There is a popular maxim that applies to social media today: “If it's free, then the user is the product”. However, content can be created outside of established models. Severalanalytics and marketing platforms have already demonstrated this. Now, with the rise of blockchain technology – there are new venues of connectingcontent creators with marketers and influencers by associating the parties on social media sites like Instagram and Twitter. ICST is the only platform which allows digital content creators to promote their content and monetize their audience, tapping into a new market segment with great potential.
The need for a new model comes in the light of the problems that talented content creators experience when it comes to fair compensation. However, this alone is not enough to attract entities who will purchase the content. One challenge is the requirement for content customization. Buyers often want a product, service, or brand personalized to fit their individual needs and criteria.
The Future is about Decentralized Content Creation and Sharing
A decentralized global platform built on smart contracts is the solution that will enable a new generation of content sourcing and sale in a similar way that modern marketplaces enabled entrepreneurs to become power sellers online. The ICST platform will enhance the content creation experience and present opportunities for individuals to monetize their ideas. The adoption of blockchain technology adds value to the model by making the platform easy to use and widely available, while simultaneously solving expensive problems like fraud prevention, settlement execution, content reviews, supply and demand matching, etc.
Decentralizing the content creation marketplace would allow all sellers and buyers to transact on a peer-to-peer basis. At the same time, this will give entrepreneurs and small businesses access to the social channels they need to grow and develop their brands through participation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. via the profiles of influencers with a large social following.
How ICST’s Content Creation Blockchain Service Will Work
The ICST platform is a decentralized blockchain solution that facilitates the transfer and exchange of virtual goods and services between marketers, brands and content creators. This exchange is focused on serving the rapidly growing content creation industry.
ICST is a decentralized platform that enables any content creator to monetize their content in a fully functioning virtual marketplace with zero investment into security, infrastructure or settlement. Developed on the blockchain, ICST is designed to serve the 300 billion dollar online content sector by facilitating the transactions and exchange between marketers and content creators through access to a global market, with blockchain trust and transaction verification.
Before diving into how this platform will work, let us take a close look at those who participate.
Producer
These people will be encouraged to create unique, original and high-quality content and be rewarded for their time and effort. They also have a following and a high engagement rate on social media. Popular platforms they utilize are Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, and many others.
Consumer
Users of the digital content will be incentivized to participate through social marketing and sharing the advertising fees. They will get rewarded for evaluating the content, ensuring its originality, and reporting plagiarism with ICST tokens.
Moderator
Users who have gathered a certain amount of credits on the ICST platform and have an account in good standing can participate in the arbitration and resolution of disputes related to payment. They will, therefore, be responsible for the moderation of the content approved for publishing on the ICST platform.
Distribution Platform
The distribution platform refers to the platforms used for publishing producers’ personal content and matching it to an interested user. The former generatesrevenue through product deployment and the presentation of personal content to consumers, while the latter- through the establishment of intermediate platforms for matching producers and consumers and collecting intermediary fees.
Advertiser
The advertiser is responsible for monetizing the content through stream advertisements, creating and managing advertisements, improving the search accuracy of the advertisements through artificial intelligence, and advancing the cooperation between the distribution platforms and the advertisers.
To bring all of these users together in one decentralized content creation and sharing platform, ICST deploys a Valuation Adjustment Mechanism. This model encourages content producers to create unique, original and high-quality content. Participation is possible only after an initialorder to publish new content, which costs 10 ICST. The moderator thenevaluates if the content is original. If plagiarism is detected, the reporter receives half of the deposit and the remaining half is used for funding basic wages of moderators. ICST will also deduct the plagiarist’s production credit. However, if the content is original and is successfully published, the producer will be rewarded with production credits.
The ICST Platform –a Decentralized Solution Benefiting Everyone
The ICST platform will allow millions of influencers to monetize on their own virtual content on one decentralized platform. The ICST platform provides security, transparency, transaction, and billing services that will usher millions of new participants into a growing ecosystem.
Built on smart Contracts—computer protocols intended to facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract, typically on the Blockchain— ICST deploys the optimal technical solution to decentralize complex content creation exchange platforms. By implementing smart contracts, the platform can establish and maintain an open system that millions of global users can access to access and take advantage of the decentralized peer-to-peer marketplace. Using the marketplace principles it has already applied, ICST will work seamlessly to enable billions of transactions between its members. This will also afford marketers, influencers and brands to connect and transact in a few clicks using the ICST Platform, thereby saving significant development dollars when marketing their content.