Leveraging Global Youth Culture and Social Media Tools to Connect to and De-Isolate

Moderate Islamic Youth

Combatting Islamo-Fascism:

A New Media Approach

Concept Design and Development and the Platform

Offered by Fast Paced Operation, LLC.

Project Proposed By

Fast Paced OperationFounded in 2005, Fast Paced Operation is a film, television and Web media production company.

Principals Rob Long and Timothy Fall have written and produced numerous network television and film projects, and together created Yurth (www.yurth.com) a video-enhanced Web experience that employs an interactive map as a dashboard for creating personal networks.

The Yurth trademark is registered globally.

Fast Paced Operation is a California LLC.

Amount Requested

$1,150,000

Total Project Budget

$3,650,080 / 3-year implementation

Project Summary

Never has a generation had as much potential to connect on as many levels as do today’s youth. Technology has made real time interaction using text, voice and video a simple, everyday reality.

Global youth culture unites this generation with common heroes, stories, causes, themes and dreams. In fact, individuals and communities that remain disconnected from this global network are the very entities that pose the greatest potential threat to global peace, stability and security.

It is our mission to create a Web experience most concisely described as “video pen pals.”

Using the Yurth platform for video uploads and playback, and for user profile creation, we propose building a simple yet expansive network to develop peaceful and sustainable relationships among the world’s youth.

The Project will focus on both real-time and asynchronous video messaging, on mapping, and on network building. The Project will minimize reliance on text input, to lower language-difference barriers.

Users and groups from around the world will connect to one another in a forum sponsored by and guided by the Directors of the Project. Yurth will not be a “free for all”, but rather a safe and positive environment for moderate and secular Islamic youth to connect to each other and the rest of world.

Emphases of the Project could include, for example, management of interpersonal micro-finance programs, “crowd-sourcing” of media projects, and video exchanges in advance of actual international home and school exchanges.

Voices From the FrontNew York Times, March 4, 2008

“I hate Islam and all the clerics because they limit our freedom every day and their instruction became heavy over us. Most of the girls in my high school hate that Islamic people control the authority because they don’t deserve to be rulers.”

Sara, a high school student in Basra

“The religion men are liars. Young people don’t believe them. Guys my age are not interested in religion anymore.”

Atheer, a 19-year-old from a poor, heavily Shiite neighborhood in southern Baghdad.

“They have changed their views about religion. They started to hate religious men. They make jokes about them because they feel disgusted by them.”

Bushra, a professor at Baghdad University’s School of Law, about her students

“I used to love Osama bin Laden, now I hate Islam. Al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army are spreading hatred. People are being killed for nothing.”

A 24-year-old Iraqi college student

These Young People are Winnable.

Project DurationThree-Year Buildout; Afterwards Project Exists in Perpetuity.

Year 1

Immediate Phase Culminating in Project Launch

• Project Conceptualization/Establish Desired Outcomes.• Consultation with Development and Design Teams. • Vet Technologies for Optimal User Experience. • Establish Project Deliverables and Timetable. • Yurth Platform Adapted to Project Objectives. • Soft (“Beta”) Project Launch.

Year 2

Intermediate Phase Project Parameters Explored/Project Refinement

• Scaled Tests of Project Technologies and Functions. • Viral/Grassroots/Targeted Marketing Effort.• Hard Project Launch.• Channels/Networks Refined to Direct Content.

Year 3

Mature Phase User Base Expanded/Technologies and Services Focused

• Technology Upgrades to Maximize User Accessibility.• Content Direction to Maximize User Interest.• Staff/Engineering Refinements to Maximize Project

Stability.

Benefit to Investment Partners

Expression of Shared Vision

• Yurth deploys the technologies most relied upon by the emerging digital generation — crucial for connecting in an engaging and stylish way to global youth.

• Yurth rapidly disseminates a powerful message about its core organizational values to a massive audience.

Rapid Rollout

• The Yurth platform is a stable, robust Web application consisting of a massively scalable, custom-built MySQL database, proprietary profile-creation and video-uploading functions, and a Flash-based player for streaming video.

• Development required for the Project will not be “ground up”, but rather refinement and repurposing of existing framework.

Editorial/Content Direction

• Control over site architecture will ensure that participation is not just a “free for all”. All content, network creation and editorial direction will be wholly under the control of the Project operations team.

Project Budget

Inflows

Cash from Grant 1,150,000

Total Inflows 1,150,000

Outflows

Management/Staff 717,500

Website

Development 185,000

Server Lease 18,000

Misc (Storage, Backups, etc.) 6,000

Website Total 209,000

Marketing - PR, advertising 60,000

Administrative

Facility (Office Rent, Utils, etc.) 47,500

Office Equipment Lease 12,000

Insurance 6,000

Supplies 6,000

Administrative Total 71,500

Travel Expenses 32,000

Legal & Accounting Fees 36,000

Web Hosting (Bandwidth) 24,000

Cash Outflows/Operations 1,150,000

Project Financials

Estimated Operating Expenses YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3

Salaries/Benefits

CEO/CMO 225,000 236,250 248,063

COO/CTO 108,000 113,400 119,070

Fast Paced Operation LLC: License Fee/Project Mgmt. 200,000 200,000 200,000

J. Epstein/Southfive Strategies: Communications Liaison/Washington DC

100,000 100,000 100,000

Bookkeeper 48,000 50,400 52,920

Assistant 36,500 38,325 40,241

Salaries/Benefits Total $717,500 $738,375 $760,294

Marketing

PR 24,000 26,400 29,040

Advertising (Creative, Production, Placement) 36,000 39,600 43,560

Marketing Total 60,000 66,000 72,600

Website

Development (Design, Code, Acquire Data) 185,000 194,250 203,963

Server Lease 18,000 18,000 18,000

Miscellaneous (Storage, Backups, etc.) 6,000 6,600 7,260

Website Total 209,000 218,850 229,223

Travel Expenses 32,000 48,000 72,000

Hosting (Bandwidth) 24,000 36,000 48,000

Administrative

Office Lease/Occupation 47,500 49,875 52,369

Equipment Lease 12,000 13,200 14,520

Insurance 6,000 6,300 6,615

Supplies 6,000 6,600 7,260

Administrative Total 71,500 75,975 80,764

Legal & Accounting Fees 36,000 30,000 24,000

Total Operating Expenses/Year $1,150,000 $1,213,200 $1,286,880

Operating Expenses/Project Cumulative $1,150,000 $2,363,200 $3,650,080

Principals’ BiosYurth co-founder Rob Long

Rob Long, a writer and television producer, began his career on TV's long-running "Cheers," and served as co-executive producer in its final season.

His most recent television series were "George and Leo," starring Bob Newhart and Judd Hirsh; “Love & Money,” on CBS; and “Men, Women & Dogs,” on the WB – all three of which he created with his writing partner, Dan Staley. Their production company, Staley/Long Productions, is currently based at Touchstone Television.

Long has been twice nominated for an Emmy Award, the Golden Globe award, and has received a Writers Guild of America award. He is a contributing editor for National Review, Newsweek International and the Los Angeles Times, and he writes frequently for The Wall Street Journal. His weekly radio commentary, “Martini Shot,” is broadcast on KCRW-FM, is distributed nationally and is available for podcasting on iTunes.

His first book, Conversations with My Agent, chronicled his early career in television. It was published in the US, the UK and in France. His second book, Set Up, Joke, Set Up, Joke, was published in 2005 by Bloomsbury.

Long graduated from Yale University and attended the UCLA School of Film, where he serves as an Adjunct Professor of Screenwriting.

Yurth co-founder Timothy Fall

Timothy Fall, along with Rob Long, created and developed Yurth.com, a video-sharing and community-building Web platform.

He has over 20 years experience in the entertainment industry as an actor, writer and television producer. As an actor, he starred with Bob Newhart in the CBS series “Bob”. He was a series regular on UPN’s “Pig Sty” and CBS’s “Good Company”. He has performed in more than 50 television shows and films. He was a writer on WB’s “Men, Women & Dogs” and co-executive producer of two ABC pilots.

In addition to his ongoing capacity as Chief Operations Officer for Yurth, he is the producer of multiple independent series for television and the Web.

Fall’s articles have appeared in Great Expeditions; in The Career Book; in Travelers Tales:Thailand, (O’Reilly & Associates); and elsewhere.

He holds a BA in International Relations from Memphis State University.

Principals’ Bios

CEO to be designated Gregg Rickman

Gregg Rickman has served in the Department of State since May 22, 2006. During his tenure there he has spoken widely in Latin America, Europe, Israel, Australia, South Africa, and in the United States.

From 1995-1998, Rickman directed the United States Senate Banking Committee investigation into the disposition of the assets of Holocaust victims held by Swiss banks, achieving a $1.25 billion settlement on behalf of the survivors. He also served as a consultant to several television documentaries on the issue.

He has served as the Director of Congressional Affairs, at the Republican Jewish Coalition, where he worked on legislative issues including anti-Semitism, counter-terrorism, and immigration.

Most recently, Rickman served on the staff of the House International Relations Committee. First, on the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia where he handled numerous issues including Saudi terror financing, Iran, sanctions and terrorism; then as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, where he directed the Committee’s investigation into the UN Oil-for-Food program and was the main author of the Committee’s Report.

He is the author of two books, Swiss Banks and Jewish Souls (1999) and Conquest and Redemption, A History of Jewish Assets from the Holocaust (2006). He has published numerous articles in scholarly and legal journals. He has traveled widely throughout Europe and the Middle East in his time in the State Department and while on Capitol Hill.

Rickman received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from John Carroll University and his Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Miami.

Principals’ Bios

Communications Liaison/Southfive Strategies Founder Jason Epstein

In November 2002, Jason Epstein founded Southfive Strategies, a Washington, DC-based limited liability company focusing on public relations, lobbying and business-to-business activities. The consulting boutique has access to the White House, congressional leadership, and influential media organizations. Among the company’s previous clients was the Turkish Embassy, which it represented in public relations matters for nearly five years.  

For six years, Epstein served as the director of legislative affairs at B’nai B’rith International. He was responsible for formulating and promoting B’nai B’rith’s agenda in Congress and for reporting events of importance to the American Jewish community on Capitol Hill. Mr. Epstein spoke regularly before various audiences interpreting B’nai B’rith policies. He represented B’nai B’rith before the White House, executive branch agencies, leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives, foreign embassies, and other nongovernmental organizations. Similarly, he represented B’nai B’rith in meetings abroad with government officials, policy experts, and community leaders.

In 1996, he received the Gold Medal Award of Service from the United States Commission on the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad.

Epstein obtained a law degree from American University's Washington College of Law and earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from AU’s Kogod School of Business. He is a 1991 graduate from the State University of New York at Albany, where he double-majored in European History and Political Science. He is a native of Brooklyn, New York.