About MapMess

Alexander Moskovich

15 min readSep 15, 2017

Version 4.0.0 —March 20th 2018

Russian version

Chinese version

Vietnamese version

Japanese version

MapMess Team

https://medium.com/@alexandermoskovich/mapmess-team-c4ec389ef1a4

MapMess is a free platform for placing real-time geolocation-related personal and commercial ads. Ads are placed directly on the map. The audience is the entire world.
MapMess is a free tool that helps strangers meet “here and now” to solve mutual problems…

Short presentation that describes the idea of MapMess: http://mapmess.info/show/

MapMess web version: www.mapmess.com
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.gonative.android.jdjzr#details-reviews
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mapmess/id1116912253?ls=1&mt=8

PROBLEM

There are many popular classified sites in every country and even in every city with their own interfaces, rules and features. Each time you need to search to find local site or platform for private ads. It’s not always easy to find them, let alone to place your ad there. There is not yet a single widely known and worldwide available resource for private ads on various topics.

SOLUTION

MapMess — is the solution. In different regions and countries people create websites and online services in according to their traditions and habits. People are different, so their projects may have variety of interfaces, but there is only one thing that is common to all which is map. Therefore, we came up with a global bulletin boards which are placed directly on the map by each user.

INTRODUCTION

This document describes MapMess platform ICO. ICO is one of the ways to raise funds for a new project by attracting a large number of small investors including about 25% of those who invest large amounts of money.

5 basic things to have a successful ICO:

The MapMess project already has a working prototype (BETA version) and is currently going through the stage of building the team. The ambitions of the MapMess project suggest spreading it to the whole world; that’s why the team is built immediately in all major regions and countries of the world.

THE IDEA

While traveling around the world, I found that pretty often you need to place an ad or message in some sort of classifieds site and each time you need to take a research to find out a local site or platform for private ads, because there is yet no single widely known worldwide resource for private ads on various topics.

There is a popular resource in every country and even in every city — with its own interface, rules and features. It’s not always easy to find it, let alone to place your ad there.

There are global niche resources, for example, booking.com — search for hotels and accommodation, AirBNB — the same as booking.com but intended for individuals. UBER — taxi reservation system, etc. Besides, the above named resources are not platforms, but partners in the business between the client and the provider, which has both advantages and disadvantages.

But I did not find any global resource for free private ads without focusing on a particular topic and not being an intermediary. That’s how the idea of MapMess was born — the ads that anyone can put right on the map in a couple of clicks and that will be visible to all users. In addition, each ad should have a built-in instant messenger for quick contact with the ad author.

Thus, when going to Istanbul or Venice, I will be able to see either beforehand or at the time of arrival, what is happening right now in these cities; to see ads on a variety of topics from residents or guests in these cities; to post my ad and instantly contact any stranger on the interactive map who is next to me at that time.

Here are some examples of the basic cases in which the interactive map MapMess becomes an indispensable assistant.

When attending various conferences, seminars and presentations, the participants are sure to get acquainted with each other, exchange business cards and in a short time try to tell each other about their projects, companies or businesses. Someone is looking for a partner, or a client, or a new job. But if you yourself were not among the speakers and did not introduce yourself publicly, then you will have a maximum of 7–10 people to tell about yourself. Especially gifted people can probably double this figure. The rest of the meeting participants will remain unreachable for you and you will not even be able to find them, since they could all get to this meeting from different groups, forums or social networks. It would be great if everyone could leave their business card in some visible place accessible to all participants of the meeting even a few days after it’s over.

MapMess platform offers this solution. If you place your virtual business card in a couple of clicks next to the place of the event in which you participate, other participants will find you and write to you after or even during the meeting. You will take as much time as needed to view all the virtual business cards left by your potential partners, customers or employers on the map and contact them using the built-in instant messenger.
Example: Toronto Bitcoin & Ethereum Summit, held on 14 August in Toronto: https://mapmess.com/marker/3449 and several virtual business cards of the summit participants around.
Example: https://mapmess.com/marker/3449

2. It often happens in life that the person we need is just around the corner and maybe we even can see him. But without knowing in advance who and what this person is, what he needs or what he can offer, we just pass him by, although it’s him who can help solve our most important problem at the moment.

The MapMess platform will help you see what is happening around you at this very moment. Just put your marker on the map in the place where you are located and write what you need or what you offer. Someone is sure to be found, because they are nearby!

Example: A marker placed on the MapMess map with a job vacancy announcement:
https://mapmess.com/marker/3879

3. When you are driving, most often all by yourself, to a meeting, an office, to the country cottage or to the airport — simply look around. Most of the drivers are also driving alone in their large cars. And there are hundreds and hundreds pedestrians around, many of whom are trying to get to the place in the same direction in which hundreds of drivers are traveling. Why don’t we give each other a ride? Because until now there was no convenient tool to notify in real time the people around us in which direction we are going.

Sam would gladly give Alice a lift if only he knew about her and she knew about him. It becomes very simple with MapMess. Place a marker with information where you are going and/or where you need to get, and you will definitely find a fellow traveler and most likely there will be even more than one.

Example: A real-life offer of a driver to bring a passenger if it’s in the same direction. It was placed during the platform testing in alpha mode in Feb of 2017:

https://mapmess.com/marker/1106

4. When you come to a new country or a city, it is always difficult to understand what’s what and to find your way around. After all, you do not know any local newspapers or local on-line resources. And when you find them, you will still have to spend some time understanding the interface and the how to use them. With MapMess you will feel at home everywhere. Everything is on the map and it’s the same everywhere. With MapMess anywhere in the world you will find a compatriot who travels just like you, or a local who understands your language and can help in a difficult situation or just a nice guy who will be pleased to show you his hometown for free and will treat you to a delicious local cake.

This is how the MapMess will work when millions of people learn about this wonderful platform. And for this to happen, we need your help.

Example: Yarina is looking for a companion for a coffee in Toronto.
https://mapmess.com/marker/956

We can spend a lot of time going through the list of situations where MapMess will be the most convenient or to some extent an indispensable tool. We hope, however, that you can already see the powerful capabilities for such application.

We will gladly answer any questions you may have about this project. You can leave comments in this document or address your questions to the founder of the project Alexandr Moskovich directly through the MapMess system, by sending a message in the marker on the map or meeting him personally, if you find yourself at same time and in one place — just follow the map :).

Contact Alexandr Moskovich through the marker on the map:
https://mapmess.com/marker/3538
To send a message, click on the yellow envelope.

Monetizing the MapMess Platform

The MapMess project monetization principle is quite simple and transparent.
The basic platform services will always be free for an unlimited number of individuals, including individuals and legal entities. All paid services (see below) are provided by subscription (premium account)

The basic free platform services:

Registration on the MapMess platform;
Browsing through any ads (markers) on the MapMess card, excluding private ads hidden from public view as per the decision of other users;
Placing your ad in the free sections using icons (symbols) provided by the platform for free;
Uploading one photo per ad;
Placing any number of ads in free sections;
Sending unlimited number of messages to other MapMess users, provided that such messages are not qualified as SPAM;
Search for a limited number of addresses on the MapMess map (100 queries per month);
Unlimited editing and manual updating of your ads;
Creating an unlimited number of accounts on the MapMess platform;
Adding any visible ad to your favorites. Adding any number of users to the Following section. Blocking any number of ads and their authors from further viewing. Unblocking previously blocked ad authors;
Receiving an unlimited number of messages in their markers from unblocked users;
Other free services.

Paid platform services — monetization (premium account)

Placing an ad with a paid or individual icon. You can select an icon from the MapMess icon store or download an icon created in accordance with the platform requirements;
Placing ads in the paid sections of the platform (to be determined in future);
Automatic ad update allowing you to see your ad as one of the most recent ads on the MapMess map without updating it manually;
Usage of the GO-ANYWHERE feature (for one marker per each premium account simultaneously). The GO-ANYWHERE feature disables the category filter on this user’s marker. This marker will be visible to all users regardless of the category filter installed;
Usage of the alarm clock in any marker. The alarm clock allows you to remind yourself that on the appointed day and time the system should send a reminder about a particular ad marked by the user;
Receiving subscription notifications. The system will send a notification to the user’s e-mail and push notification when other users appear on the map in the specified radius from the customer’s location in order to quickly inform the customer about newly placed ads on the topic of interest in the given geographic area;
Other paid services.

The MapMess team reserves the right to change lists of free and paid services without prior notification of users.

MAPMESS HOLDING STRUCTURE

The MapMess holding consists of a parent company, which will be registered in Canada. It will be responsible for the MapMess platform maintenance and provision of a platform on the basis of a long-term contract (49 years or so) with independent regional companies — representatives of the MapMess holding.

A long-term contract between the parent and regional companies confers the right of the regional company to use the MapMess technical platform and the brand (the trademark MapMess) for profit in the region designated in the contract and other agreed terms.
As compensation for the use of the technical platform and the trademark, the regional company will pay the parent company a license fee, the amount of which is specified individually in each case and constitutes a trade secret.

A regional representative company (as an individual or a legal entity) gets interest (receives shares) in the parent company that holds the rights to the platform and the trademark.

The parent company, being a legal entity or represented by an individual, has interest (receives shares) in a regional company. The shareholding ratio is discussed in each case separately.

PUBLIC MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

The project international team includes today more than 40 people (these are businessmen respected in their regions with extensive business connections and good reputation) and continues to grow. The team also has marketing and advertising specialists. The author of the project Alexandr Moskovich (Toronto, Canada) worked in the advertising business for more than 10 years, starting from the advertising and information agency IMA-Press and ending with the Cosmopolitan magazine and advertising agencies in Canada and the USA; he was the founder and co-owner of an FM radio station and an audio recording studio in St. Petersburg, Russia.
In addition, to promote the project, the MapMess team plans to attract the world’s largest advertising agencies and famous blogers and make the most of all effective channels of promotion.

LEGAL SUPPORT

We believe that legal support is extremely important at all development and promotion stages of the project. We already have experienced lawyers in our team. We also enlist the services of other corporate lawyers in Canada (the head office is located in Toronto), in the US, the European Union and South America — where we already have representatives and where the official offices will soon appear.

ICO STRATEGY

After numerous consultations with lawyers in the US, Canada and the UK, we decided on the following ICO strategy.

Creation of the IMT token — Initial MapMess Token

Creating a MapMess Token (the code name of the IMT is Initial Map Token
Why is the IMT created? The pre-ICO project MapMess will use the crowdfunding format — support of the MapMess project by individuals and companies without any strings attached. To confirm the receipt of funds for the project development, we will send the donor the MapMess project tokens — IMTs. The IMT token will not have the initial original value and will only serve to confirm that the funds from the donor to support and develop the MapMess project have been received.
The IMT Token will be released on the basis of the Ethereum smart contract and will take into account the date and amount of funds donated for the project development. There will be a limited number of the IMT tokens released. One token given to the donor will be equivalent to 1 coin of the Ethereum cryptocurrency.
To reward the donors for the funds donated for the project development, the MapMess project will provide the charity session participants the membership in a closed membership club with access to premium account on the MapMess platform for ___ years, as well as the right to participate in a closed pre-ICO session. The club membership will be provided without collecting any tokens from the donors — it means that the tokens will remain with their owners. The donors and holders of the IMT tokens will be able to participate in the closed pre-ICO session of the MapMess project first and on preferential terms. Also, if desired, after the release of AMT (see below), the IMT tokens can be exchanged for the AMT tokens at the rate of 1:1.
The IMT tokens can not be transferred to third parties or seized as payment for paid services of the MapMess project.
IMT tokens will be used as a bounty for everyone who will help promote and spread the positive image of the MapMess project.
The IMT token will not be traded on crypto-currency exchanges and can not be sold or transferred to third parties.

Creation of the AMT — Advanced MapMess Token

The AMT is a token that will be released after the project has fulfilled all the conditions of the SEC and MAC regulators and will be able to fully participate in campaigns closed pre-ICO sessions and open public ICO sessions. The AMT token can be exchanged for shares of the MapMess company. The holders of the AMT tokens will participate in the MapMess project profit distribution under preferential terms and conditions.*
There will be a limited number of the AMT tokens released without follow-on offering and the tokens will be distributed among the investors during a closed pre-ICO session and during an open ICO session.
The token will have the following exchange rate: 1 AMT = 1 Ethereum
The token will be distributed at a closed pre-ICO session with discounts stated in Appendix 2.
The AMT token will be traded on crypto exchanges, can be sold, transferred or donated to third parties.
The AMT token can be used to pay for the paid services of the MapMess platform in any region of the world in accordance with the local legislation.

ITO of the MapMess project

ITO — Initial Token Offering — MapMess project campaign on primary attraction of investments.

The ITO implies pro bono provision of funds by individuals and legal entities to support the project.

It is planned to raise the amount between USD $500,000 and $1,000,000.

The proceeds will be used to prepare for pre-ICO and ICO, to pay the legal team for their work to prepare all necessary documents for ICO taking into account the requirements of the US regulatory bodies (SEC, MAC and others).

Distribution of the raised funds

10% of the raised funds will be spent on the equal financial incentives for all team members participating in the ICO preparation, regardless of the position, date they joined the project team and other conditions. 90% of the raised funds will be spent on preparation for pre-ICO and ICO.

Closed MapMess project pre-ICO session

The closed session of MapMess project pre-ICO, the AMT tokens will be distributed among those who wish to invest in the project. The priority and first special invitations will be sent to legal entities and individuals who participated in the MapMess project ITO. If they want, they will be able to exchange the ITM tokens for the ATM tokens at the exchange rate 1 ITM = 1 ATM.

Open MapMess project pre-ICO session

The open MapMess project pre-ICO session will allow anyone to acquire the ATM tokens with 50% discount.

The goal is to raise between US $700,000 and US$1,200,000.

Distribution of the funds raised during the pre-ICO

10% of the funds raised during 2 pre-ICO sessions will be spent on the equal financial incentives for all team members regardless of the position and date they joined the project team even if the team member joined the team after ITO. 90% of the raised funds will be spent on platform improvement and preparation for ICO, marketing and PR campaigns as well as research and study of all legal aspects and documents.

MapMess project ICO session

The ICO will be held on one of the popular ICO platforms.
The goal is to raise between US$20,000,000 and US$50,000,000.

Distribution of the raised funds

10% — equal financial incentives for the team members (all participants included into the White Paper) for the work done regardless of the position and date they joined the project team.

5% — bounty

10% — return of initial investments.

15% — technical platform improvement and enhancement.

55% — platform advertising and PR promotion

5% — reserve fund.