Problem
The knowledge about a topic is dispersed across a variety of sources: books, newletters, tweets, podcast clips, and web pages. It cannot be easily ranked algorithmically.
Solution
Collective is platform that rewards topic enthusiasts for creating and curating content into a collaborative knowledge base
Storyboard
A group of coffee experts want to create the definitive knowledge base of coffee content
They create a social token ($CAFE) which represents expertise within their topic. Some amount of the $CAFE token is distributed among the initial group of moderators, with the rest being distributed over time in weekly ‘drops’.
Each week, a new allocation of tokens drops into circulation. The token drop is distributed using a Request For Knowledge contest, which is an open call to submit relevant content. The better the submission, the more the submitter will earn.
All existing holders of $CAFE can vote on the submissions. The votes are weighted by the user’s $CAFE balance, so a vote from an expert counts more than a vote from a newbie.
Submissions above a certain threshold of votes are included in the Collective knowledge base.
The token drop is distributed amongst the submitters in proportion to the weight of the votes they received. These submitters become $CAFE holders and can vote on future Requests for Knowledge.
Value Prop
- Consumers: Access to a knowledge base that is vetted by
- Curators: Showcase your expertise (??)
Questions
Why not use real money?
Not all communities are monetarily driven. Requiring the use of traditional money prevents those communities from adequately rewarding contributors to their Collective page.
Using a synthetic social token offers the best of both worlds. The social token can represent a type of ‘karma’ or expertise in a topic, regardless of its use as a medium of exchange. However, each community can still decide to imbue the token with value by accepting it as a payment for rewards and special access. This allows a Collective token to be used as a medium of exchange without requiring the use of ‘real’ money.
Why involve a social token instead of karma/points?
Given current technology, creating such a token is equally as difficult as maintaining a database to keep track of points. A token allows interoperability with other emerging community building tools, like DAOs for governance, NFTs for collectibles, etc.
How are different types of contributors rewarded?
Each submission has a creator (person who authored the content) and a curator (person who submitted the content). These two may be the same person.
Tokens will be distributed to both parties, though creator reward >>> curator reward in a ratio TBD.
