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Introduction to BlockPlay

We are excited to begin a series of blog posts that FINALLY get into the details of Assembli, and why we believe it can and will become a game changer. This will impact you, your community, your church, etc. Not only will it be a game changer… it will be a world changer! It will bring new hope to addressing the needs and issues affecting both the neighbors in your own backyard and those around the world. Assembli will allow those who participate to proactively respond to these needs and issues with love and compassion.

What Is Assembli?

Assembli is a platform that will enable the entire world to bring all the pieces of a plan together (the assemble in Assembli) to solve problems and meet challenges of all sizes and complexity. It will bring your ideas to life and put the resources you contribute to good use through the most efficient and intelligent means possible.  

Assembli can be described as a metaverse, but one that gets real people making a difference in the world in a real way. It can also be viewed as an ecosystem where organic relationships blossom into collaborative impact in the world. Or you can simply call it an app that helps you share what you can because you want to love the world as Jesus does.  

To truly understand, and believe that Assembli can do this, you will need to take a moment to understand the engine or philosophy behind it. Don’t worry, because if you can wrap your mind around how to play with building blocks as a child, then you can understand what drives Assembli. It’s both simple and extremely powerful. 

BlockPlay — A Powerful Engine to Drive Global Impact

The engine behind Assembli is a participation model called BlockPlay. Think of the interconnectable blocks that you or your children may have played with in the past. But instead of a bucket full of blocks spilled on the floor, think of a pile of blocks so large that it could easily fill the world’s largest stadium. Now imagine that each of these blocks perfectly connects to not just one, but numerous other blocks. Each connection then produces an incredible creation that comes to life and can move, adapt and change as needed. Of course, we’re not talking fantastical creations like Jurassic Park (which was a pretty cool idea before everything went wrong), but creations intended to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).” We want to see those with brave ideas connect with those with the courage and commitment to make brave ideas come to life. Dreamers and planners from all over the world will be working together! Now that’s something worth building! 

At the heart of BlockPlay are 15 blocks, each with a unique function and purpose. Five of these are structure blocks that give shape to ideas and plans. Five more represent the five types of resources that people contribute. And lastly, five block types that represent media, story, and content. In the next 15 blog posts, we will do a deep dive into each block. Hopefully, you’ll begin to understand the function of each and become aware of those that excite you. I hope your imagination is ignited as you begin to see the value of Assembli in facing life’s challenges.

For now, let’s briefly look at the five characteristics of these blocks that make them super useful. (Reading tip: You may not fully understand all of this blog post on the first read. Just read it anyways. Once you have gone through the next 15 posts describing the 15 block types, come back to this, or refer to it as you read the 15 posts. It will start to make sense, and we believe you will get excited at the potential!) 

Five Characteristics That Give Blocks Their Power

  1. The Representative Power of Blocks. Every single “need” and every single “offer” that exists in the world can be represented by a block in Assembli. A “need” is defined as an idea, structure, problem, challenge, or issue that God has put on your heart. For example, you may have started a Project Block called “Hope for Addicts In My Neighborhood” that needs an addiction counselor, and $3000. An “offer” is defined as any type of resource or help that you may be able to contribute to a need. You may be an addiction counselor, so you start a resource block that represents that skill. Assembli can embody your need or resource. Once added, Assembli will go to work to identify other blocks and link needs with offers. Other words that might describe this block characteristic are tokens, profiles, game pieces, and modules. 
  2. Ownership Permanence. If you create a block, then you own it. You own it, no matter what other block it’s connected to or helping.  It exists until you complete its purpose or assign it to a new owner. For example, you created the above “Hope for Addicts” block. It flourished as many people and resources joined your initiative (using their blocks). Your Addiction Project may have connected to other networks, organizations, or support groups (all blocks). But all through this time, you still owned your Project Block. You control which blocks your block connects to, either by extending invitations to others, or accepting or denying invitations to connect with others.  
  3. Block Connectability.  Every single block can potentially connect to every other block in Assembli. Blocks fit together. They can team up, partner up, help, be helped, share, support, implement, create, promote, and so on. Other words to describe this block include relationships; links; interdependence; synergy; critical mass. BlockPlay allows people typically on the fringe to participate in amazing ventures with their unique skills, resources, and ideas, without needing to join traditional organizations. Note: There are some rare exceptions to this rule, particularly with the “money” block. Everyone can connect to the money block, but they must start a project block first. 
  4. Limitless Blocks. A user can create an unlimited number of blocks, as long as the conditions for creating each block are met. A good example where this is useful is the skill block. Instead of creating one résumé and having to include all your skills in it, you can create multiple skills blocks that each represent unique skills you have, which can be linked individually to different needs represented by other blocks. You can also create as many types of blocks as you want: structure blocks to give shape to your ideas, resource blocks that define the ways you can help others, and media blocks that you use to tell your story.
  5. Blocks are Reusable.  As long as a block is not “used up” (such as a block representing 100 blankets – a materials block) it can continue to be repurposed or connected to other blocks. For example, you might build a team of volunteer engineers (using the Groups Block) who help out with a project (Project Block) or an organization once a year. Each year you search for, choose, and connect to a new project, but your team of engineers remains the same. In fact, each engineer connected to your Group Block is also a unique skill block that has connected to your team. And each engineer could be part of multiple other blocks if they so choose.  

I hope you are getting the point that Assembli is an extremely powerful, exponentially reconfigurable ecosystem that enables any individual, leader, church, or organization to create solutions and participate at far greater levels of efficiency. When combined with helpful dashboards and fun (almost gamified) user interfaces, Assembli can be used by YOU to kickstart any idea, enterprise, project, or act of kindness, or enable you to help others through your resources, anywhere in the world.  It can also be used by leaders with global ideas to gather and implement vast strategies that tackle massive issues like refugee resettlement and child trafficking. There are other strategic reasons why Assembli is needed, such as analytics. But we will cover those in a different post. 

Coming up … A closer look at the 15 types of blocks that you will be able to create in Assembli.

If you haven’t yet joined this movement do so at assembli.net. It’s a group effort! 

About the Author

Mark Orr

Mark Orr

Mark was raised as a missionary kid in Brazil. He has committed his life to helping emerging leaders be more effective, and ultimately the Church more able to carry out her Mission in the world. He has previously served in global refugee mission work. Mark and his family are Canadians, but have lived in the UK, Greece, and Uganda over the last 10 years.

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