HG Biz Plan: Safety Viewer

The premise: As the number of grids proliferates, so does the number of destinations not safe for children. Schools and parents can install software that protects children from inappropriate websites — similar software designed for the hypergrid could protect children from grids dedicated to gambling and adult activities.

The business

The filtering software would either be built into a viewer, or act as a separate, standalone piece of software. Initial customers would be schools, probably high schools, who want to allow their students to explore the various educational offerings available on the hypergrid. As the hypergrid becomes more popular, parents would start to buy the software to use at home, as well.

The World of Begabungs is an educational world for children, aimed at giving them a safe environment -- but not everything in the metaverse is kid-friendly.

The revenue streams

Customers would pay for individual or educational licenses. Other potential revenue streams include consulting services to help grids manage their maturity ratings, or custom viewer development work.

Scalability

As the hypergrid expands, it will become harder and harder to monitor grids — but the potential customers base and product revenues would grow as well.

Competitive advantage

The first major player on the scene will help create and define the market. On the Web side, for example, “NetNanny” is synonymous with filtering software.

Risks

No filtering system is perfect, and customers will complain if too many adult grids sneak through — or legitimate educational grids are blocked. And if the market proves profitable, competitors will inevitably arise, so continuous innovation will be critical to success.

Maria Korolov