Palomar is a decentralized writing platform, that aims to connect and reconstruct knowledge. In this project, I proposed the concept of “links as tokens”, to explore more sustainable business models for creators.
Yuchen Li
Before I studied service design at RCA, I graduated from the University of Liverpool with an architecture degree. Transit from physical space design to digital space design, I want to create meaningful human experiences ranging from physical cityscapes to digital universes, to drive engagement in everyday life.
I am passionate about designing for the future. During my studies at RCA, I designed the future of the internet, cooperated with the web3 platform, produced a metahuman film for EPIC, and proposed a digital fragrance delivery system partnership with IFF. I am a visionary, and I believe in starting from sketches and models, a designer can make the seemingly unattainable future real.
In Collaboration with:
What is web3?
To answer this question, we have to look back, at the history of the web.
In web1 and web 2, all data is stored on a central server, and the use of data also triggered many problems, such as information cocoon and limited creative freedom.
To put it simply, Web 3 is imagining new possibilities by changing the way data is stored and used. Over the past few years, a number of web 3 platforms were created, to make a difference with the existing web2 advertising-based business model.
The biggest confusion is the pricing plan. They have developed a subscription service as an Mvp, but they still wonder whether the monthly payment model is suitable for every creator. Also, a limited user base is still their pain point. In addition to that, they hope they can nurture a self-driven community.
I carried out user interviews with 5 readers and 6 creators who are in different stages of life. The goal of the interview is to understand readers’ day-to-day reading journey and consumption habits, also the creator’s journey and their opinions on revenue. Here are key takeaways from the reader's persona.
Here are key takeaways from the creator's persona.
From the journey, I summarised design goals based on three themes: system, token, and interface.
What are the design opportunities in web3?
To answer this question, I did research on 3 aspects:
1. Meetings with web3 developers
2. Desk research
3. In-depth Interviews with users
I reached out to Matters, to understand the need and the pain of the current web3 platform. It is one of the biggest web3 publishing platforms which has more than 80,000 creators. The platform provides an interface as familiar as web2 applications and a distributed file system for storing and sharing data.
Matters tries to promote the concept - “creativity has a price”. After a meeting with them, I summarized three challenges they are facing.
How might we design an economic model for 'paid content' in a web3 scenario, enabling creators and consumers to exchange value efficiently, and provide them with a community?
To respond to this question, I proposed the concept:
Links as tokens
- In this platform, creators can publish their articles in topics
- Each topic has an initial pool of funds, creators who post in the topic will receive a share of tokens as the basic income
- When an article is linked to other articles, creators will be rewarded with additional tokens
- Readers can support topics by donating tokens
To validate my concept, I brought my idea to Matters and asked for their opinion. They loved the idea, and pointed out that encouraging smaller creators to produce is very important; They also agree that the Subscription feature itself is more suitable for top creators. They mentioned two features they had in the platform which is similar to my feature: the hashtag and reference.
I also held an online workshop to test the basic functionality of the product and discussed the current ‘hashtag’ and ’reference’ user experience on Matters.
- Before the workshop started, Users were asked to write around topics and link each other’s content - In the ice break stage, I asked creators about their experience using the hashtag/topics
- Based on the preparation condition, we then lead participants to read, write and link
- We also allow readers to donate tokens at the same time
- After the activity, Tokens are assigned based on the final data
- Finally, we have the roundtable discussion about the experiences
By observing users’ behaviour in the workshop, I also noticed that because all participants received a similar number of links, in the end, it does not show a very large difference in income. So I assume similar activities could be carried out in the future and the earnings distribution formula should be improved based on the data collected.
Although it seems like a speculated project so far, I believe the ownership economy will come within 10 years.
So, How to make it real? I made a money flow chart and a road map here to confirm the durability.
Nowadays we are living in a world that is divided by apps, and we forget the internet is powered by countless small links.
When we get used to being fed up with content, we forget that we have the ability to actively seek the information we need.
When we get used to enjoying the free online services, we forget that we actually are the owners of the content that we created.
Special thanks to
Zerui Cai for supporting me in doing this project
Tutor
Qian Sun