I kind of think that this would be better suited as some sort of Zoom/Youtube Live/Twitter Spaces Q&A. There’s a lot of stuff that can be lost in translation especially with the size of this thread. A format similar to the ZCG candidate Q&A, where 37 Laines can go on video and answer say the top most upvoted questions in here.
That and it’s definitely heating up in here, but with good reason. $1.8 mil isn’t pocket change and ought to be carefully considered, otherwise it sets a bad precedent if it turns out to be a flop
I think that’s spot on. We will be posting a link for a Twitter Spaces to be held mid day Friday EST, moderated by a Zcash community member, where we can get a good discussion going. Will post the link here ASAP and the recording here afterwards!
They are going to patiently hold it while they wait for it to be added to point of sales terminals.
And when that one executive at the bank gets asked “hey, you’re into cryptocurrencies right? I’ve been given a list of 30 cryptocurrencies we should add to our point of sales terminals but we only have capacity to add 5. Which should we do first?”. I hope that guy recently watched a Zcash Media video or short.
Edit: Sorry somehow an empty box came up which I assumed was a reply but ended up editing. Ill exit for the night.
Because there is not even any certainty on what topics the 12 very expensive videos would touch.
So what is it that you would feel disheartened about?
Just the fact that the community would not be spending 2 million dollars to release 12 very expensive random videos?
Either way, and focusing on the positiive, if this proposal gets funded it is certain to fail so badly in having any meaningful impact on Zcash adoption, that at least the community will finally learn a valuable lesson on never again funding grants focused on extracting value, rather than in adding it.
Maybe it is a 1.8 million dollar lesson the community, as well as the Zcash Community Grants committe, need to learn.
It also is something that can be figured out for free though, so I very much hope common sense prevails.
AFAIK, we don’t know the long-term impact of the previous videos. We have metrics around views and subscriptions, but I don’t see how to translate that into real adoption.
Some say it was an outstanding success. I’d like to know what their criteria are. IMO, it is not enough to say: “They were high quality and great production values”. We need to know what they achieved.
Without this information, it feels to me that the new proposal is a shot in the dark and quite an expensive one.
I would also like to briefly give my 2 cents on this potential grant, structured as pros/cons and my resulting conclusion.
Pros:
High Quality - The videos as well as the communication/outward presentation of the platform “Zcash Media” show a very high production quality and professionalism. This can also be seen on the website of 37L in other projects with reputable brands.
ECC/ZF members supporting the Grant - My approach to issues where I don’t see myself as a specialist is to rely to a certain extent on knowledgeable team members/insiders/leaders. In this case I assume (and I think you can see this well in this thread as well as on Twitter) that a significant portion of the ECC/ZF team have had very good experiences with 37L and are correspondingly supportive of this grant. Of course, it is still important that people outside the “inner circle” ask critical questions about the grants. My current view, however, is that I trust the judgement of e.g. Josh and Zooko. I would also very much like to hear more opinions from ECC/ZF members or other stakeholders who have already worked with 37L.
Content Preview/Ideas - I have looked at the spreadsheet of potential topics for videos and have to say that after reviewing it, I think there is enough content for the number of videos discussed. Many of the topics mentioned are important to explore further and give a good insight into the Zcash ecosystem and its privacy advocates.
Timeless Content & ECC/ZF rights - I hope my understanding is correct here, then this is definitely also a big plus: the content of the video can be used again and again, even if the videos get older (timeless content). ECC/ZF has control over the Zcash Media channels and can build on them even after the cooperation with 37L.
Cons:
Expensive Grant - One of the largest grants to date with 1.8m USD. By the end of 2022 (including the existing stock), at a price of c. 63 USD per ZEC, just under €12m in funding grants would be available based on information from the official website. This grant corresponds to 16% of the total capital available by the end of 2022, assuming prices remain unchanged (they can also fall further). That is not little!
Measurement of campaign success - Marketing efforts are difficult to assess in many cases. Yes, I have seen the proposed KPIs, but to attribute them causally “only” to the marketing of 37L is not easy if not impossible. Network effects are difficult to quantify in my opinion. Accordingly, the result of this grant may not be what many expect or not to the extent desired (adoption/awareness of ZEC). This is a risk that cannot be completely eliminated in any marketing campaign.
Neutral:
Market Timing - The Zcash Community Grants programme is not an investment fund, so the main focus and requirement should not be to time the market well in order to get as much value as possible from the ZEC coins. This is something that even experienced investors often fail to do well. Of course, this timing aspect cannot be completely neglected, otherwise we will soon have no more grants to give out if we give away everything at these low USD prices.
So market timing cannot be a strong argument on either the pro or con side. The focus should be on bringing the Zcash ecosystem forward and developing it further - also in the bear market (by being thrifty).
Conclusion:
→ Many say that in a bear market you should duck your head and continue to build quietly. I think the approach of continuing to build, but being “loud” and generating attention is potentially a better alternative. We need more users with a larger community and therefore marketing efforts. Furthermore, I have full confidence in the judgement of ECC/ZF regarding this grant, which is why I am also supportive. Perhaps a sensible compromise would be not to pre-fund the full 1.8m USD but to allow for a stop of this grant if the expected results do not meet the expectations of the ZEC community and stakeholders before the end of the specified period.
An example of how competitors are yielding impact content, without necessarily ponying up $1,800,000 from community funds.
This is a youtube influencer who likes Monero. He probably holds a bag too, maybe some Monero people have comped him after making pro-Monero content. I don’t have any idea about the details.
Speculation aside, the point that I’m raising here is “Mental Outlaw” with 320k subscribers, and 63,000 views in 3 days… certainly wasn’t compensated a half million dollars for this upload (he produces many uploads per week), which in another month will most likely have created as much impact for the Monero mission, as Zcash Media productions did for our mission
When is the last time Naomi Brockwell created a Zcash focused piece? To my understanding, she is the only “influencer” that we’ve got in our corner (was she ever compensated by community funds?)
sorry for this disgusting youtube embed preview image
FWIW, I have worked very closely with 37L (David and Natasha) since they first joined the Zcash community (I did not know them at all prior to the publication of their first grant request). I negotiated contract terms with them for their existing grants, and they acted with integrity and flexibility as we worked through some challenging discussions. I have no reservations regarding 37L’s motives, their dedication to Zcash, or their ability to deliver quality content.
Raw and published content would revert to ZF/ZCG if the grant agreements with 37L were terminated or the relationship otherwise ended.
I feel that what differentiates some of the opinions in this thread is looking at what currently is and what others currently do versus what could be. Obviously, we are in the latter camp. Many people we have come across who later become evangelists for a given cryptocurrency, first heard about it through a YouTube video (e.g., Carlos Acevedo hearing Andreas Antonopoulos, Hudson Jameson hearing about Ethereum). It is our opinion that by making a library of high quality content, beyond what any project has done before, we will help bring in the next wave of participants who will help give Zcash more uses than simply holding it. If a handful of “standard” quality videos can propel certain crypto projects, I do not see why a library of “professional” quality videos couldn’t produce a proportional effect in bringing in zcash evangelists who will shape the future of this project. We should not rely solely on what others have done to determine our own path. If anything, the comments from people in this thread have highlighted the power of videos to bring them in, lending credibility to our approach.
Although I am not sure if this is exactly what you mean, it reminds me of an important point. Zcash is built to protect people’s privacy, and often times, the best reminder of why privacy is important is when it is too late. If we truly believe Zcash is meant for those that need privacy most (as well as everyday people), we believe it is Zcash’s responsibility to reach those people before its too late.
It is worth noting that the global ambassadors like @yoditar and @artkor have already begun using our materials in their outreach efforts (as well as other ambassadors, but Zcash Espanol’s Zcash Media Nights and @artkor’s dubbing of our videos comes to mind). Also, the materials we make serve to empower grassroots efforts by putting highly produced content in evangelists’ hands. We have consistently heard people share our materials with their family/friends and get the response with “I learned more about cryptocurrency in 10 minutes from these videos than I have in five years.” With many of those people asking about using ZEC afterwards. Educational materials serve to supercharge grassroots efforts.
Why would you be more suspicious during current market conditions than during a bull market? I would hope that people might see that the project cares more about its mission than it does its price. I personally think that reaching people when prices are down may not only stand a better chance finding true believers, but is also more ethical than reserving outreach materials for bull markets. New entrants have a better chance at potentially making a good investment. Also, it is worth noting that our current timeline stretches all the way into Fall '23, with videos being released at a steady pace and not in the manner of some sort of pump and dump scheme.
We believe that Zcash has built it and a certain number of people have come (including ourselves). Also, I’d wager most people who came heard about Zcash through some sort of marketing, educational, or outreach video. I certainly was not scanning GitHub to find Zcash. As Zcash continues to improve its UX and grow utility, we want to help bring in even more people, some of whom may be builders, aspiring or otherwise. Perhaps the Field of Dreams quote could be modified to “If you build it, they will come - and help you keep building it.”
Besides, when will Zcash ever be truly fully built? It’s always striving to improve.
Also worth noting, our materials would coming out for more than a year, during that time period, Zcash UX may very well be substantially improved. The focus of our efforts can be shaped to reflect the improving UX experience. For instance, we wouldn’t have put out a video or campaign to have people download a wallet right when NU5 happened - that could have led to a bad taste in a new user’s mouth. Similarly, if UA’s go live on mobile wallets or other improvements come to fruition, we could more heavily encourage folks to try out a wallet. And yes, that includes Ywallet. We have no qualms with putting up instructions or explanations for wallets that a large portion of Zcashers attest to.
The goal with this grant is like any other - to increase ZEC adoption. But, we need to ask ourselves how human psychology works. What is a more powerful narrative: 12 marketing videos or a proof of stake model / well designed wallet?
The intrinsic goal of each one of us is to increase the demand of ZEC. Today, the user can hold ZEC in their shielded wallet as well as spend it.
This is great but not enough.
We need to be razor focused on return of investment. Each investment should have only 1 goal in mind - to increase the demand of ZEC as well as bring more value back to ZEC holders.
The # 1 way to do that today is investing into proof of stake research. Also, by building a wallet or even a nice chrome extension.
We need to invest into the the UX of ZEC. We need to make it so easy to use that my grandma can use it subconsciously.
