to add would love to see our partners at 37laines go hard on this. they clearly have the talent to push some creative marketing out there to the general public. this would be lovely to see. 
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Hi all!
This is my first post on the forum, and I wanted to join the discussion because Iâm excited to see a dedicated media outlet for Zcash emerge! Super exciting!!
My instinct as film/TV producer (Stossel, Fox business/fox new, NBTV, Coindesk) would definitively be to see zcash media have its own channel/distribution pipeline that is distinct from any official channel.
As the media experts in the room, they need to control their own distribution pipeline, and tremendous agility is needed to make smart distribution decisions (which a foundation would find more difficult, no matter how cutting edge the foundation!)
Content distribution, strategic media alliances, marketing management: this needs to be handled by those with this specialized knowledge and experience.
I also wanted to mention Iâm super pumped to see some of the stuff rolling out from the ZOMG committee. Zcash is criminally undervalued, and I think weâll see multiple z-cash specific media channels emerge now that the community is taking this exciting turn with the Halo upgrade! (And on that note, competition amongst different channels is a great thing! Absorbing all content into a central platform would significantly diminish the incentive of new creators to enter the space, and would be a huge mistake imo)
As a zcash fan watching from the sidelines, Iâm excited to watch this new phase begin 
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Strongly recommend zcash media monetizes their channel how theyâd prefer, because it adds further incentive to them to invest in the channel.
Also I canât overstate what a difference it makes to morale to see even the tiniest bit of revenue be generated from oneâs own content.
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A couple of thoughts that might be helpful from a media perspective:
- âFully fundedâ might be misleading, because the more resources a production company can put into their content, the higher the production value.
- ZCG isnât funding 37laines as a money-making venture, theyâre funding it for education and awareness re zcash. So let 37laines stick to that core obligation. Incentives matter, so Iâd recommend you allow them the opportunity to benefit from their creations, not just make their creations.
- ZCG setting up their own channel is definitely an option! Although itâs important to understand the tradeoffs, that it would almost surely not be run as efficiently as a media outlet the specializes in this and has ownership over their own content
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Thanks for the insight! I agree with almost everything said 
.
I agree providing incentives is a good idea! My concern with YouTube monetization is it may lower the number of eyes and viewer retention on a video that was funded by ZCG. This might mean itâs in ZCGâs best interest to fund any incentives on viewer/retention numbers.
Otherwise YouTube do allow channels to turn off mid-roll ads which is my major concern. Iâd be okay for the video to be monetized as long as mid-roll ads are off.
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Opinions are my own again
Frankly speaking, monetization shouldnât be a great focus for this discussion.
The first revenue stream for how to make money off YouTube most people explore is ads. If one wants to earn money on YouTube as a content creator, joining the YouTube Partner Program and setting up monetization is the most vital step. Hereâs the catch though⌠One can only apply for monetization once youâve hit 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours over the past year.
As for experience in marketing, Iâm coming from a place of having worked for a firm that takes care of all the marketing for majority of Canadaâs capitalâs engineering and architectural firms. Worked on crowdfunding projects for crypto, and user adoption of several blockchain projects, I ran a lot of these ads myself.
It really doesnât matter to me who distributes the videos. I do think though that we need to focus on asking (and answering) the right questions, and right now, monetization just is not one of them, until the platform in question actually becomes eligible for monetization.
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Hi All,
Thank you all so much for such a lively discussion on this topic! We are very excited to dive in and respond and we have many thoughts. We are juggling keeping up with our work and impending flight this week for more filming, so please bear with us. We will respond thoroughly to everyone in the next day or so. But we are thrilled by all the questions and comments, so thank you all for your thoughts.
Speak soon,
37L
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Sure good point. In my mind there are 4 main areas to address.
- Do we want @37L to control distribution?
- Do we want @37L owning a channel called âZcash Mediaâ since it uses the Zcash trademark?
- Do we want to allow @37L to monetize videos?
- What License should the videos be released with?
1,2 = yes
3 = unsure
4 = @Dodger suggestion around CC after a period seemed reasonable
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Iâd like to get clarity on these 2 aspects from @37L
- Licensing: It is of utmost importance for the ZCG funded works to be freely shareable, modifiable(for dubbing, inserting in other videos) for the foreseeable future.
- What is the stance on commercializing the works by 37L?
- Would the published videos be made available and open for others to commercialize upon?
- Future of Zcash Media
- Who would you collaborate with for follow-up videos(beyond the 40 hours of recorded content)?
- Have you connected and exchanged ideas with members of Zcash community beyond just ECC & ZF?
- Would you upload and support an ecosystem player or community-made video on Zcash Media channel? What if this video does not live up to your standards?
- What if YouTube bans Zcash Media? (Google has a history of cracking down hard on crypto channels)
If @ZcashGrants had to set up its own channel, we would need to look for a team in the likes of 37L to run the distribution since we have no bandwidth, we are hard at work to fulfill several needs of the Zcash community.
I fully support incentivizing all Zcash contributors to become profitable. One secret of the crypto industry has been the ability for a crypto project to empower individuals and groups to build something and profit, once Zcash is ready to be marketed as a platform to build and earn on, nothing can stop us from growing.
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Good questions! I agree with an earlier comment of yours (I think it was your comment) that #3 wonât matter much overall, not for the content owner anyway. But thatâs just my two zats.
I think content owners should ultimately account for âprofitabilityâ in their grant application.
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Separate YouTube Channel for content distribution sounds good. Growing an audience for a channel is a huge task of its own. So if someone wants to do it, we should encourage. I agree âZcash Mediaâ sounds too generic, but itâs fairly easy to come up with a better name, we shouldnât shy away from using âZcashâ if content is targeted for Zcash.
Good thing is content can be posted on multiple channels, although ZF, ECC YouTube channel gets limited views.
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I want to clarify something. As far as the Zcash Foundation is concerned, itâs up to the Zcash Community Grants Committee to decide how these videos get distributed (and by whom).
We drafted a plan because (a) 37 Laines raised the question of distribution with us, (b) we understood that ECC had declined to support distribution beyond reposting content, and (c) we are happy to support the Zcash Community Grants committee and grant recipients, to help ensure that grants are successful. In drafting that plan, we recognised that thereâs an opportunity to kickstart a new channel, distinct from and independent of ZF and ECC, that showcases Zcash video content from multiple sources.
The questions of who should own the channel, who should run (and promote) it, how its content should be selected, whether it should be monetized, who should receive any monetisation revenues, how the content should be licensed, how the channel operatorâs performance should be assessed, what should happen if the operator decides that theyâre no longer interested in running the channel, or if the Zcash Community Grants committee decides that a change is necessary, etc., are important ones that warrant careful consideration and community discussion because the interplay between them is complex, and may have unforeseen consequences.
For example, if the channel is to be owned and run by 37L, and it is to be monetized, and the monetization revenue goes to 37L, then it seems likely that other content producers would be reluctant to share their content through that channel because any monetization revenue would be accruing to someone else (i.e. 37 Laines).
There are also broader questions regarding future grants that fund content creation. For example, should Zcash Community Grants fund the creation of content where the copyright is retained by the grant recipient, where the content is not released under a permissive licence, and which is monetized by the grant recipient?
With regards to the name of the channel, I find myself agreeing with @joshs. âZcash Mediaâ sounds official and authoritative. I think it would be fine if the channel were owned and controlled by the Zcash Community Grants committee (who could then outsource the running of it to a suitably-qualified third party).
However, for a channel that is owned and controlled by a third party, I think it risks causing confusion, and could discourage others from entering the market. As @NaomiBrockwell said, competition is great. We should be careful to avoid stifling it.
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I turn off all mid-roll videos from my content because theyâre the most annoying things in the world. Completely agree there.
I always have pre-roll adds and have never noticed a downturn in views because of them.
Ultimately I think 37laines should be in charge of the decision, but Iâd encourage them to follow your advice: no to mid roll, but allowing other kinds of adds if they so choose.
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A few things here, and I hope people donât mind me weighing in.
But I really want to see huge things from zcash, and a carefully planned media push from experts in the industry is essential - I would hate to see bureaucracy stifle that.
itâs up to the Zcash Community Grants Committee to decide how these videos get distributed (and by whom).
This should be done before the grant is given, not after the fact by adding in more goal posts. If the grant committee is not happy with certain details they can deny a project funding, or ask for amendments. But I caution against trying to extract too much from a project, youâll end up hurting your relationship with them, and good people are very difficult to find in crypto/tech media.
- ZOMG wasnât acting as a VC finding investment opportunities. The entirety of the proposal as far as I understand was to create compelling video content to raise awareness about zcash. If theyâve done this, then contract fulfilled.
- Why would OTHER content creators share their media through âzcash mediaâ? They too should be in charge of their own distribution, not absorbed into zcash media. We should have zcash media, zcash tv, privacy coin cable, zec-live etc etc. And each creator should have the ability to see upside to their content, otherwise thereâs huge opportunity cost to getting a grant through zomg vs any number of other grants committees that are desperate for content.
So does âZcash TVâ, âZcash newsâ, âZcash Liveâ, âZcash productionsâ. And letâs hope all of these different channels end up existing. Just like they do for countless other cryptocurrencies. You wonât encourage all these creators into your space if it becomes known for micromanaging core production elements like distribution and monetization. Sounds like a nightmare situation to me, and there are plenty of grants committees out there desperate for quality content makers to get involved with them.
In my experience working for years with various proposals and funding models (and also being in charge of handing out grants for a media non-profit for many years), the light touch committees are the most enjoyable to work with, and encouraged repeat-work situations.
While irrelevant to the contract already carried out by 37laines, itâs certainly something to think about it for future projects. But I presume almost everyone who might try to determine the âbest course of actionâ doesnât actually have experience in the industry, in which case that kind of central planning is a huge red flag. A better alternative might be instead to just try out a variety of projects with various models and seeing which is more effective, rather than centrally planning from the outset.
TLDR:
This is a pretty important topic for me, because zcash is set for a major boom right now with the awesome upgrades in place. You need more media people involved, not less. And Iâm not sure people realise how rare it is to have a team that is both technically proficient on the crypto side and also good at crafting a narrative.
Donât micromanage these projects, itâs entirely unpleasant and youâre likely to lose good people. These people run their own shops by conscious choice. If you donât like their decisions, learn and next time donât accept similar proposals.
Just my 2 zatoshis.
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I love Zcash Media too.
I keep referencing Near Protocol. I have no stake in the project. But I acknowledge theyâre fantastic community builders. When you go on their Twitter and search Near, thereâs all kinds of communities theyâve built, a very robust community.
Zcash Media as a channel name makes perfect sense to me. Itâs a media channel about Zcash. 
Opinions are my own.
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Hooray! Naomi Brockwell joined the forum!
Sheâs been mentioned previously on here several times:
And I just got back from a visit to New Hampshire organised by Naomi. She did a video interview with me and Michael Tiffany in her studio about the early days of the cypherpunks and about political philosophy, and then we went to a Zcashers meetup in a brewery in Merrimack that accepts Zcash, and a few other cybercoin meetups, where I got about 15 people to install Zcash on their phones in one day.
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Yay! 
It really meant a lot to the NH community that they got to meet you! Lots of interest in Zcash emerging here.
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As long as the description of profile / channel doesnât mention âofficialâ it seems fine but again can be changed based on external feedback / concerns.
Are we solving a problem in this thread? It sounds like we are discussing non-issue
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Youâre right. Turning off mid-rolls is the obvious decision and rather then dictating this we should trust @37L to make the right decision.
I think @NaomiBrockwell is right. Ultimately we, the Zcash community, need to decide what the end goal here is. Do we treat the grant as ultimately over once the videos have been released? Or to we want to encourage and foster future sponsored (and possibly unsponsored) content.
While I understand and agree maybe we should have made some of these decisions earlier in the process letâs not make decisions based on past expectations or money spent. Letâs make decisions based on what we want the outcome to be. I think, for the most part, we all agree the outcome should be to continue to encourage @37L to make more media and become an independent entity that creates sponsored, partially sponsored, and maybe even unsponsored content about Zcash! What decisions can we make today to foster that?
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