I was wondering if there is a possibility of an ‘international business directory’. I guess it would work similar to inviting others to build embassies in your nation.
OpenGeofiction
I was wondering if there is a possibility of an ‘international business directory’. I guess it would work similar to inviting others to build embassies in your nation.
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Discussion
Comment from Luciano on 16 September 2016 at 01:04
I have thought about a need for this too.
What I would like to see is an “International Franchise Listing” where, if a user includes his/her business in the listing, then all other users are free to create local franchises of that business, without discussions or permissions.
Thus, if I have an international coffee chain (Starbucks clone), then placing it there would allow other users to place locations on their map without discussing it with me. Etc…
Several times I have almost created such a listing, but I’m still not sure how it would look exactly, and I wasn’t sure if others would be interested - most people seem kind of “possessive” about their brands and seem to want more control over them.
Personally, I think having such a listing, prominently included in the FAQ, would help new users avoid using real-world brands, which definitely a problem.
If you want to create such a list, feel free to do so on the wiki. I would recommend placing it in the OGF: namespace (i.e. OGF:International Business Listing), since it would be essentially “out of character” vis-a-vis our wikiworld, like the OGF:Embassies page.
Comment from Thunderbird on 16 September 2016 at 01:41
I’ve been slowly creating one for my country and I would love to be a part of this! I could select some of my bigger chains to have franchises in other countries!
Comment from niels20020 on 16 September 2016 at 06:45
I think it would be a good idea to create a listing of international businesses! It’s more realistic to have some international companies in your country in stead of only domestic ones.
Comment from PColumbus73 on 16 September 2016 at 13:55
I think a business directory would be good for avoiding using real world brands. Especially for big things like cars, major clothing retailors, and even oil companies, the list goes on. I think it could provide an interesting ‘simulation’ of sorts for trade and international economics.
For instance, my country, Vienna, is becoming a producer of salt. Due to the hot, dry climate (theorized in the Wiki), my country will have to import food to sustain its population. So, I would have to look for a country that is an exporter of foodstuffs and engage in a trade agreement with a salt company in my country. If my country were to become a producer in oil or some other natural resource, those companies could become international powerhouses (like Shell & ExxonMobil). Same with automakers, I’d like to see OGF versions of major car companies like Toyota and Ford.
Comment from BMSOUZA on 16 September 2016 at 21:58
I like the idea too, and I was just looking fot international companies in OGf last month because the August Challenge of Luciano, hehehe.
About “OGF versions” of real companies, I think is not a problem is there is more than one version to the same company. Ex: In OGF, some user (sorry, I forgot who is!!!) created “Cord” inspired in “Ford”. I also have a company inspired in Ford, but the name is “DeLand”. But there is not a discussion “my company is the real Ford in OGF”…
(I also have companies inspired in Volkswagen and Dodge, hehehe)
Comment from Thunderbird on 17 September 2016 at 01:27
@PColumbus73: I like the idea you have, about trade agreements. My country produces a lot of paving materials, like asphalt and gravel, so I would want to export those so other countries could build roads. I was also thinking of creating one car brand, not an OGF version of a real world brand but my own idea, since I am a fan of cars in real life.
Comment from PColumbus73 on 17 September 2016 at 02:16
@Thunderbird; Thanks! I was looking on the Wiki for a map of natural resources. I think that would be useful to have a general-ish consensus of where oil fields, coal reserves, fertile areas, minerals, etc, are across the world. Similar to the climate map on the wiki, I think it would be appealing for the more in-depth mappers.
With an international business directory, being able to see how many countries a business operates in would be nice, but might be a challenge.
Comment from mstr on 17 September 2016 at 22:01
I agree and would like to participate in international businesses. I already missed the international cooperation, except some companies like Watanabe Aerospace which sold many planes all over the world. There might be different possibilities, one is franchise, another would be to allow other companies to build factories/offices in your country. I try to do this by offering industrial areas where you are allowed to do so, areas are listed here:
http://opengeofiction.net/wiki/index.php/Industry_in_Mergany
and rules will be shown here:
http://opengeofiction.net/wiki/index.php/Mergany/Rules_of_international_cooperation
It is difficult to have a consensus where natural resources should be and which companies are big players. There is no authority who decides which company is successful and which is not?
Comment from Ūdilugbulgidħū on 18 September 2016 at 14:13
Great idea.
I’ve created a page to add international and multinational companies to here.
@PColumbus73 - I think this might be best found on the relevant page for the company. There are also ways to do this from the map data, e.g. see International Spice Station page. Adding a column to the OGF page would also work.
Happy mapping Udi