Demand.io

05/18/2023

This is the article you want to read and understand in 2023.

Dive into Apple's upcoming VR play and explore the fascinating convergence of AI, Web3, and the Metaverse (the real metaverse) with our Founder and CEO Michael Quoc.

Sixteen years have passed since Apple introduced a groundbreaking hardware device that radically reshaped human life across the planet. Steve Jobs’ introduction of the original iPhone in 2007 escalated Apple’s influence, not only transforming the realm of technology but also revolutionizing cult...

04/20/2022

In web3, "tokenized communities" will replace "social networks."

On today's internet, communities are built on software running on privately owned web servers, e.g. Twitter, Reddit, Facebook. In web3, communities will be built on a common token on a public, immutable blockchain, which is not controlled by any single authority nor can be shut down or deplatformed.

Key to tokenized communities, however, is a common sense of mission which drives the token's adoption and development around it. The mission must exist and be embraced in order to support the token which drives the community.

Great paper on tokenized communities by Forefront: https://forefront.mirror.xyz/LCPVlxuOHJ2yCHvL5hJ9ErCwjwvJ2-Fk1lnOyHviIPc.

09/15/2021

Luxury brands used to signal social status. These days it's more about creator merch.

"Wearing luxury brands has always signaled social status, standing out, power. But creator merch is shifting the paradigm. It’s less about the money these days. Turns out, we're drawn to the things that make us feel like we’re in the know, in the know of a trend, inside joke, a movement, or secret information. It's about subscribing to a tribe or a set of shared interests and hobbies. Merch makes us feel like we belong."

https://hashtagpaid.com/banknotes/merch-is-the-new-luxury

05/05/2021

Notable in Taylor Swift's promo for the re-release of Fearless is the designation "Taylor's Version."

Sure, in our digital world, you can download her album for free anywhere, but if you want the version Taylor deems authentic, you must download it from her.

This is the power dynamic shift happening in the music industry. Blockchains and NFTs are putting the power back into the hands of artists, not labels. The music industry will see a renaissance in creativity and output as a result.

From Stratechery: "To put it another way, while we used to pay for plastic discs and thought we were paying for songs (or newspapers/writing or cable/TV stars), empowering distribution over creators, today we pay with both money and attention according to the direction of creators, giving them power over everyone. If the creator decides that their NFTs are important, they will have value; if they decide their show is worthless, it will not. And, in the case of Swift, if she decides that albums are valuable they will be, not because they are now scarce, but because only she can declare an album 'Taylor’s Version'."

https://stratechery.com/2021/non-fungible-taylor-swift/

04/12/2021

8 ways NFTs will impact fashion, music, digital property and e-commerce: https://demand.io/blog/nft-examples-use-cases-ecommerce

03/24/2021

Wikipedia has long stood for a free, community-supported internet. Their new, paid relationship with Big Tech changes that.

"Wikipedia is an extraordinary resource, a cumulative effort over two decades to describe the world, both its long past and its of-the-moment twists and turns. As it’s grown, it’s remained committed to its core noncommercial ideals. Big Tech companies, on the other hand, have proven themselves to be rapacious capitalists—they take as much as they can and ask for permission later. They will imitate a competitor in a heartbeat to gain control of a service they consider valuable. Wikipedia’s decision to enter into an agreement with them and begin an explicit relationship, as opposed to an unspoken one, carries the risk that the commercial world’s values—as well as its ample rewards—could come to dominate."

The Big Four all lean on the encyclopedia at no cost. With the launch of Wikimedia Enterprise, the volunteer project will change that—and possibly itself too.

03/18/2021

Live interactive social networking (ala Clubhouse) are the hot topic of Q1 2021. Retail giants like Nordstrom are starting to jump in on the trend, with Nordstrom's QVC-like live streaming service going live this week.

Community-building, gamification and shared virtual experiences will be central themes in e-commerce this year, but it remains to be seen if video shopping is a real thing or a passing fad.

https://www.retaildive.com/news/nordstrom-debuts-interactive-livestreams/596869/

03/17/2021

Great thread of examples of gamification design and principles from 's Octalysis Framework https://twitter.com/Tocelot/status/1370771791891861515

03/04/2021

Focus gear