Today is a great day. Today we’re posting our very first blog post.

Two years ago, I was looking online for in-depth expertise I could actually learn from. Like many users, I was thrilled by the ability to immediately discover chunks of information and be aware of the massive amount of knowledge all over the web.

But at the same time, I could only find bits and pieces and struggled to find really great video content from inspiring experts from whom I could not only get some great information, but actually learn from.

My second feeling was that at the dawn of Facebook and the emergence of the social web, I would really love to relate to knowledge in a different way: not only consume it, but interact with those great experts and be part of the conversation. I yearned for deeper interaction and a new kind of experience; more human, richer, greater.

How would I do this? How was I supposed to build such a technology, and how was I going to enable the user to both find greater content from those talented experts who are already on the Web and share it in a brand new way?

It took me very little time to understand we could not reach this goal if we could not provide exciting incentives for those experts in any fields of knowledge, from marketing to architecture, and from leadership to feng shui.

This incentive needed to be financial. Yes, experts should make money from their knowledge. The myth of the freemium is reaching its limits. If everything must be free then a great deal of information and great knowledge will not be shared.
But most importantly, users are ready to pay for quality in-depth knowledge. They are more and more used to this through the online purchase of music, phone applications, and eBooks through the Kindle and iPad, and TV shows through Hulu and Boxee. They are ready to pay for quality content that bring skills: they are ready to invest in themselves.

So here we are: we passionately created Sparkeo to enable you, the expert, to deliver your best content to your Web audience in a way that you can reap financial rewards, but also in a way that is much more engaging. Each of your courses is like a child that you bring to life and you will see your users using it, commenting on it, sharing it, highlighting it. You will feel your influence on your audience from all over the web, people who are thirsty for what YOU bring to the table and excited and inspired by the possibility to interact with you and ask you questions directly through your course.

Behind each teacher or expert there is passion to teach. As you connect with your enthusiasm to transmit what you know, you will be able to give a greater experience, and consequently you will earn money and devote more and more time to teaching your passion. Passion is contagious and users feel it miles away.

We like to think of Sparkeo as this driver for passion through knowledge. This is what we’re all about. Sparkeo is ourcontribution to this changing world and to the emergence of a new world of knowledge where users fulfill themselves because they have access to the knowledge they crave, and to the experts they need.

One last word: we are in open beta. It means we are highly perfectible. Sometimes you might experience some bugs. We are here to swiftly react to your comments and enhance the website on a continuous basis.

Moreover, we are impatient to get your feedback and suggestions for new features. We are highly committed to making It work for you and your users and we want to help you give the best learning experience to your users.

I am Frederic Aknin. I am the CEO of the company. My crew includes Daniel Romano, our Director of Marketing and Talia, our Director of Social Media and Community, and we are happy to invite you in this new venture.

Spark your knowledge, influence the world. It has been waiting for you too long.

Frederic Aknin
CEO of Sparkeo.com

Letter from the CEO, mission statement