Claim RetroPGF airdrop, receive Hypercerts for Gitcoin donors

#534

Starting next week, Blocktrend will enter a two-week mid-year hiatus, bringing our publishing content for the first half of 2023 to a close.

Over the past six months, Blocktrend has not only collaborated on the podcast "Ut0pia" with g0v's da0 project, focusing on public goods topics, but we also personally took part in fundraising for public goods through RetroPGF and Gitcoin Grants, with impressive results. Importantly, these achievements can now be converted into cryptocurrencies and NFT certificates, returning to the significant supporters of Blocktrend — our paid members.

The day before yesterday, I quietly released the first round of RetroPGF OP airdrops, formally completing a cycle with RetroPGF. In addition, if you have made small donations to Blocktrend through Gitcoin Grants, you can now claim your exclusive Hypercerts.

In this article, I will discuss the significance of these two public goods experiments to Blocktrend and where the OP tokens and Hypercerts you have received can be used.

Marketing Funnel

Readers with a business management background will certainly be familiar with the 'Marketing Funnel' theory. If Blocktrend aims to attract more paying subscribers, it needs to create a 'funnel.' The broader the top of the funnel, the better. It's important to reach as many people as possible, breaking the echo chamber through tactics like advertising on social media, actively participating in social events, or collaborating for exposure with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) across various fields.

The more people are attracted into the funnel through these 'ads,' the more chances we have to convert them into customers through ideology and products, thereby subscribing. Conversely, if not many people enter the marketing funnel, fewer customers will come through it.

I often feel that Blocktrend isn't doing enough at the top of the funnel. Well, not exactly. The truth is, Blocktrend isn't really trying.

On the one hand, I don't enjoy social activities much. If I have to attend social events, I grab some food and find a corner to observe what everyone is talking about. The same extends to the brand. Blocktrend rarely participates in 'co-branded events,' such as various events that we could easily co-host, I routinely refuse. If the marketing funnel had a score, I'd probably fail miserably.

I used to think this was due to my introverted nature. But after being exposed to the concept of public goods over the past year, I realized that it might not have to do with my personality at all. Deep down, I don't see Blocktrend as a product, but as a public good in the Web3 field. The idea of running public goods is different from selling products. Just as a park won't host events to increase visitors, a public broadcaster won't use clickbait headlines to chase ratings.

Public goods don't care about marketing funnels; they pursue stable, reliable existence. But of course, this requires stable financial support.

In the physical world, public goods are maintained by government funding. The reason we can enter parks without paying an entrance fee isn't because they are free, but because we've already paid the 'entrance fee' through taxes. However, the Web3 field doesn't yet have a mature 'government' responsible for resource allocation, so naturally, there aren't public goods that people can 'use for free.' That is, until the concept of RetroPGF emerged.

Web3 Government

The value of RetroPGF lies in establishing a resource allocation system. Just as people are obligated to pay taxes to the state, the government uses these taxes to invest in public infrastructure, and people can enjoy the conveniences brought by these infrastructures.

Ethereum's second layer network, Optimism, was the first to implement this RetroPGF system. When people use Optimism for transactions, they have to pay a transaction fee, which includes the 'tax' users pay to Optimism. As long as you have used Optimism for transactions, you are considered a 'tax-paying' citizen of Optimism.

In addition to using these revenues to improve blockchain infrastructure, Optimism also sets aside a budget to fund the development of public goods through RetroPGF. This year, Optimism has set aside 10 million OP governance tokens, which the Citizens’ House of Optimism will decide how to allocate to different projects.

Unlike government contracts that are 'pre-bid,' and then the winning bidder is responsible for construction or operation, the RetroPGF system adopts a 'post-bid' approach. Projects must produce some results, like participating in a hackathon, and then the judging panel decides which projects meet the 'government's' definition of public goods and infuse funds. The advantage is that it's less likely to give money to the wrong object, at least there won't be any 'unfinished' incidents. Because this fund is a reward for the past, not an investment in the future.

Blocktrend has relied on the support of its paid members to operate continuously since 2017 and has written several articles to help people understand the operation of Optimism's ecosystem. Therefore, Blocktrend applied for the RetroPGF selection this year and was successfully recognized by the Citizens' House of Optimism, which acknowledged Blocktrend's considerable contributions to Optimism, and received 6,355 OP tokens.

Blocktrend could not have operated until now without the 'early investment' of our members. Therefore, I have pledged to return the OP

tokens proportionally to the members. Although the amount of this OP airdrop isn't large, it's exceptionally significant.

If Blocktrend receives more 'post-funding' in the future, paying members will eventually be able to reclaim all their subscription fees in OP tokens — becoming a paying member involves paying dollars on a credit card but can earn airdropped cryptocurrency in return. When membership becomes a kind of 'money-making qualification,' it naturally attracts more people to subscribe.

This cycle was theoretical in the past. Blocktrend's actual airdrop of OP to members this time marks a 'zero to one' breakthrough on this path. This shift in economic incentives is of great significance for both of us.

For members, you can expect that as long as someone hosts a RetroPGF event in the future, Blocktrend has the opportunity to distribute airdrops. In this way, there is an economic incentive to become a member, not just subscription discounts but potentially 'rebates.'

For Blocktrend, it breaks the logic of the marketing funnel. Instead of attracting more 'crypto newbies' through advertisements and socializing, we focus on providing stable, reliable content, exerting influence in Web3.

Public good fundraising mechanisms like RetroPGF are more in line with Blocktrend's positioning. If the economic incentive of RetroPGF is to pay a subscription fee to earn airdropped cryptocurrency, then the next topic to discuss, Gitcoin Grants penny voting, is about earning NFT influence certificates — Hypercerts — through penny voting.

Claim Your Hypercert

If you have donated to Blocktrend through Gitcoin Grants in the past month, no matter the amount, you can now claim your 'Hypercert' as proof of donation through this link. This is a small gift from the Gitcoin team for donors this round. Blocktrend has previously introduced the concept of Hypercerts. Last week, when I was invited to give a lecture at Sun Yat-sen University, some students asked me what a 'Hypercert' is and how it differs from attendance proof like POAP.

I'll use my invitation to give a lecture as an example. When Sun Yat-sen University invited me to lecture, they would agree on an hourly lecture fee with me in advance before I would go to the campus to give the lecture. Sun Yat-sen University is effectively 'investing in advance.' Even if my lecture content is empty, the school still has to pay according to the agreement, bearing investment risk. Conversely, even if my lecture is very impressive, the lecture fee I get won't be more generous. But in reality, students might find listening to lectures boring, perhaps due to the wrong economic incentives — because there are no additional rewards for dedicated lecturers.

'Hypercerts' offer another form of economic incentive, ensuring every lecturer gives their best. Suppose today Sun Yat-sen University says they won't pay me directly but instead issue a 'Hypercert' as proof of the lecture. The lecture fee would then be used to buy back 50% of the Hypercert, and the other 50% would depend on the actual impact created by the lecturer during the course. If students feel the lecture is meaningful after listening, and even achieve something years later because of it, they can buy back my Hypercert to bring me additional income or buy back the Hypercert from Sun Yat-sen University to encourage them to invite more good speakers.

Ultimately, Sun Yat-sen University still spends the same amount of money to invite speakers, but issues an additional 'Hypercert' to the speaker. This creates a new economic incentive for both the speaker and the school, encouraging both to do their best.

The same logic can be applied to Gitcoin Grants donations. At first glance, this is just Blocktrend issuing an additional digital certificate to donors, but the actual difference lies in the economic incentives later on — if Blocktrend properly uses the resources obtained from Gitcoin Grants in the future, both the donors and Blocktrend have the opportunity to earn additional income through 'Hypercerts.' But the development of Hypercerts is still very early, and people will ask who would be willing to spend money to buy Hypercerts?

Hypercerts are suitable for things that have long-term positive impact. If Stanford University invited Steve Jobs to speak at the graduation ceremony in 2005 and paid the speaker's fee in the form of Hypercerts, I believe the Hypercerts in the hands of Jobs and Stanford University might be worth more than Bitcoin pizza.

The OP tokens everyone receives can be sold for cash or pledged to me here, allowing me to get more voting rights to participate in Optimism governance proposals on your behalf. And the 'Hypercert' requires time to mature, so it's more appropriate to consider it as a certificate of honor for now. Thank you to each member for spending the first half of 2023 with Blocktrend.

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