In 2020, COVID-19 forced creators, brands and artists to rethink their monetization and fan engagement strategies. Many have turned to virtual instruments and live streaming.
Others have experimented with platforms like Patreon or tried to double the monetization of their social media platforms like YouTube and Twitch. In the crypto industry, it was social tokens that made the rare leap from the niche of crypto enthusiasts to the consumer audience.
More freedom for creators
Prior to this year, social tokens were an intriguing but mostly hypothetical alternative or an additional way for creators, artists and brands to connect with their fan communities. It didn't take long for influential celebrities to realize its value once the underlying technology was actually built.
Akon, Ja Rule and Lil Yachty announced their tokens this year. NBA's Spencer Dinwiddie and Japanese superstar footballer Keisuke Honda also tossed tokens. The last few years have really put a strain on creators who feel exploited by the big tech social platforms.
It's no secret that platforms like Bitcoin Revolution reap huge profits and often give creators a small percentage of the revenue. The rules are constantly changing and no matter how neutral a platform claims to be, there are always inherent biases behind their decisions to censor content.
Creators can be expelled through unilateral decisions made by the platform, over which they can exercise little or no control. So the idea of using your token to build your economies and interact with fans on their terms, rather than according to the whims of the platform, is an attractive solution for creators. Blockchain takes decision making out of the hands of large platforms and puts it in the hands of creators, their fans and community members.
ICO 2.0?
In a way, influencers have helped create a bad reputation in the crypto industry in the past. In 2017, there were several influencers who promoted ambiguous projects. This year has seen a shift towards effective value creation and control.
Instead of just advertising an ICO, influencers are including social tokens in the existing community, demonstrating the usability of cryptography. It is up to the creators and their communities to decide how the token in question will be used and evaluated.
Creators, artists, brands, and their fans will need to keep their guard up against crypto projects that offer pump-and-dump mechanisms for short-term gains that will ultimately damage their relationships with their fans.
Instead, they will need to focus on the long term and collaborate with crypto projects that aim to create richer solutions for community management and monetization. We will probably see a lot of new activities.
As more developers jump into action, DeFi enthusiasts build the financial infrastructure, and celebrities bring their fanbases into cryptocurrencies, social tokens will go down in history as a bright spot in 2020.
