they have mastered and are successful in operating their principal source of revenue, that is, the creation and maintenance of Web sites for local businesses. The licenser prepares and places on line on a hometown community Web site designed specifically for the city and county where the licensee is located, with all the contents, general and local, complete and carefully designed to meet the needs and wishes of the people of that specific community. While the hometown community Web site performs many functions, its most important is to serve as a showcase that tells the entire world what a good place it is to make a home, raise a family, run a business and, in all respects, enjoy the highest quality of life. Thus, it can serve as a community rallying point wherein enthusiasm for the community and concerted efforts to improve the community receive constant attention and publicity. The licenser and the licensee enter into one or more agreements whereby the licenser makes it possible for the licensee to be fully prepared, on the very first day of business, to operate the licensed turnkey hometown community Web site, and to produce Web site services for local businesses, thus soon producing a profitable revenue flow. In the vernacular, they are able to “hit the ground running.” The licensee pays to the licenser an annual fee which pays for all the rights herein described, for the licensee to use and operate the hometown community Web site, which rights are automatically renewable each year thereafter upon payment of the annual charge therefor. The first group of rights given by such agreements includes the right to use all the features and general content of such Web site, together with all amendments, and supplements thereto, together with the right to use all the local content originally provided by the licenser, and the right to modify, supplement, and update all such local content, and the right to own all such local content that shall be newly created by the licensee. The second group of rights given by such agreement to the licensee include the right to use an extensive supply of procedures and documents specifically designed for use by this specific hometown community Web site. Such documents include templates and other forms for the preparation and maintenance of Web sites for local businesses, organizational forms for the operation of the business, and forms and procedures for use in the marketing of the services offered by the licensee, both in the operation of the Web site and in the creation and operation of its revenue producing activities. The third group of rights given by such agreement to the licensee is the right to instruction in the various procedures, methods, computer processes, and other actions required to implement and operate the various activities outlined above. This instruction consists of a combination of handson instruction, manuals, audio tapes, video tapes, computer disks, lectures, and all other procedures necessary to bring the entire staff of the licensee to the point where they are capable of operating every aspect of the business, on the very first day they are in business. C. The Prototype Web Site An example of the prototype for all licensed turnkey hometown community Web sites is the Web site located at www.QuincyNet.com. It is owned and operated by QuincyNet, a division of HCW Ltd., an Illinois corporation. The prototype Web site is managed and operated in the City of Quincy, Ill., and is in continuous development. It serves as the model and provides the basic content for all the licensed turnkey hometown community Web sites that will be established in conformity with licensing agreements with HSW Ltd. The most significant fact about the licensed turnkey hometown community Web sites is that all of them will have, at all times, the identical features and content, with the exception of the local content which will always reflect facts and information about the organizations, activities, etc. as they appear in each of the respective communities in which the licensed turnkey hometown community Web sites operate. Therefore, the differences between general content and local content are highly significant and very important. Such differences must be kept distinctly in mind as one contemplates the exact nature of licensed turnkey hometown community Web sites. D. Special Features Of The Prototype One of the characteristics that makes the prototype (and therefore all licensed turnkey hometown community Web sites) truly unique is the fact that it is designed to meet the needs and wishes of two distinct groups: (1) the people who live in and near the selected city, and (2) those businesses all around the World that the local people are seeking to attract, to bring new business, jobs, and economic activity. As a result, everything about the construction and contents of the site are geared to satisfy the needs of those two audiences. It is assumed that most local viewers will have limited experience with the World Wide Web and will have the least sophisticated equipment. Every aspect of this Web site is prepared with those facts carefully considered. Accordingly, the site is architecturally designed for quick downloading, for easy navigation, and for the easiest, most direct ways of finding any desired information. It is also designed for family viewing, with each site bearing the SafeSurf seal, assuring that its content is suitable for viewing by people of all ages. Licensed turnkey hometown community Web sites are equally notable and distinctive for what they do not contain. They do not contain large, unnecessary graphics, thus increasing the speed of downloading. They are largely devoid of banner ads, which only appear when necessary to incorporate a valuable service not otherwise available. Many do not contain any form of multi-media which, though glitzy, requires more sophisticated viewers and equipment. Turning now to the specific pages of the prototype www.QuincyNet.com Web site, FIG. 1 is the Home Page. The Home Page is an overview of the Web site, designed to tell the viewer what the site contains and its special features that aid in using the site. Links along the left side and along the top permit viewers to find preliminary information quickly. One of the links is to the Welcome page which tells the viewer about the people who prepare and maintain the site. The Contact page contains information on contacting the publishers, as well as various notices about copyright and privacy. The Marketing page describes the services that are available from the publisher that will permit viewers to have their own Web site. One of the important features of every licensed turnkey hometown community Web site is the Comprehensive Index. It appears on the Home Page and arranges alphabetically every subject covered in the site. That includes both general and local content. In many ways, this Comprehensive Index is a more than adequate substitute for the Dewey Decimal System. In effect, the viewer can get the “number” of the subject (by checking the subject's title) and then going to the stacks (clicking on that link) and immediately seeing all the “books” (linked sites) on the subject. The viewer is then free to “pull down” (click on any link) to browse the individual book on the subject. Each viewer of www.QuincyNet.com and its progeny, the licensed turnkey hometown community Web sites, has immediate access to the content of the Web site itself and of all other sites on the World Wide Web. This remarkable capability results from the inclusion of both the standard search engines and a proprietary Internal Search Engine. It permits the viewer to type in the subject being sought. This engine instantly brings up all references to that subject that are included in both the general and the local content of our site. Without leaving this site, the viewer also has immediate access to all the major external search engines, such as Alta Vista, Excite, Google, HotBot, etc. As new, capable engines are introduced, they are examined carefully and, if found to be satisfactory, are added to those that the viewer can use to find nearly everything on the World Wide Web. E. General Content Of The Prototype The general content is the material found in all licensed turnkey hometown community Web site. At any moment in time, the general content of every such site is identical. The general content is constantly revised, updated, corrected and supplemented by the licenser. All such changes are made instantly on each licensed turnkey hometown community Web site. Most of the general content consists of a vast number of bookmarks ( FIG. 2 ). There are thousands of topics on an extremely wide range of subjects. Each of these topics is linked to an AnaList, that is, a list of information about a particular subject. Each AnaList contains an average of 10 of the best Web sites on that subject. Some contain many more, if the subject is sufficiently popular. There is a constantly ongoing process whereby staff members seek the best available sites, looking for good new sites, culling out the less satisfactory sites, eliminating broken links, and checking the remaining sites against a number of criteria, including, inter alia, their suitability for viewers of all ages. All bookmarks can be found quickly by viewers using either the Comprehensive Index or the internal search engine, both of which are always provided for every licensed turnkey hometown community Web site. There is a separate section devoted to News. It is divided into principal categories, such as world news, sports, etc. A careful study is made as to the various sources of each of these types of news. In each case, the best has been selected, having in mind the needs of the viewers of the particular Web site. The news of general interest to viewers is about the same in one city as it is in another, but local and state news differs from city to city. Consequently, news is one of the categories that is largely general but is partially local. This situation is also true with reference to the Weather page. In the prototype, as well as in all licensed turnkey hometown community Web sites, general weather over the state and nation are the same from city to city. Local weather, on the other hand, is highly individualized. Thus, weather is another category that is both local and general. The federal government has an important impact on the life of every American. It has created a huge, comprehensive Web site that is linked to all federal Web sites, and answers virtually every question any viewer might have about the federal government and many other questions, such as health matters, that are of daily concern to every American. The prototype, www.QuincyNet.com, has incorporated the entire federal site in its own site. It is completely indexed as part of the Comprehensive Index, so that everything can be found very quickly. Links to federal government Web sites are distinctively marked. The same service is provided to every licensed turnkey hometown community Web site. An unusual feature of the prototype, that is included in every licensed turnkey hometown community Web site, is the section designated Day Trips ( FIG. 3 ). It is a collection of portrayals of numerous communities within a few hours drive of the city hosting the Web site. These day trips and weekenders are rich in information, pictures, places to stay and eat, as well as the local attractions that draw visitors. These are included in the general content. As the area that encompasses host cities expands, additional day trips will be included to give a complete choice of short vacation trips within easy driving distance. F. Local Content Of The Prototype After the licensed turnkey hometown community Web site has been turned over to the licensee, no further changes are made in the local content by the licenser. That becomes the task of the licensee who becomes the owner of such new content. What distinguishes licensed turnkey hometown community Web sites from all other Web sites is their rich content of information about every aspect of their home communities. This information must be gathered at considerable expense. Advertisers cannot justify such expense in the light of the comparatively small audience they can thus reach. As a result, it appears that no one has sought to fill this need until the establishment of the prototype, www.QuincyNet.com. The prototype web site is located in a city of about 45,000 people, and thus is viewed as a small city. Yet, the backbone of much of America consists of much smaller cities, those with less than 10,000 people. It is about them that the invention is primarily concerned, in bringing Web sites that will fill so many of their Internet needs, as communities, as businesses, and as individuals. Even the people in these smaller cities do not have more than a vague idea of the rich diversity of products and services, of every kind and description, that are available within a few blocks of their homes. It is for them that most of this vast array of information is provided. But, even more important to the economy of each community, this information is made available to every business in the world that could be looking for a suitable location for an office, a branch, terminal, etc. A careful study of the site will give any corporate executive a complete understanding and feeling for that community very quickly, thus avoiding unnecessary trips and expenses in looking into communities that might ultimately prove unsatisfactory and a waste of their time. The Calendar of Events page lists all events in the entire community that their sponsors want known by the general public. They are carefully arranged in different ways so that the desired information can be found quickly. The Blue Pages ( FIG. 4 are similar to the traditional Yellow Pages, but with significant differences. They do include the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all businesses, government offices, and other resources in the community, as with the Yellow Pages. In addition, they are linked to the messages of many of the businesses of the community, so that they can give a lengthy message about their product(s)/services(s). In addition, like other web content, they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to everyone who has access to the web. A large, complete Directory of Community Resources has been prepared for the home city of the prototype. A similar directory that relates to their own hometown is prepared, for inclusion in each licensed turnkey hometown community Web site. This directory is a complete list of all the health, education, recreational, and welfare resources and programs in the community. All such organizations are included whether they are public or private, profit or not-for-profit, governmental, volunteer, or charitable. It gives essential information about each of them. This information includes the names of personnel, the address, telephone number, URL, e-mail address, fax number, programs, eligibility requirements and any other information of general interest to the community. This directory is included in the local content of each licensed turnkey hometown community Web site. It is maintained and kept complete and current by its staff, with the cooperation of the organizations'personnel. This directory is not included as a separate figure, as it is not shown on the Web site as a separate document. Rather, the organizations contained in the directory are listed alphabetically in the Comprehensive Index. Viewers can also find them using the Internal Search Engine and the Blue Pages. An important, and truly unique, part of every licensed turnkey hometown community Web site is a City Directory ( FIG. 5 ) for the city that is its home. In addition, there may be city directories for each of the largest cities in the same county. This feature permits everyone, both local and far away, to get the name of the occupant and the telephone number for every address in the city. Also, the Internal Search Engine permits viewers to find a person's address or telephone number if only the person's name or telephone number is known. Links to web mapping sites permit viewers to get detailed maps of the community quickly and easily, without having to know any URLs to find such services, and without leaving the site. Each such Web site also has a complete description of all the places of worship in the community. This includes information about personnel, special programs, times of services, masses, etc. Usually, these are accompanied by a picture of the place of worship. In addition, each Web site has a complete description of each of the parks in the community, together with pictures, lists of facilities available, special programs and events, and other information of interest to the people in the community. Each licensed turnkey hometown community Web site has a complete description of all the schools in the community, together with essential information about their personnel, programs, etc. In addition, special information such as athletic programs and lunch menus may be included as an additional public service. Each smaller city has numerous homes and buildings that are of special interest because of their architecture, history, or former residents. These are combined into convenient walking tours. In addition to a map showing their location, there is a picture of each with an explanation of the architecture, the history of the building or its former occupant, etc. For many of its residents, one of the principal contributors to the quality of life is the proximity of a variety of golf courses. Most avid golfers think nothing of driving 100 miles or more for an interesting new challenge. Based on this, each licensed turnkey hometown community Web site contains a complete description of each golf course within 100 or so miles of the host city. Also included are facts about tee times, hole pars and distances, golf cart availability, instruction, etc. Every city has special area attractions that are of interest to visitors and useful in drawing tourists. This may include state parks, preserves, museums, monuments, colleges, famous buildings, homes of famous people (the list is almost endless). For each of these local attractions that has its own Web site, there is a brief description with a link to its own Web site. If any such attraction does not have its own Web site, one is created for them and is hosted on the licensed turnkey hometown community Web site, without any cost to any of them. G. Relationship Between The Licenser And Licensees There are three distinct sets of relationships between the licenser and the licensee. The first set of relationships are those that exist during preliminary investigations by the parties, and negotiations between the parties, leading up to and including the execution of an initial agreement. The second set of relationships are those that exist from the date of the initial agreement until the date designated by the parties as “Opening Day,” the date selected for the completion of all necessary steps required for the operation of the licensed turnkey hometown community Web site in the licensee's city, and the commencement of the host of activities that constitute the operation of the business. The third set of relationships are those that exist between the parties from the Opening day and continuously thereafter until the termination of their contractual relationships. The latter set of relationships typically involve the hosting of the licensee's Web site by the licenser. The relationships between the parties are defined by one or more written contracts. Since the subject matter of each of these areas is different from the others, they may be incorporated in three separate contracts, for ease in adopting the contractual relationships between the Licenser and the various Licensees in the different cities. However, all the relationships may also be covered by a single instrument. These relationships relate to several different areas that are quite distinctive from each other, but all are closely related as integral parts of a complex list of the rights and duties of each of the parties. For ease and clarity of understanding, these three sets of relationships can be considered separately, but it is essential to constantly consider how each of these relationships interacts with the others.