Web3 Publishing FAQsLaunchpad for What You Ought to Know
Vision Statement
I am working toward the development of a creator economy that allows artists and writers to support themselves through their passions. I want to help readers hold ownership of the digital works that are meaningful to them. I want passionate curators to replace corporate gatekeepers and middlemen who separate authors from their readers. I want to publish innovative Web3 works that aren’t seen as investment vehicles, but as the seeds for spreading ideas and making connections. I want to see the ethos of decentralization applied to opposing all forms of oppression imposed by centralized powers or which are reliant upon centralized authorities. I want you to join me in promoting a version of Web3 that prioritizes environmental sustainability, diverse representation, a more equitable distribution of resources, and inclusive access to technology.
Upcoming Web3 Writing Events
There are several regularly scheduled chat sessions discussing aspects of writing and publishing to Web3. Times display in Eastern Standard Time. This calendar is maintained by Edward Carpenter.
Web3 Publishing Platforms
PageDAO
PageDAO is the Web3 author’s guild that also maintains and develops a book minter for the benefit of its members.
Readl
Readl is a Web3 publishing platform and marketplace where authors can publish stories or full novels.
Soltype
Soltype is a Web3 publishing platform.
Creatokia
Creatokia is a Web3 publishing platform.
Book.io
Book is a Web3 publishing platform.
Terminology: Blockchains and NFTs
What is a Blockchain?
Blockchains are immutable ledgers that are publicly available and resistant to forgery, alteration, and erasure. Think of the blockchain as a spreadsheet etched onto titanium plates.
What is an NFT?
Tokens on a blockchain can be used to establish the provenance, custody chain, and current ownership status of an off-chain asset, which can be an image, an ebook, a music file, a video, a 3D model, a plot of virtual land, a video game asset, or even a non-digital object in the physical world. Think of NFTs as registered deeds that can also serve as keys to a gated space, tickets to exclusive events, community memberships, subscription services, sweepstakes entries, loyalty cards, in-game upgrades, bundles of licensed intellectual property rights, and, oh yeah, some people are keen on them as limited-edition collectibles with a unique set of traits. A single NFT can serve any number of purposes and can be assigned additional utility over time.
What is an Airdrop?
Tokens or assets can be sent by a project directly into a user’s wallet. In best practices, this is done legitimately as a loyalty reward, royalty share, or subscription service with full transparency and the recipient’s permission. However, users should be aware that shady operators may use this method to drop promotional materials or malware. Do not interact with any unexpected tokens whose provenance can not be verified.
What is an Allowlist?
The allowlist for a project is a set of wallets that are allowed access to mint a certain token. Often, the ownership of one token can serve as an automatic mint-pass to put the holder on the allowlist for early access to another token.
Common Misconceptions
In technical terms, only the token itself is an NFT. In common usage, people often conflate the token with the asset it represents, referring to both collectively as an NFT. I do this all the time myself. But in an incorrect usage that betrays a shocking lack of understanding, some people mistakenly believe that only the digital asset is an NFT, that these assets can only be jpegs, that these jpegs can only be profile pics, that these profile pics can only be ugly cartoon animals, and that these ugly cartoon animal jpegs can be collected with a right-click. In reality, even when an ugly cartoon animal jpeg is being described as an NFT, its image is only the visual representation of a token that provides provenance, a custody chain, current ownership status, and utility that can only be unlocked by a validated holder.
Is the Blockchain Required for Web3 Publishing?
The blockchain and its tokens are powerful tools for advancing the Web3 ethos, but their presence alone doesn’t make a project Web3. Also, there can be Web3 projects, authors, and readership communities that don’t use blockchains at all. Web3 publishing shouldn’t mandate the use of any specific platform, format, or technology, but should empower authors to apply the best tools to their work.
Terminology: Metaverse
What is the Metaverse
A metaverse is a shared virtual space where people can connect and socialize. As far as I’m concerned, social media is a metaverse. Online gaming is a metaverse. Fan forums are a metaverse. Some people have envisioned more immersive, feature-laden, and widely adopted versions that might exist in the future, like the Oasis in Ernest Cline’s novel, READY PLAYER ONE, but there may not ever be a single authoritative service that can be called THE metaverse.
Web3 Tools: Generative AI
What is Generative AI?
Generative AI is a computer program that’s been “trained” to produce an output based on user input. Possible outputs in the creative realm include visual art, text, music, and video. It can be seen as a tool that creators can use, a collaborator to bounce ideas off of, or as a competitor for commissions and commercial work.
Legal Issues
The AI products we’ve seen so far have been trained on sets of data that include copyrighted works by artists who have not given permission for their work to be used in this manner. To the extent that this is different from the common practice of humans copying from, learning from, or paying homage to other artists, this has created a gray area in copyright law.
Cryptoversal
Web3 author and proponent of sustainability, representation, equitable distribution of resources, and inclusive access to technology.