Some musings on reward programs & tokens:

Reward programs initially began as a way to build customer loyalty.

There are a few benefits:
- most loyal tend to be the most profitable
- cost to serve goes down with retention
- often serve as marketing distribution Tokens today have similarities
- loyal token holders serve as a marketing distribution and bootstrap networks
- they also contribute direct work to the protocol itself

~tattoo NFTs~ I love this

one of the most dystopian facets of NFTs is that they often boil down to purchasing power

status hacking is almost directly related to the $$ in your pocket

https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1486375000793776131

guess who suffers as a result?

eventually, we find ourselves in a cycle not too dissimilar to existing financial structures.

those who have the means will lend, rent, their assets in exchange for status hacking or a taste of how the other side lives

my 10 favorite web3 reads of 2021 (in no particular order)

super hard to narrow down but here goes nothing 😆

1 / NFTs make the internet ownable @jessewldn

variant.mirror.xyz/T8kdtZRIgy_srX… 2 / Power to the person @packyM

notboring.co/p/power-to-the…

NFTs are the most effective distribution channel for IP, as a result, the category will redefine e-commerce The current state:

- IP is created, managed, and distributed with a top-down approach

- Digital content is static, with limited financial or economic utility

- the Internet is effectively permissioned

service DAOs are unbundling work

in a web3 world, we need to rethink the firm 👇 Blockchains unlock is trust and coordination at scale

These take the form of decentralized networks, with on-chain incentive mechanisms

Blockchains allow for coordination without needing to trust intermediaries

How to do research in crypto:

1. Identify the scope of what you’re trying to learn
2. Write out a list of questions
3. Gather sources

This includes scouring @theblock @coindesk @theblockworks @thedefiant @bankless @unchained @forefront and many others 4. Utilized advanced search or lists to better understand crypto twitter’s commentary

5. Take notes while you read, but make sure you are identifying the key q’s and a, as well as any gaps

1/ Collector DAOs are having a moment - here's why I think they'll evolve into digital powerhouses alongside museums, galleries, and historical institutions

I'll cover
- formation
- curation vs. investment
- types of Collector DAOs & more 2/ Most Collector DAOs were formed in the last year, I may be missing a few, but here’s the lay of the land:

1 / NFTs are often called "platfomless media"

doesn't mean there aren't platforms, but rather NFTs can be issued irrespective of a platform, and can be sold cross-platform 2 / given this is the case, how are marketplaces differentiating themselves today?

4 tradeoffs for consideration

I'm a believer in the long-term potential of NFTs.

but I also know there are many open questions and grandiose claims today

vision is important, but the devil is in the details.

Here are 20 Q's about NFTs I'm thinking about: Provenance

1. What happens when an NFT is issued on multiple blockchains?

2. If the original media is destroyed (e.g., tweet deleted) what does that mean for the NFT holder?

3. What will standard metadata and best practices look like?

4. Should metadata always be on-chain?

1 / For anyone stumbling upon DeFi wanting to know WTF happened this summer - here’s a high-level summary 2 / liquidity mining 👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾

A short-term growth strategy, where users provide liquidity in exchange for rewards, with the goal for incentivizing long term stickiness

Designs vary by timing, $ amount & recipient

COMP was the OG -- but liquidity mining is now table stakes