Startup Idea: Informal Personalized Skill Sharing and Local Discourse Platform
Informal, personalized learning webs (Read:not exactly education in the traditional sense of the word)------
I often find myself wanting to learn how to do something for myself and needing someone to show me. Yes, YouTube tutorials exist, but there is a huge advantage to in-person demonstrations. I feel there should be a way to connect to people with a certain expertise in something. This should not be a networking app or something like Linkedin. It should provide a way to do what is often known as a 'skill swap,' where a group comes together and someone gives a demonstration or lesson on a useful skill. There are usually multiple skills being swapped. This can include something like sewing, self-filing taxes effectively, gardening, or even just repairing and maintaining bicycles or personal vehicles. It could be a way to create what are known as 'learning webs.'
This should remain informal and local to the area. For example, an area with bad weather might want a skill swap for ways to weather proof your home for a significant weather event like a blizzard or flood. It should not be thought of as a way for consultants to create a lead funnel. There may be a social media aspect to it, such as a person posting tips about something they have expertise in or maybe even showing/explaining how useful the event was, but there must be an interactive element that allows for the scheduling and planning of such events. This could include gauging interest and finding suitable locations/times to hold the skill swap event.
----------Local Discourse and Dialogue Building Events--------------
Facebook is objectively a terrible source of information and due to the disconnect associated with digital interaction, it is often less effective and more inflammatory than might be the case if emotions were tempered by in-person cues like body language and tone.
Creating a way for in-person dissemination of information or well-moderated discourses would be highly useful, especially with the contentious and divisive political atmosphere. This could simply be something like a way of informing others that a small group will meet at a bar/coffeeshop to talk about certain issues either affecting the local community or a broader one.
Moderators or featured speakers can be vetted either based on credentials or personal experiences. These are not TED talks or Ignite talks, and should not be thought of a way to give a soap box to someone. The focus is on informal information gaining and dialogue building that is both useful and civil, but also accessible and highly personalized.
These may be 'town hall' type things, but they need not lead to any significant political action. It may simply be a way to gain more information about a significant event or potential policy change. To appeal to a broad audience, it could simply be a way to form small book clubs on a whim such as when a new book comes out. This is to distinguish it from websites such as 'meet-ups'.