The OOZETANK

THEOOZE currently provides some basic on-line resources and community connection through national events and local gatherings.  Now, we desire to create the OOZETANK, a collaborative digital workspace where artists, musicians, literary storytellers and theologians can come together and create, and share their creative works.

We are seeking one year of seed money in order to design, develop, implement and maintain the first year of the OOZETANK.  It will build on the existing Ooze community as well as feedback requests that have been gathered, to develop a resource center for churches and non-profits to share and receive digital resources, and to create community networks. If you are interested in finding out more about supporting this initiative please email Spencer or call 949.631.0104.

Digital resources:  any information that can be transferred over the Internet and used will be available via the OOZETANK.  This includes:
· music: (MP3s), chord charts, arrangements, lyric word files
· visual arts:  photographs, animation, flash, short-films
· written word:  poetry, articles, short stories, and scholarly works. 

Digital resources respond to the value of this generation for instant, accessible (24-7) data with a wide variety of options for combining the resources.

Community:  the collaborative aspect of the OOZETANK allows individuals to use their giftedness and vision and collaborate with others to develop new works.

How does the OOZETANK work?

Let’s say someone from a church or organization is looking for background images and song lyrics for a particular theme.  They would log on to THEOOZE.com, search the Tank, and find the resource that fits their need.  They can instantly download the data for reasonable subscription fee (as a non-profit any wind fall would be reinvested - to grant funding to artists, develop the OOZETANK delivery system…).  In downloading they agree to use it within a non-profit context and not to reprint or repost for sale or profit.  They agree to give credit when possible to the artist and OOZETANK.  If a resource cannot be found to meet their exact needs, but they like a particular style of a contributor, they can click the profile of the artist/group and develop a new resource in partnership.  This may even result in compensation for the new work and thereby help to support those who are developing resources for the emerging church.  And, this new work could also be posted onto the Tank for use by many.

To contribute to the OOZETANK, artists (individuals or teams) that may serve in a church, have their own business, or have a hobby may create a kiosk/storefront and have control over the resources in their area.  They would sign in, pick a resource to donate, pull up a contribute to the tank” data sheet, fill in the appropriate information (key words to search, scarred text if any, technical information such as size, information on how created), instantly upload their file(s), click submit, and an editor would review the content for potential copy write infringement, ensure the submittal is correctly prepared, rate/screen the file, and post it to the Tank.  In submitting the resource, the individual allows THEOOZE to digitally distribute this data through the OOZETANK or use it for promotional purposes for the Tank.  The contributor may remove or modify this resource at any time and promote their services or website resources through their profile and resource.

Or perhaps someone wants to collaborate on a new work.  They can post their project and request others to participate based on their giftedness. (For example, “I need a writer, video editor, graphic artists, etc., because I have this idea of creating a multi-media piece on uncertainty.”)  Other collaborators in the Tank can sign on to the project and work together virtually to create a new resource, which is then posted on the OOZETANK.  That visionary/artist would use it, it is available for the greater community, and people are in community with each other. 

Why does the OOZETANK work?

The support models for the church have radically shifted, and the needs of people attending and leading the church have radically shifted to a grassroots, organic approach.  The OOZETANK reflects today’s changing economic model, ownership model, and organizational models. 

People are not looking to “write their next book” but simply to get their data out.  There is a great desire for indigenous works, rather than national/international homogeneity.  Many works are no longer “owned” but are team-developed, and will just sit on a hard drive and eventually is erased because one particular church won’t reuse them.  With the OOZETANK as a repository, these resources can be customized, and used by many. 

As mentioned above, the OOZETANK accessible instantly and 24-7.  Churches and non-profit organizations can find resources through searchable, sortable fields.  Inventory never goes out of date, but is simply stored.  Churches can avoid costs of postage, warehousing, paper and delivery delays.  And any works can be “worthwhile” to produce—even if 1,000 copies are not sold and distributed.

The OOZETANK centralizes everything in order to decentralize it.