A UK Educated Social Scientist Applied for Online Postage Stamp Patent to Use in SNS

A POCO (CEO: Minha Kim www.apoco.biz), a startup currently developing an SNS ‘OMNIBUS,’ announced its patent application for business model using online postage stamp was submitted to the Korea Intellectual Property Office on January 26, 2016. The company made its invention patent application for online postage stamp in November 2015.

OMNIBUS is a social network service firstly created with its unique configuration structure. Unlike the existing SNSs in which individuals or groups of individuals compose social pages, the basic units of OMNIBUS are the spaces cultural events are held in. In the cultural spaces, users communicate with one another, being mediated by those events.

While most social network services make profits via advertising, OMNIBUS’s profit model lies in the online stamp, which makes the SNS one and only in the world. Free stamps are issued to active users who contribute de facto to viral marketing of cultural events. Those who saved stamps are propelled to purchase more stamps so as to exchange with a free ticket to view popular cultural events. OMNIBUS is also planning to collaborate with well-known artists to create an extraordinary edition of stamps that will be sold at a special price.

Another element that makes OMNIBUS unique is its design concept. With the attempt to realize the idea of “life is like a movie and we are the protagonists,” OMNIBUS has been designed mimicking a movie theater; postings of general users appear to look like a film, for instance.

“The idea of postage stamp popped up in my mind while I was thinking about what sort of icon could give rise to analogue sentiment in the too digitized world. Since no SNS so far has used this idea, OMNIBUS equipped with the stamp will create a scarcity-based market value,” said CEO Kim. “We expect OMNIBUS to change the paradigm of SNSs in the global arena.”

CEO Minha Kim, who had spent her ten years as a professor of journalism and communication at Sungkyunkwan University, resigned her position six months ago to run a startup. She earned her PhD in political science from the University of Manchester.

Contacts:

A POCO

Minha Kim, CEO
Tel: +82-2-717-7003

Fax: +82-2-718-7003

apoco@apoco.biz