Vision, goals, and outcomes
Vision:
The DigitalOcean Project (DO) is a Web 2.0 ocean science education social networking infrastructure. DO’s forefront social networking technology connects ocean scientists and media producers into a common venture to further the public use of scientifically validated media. The DO Early Career Ocean Science Social Network will offer new channels for ocean research discovery, coordination, collaboration, and communication. This effort will accelerate the pace of turning ocean science into ocean policy.
Goals:
When fully realized, DO participants will include scientists, educators, enthusiasts, students, policy makers, and the general public. DO will offer them knowledge, tools, and a community base for becoming active supporters of sustainable ocean uses. DO will seed leading social networking and media sites with science-rich content and compelling stories. DO will use collaborative digital technologies to inspire public engagement in preserving the world’s oceans.
Outcomes:
Recent studies have demonstrated the massive human impacts that are accumulating in ocean ecosystems. Without public support for change, we will lose vital biocomplexity in our oceans. DigitalOcean asks the question: what do all ocean sustainability efforts need to succeed? What are the problems they share?
One common problem plaguing the entire ocean sustainability effort is the amount of time required for new scientific information to influence ocean resource management decisions. Another problem is the general lack of media content to support public education and awareness. The proposed DigitalOcean effort addresses these two basic problems. In this way DigitalOcean adds value to every ocean sustainability and education effort.

If DigitalOcean were to attempt to improve communication and media production the old way, this project would take five years at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to create a centralized system and contract for content development. Sustaining that DigitalOcean would be as difficult as sustaining the real ocean.
Instead, DigitalOcean will be built using a new Web 2.0 design philosophy. Its nimble social network service will enable hundreds of thousands of people to donate their media and intellectual efforts. This way the project costs a small fraction of the cost of doing it the old way.

It still takes five years because that’s how much time it takes to grow an active user community. And at the end of five years DigitalOcean will also contain hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contributed content and collaborative effort. It will support a vibrant volunteer community of scientists, enthusiasts, students, and advocates.

Will DigitalOcean be able to save the ocean from its problems? Not on its own. DigitalOcean is an engine that can push many other efforts to achieve their goals faster. DigitalOcean builds a new tidal surge of science information and contributed media that can lift all the boats of organizations advocating sustainable ocean practices.