SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to attract and organize a revenue-generating, web-based, collaborative community of independent "creatives" - writers, photographers, animators, video producers, graphic artists, designers, musicians, etc. by providing web tools designed to increase their productivity and ability to interact with peers and with potential clients. Artbox plans to build the platform by integrating web-based tools into an efficient online application, creating a virtual community for people who usually work alone. These free-lance workers are a growing portion of the creative labor market. They need a network of creative people with different skillsets to carry out multifaceted multimedia projects they could not do on their own. The net has changed the economic realities of almost every business, and the American economy is at a turning point. Old models based on manufacturing and information technology have been greatly affected by the availability of cheap labor overseas. Observers of these trends have identified that innovation and imagination and collective intelligence form the new basis for competitive advantage in the global marketplace. In an innovation economy, creators of original content, concepts and products are also the creators of value. By aggregating this "Creative Force", Artbox.com will build a powerful network and efficient talent-sourcing tool for businesses and individuals alike. If successful, the commercial impact of this platform promises to be significant

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project provides an integrated suite of Web-based applications to an online network of professionals in the creative industries. These professionals include Creatives such as writers, photographers, illustrators, filmmakers, animators, product designers, programmers and producers. The products of their creative activities include both commercial and fine-arts applications in the realms of music, literature, imagery, audio-visuals, communications and product design. The end users of these products range from the personal consumer to global industry, education and government. This innovation builds on the software-as-a-service tools developed through Phase I efforts and brings them to their next evolutionary level. Tools to enable collaboration and commerce among subscribers to the site will be developed and released. With these tools and its network of cultural entrepreneurs, Artbox.com establishes a 21st-century internet agora, in which talented, accomplished thinkers-and-makers assemble to trade their ideas and inventions. Independent Creatives, the driving force behind the growing Creative Industries, have demonstrated a need and desire for the kind of solutions that this innovation intends to provide. The Internet has changed the economic realities of almost every business, and the American economy is at a turning point. Old models based on manufacturing and information technology have been greatly affected by the availability of cheap labor overseas. Observers of these trends have identified that "innovation," "imagination" and "collective intelligence" form the new basis for competitive advantage in the global marketplace. In an innovation economy, creators of original content, concepts and products are also the creators of value. If successful, Artbox.com will build a powerful network and efficient talent-sourcing tool for businesses and individuals alike