Firstly, as I was asked when I tried to raise this suggestion on UKBF as Bitty, why don’t I do this myself …
There are a few reasons but the most important and underlying fact is that I am not capable of driving this idea or taking it to the level that would be required for optimum impact.
Apart from having mental health issues at the moment, even before when I was a succesful Tilly Ba Lou, I wasn’t the best business person on the planet … in fact I often considered writing a book on how not to do business properly.
It would be nice to be part of this and maybe even to get paid and recognised for my input but if it just gets ripped off and copied then it wouldn’t be the first time I lost out to “Business People”. I only hope that if the idea is stolen then it is not diluted to the detriment of its main cause of tackling internet bullying.
My brain struggles these days so you’ll have to excuse the scattiness of this “Business Plan” … basically I’m just going to ramble and tell it to you the best way I can.
Firstly I should like to make the point that the power and confidence needs to be removed from the bully and given back to the victim. The use of words such as “VICTIM” for the person being bullied and “BULLY, TROLL, KEYBOARD WARRIOR, for the cyberbully are in themselves counter productive.
Secondly, there are many different levels of cyber bullying and there is not a one size fits all term (at the moment). For instance, someone who feels inferior themselves (most bullies do) is perhaps not as bad as someone who deliberately sets out to cause someone as much pain as possible in the knowledge that ultimately the “victim” could kill themselves. Cyber bullying also exists across the net from a business point of view, ruining others businesses as well as driving people to despair, breakdown and again quite often suicide. I do believe that this called “marketing”.
So all in all there is a huge and complex problem to tackle. It is a battle that is widespread and worsening … it is a virus that is constantly mutating … it every form however it is sickening and deplorable.
Anyway … I’m rambling …
THE DIFFERENT ARMS AND AIMS TO THE BUSINESS WILL BE
The commercial/business front end of the CyberDoll business needs to be upbeat, fun and become a craze. The initial idea is that there will be several different cool and quirky looking dolls which as Bitty said will have many funtions.
They can be named and given status by the owner.
They will be collectable.
They will have add ons such as Talking Ban Sticks.
There would be a fantastic opportunity for cartoons, films, computer games and apps.
The serious back end to the business will be in the form of a central database, available only to the relevant authorities where information regarding “cyberbullies” can be filtered out by levels of type and seriousness, alerting the relevant authorities.
In the middle will be assistance and funding for already existing charities and websites who will be helping the victims, along with funding education of the authorities into what does actually happen on the internet. The internet is not just the internet … the internet IS the real world.
SO HOW WILL IT WORK
Each CyberDoll will come with a name badge and a diary. On the diary will be printed the different helplines and websites. There will be a main website on which to register the doll SHOULD YOU EVER NEED TO.
Lots of people will just want the dolls for fun and this in itself is important. The doll should not be sold as a bully nor a victim. It should not be a facebook user, forum member, forum troll, forum moderator or have any other label attached to it by the business. It is simply a doll when it is sold … it then becomes whatever the owner wants it to be.
The owner gives it its name and status and the majority will simply be used as a harmless, fun, stress toy for children and adults alike.
However, should ANYONE feel that they are being bullied, then they have the opportunity to register the doll on the main website and be directed to all of the other web sites to get the help and advice they need.
They will be able to keep a record of what they have recorded on line and to whom in the physical diary.
The website could also sell advertising space and adopt other ethical online marketing and revenue spinning methods of monetisation.
I would have liked the opportunity to discuss this with business people on a business forum but unfortunately this has now become impossible.
Abbi joined UKBF on Friday … she even installed Google Chrome as the mods of UKBF would have least doubted that FaerieB would use the Scary Google Monster.
She was rumbled after a few posts and PM’s which lead me to two possible scenarios (possibly more but if I told you the others then I would have to kill you). It has already been established that the Mods can and DO read private messages. They can also meddle with them and alter them. The other possibility which is quite likely is that chrome scraped everything off my PC and other browers and notified the forum via the analytics process … or somethink else!
Right … that’s enough for today … I need to dye my hair and finish some Tilly Ba Lou products.
Always with Love … FaerieF x

