What is mekwa?
How does mekwa work?
Who created mekwa?
Who is mekwa intended for?
What are desires/wishes and can my mekwa really fulfill them?
Is mekwa just another social networking site like myspace and orkut and facebook...?
Is mekwa an art object?
Pricing
Intellectual property rights
Liability limitation
Data protection usage
Our details
In a few words: mekwa is a being that takes part of you (usually your face) and goes out into the world trying to surprise you.
topYou create a mekwa, give it a few of your wishes/desires and let it go. Someone will find it and beam it down to their mobile or desktop and surprise it by adding multimedia entries to it. It's really quiet simple.
topStory 1
Mekwa is an alien creature that has been around for many centuries. It was known to be buried in the sarcophagus of pharaohs and ancient kings, but it had never been found. a few months back it was finally found in the tomb of an ancient Tibetan king by an expedition lead by John Isoft. The expedition also found scriptures detailing how the mekwa works to fulfill its owner's wishes. Kings new it could easily multiply, but that way it would fulfill everyone's wishes, so it was kept a secret from the common folk. John Isoft's daughter, whilst scanning the scripts, unwillingly unleashed mekwa into the web. It is now multiplying and surprising all those who get one.
We like the story above. It will one day be a movie or a series.
Story 2
Do you know how most digital services are created in a basement, dorm room or garage? Well mekwa is no different. It was created by kwame ferreira and a bunch of friends (Alexandre, Bruno, Chris, Filipe, Margarida, Rui, Target, Zé...), in a few basements, garages and dorm rooms around the world, but mostly in Lisbon, by the beach.
topEveryone and anyone who wants to go beyond their social network, to go places they can't, meet strangers... ooohhh, scary. Anyone who wants to be surprised, have a wish fulfilled.
You should be over 13 to use mekwa. We like the number 13. You must have some sort of abstract thinking capability and common sense. If you are 13+ and have none of the above, don't get a mekwa. I you are younger and already possess those qualities, great, we can't really stop you using mekwa. Have fun, watch out for freaks, they can also have mekwas.
topWell, depends on what you wish for. Remember, mekwa is now on the web. We know simple wishes like traveling: "I want to see what Sweden is like, can someone in Sweden take my mekwa for a ride" are very likely to be fulfilled.
Mekwa also works quiet well if you're looking for a boyfriend/girlfriend/flirt,... just ask for your suitors to take your mekwa and surprise you... if you want to flirt. Dating and flirting are usually localised services, so look for mekwas whose owners live near you.
We don't really know what wishes your mekwa can help you fulfill, because it really depends on where it beams down to, who it beams down to... we do know it can surprise you, and for now, that is nice and suffices.
topEvery new service strives for differentiation. Mekwa is no different. ;-)
Social networks make it very easy to connect with friends. You know who they are. You're simply perpetuating in the digital realm a connection that started on the physical realm. In other words, you already know who your friends are and you just confirm that fact online. I've always thought of social networking sites as address books on speed. (...) But what about strangers? How can you also connect with strangers in a meaningful way?
I was always very fascinated by people on the street and sometimes found myself wondering if only I could get inside someone's mobile.
The experiment is simple: If strangers say what they wish, I'm sure there is someone out there that will surprise them... it's about digital altruism, genuine surprise.
topMy background is Fine Arts so yes, in many ways I see mekwa as a giant installation featuring the world's desires being fulfilled. I moved from Fine Arts to Interactive media and then to Sociable media and Political Science. The social clusters I had to deal with were always bigger and bigger and started demanding more pragmatic tools. I don't know if through Mekwa people will surprise each other more, I hope so. As such Mekwa is an art object but also a pragmatic tool. Ultimately, it's an incursion into the nature of digital altruism and spontaneous celebration.
Mekwa is completely free to use. If you are using it via mobile, standard charges apply. If you are using a desktop computer, you must be aware that the internet is not free either, nor is electricity. Someone always pays for it.
Because it's free to use and has fixed costs, advertising is the easiest way to offset those costs. Don't let it bother you, we will try an put ads which are meaningful to you.
By creating a mekwa, part of your already very fragmented identity becomes public. Know that by uploading images and videos you are stating they belong to you or you have the express consent of whoever owns it. Mekwa limited will never use any of your content for promotional purposes without first contacting you.
topBy registering with mekwa, you agree that neither Kwame Corporation nor its associates is liable for any damages, direct or indirect, that may arise from your participation in the mekwa service. This also includes any damages, without limitation, stemming from your communication or meeting with other mekwa users. Such damages include, without limitation, physical damages, bodily injury and emotional damage, discomfort or distress as well as financial loss.
Any use or violation of the service is outside mekwa's control and mekwa is therefore not liable for it.
The paragraph above is paradigmatic of corporate law. Mekwa provides a service for which it is not liable at all, specially because it's digital and seamlessly intangible. If mekwa was a kettle, you would get one year guarantee.
Your personal information is yours and yours alone.
When you create an account we will ask you for information such as your name, sex, email address or mobile number. This information can only be seen by other registered users, until such time as you choose to terminate your account with mekwa. You can choose not to reveal some of your personal details (mobile, facebook profile, myspace...), in which case all you need to do is keep your details private or not input those at all.
We (Kwame when he is bored) sometimes monitor the material in the site, but really, it was built for users to monitor each other. See something you don't enjoy, report abuse. Be kind though, it's a big world with lots of different and fascinating people. Do not impose your apparent freedom upon others.
Mekwa uses cookies (use wikipedia to learn more about them if you don't already know).
Mekwa allows you to send other users' mekwas to your friends. If they are not registered, they must do so. You are not sending anything outside of mekwa more than a link to a mekwa.
Mekwa includes links to other sites. Mekwa is obviously not responsible for what those other sites publish.
Mekwa will never use nor allow other services to use your personal information. It exists only in Mekwa, for other mekwa users and never exits mekwa. The only exception is when a powerful government asks for it and makes a case for it through the might of its judicial system and/or military might.
If our servers fail or some tech glitch occurs and you lose your data, we will be deeply apologetic but in the end you will probably have to recreate the information lost.
We can change these terms at any time, we'll try not to though, and will advise everyone through our blog.
Mekwa is Kwame Ferreira — kwame[a*t]mekwa.com
Kwame divides his time between London, Lisbon and Berlin.
Kwame has a public facet at http://www.kwamecorp.com/lifestream
Please only contact Kwame if it's important. In the future mekwa will have a helpdesk, until such time be patient.
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