Hello, everyone!
My name is Ilya, I'm a member of the development team that makes the CommysContent service. We plan to launch it in the near future.
Since the service is planned to be as friendly as possible to authors and users, I decided to hold a pre-announcement in style of an open dialogue. So, I'm going to tell you about the project itself, about how the idea came to my mind, how we came to this life, and if possible, to get advice, comments and criticism.
The project itself is a portal where creators of the content (from translations of subtitles and works of art to photos and 3D modeling) can easily upload their work, and users can get access to them for a subscription. At the same time, you can create specific content for bounty and some fees similar to kickstarter.
The main difference of our portal is in the system of motivation, distribution of funds and attitude to authors and users. In short — the service will not have any content rating or differences in payment to authors. All funds received from subscriptions after deducting expenses will be distributed between the authors and employees of the portal in equal shares. Also, the lack of rating implies an individual approach to working with content authors. It is no secret that now the most popular format that brings money to authors is 'ongoings'.
And... that's not very good. When I talked to content creators, I found that they don't like the artificial framework that ongoings have put them in. And this is quite understandable.
The creative process is not always possible on a clear schedule, alas.
In addition, in the case of ongoings, the quality of the content suffers quite a lot, since the same time frame is quite strict and does not allow time for proofreading and editing.
I have given an example with works of art, but I have met a similar scheme very often in other areas. In an extremely simplified form, it looks like this:
- Subscribers of a certain author expect specific product release dates from them.
- The author fits into this framework (not always), but the quality of the product gets worse.
- Subscribers either spit and leave, or struggle for nothing, demanding the continuous.
- The author is forced to write a continuation...
- ...
- The quality of the content is bottoming out.
It turns out that if an author wants to create, the one has in fact a poor choice. Either one engages in content creation as a hobby, earning for living in a different way, or goes to the doorsteps of publishers, those also have their own 'agenda', and the 'non-brand' writer is likely to get turned away from the door.
With photographers, artists, 3D modelers, and many others, the situation is similar. A conventional photographer Gregory from Nowhere-city, maybe, always wanted to be an animalist. Maybe he loves animals, and his soul lies in capturing wildlife. But since there are no orders in this conditional direction/it is difficult to success without connections, he has to look back at the market demands, go to the conditional sports photography and retrain for something that he never thought about. As a result, we get a mediocre employee without a twinkle in his eyes, who is already glad that he didn't go to carry heavy boxes.
I've always been surprised at how people's standards go down with age. Once, we wanted to turn the universe upside down with our creativity. Perhaps, for the first time in our life, we wanted to prove that the direction that is dear to our heart is a serious activity. But the numerous 'no one needs it' discourage even talented people from wanting to learn something. As a result, by the age of twenty-five, we have hidden childish resentments against the world and incomprehensible aggression, which is generated solely by the fact that we are not allowed to do what we love. And through this aggression, in an attempt to somehow protect ourselves from it, we begin to look for the positive in the situation. And soon, 'oh, this is not what I wanted' changes to a dull 'I am not starving, though.'
If you recognize yourself in this description or are afraid to become so, to lose your job, or just want to try something new for a long time - do not be afraid, we are on our way. This project is also essentially an experiment, a chance for peace, if you will. Life is not a race, it's an opportunity. And we want to open these opportunities for you.
What are the users? What good is it to them that the authors get paid? So, for users, too, prepared goodies. The most obvious one is when you want to implement something for a long time, but no one takes it up. Make out your wishes as a bounty, someone will definitely take it. If you've not enough money, you can fill the fund of the planned project collectively. In addition, we have a subscription for a minimum price and a huge free section. Just because it all comes down to a human attitude. Both to the authors and to the users.
Now about how it will be organized technically. The site will be linked to the internal currency (token). The subscription can be paid for with a token, and it will also be used to collect bounty and kickstarter. A little later, we will enable the ability to pay for the usual rubles/dollars. The subscription, as mentioned above, will be distributed among all authors and employees of the portal in equal shares after deducting current expenses. Well, a quarter of the proceeds will be used to buy the token, which is why it's capitalization will constantly grow.
We plan to launch the token itself on the basis of the WAVES platform and open trading only after the launch of the site is completed and the initial content is loaded.
What does it mean? Well, first of all, no ICOs. A certain number of tokens will be issued (initially we expect to issue 6000000), which will be available for purchase. We initially assume that the subscription price will be equal to 100 tokens, and the price of one token will be approximately equal to one ruble. But in the future, with the launch of fiat payment methods and the purchase of tokens, everything can change.
With an increase in the number of subscriptions for fiat funds, the role of the token will also change and it will be more profitable to hold it for trading than to pay for a subscription.
You might ask, why would we put it on the market then? Very simple. Together with the standard schemes for attracting new authors, we would very much like to offer cooperation to already well-known, experienced writers, artists and other content creators. In this case, the recruitment of a critical mass of users will happen much faster.
The necessary platform updates, including those related to very expensive server hardware, as well as ordinary advertising, will not go anywhere yet.
As a result, we believe that such a sales scheme is as honest as possible. You will be able to view the free section, determine if you like something and buy a subscription for tokens. Or make your own bounty. Or...
There are many options.
I'll tell you a little about us.
Our team is already quite large, and there are content creators who are ready to work for some time 'for development', and technical specialists. The advertising department is almost fully staffed.
But this is just the beginning. After the launch of the portal, we will ALWAYS need for new authors and editors who will work with them (remember what I wrote about individual attitude), so almost everyone can join the team.
We will write more about the team closer to the release of the token, as we respect the right of authors and specialists to remain anonymous. This is especially important in light of some of the bills...
By the way, just in connection with some lawmaking, we will be happy to see in our ranks those who are engaged in video courses and similar educational activities. I think we can provide you with working conditions.
P.S. If you have read this entire wall of text, please write your comments. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them, even though I can't stay here all day.
Thank you for your attention, the next information update will come very soon!
P.S.S. We are looking for English-language authors, managers and editors. Please quote in thread, if you are interested.
Links:
Ru-version:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5310764
