Virgin Corporate Development Team, Virgin USA, Inc
Darlene Brice, publisher, VirginFuels.org
November 12, 2006
Dear Sirs,
I have taken initiative that I believe is in line with Sir Richard Branson’s philosophies. Two days after hearing of the announcement of Virgin Fuels, I launched VirginFuels.org – an independent global bioenergy news site with a special focus on information about the work of Virgin Fuels and Khosla Ventures. I make it abundantly clear on the site and in my correspondence that I am not associated with Virgin Fuels, nor do I claim any endorsement from or influence with the Virgin Group .
Our stated mission from the website: “This website is not associated with Virgin Fuels, the venture energy company founded by Sir Richard Branson. The purpose of VirginFuels.org is to examine global bioenergy issues with a special focus on green technology and investment.
Although we are an independent voice, we agree with the principles expressed by Sir Richard. We believe we have a responsibility to our children to safeguard our environment. We believe there are other options to the continued use of fossil fuels. And finally, we are absolutely convinced there are profitable applications for alternative energy and biofuel technologies in today's commercial market.”
In this spirit I have developed the site as a resource destination for the international investment and educational communities in particular and the bioenergy industry in general. Since launching September 29, 2006 I have had visit hits from 11 different countries and governments, including Romania, Lithuania, Sri Lanka, India, Tanzania, the Dominican Republic and Brazil as well as the UK and Europe. I have positioned the site in the search engines and, as of today, VirginFuel.org is # 8 on Google and # 1 on Yahoo for virgin fuels key words. The site is being indexed daily by Google as well as others like Inktomisearch, DogPile, and others. I expect traffic to continue to rise as the site map and content pages are picked up in regular indexing. I am spending a great deal of time on SEO and rankings.
I believe this news site will stand out from the rest because I am structuring the information by state and country. For example, please see our China page. I also expect this site to stand out for its professional appearance. As publisher, I have 25 years experience in print and electronic publishing, graphics, software teaching and web development.
I have started to receive enquiries, press releases and employment applications – for example, Blue Sun Biodiesel (gobluesun.com) enquired about submitting to Virgin Fuels an Investment Proposal Summary for their BlueSun B20 biofuel. Also, a new biofuel company called Green Energy in Uganda is also looking for funding. I forwarded their information on to Mr. Khosla. Apparently, I am getting these contacts because VirginFuels.org is the developed site after VirginFuels.com and VirginFuels.net and there is not yet a listing for Virgin Fuels on your main website.
The website represents my work and service. I have developed the site (without compensation) because I truly believe in the importance of offering an independent, reliable news source on this issue. To continue this work will require underwriting, sponsorship and advertising. As I want to maintain the integrity of the site, I am compiling stringent criteria for advertising and/or sponsors. I respectfully ask that the Virgin Group consider the following:
-- helping to underwrite this important site
-- providing funding to enable me to attend conferences and seminars on this subject, memberships to professional organizations and subscriptions to industry publications
As I said to Mr.. Khosla, I want to participate in the important work that the Virgin Group is doing throughout the world. I believe the enterprise that I have begun is aligned with the values and objectives of Sir Richard and may provide a cost effective solution for disseminating information on this critical subject. I look forward to discussing this with you in more detail.
I hope you find VirginFuels.org to be of value.
Sincerely,
Darlene Brice, virginfuels.org, publisher