Cardano DAO - Project Catalyst, right now there is Fund11 and I'm sharing my proposal with you, my readers. I already submitted it on Ideascale https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/111992 and I'm looking forward to hear your feedback. Here is the main text of this proposal which I repeat to my crypto-blog readers.
Cardano ebook marketplace
Ebooks market is highly centralized, censored, and dominated by Amazon Kindle. There is a general lack of marketplaces in the crypto world
[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.
Amazon Kindle dominates the ebook market. Having a monopolist position Amazon takes big fees from the writers' rewards (30-70% for a digital product!) and at the same time has other disadvantages: censorship risk (look what they did to Parler!, and I know other examples when the author was banned from Amazon for political or other reasons) and delay with payments (you need to wait few months to collect author royalties).
Cryptocurrency and Cardano can easily solve these problems.
The Cardano ebook marketplace platform will have very low fees taken from the author (maybe 5% or even 3%), and payments will be made almost instantly (buyers will have multiple options to pay, and authors will receive payment in ADA and native Cardano-based tokens)
[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.
Cardano ebook marketplace will have a very positive impact on the wider Cardano community.
Cardano community is special as we really have a lot of smart people here, a lot of people who really read a lot of books (and of course we also have people who write books).
We even used to have "Catalyst Book Club" in the past.
So even if we would have this project only for our community - this would be something useful.
However, Cardano ebook marketplace will reach the biggest audience: readers and book buyers from all over the world. This will scale Cardano usage and will bring new people to the Cardano ecosystem
[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?
I think my capability is good enough, as I'm long time Catalyst participant (3 years, since the beginning, since Fund1)
Also I have 7 years in blockchain (research, marketing, content)
And what I will add, as this is related to ebook niche: 33 years in Books (as a reader) - as I started to read a 4 years old
And approximately 20+ years as a writer (of course my first novels and poetry are not published, but I have overall many publications in different literature magazines, sites: 2 books in print and several ebook and I'm planning to publish more)
I always stay in touch with Cardano community, and regularly publish crypto blogs and social media on Cardano topic and other blockchain subjects.
I encourage feedback and I invite those who like this idea - to join my efforts if this proposal is successful.
I'm confident that as Cardano Use Case Concept this project will do well. The difficulties might appear on the later stage, as it's really hard to compete with Amazon. It's not to easy to attract big amounts of publishers, writers and readers.
But as the Use Case Concept, I'm confident we need something like this in Cardano ecosystem - and if I don't win - maybe somebody else will use this or similar idea
[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?
Milestone 1
Creation of big research of online publishing opportunities for writers and online research on the existing ebook marketplaces (not only Amazon, which remains the leader but other platforms like Kobo). Some the I have already tried and tested, but this research will be both theoretical and practical (either me or somebody from the team will register on every site and will try selling ebooks).
Also, we'll need to know the opportunity and competitive advantage where Cardano ebook marketplace might emerge (i.e. maybe it will be reasonable to select some specialization for ebook genre: fiction or non-fiction, maybe some non-English writers, etc.)
Milestone 2:
Creation of a marketplace of electronic books which will connect writers, small publishing houses, and readers. Creation of a web-site, integration of Cardano as main payment method.
Milestone 3:
The analysis of site as MVP, testing user experience. The research on the further site updates: Creation of dapp which will utilize ADA as payment, creation and usage of Cardano native asset, NFT minting.
The outreach of new intellectuals, writers, bloggers and new audiences and the readers to find books.
Milestone 4:
Research on the idea of focusing on "The social network and blog platform for intellectuals"
There might be either your own blog platform with a native token, distributed for rewards, or it can be integrated with existing platforms like Hive, ReadCash, Lbry.
This might become the combination of social network and blog platform for the intellectuals in the broad term of this world: people who like to read and write. Authors could build communities and follower base around their books, ideas, etc.
Example use-case: Ron Paul de-platformed. But his team members kept account on Cardano ebook site. He's now active there, and people come and support him, including financial support with ADA, native tokens. There could be certain features, like an easier way to speak with your author if you are his/her supporter, or like in this example - maybe join a political campaign. Merchandise can be sold as well as Ron Paul NFTs, and many things can be invented
Milestone 5
Research on the idea: Investment platform - invest in your favorite digital authors
What if you like and admire some author, but he drinks a lot, and spent all his crypto. But still, you like him and what to support. The author is broke now and he'd rather focus on writing new books than looking for another job. He is sure he has enough supporters like you, so he puts his future book shares for sale (selling 30-40%). This is of course confirmed by a smart-contract written on Marlowe and the details are flexible to setup and protected from future changes by blockchain. Of course, there is always a risk that this writer won't finish his book.
Example use-case: Charles Hoskinson wants to buy new land close to his farm, but he doesn't want to sell his ADA. He announced that he's writing the "Blockchain Governance" book and there is a high chance it will become a bestseller. He is selling only 5% of his book shares, but apart from tokenized participation in the future profits, he also puts a feature that everyone who contributed 10K ADA or more will have a special recognition badge during his AMAs and a dedicated signed paperback copy.
Final Milestone:
The final milestone will be ready-to use MVP: site, platform with electronic book with no less than 100 active writers, hundreds of ebooks available for sale and hundreds or thousands of users/readers.
Also we will have researches ready and the clear direction of what to do in order to scale (i.e. apply for Catalyst funding, apply for VC investment, apply for crowdfunding or ISPO model, etc.)
[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.
The cost breakdown is as follows:
Research on existing ebook marketplaces: 1500 ADA
Cardano ebook marketplace creation (development costs): 12000 ADA
Web-site hosting, domain, and technical costs: 1000 ADA
Testing, UI/UX: 2000 ADA
Cardano community engagement rewards: 1000 ADA
Other research/opportunities: 5500 ADA
Project management and Catalyst management reward: 2999 ADA
Total: 25 999 ADA
[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?
At the moment of submitting this proposal, 25 999 ADA is $9679 which is even modest amount compared to many other proposals.
I see tremendous value for the Cardano ecosystem - as this project will both create new Dapp and will attract many new users, some of whom are completely new to the cryptocurrency world.
But this and similar projects can scale Cardano adoption