Knowledge matters
Knowledge Matters startup emerged in the course of Entrepreneurial Journalism, at the urging of Professor Betty Tsakarestou. The original idea was to create an organization that would aim to educate citizens how the media industry works and about the digital culture. The purpose of Knowledge Matters is to enable citizens understand the “behind the news” part of media industry and provide them with the knowledge and the tools they need to identify real and quality news and avoid misinformation and conspiracy theories.
The problem we try to solve
The information circulated in our time is chaotic. The public is diverse both in the views it expresses, in the way it receives the news but also in the way it conceptualizes the function and position of the media within the society. Audiences from different age groups, various cultures and levels of technological familiarity, present multiple attitudes online.
Due to the aforementioned media environment we often face:
• Misinformation
• Conspiracy theories
• Racist movements and hate speech
• Controversy and polarization between users and the media such as rude comments
As a result, users tend to move away from for unhampered interaction between citizens and media professionals. Our mission is to help bridge the gap between them by providing citizens with media techniques through educational workshops and webinars.
How will he achieve it?
- Educational workshops and webinars in collaboration with professionals from the media industry
- Hands on work
- Learning news identification tools
Which audience is KM targeting?
On our way, we decided to make some changes in order to make our idea work and turn conversations into action. After the presentation of the initial idea and taking into account the comments of our colleagues and mentors, Mrs. Tsakarestou and Mrs. Tsene, Dimitris Elafropoulos joined officially as a co-founder and we started working as a team. Knowledge Matters dynamics accellarated sharply.
It was crucial for the viability of our start up to approach a more specific audience, so having devoted time to research and brainstorming, we decided that the ideal choice was to strive for young people aged 16–26. We intend to combine creativity and the collaborative skills of our members to co-create a unique documentary series. We also aim to launch an application through which our members will communicate, share their work and gradually build a digital community. We are looking to establish workshops for our members in order to enhance their media literacy skills.
Partnerships and competitors
While there are several organizations that offer similar types of services, what makes us unique is the fact that we are an independent educational institution. We strive for students and young people and we want to use modern practices that are harmonized with the era and interests of our members. Our goal is to share knowledge through a dynamic educational process, which supports interaction and offers participants multiple stimuli. We believe that creativity is the “fun part” of the process that keeps the interest of the participants alive. In contrast, Solomon resembles us in terms of educational practices, however what sets us apart is the range of topics we approach. We aim to educate people about how the media works, creating content (unique documentary series) around a wide range of topics.
Why “Knowledge matters”?
We offer a freemium model in an attempt to make KM known to various audiences. The same time we believe that co-creation of a documentary can be a mesmerizing experience for all of the users cultivating engagement among them and KM. Another important characteristic of our project is the convenient environment on our platforms where the users will be able to get familiar with mulimodal practises, express their concerns towards media, and interact with each other and with media professionals.
You fund it, you spread it
Funding has always been a main concern for all of the startupers. For a start, we are going to look for a grant by Google News Initiative. Afterwards, we aim to establish a stable income through memberships. Our revenue can also be boosted by event organising. We estimate that KM will need about 2–3 months to be officially online. SEM advertising will be our main tool in order to communicate our project. Of course, our website, social media and newsletters will also be a significant part of the game. Word of mouth and events can also be an opportunity to meet us and immerse in our project.
To cut a long story short, we believe in change in the media industry, and we want to make it happen.
Would you stand out?
Find us on instagram Knowledge matters
Knowledge matters was born and developed under the supervision of Professor Betty Tsakarestou in the framework of the course “Entrepreneurial journalism”, a virtual bootcamp about media startups at Panteion University of Athens.
Founders Elena Chalari, Dimitris Elafropoulos
Mentor Professor Betty Tsakarestou
