A digital co-op in Austin, Texas which offers a local search engine and associated services, such as purchases and bookings, is carrying out a shares issue.
DigitalTown, Inc., which provides “people-centric solutions for smart cities” by creating online communities, says the Austin.city search engine “is designed to help you search local. Find a person or place, book a table, reserve a room, make a retail purchase, or find a service provider, all with one log-in”.
It adds that Austin.city “blends the conventional economy with the sharing economy so that you have one place to search all of the best local alternatives. Authentic reviews and ratings, along with personal relevance, determine which search results appear first.”
The service include a mobile app for iOS and Android that make it easier, acting “as a trusted Smart Agent for helping you get the most out of your day”.
During the first week of the claim period, 151,910 CityShares were issued, 38,300 free CityShares were claimed, and 113,610 CityShares were purchased at the discounted price of $0.16 per share.
Residents of Austin can claim their CityShares until 11 February, or until all of the CityShares have been claimed, here.
Rob Monster, CEO of DigitalTown, said: “In conversations with Austinites, we learned that there are a lot of people in Austin who had this idea before we did.
“We feel particularly fortunate to have an operating presence in Austin and to have the opportunity to partner with the people of Austin. The people of Austin will be showing the world a sustainable way to grow communities in the digital age. We look forward to an exciting time of cooperation and co-creation as Austin shows the world its remarkable innovative capacity.”
Registered users of Austin.city – individuals or businesses – will also be able to secure a permanent branded digital address, offering the public “an authoritative place to find you online or offline”.
Homeless people can use this facility to create permanent online Austin.city address, where they can receive payments and messages, and look for work opportunities.
Related: Jackson, Mississippi fights for a radical future based on co-operation
And the site includes access to the DigitalTown SmartWallet services which include User Management, Verified Identities, User Profiles, Preferences and a Blockchain-based Payment Wallet.
DigitalTown says it now plans to work with the community in Austin to identify and solve issues that affect the city. Developers with a passion for making Austin better can propose development ideas to be supported through an Innovation Fellowship.
In cases where there is no other private or public sponsor, participating developers will be compensated with CityShares to be released to the developer either upon completion of the project, or over an agreed period of time as defined in Blockchain Smart Contracts.
