THE EXPEDITIONQUEST NETWORK

ExpeditionQuest is the online community for explorers and adventurers. We offer expeditions free website hosting, an easy way to upload and present their content, discounts from suppliers worldwide, potential funding for their project, a placement service to locate additional team members and advisors, and an exciting opportunity to share their experiences with classrooms across the globe.

MyEQSpace
Create your own profile page and share your interests with the EQ community of adventurers, explorers, scientists, students and outdoor enthusiasts. Meet new people, upload photos, video, news, add your own adventure or travelogue, post a blog, check out the classifieds. Link to your resume in the Outbound Expedition Placement Service.

Expedition Directory
A worldwide directory and search engine for field research projects and adventures, our database is the most exhaustive source in the world and includes over 10,000 relevant projects funded by the National Science Foundation as well as expeditions sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society in London, National Geographic, the Explorer's Club, Archaeological Institute of America, Earthwatch, Smithsonian, the American Alpine Club and others. These are non-commercial expeditions with specific goals.

ExpeditionChannel
Each expedition which registers with us is given it's own User ID and Password which enables it to create it's own website which is hosted by EQ at no cost. Every site includes a complete description of the expedition along with dates, funding requirements, contact information, link to their own website if they have one, a news section where they can send updates, a media gallery for photographs, audio clips, and video, a spot to upload a slide show, a polling program which enables them to poll students and others about their project, a discussion board, a mailing list which EQ members can subscribe to, a calender to post deadlines and progress, a directory for relevant bookmarks to other sites on the net, a spot to uplaod a map or link to one on the net, and a complete administration section where they can manage all this information.

ExpeditionNewsNet
Headlines, photos and the first two sentences of the last 10 articles appear on the main page of ExpeditionQuest.com each day. The news section includes full text articles and a news archive. Content comes from many sources with main backup from the Associated Press. AP searches over 18,000 articles per week according to a series of keywords EQ designates. Other sources and wire services include UPI, Agence France, Kyodo News Service, PR Newswire, and releases from EQ expeditions, among others.

OutBound
An online placement service for adventurers and scientists who want to join expeditions. The service is also used by organizations seeking employees such as guides, instructors, experts for interviews, etc. EQ members fill out a resume form and then choose boxes from an elaborate indexing system which summarizes their experience, making it easy for users to locate members with specific skills. (For example a physician who has climbed over 6,000 meters, is fluent in German, and has Class 3 whitewater experience). Members also complete a form describing when and where in the world they expect to be in coming months and years. This enables people to get together while traveling, share expenses and experiences.

Outbound enables EQ members to make their resumes available to one or more of the following: expeditions, employers, journalists for interviews, other EQ members, and various EQ sanctioned Search and Rescue and Disaster Relief organizations.

Expesearch
A "yahoo-like" Directory and Search Engine consisting of over 15,000 commercial companies and non-profit organizations which offer products and services relevant to field research, adventure and the outdoors. ( ie: adventure travel companies, guide services, equipment sources, transportation services, food, books, maps, medical, photography, etc.)

When an organization joins, they can offer a discount on their product or service to EQ members and /or expeditions by issuing an ordering code. Only our members can use the code to get a discount. Organizations which provide the greatest discounts to our expeditions are listed at the top of the directory (listing priority is determined by discount rate).

Each company has a portal page which leads to their website with basic information and a password protected link to discount information for EQ members.

ClassQuest
In our virtual classroom, expeditions and classrooms can connect and communicate with each other. Section includes directories for classrooms, interactive expeditions, lesson plans for teachers, and a lecture series where an expedition can upload a slideshow (powerpoint).

Educators list the courses and time of year they expect to be studying certain subjects or explorers. EQ expeditions can then search the database for classes with whom to communicate and share timely information and updates while in the field.

VENUS (Voice Energized News Update System)
Making use of the latest technology available, expeditions can use VENUS to send news updates to their website by cell or satphone from anywhere on earth. Our teams simply call EQ, identify themselves with their unique ID and PIN numbers and then tell us their latest news whether it be from the middle of the Pacific, the north col of Everest or McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

The call is authenticated at EQ, recorded, saved as an audio file, categorized in the database and then transferred to the news section of the specific expedition's site in the Expedition Channel. In less than two minutes their voice transmission is available for the world to share simply by clicking on the audio link to the team's latest news update.

Expeditions can choose to have their transmission sent to EQ News and/or our registered journalists and reporters and also have the ability to edit and delete the audio files anytime.

Content
One of the underlying themes of EQ is that we exist so that expeditions can be free to create their own information and disseminate it. While we will encourage some general guidelines such as environmental and educational themes and no bad taste, there are no rules. No one "owns" their content. All of our expeditions and many members are extremely individualistic and will appreciate a free outlet for their creativity.

Support

EQ would not exist without your support and involvement. We encourage you to register and give us your feedback!

THANK YOU!

 - Jake Stout, Founder