Though creator coins (also known as social tokens) are in their nascent stage, they are quickly becoming a powerful tool that most, if not all, content entrepreneurs should want in their bag.To get started in coinage, <a href="https://www.thetilt.com/revenue/content-creators-non-fungible-tokens-coins-nfts">you can mint </a>a creator coin or social token through platforms such as <a href="http://www.rally.io/">Rally </a>and <a href="https://bitclout.com/">Bitclout </a>. Bitclout simply requires creating a profile to be eligible to create a coin. Rally has a more detailed application and vetting process.people can buy, hold, and sell your social tokens. But unlike most, coin holders also can receive benefits unique to your content business.

Getting started with Social Tokens

Brian Clark created <a href="https://rally.io/creator/MOVE/">$MOVE coin </a>. The founder of Copyblogger, Brian also publishes Further, a personal growth newsletter, and launched Unemployable, an educational community for solopreneurs. He has built a thriving Discord community talking creator coins and NFTs for coin holders with at least $15USD in $MOVE coins. This group also receives 10% of training and events. Community members who increase their investment to $120 USD of $MOVE gain VIP access to exclusive small group coaching and 50% off training and other events.

$MOVE

Nicholena Moon is in the top 0.06% of Twitch streamers, but she is growing her community through her <a href="https://rally.io/creator/MOON/">$MOON coin </a>. Though her audience can interact with her on Twitch, they can elevate their interactions by joining the $MOON Coin Discord server to “talk about gaming, crypto, Twitch, Rally … play in daily Hearthstone games … bid on NFT auctions, and listen to unreleased music.” It’s free to join the Discord server, but coin holders can take on special roles and gain additional benefits.

$MOON

The emo-rock band Emery has been around 20 years, but it’s taking on the future with its <a href="https://rally.io/creator/WALLS/">$WALLS coin </a>. It’s set up a private Discord server for holders of at least four coins. They plan to sell special pop-up merch on the server as well as “grow a cohesive, collaborative community that sustains the art at the center while enhancing relationships and value.”

$WALLS

<a href="https://www.thetilt.com/what-is-tilt-coin">The Tilt </a>has its own coin (<a href="https://rally.io/creator/TILT/">$TILT </a>). While they can be purchased, readers and contributors also can earn them for referring new subscribers, contributing guest blog posts, and more.&nbsp;As founder Joe Pulizzi explains: “At The Tilt, we believe that the audience and community we are working to build should also benefit financially."We’ve also launched a Discord server for The Tilt community, which has their own robust cryptocurrency/coin conversations. You can <a href="https://www.discord.com/invite/GZ4B3XAxMu">access it here </a>. (It’s free to join. Some levels are available only to $TILT coin holders.)

$TILT

You don’t need creator coins to build an audience. In fact, you probably should have at least some audience before you mint a coin. Then, use your coin to grow a community where people can gain an even more direct value of being involved. When you develop a community, you should be prepared to be active in it. That’s particularly true for communities built through a currency like creator coins. When members have an investment in your content brand, they have higher expectations of what you deliver.

Community building 101

Social Tokens are a method for content entrepreneurs to stimulate their existing communities to contribute more.

Creators who mint their own creator coins (aka social tokens) can use them to grow communities, not just build audiences - The Tilt

crypto

Cryptocurrency

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Social Tokens (aka Creator Coins) examples

Content creators — artists, musicians, writers, social influencers — are the true stars and revenue drivers for media properties, but they are often not adequately rewarded for their efforts. The relationship between creator and fans is intermediated through a third party, such as Instagram, which shares the revenue and exerts some artistic control. By directly rewarding creators for their work, social tokens — a type of cryptocurrency (crypto) whose value reflects fan enthusiasm — may fundamentally disrupt this long-standing model. Creators, in essence, become their own economies.

In Web 3.0 the creators are directly rewarded by their audiences

Content creators can use the tokens they issue in two self-reinforcing ways: to build and reward their fan community and to compensate themselves for their creative work. Most frequently, fans buy tokens, but some artists, such as RAC, give them away to loyal fans. As community members, fans receive benefits such as unique video content, access to group chats or exclusive merchandise. Generally, different ownership levels receive different benefits.Because only a limited number of tokens exist, rising demand increases their value.

Building and rewarding communities + compensating creators

In 1997, David Bowie issued <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6b4839dd-0539-34c4-bb1d-0edf95255d72">Bowie Bonds </a>, an asset-based bond that securitized the income from his earlier albums, paying 7.9% annual interest over the decade to 2007. Prudential Financial paid $55M for those bonds.

David Bowie issued a precursor of Social Tokens

Social tokens are further evidence of the internet’s move from Web 1.0, which provided information more efficiently, to Web 2.0, where users create content that platforms curate, to Web 3.0, where users curate their own content. Social tokens, true products of Web 3.0, directly connect the creators and consumers of content. They differ from celebrity bonds because there’s no intermediary in the transaction, and from ICOs because they plug into existing community-building efforts around the creator, driving actual value creation.

Social Tokens directly connect the content creators & consumers

• Access: Fans may simply buy tokens for the access they provide. For example, one band (Portugal. The Man) gives fans who buy 10 coins access to benefits such as the band’s audio archive, text and video chats, and other benefits. • Exchange: The coins can be used as a medium of exchange. Instead of the “tip jar” found on some websites, fans directly donate a token to compensate the creator.• Investment: With the token supply limited, rising demand drives value up. Fans can redeem coins, treating them as an investment (albeit a very risky one), and creators can augment their their income.

The 3 ways of using Social tokens

Token value depends on a creator’s ongoing content production. Failing to deliver would be professional suicide. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/08/instagram-influencers-psychology-social-media-anxiety">Anecdotal accounts </a>show that influencers can suffer psychological harm from the stress of constantly providing content. As a hypothetical example, would Taylor Swift have gone pop if the “TaylorCoin’s” value might’ve cratered?Several <a href="https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/advertising-marketing-branding/1084096/a-legal-primer-on-social-tokens">legal gray areas </a>exist for something as novel as social tokens, ranging from concerns about false advertising to broad liability issues. The SEC is working on <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/peirce-statement-token-safe-harbor-proposal-2.0">defining safe harbor provisions </a>for tokens, which would clarify some elements of the space.

The risks of Social Tokens

Exploring how will social tokens change online communities as we know them today. How will middlemen fade away and creators will retain much more value from their audiences.

Creators, in essence, become their own economies.

Social Tokens: a web 3.0 method for engaging communities and compensating creators

One of Telegram's biggest advantages over similar chat apps is how easy it is to join channels and groups. Telegram channels allow you to meet up with people to talk about any topic you're interested in.Let's look at some great Telegram channels you should check out. Once you like something search the channel name in Telegram to add it.

Telegram is a secure & fun chat app

This simple channel provides you with a few sayings from famous people each day. If you enjoy starting your day with words of wisdom, or want to chew on something interesting as you work, this is a great channel to join. Some of the people quoted in the channel include Charles Dickens, Albert Einstein, and Thomas Edison. In some cases, the quotes include a graphic that makes them convenient for sharing.

@quote

If you like nature and cool animals, take a look at this channel. It features pictures and short videos of all sorts of animals, from exotic beasts to cute pets. Whether you enjoy seeing unique species or just want to get cheered up at the end of a tough day, this channel has plenty of nature's beauty to enjoy.

@wildlifen

In this interesting Telegram channel, you can treat yourself to beautiful art from across the centuries. You'll find paintings, sculptures, photographs, and more. Most posts include a link to the artist's Wikipedia page (or personal website, where applicable) so you can find out more about them.

@privateart

Follow this channel to see beautiful sights from around the world. Each one includes a picture or video of a scenic spot from around the world, as well as a brief description. You'll also see the country's flag, which is fun.To top it off, most posts include a Google Maps link, so you can explore the area on your own. Who knows—you might find your next vacation destination!

@internationalgeographic

Recently started using Telegram more and seeking channels so I'd get nudges I want to open from time to time.

Need some interesting Telegram channels to join? Here are the best Telegram channels across a range of different topics.

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

travel

Travel

4 Telegram channels to discover more quotes, art, wild life and destinations 🗺

Discord is at the center of the gaming universe, having more than 100 million monthly active users, in millions of communities for every game and player imaginable. Its largest servers have millions of members. Discord's slowly building a business around all that popularity, too, and is now undergoing a big pivot: It's pushing to turn the platform into a comm. tool not just for gamers, but for everyone from study groups to sneakerheads to gardening enthusiasts. 5 years in, Discord's just now realizing it may have stumbled into something like the future of the internet. Almost by accident.

Discord almost accidentally invented the future of the internet

A community of book lovers, we read multiple books together monthly as well as just talk about our favorite authors and genres. Multiple authors present who enjoy talking to their fans. Everyone is welcome! (12k members) <a class="idea-content-link" href="https://discord.com/invite/7dQB9v5">Join this community</a>

Book Lovers Club

Largest academic philosophy discord server, a server for philosophy undergraduates, graduates, and autodidacts. There is a process to show philosophical competence, epistemic humility, and courtesy in order to become member and have access to all the chat rooms. (8k members) <a class="idea-content-link" href="https://discord.com/invite/TMfgKW9VH4">Join this community</a>

The Philosophy Chat

We are a discord community dedicated to the fandom of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi series Dune. We welcome everyone and anyone, from hardcore fans who’ve read every book to people interested in the 2021 Denis Villeneuve adaptation. Join us and the spice will flow! (4k members) <a class="idea-content-link" href="https://discord.com/invite/2jFcrVK">Join this community</a>

Dune

Bookaholics is a perfect place to discuss your favorite books. We’re officially Discord partnered. This server is itself a loving family for all book lovers. Has all your favorite genres. We talk about any genre! Events, Fiction & Non-Fiction Book Channels, Free books! (legally from Special Bookaholics Library), Happy Zone: Emotional Support, TV shows, Art & More channels!, Often do game events and have watch parties! (3k members) <a class="idea-content-link" href="https://discord.com/invite/2eSTgqVcZM">Join this community</a>

Bookaholics

Recently discovered Discord communities that made me remember my IRC days while also feel old. Here are some great ones I found.

In this compilation, we've gotten you a list of 60 Discord servers or communities which are book related, that go into various topics such as reading, writing, getting feedback, reading clubs, fan clubs of certain titles or genres and many more. With bots, channels and rewards - you'll have a great time in any of these servers. And from my personal experience, Discord communities are usually active 24 7, so once you're in, there's no such a thing as a pause or stop button. Have fun!

entertainment

Entertainment

Discord communities around Books, Philosophy & Dune

Innovation Accounting is a way of evaluating progress when all the metrics typically used in an established company (revenue, customers, ROI, market share) are effectively zero. Innovation Accounting is not only a way for individual teams to report their progress and communicate in financial terms. It’s also extremely useful for seeing how projects, portfolios of projects, or even whole enterprises are changing over time. And, most importantly, it gives the ability to summarize these disparate initiatives using a common vocabulary and accountability framework.

Use IA in the early game

<ul><li>It provides a framework of chained leading indicators, each of which predicts success. Each link in the chain is essential and, when broken, demands immediate attention. </li> </ul><ul><li>It’s a focusing device for teams, keeping their attention on the most important assumptions they’ve made about their project. </li> </ul><ul><li>It provides a way to tie long-term growth and R&D into a system that follows a clear process for funding innovation and can be audited for its ability to drive value creation.  </li> </ul>

What does IA help with

<ol><li>Use a simple dashboard of metrics that allows the team to track progress over time at the start of a project. It gives a basic sense of what’s working and what’s not. If customers won’t even try the product, it doesn’t matter what their repeat purchase rate is.</li><li>It represents the complete interaction with a customer and includes later-stage variables like repeat purchases, bad retention levels, or margin. </li><li>Looks at the learnings gained from the first two levels of IA translated into dollars by rerunning the full original business case with each Lvl 1 and 2 iteration. </li></ol>

The 3 Stages of IA

1. Come up with some initial metrics. These should be simple and actionable and should not have to be related to one another. For example, a number of customers interviewed and their rating on identified struggles might be two starting metrics. 2. If you’re stuck on metrics, ask these four questions, each of which will give rise to a set of metrics designed to answer it.<ul><li>Did we do what we said we were going to do?</li><li>Are our people working differently?</li><li>Do customers (internal or external) recognize and improvement?</li><li>Are we unlocking new sources of growth as a company? </li></ul>

Steps for your Level 1 dashboard 

“To truly transform our organizations and our way of working, we need to change our accounting systems, too.”

Here’s an example of a Level 1 dashboard looking at the first experiment done by a team building a lemonade stand and hoping for hypergrowth through the use of drone delivery and premium ingredients down the road:

A simple Level 1 dashboard

Use the dashboard to hold your team accountable. Simply ask this question: Which metrics are improving over time?For example, a team that’s trying to prove they can charge a price premium for a new product might do an initial version where nobody is willing to buy, so revenue per customer is $0 for the first test. A few product revisions later, perhaps revenue has grown to $1. This is progress, even if the goal is ultimately $10 or $100.

Accountability is Key

Recently learned about Innovation Accounting that's been recommended as the practice to adopt until thinking about metrics relevant to product-market fit.

Innovation Accounting is a way of evaluating progress against innovation objectives in an organization. Download a free exercise from Eric Ries, author of the Lean Startup.

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

startup

Startups

product

Product & Design

Innovation Accounting: What It Is and How to Get Started

Niklas Luhmann<a href="https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/"> </a>, a notable sociologist, was living proof for a system that is effective. During his life, he wrote 70 books and 500 scholarly articles. He attributes his success to a note-taking system called the Zettelkasten<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zettelkasten"> </a>, which is the German word for slip box (Luhmann’s system was done on index cards or “slips,” stored in boxes, and later digitized).

Invented by Niklas Luhmann

Fleeting notes are ideas that pop into your mind as you go through your day. They can be really short, just like one word. You don’t need to organize them. They just serve as reminders of your thinking.These notes have no value except as stepping stones for turning literature notes into permanent notes. You discard the fleeting notes once you transformed them into permanent notes (more on that in level 3).

Level 1️⃣: Fleeting Notes

You capture literature notes from the content you consume. It’s your bullet-point summary from other people’s ideas. I create these notes for all books, podcasts, articles, or videos I find valuable.

Level 2️⃣: Literature notes

You can be extremely selective, or simply takes notes upon asking yourself: <ul><li>What is interesting about this?</li><li>What’s so relevant it’s worth noting down?</li></ul>By transforming consumed content into literature notes, you're using one of the most effective learning strategies. When you elaborate, you rephrase new information in your own words and connect it to existing knowledge. You’ll make it more likely to remember<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1981-02672-001"> </a>what you read.

What makes good literature notes

A note is only as useful as the context you place it in. A note’s true value unfolds in its network of connections and relationships to others.You don’t have to use your brain anymore to find separate ideas from different books related to each other. In a Zettelkasten, you don’t file notes in the context you found them but in the context in which you want to discover them.

Use context to create a notes network

“Making good cross-references is a matter of serious thinking and a crucial part of the development of thoughts.”Here are two questions to ask yourself when you create references for your literature notes. Answering them will help you make good cross-references:<ol><li>In which circumstance do I want to find this note?</li><li>When and how will I use this idea?</li></ol>

Good cross-references increases your notes' value

Permanent notes are the real value-adders. You create them by looking through your fleeting and literature notes. Ideally, you create them once a day.Both Sönke Ahren and Andy Matuschak say a knowledge worker’s productivity should be measured by the number of permanent notes they write in a day.“If you had to set one metric to use as a leading indicator for yourself as a knowledge worker, the best I know might be the number of Evergreen notes written per day.”

Level 3️⃣: Permanent notes

As a rule of thumb, you can create permanent notes about every topic you're curious about or working on. When you’re in doubt, ask yourself whether you’re curious to explore your idea further.When you create permanent notes, you think for yourself. In contrast to literature notes, you don’t summarize somebody else's thoughts. While your literature notes are bullets, your permanent notes are written prose. A reader of your permanent note should understand it without reading its source.

How to create permanent notes

Sometimes permanent notes are truly original. Other times they can be just a reference to the original source added with a personal anecdote.Permanent notes are no holy grail — but a work in progress. Don’t be afraid to write them. You can change and update them whenever you want: what permanent really means is that they’re permanently useful to you.

Literature notes vs. Permanent notes

Creating a personal knowledge database can feel difficult. First, the many options and tutorials confuse you. Then, building a system slows down your consumption speed.A Zettelkasten can work as an idea-generation machine. You discover related ideas that you hadn’t thought of in the first place. As your notes grow, you likely start seeing puzzle pieces for the bigger picture. This picture can serve as the basis of your original work.

A Zettelkasten can work as an idea-generation machine

Taking smart notes is the fast-track to improve your productivity and creativity. Yet, most note-taking systems are ineffective. Niklas Luhmann, a notable sociologist, was living proof for a system…

writing

Reading & Writing

strategy

Strategy

education

Learning & Education

problemsolving

Problem Solving

creativity

Creativity

Zettelkasten’s 3 Note-Taking Levels Help You Harvest Your Thoughts

When we begin to meditate or to engage with any type of spiritual practice, we often think that in some way we’re going to improve, which is a subtle aggression against who we really are.
It’s kind of like saying, “If I jog, I’ll be a much better person.” Or the scenario may be that we find fault with others. We might say, “If it weren’t for my partner, I’d have a perfect marriage.” And, “If it weren’t for my mind, my meditation would be excellent.”

Self-improvement through meditation is not the objective

But lovingkindness— maitri (Pali, metta )—toward ourselves doesn’t mean getting rid of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy, we can still be angry. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That’s what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest.

Lovingkindness— maitri (a popular form of Buddhist meditation) toward ourselves doesn’t mean getting rid of anything. Maitri is about befriending who we are already. It means that we can still be crazy, we can still be angry.
The ground of practice for meditation is whoever we are right now, just as we are. That’s what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest.

Meditation is befriending ourselves

Sitting meditation gives us a way to move closer to our thoughts and emotions and to get in touch with our bodies.
It is a method of cultivating unconditional friendliness toward ourselves and for parting the curtain of indifference that distances us from the suffering of others. It is our vehicle for learning to be a truly loving person.

Sitting meditation as a vehicle

Through meditation, we start to be aware of the gaps in our internal dialogue. In the midst of constantly talking to ourselves, we experience a pause, as if awakening from a dream.
We acknowledge our capacity to relax with the clarity, the space, and the awareness that already exists in our minds. We experience moments of being right in the "here and now" that feel simple, direct, and uncluttered.

Meditation is simply being uncluttered

<ul>
<li>Seat: The seat should be flat (whether you’re sitting on a cushion on the floor or in a chair), not tilting to the right or left, or to the back or front.</li>
<li>Legs : The legs should be crossed comfortably in front of you or flat on the floor, with the knees a few inches apart (if you’re sitting in a chair).</li>
<li>Torso : Keep your torso (from the head to the seat) upright, with a strong back and an open front. If sitting in a chair, it’s best not to lean back.</li>
<li>Hands : Keep your hands open, with palms down, resting on the thighs.</li>
<li>Eyes : Keep your eyes open, indicating the attitude of remaining awake and relaxed with all that occurs. The eye gaze should be somewhat downward, directed about 4 to 6 feet in front of you.</li>
<li>Mouth : The mouth should be very slightly open so that the jaw is relaxed and air can move easily through the mouth and nose; the tip of the tongue can be placed on the roof of the mouth.</li>
</ul>

6 points for sitting meditation

Lovingkindness meditation is not about becoming a better person, but befriending who we already are, writes Pema Chodron.

Social Tokens (aka Creator Coins) examples

Social Tokens: a web 3.0 method for engaging communities and compensating creators

4 Telegram channels to discover more quotes, art, wild life and destinations 🗺

Discord communities around Books, Philosophy & Dune

Innovation Accounting: What It Is and How to Get Started

Alexandru Băduț