Art in the Age of Crypto Reproduction
Aura, value, and politics in the age of crypto art
Request for Startups for the Farcaster Ecosystem
By the Variant teamAt Variant, we’ve been spending a lot of time in the Farcaster ecosystem. We often find ourselves discussing the ideas that we’d l...
Request for Startups for the Farcaster Ecosystem
By the Variant teamAt Variant, we’ve been spending a lot of time in the Farcaster ecosystem. We often find ourselves discussing the ideas that we’d l...
Memecoins as the new GTM strategy
The next big thing may start out by piggybacking off a popular memecoin
Memecoins as the new GTM strategy
The next big thing may start out by piggybacking off a popular memecoin
Multi-Hit Wonders: Embracing Apps With Short Shelf Life
In today's consumer app landscape, aiming for smaller, fleeting hits can be a winning strategy
Multi-Hit Wonders: Embracing Apps With Short Shelf Life
In today's consumer app landscape, aiming for smaller, fleeting hits can be a winning strategy
Dissecting the points meta: best practices for user loyalty
Takeaways from a recent conversation hosted by Variant
Dissecting the points meta: best practices for user loyalty
Takeaways from a recent conversation hosted by Variant
Li's Newsletter Insiders
Hi everyone! I’ve been writing about consumer startups and tech for several years, and reader feedback and discussion have been one of the most rewarding aspects of sharing my thoughts publicly. I wanted to provide a way for newsletter readers to deepen their engagement. One of my interest areas is around how crypto can empower creators and communities, and there’s no better to learn than by actually living that thesis. By minting this free NFT and subscribing to Li’s Newsletter Insiders, you...
Li's Newsletter Insiders
Hi everyone! I’ve been writing about consumer startups and tech for several years, and reader feedback and discussion have been one of the most rewarding aspects of sharing my thoughts publicly. I wanted to provide a way for newsletter readers to deepen their engagement. One of my interest areas is around how crypto can empower creators and communities, and there’s no better to learn than by actually living that thesis. By minting this free NFT and subscribing to Li’s Newsletter Insiders, you...
A Theory of Justice for Web3
Originally published in Harvard Business Review. Cover image from Magdiel Lopez/Belmont Creative By Li Jin and Katie Parrott One of the most powerful narratives surrounding web3 is that it is a movement toward a better, fairer internet. Specifically, web3 proponents envision an internet in which users can wrest back power from a small number of extractive, centralized institutions, and in which everyone with an internet connection can participate on a level playing field. But web2 started wit...
A Theory of Justice for Web3
Originally published in Harvard Business Review. Cover image from Magdiel Lopez/Belmont Creative By Li Jin and Katie Parrott One of the most powerful narratives surrounding web3 is that it is a movement toward a better, fairer internet. Specifically, web3 proponents envision an internet in which users can wrest back power from a small number of extractive, centralized institutions, and in which everyone with an internet connection can participate on a level playing field. But web2 started wit...
The creator economy is in crisis. Now let's fix it.
Illustration by Annie Zhao for Li’s NewsletterNearly two years ago, I published “The Passion Economy and the Future of Work,” which laid out a vision for online work that was informed by and a reaction to the challenges of the gig economy. While the gig economy represented a major development in the evolution of online-enabled work—removing geographical constraints for work opportunities and offering greater flexibility—it also entailed risks that were disproportionately borne by workers: red...
The creator economy is in crisis. Now let's fix it.
Illustration by Annie Zhao for Li’s NewsletterNearly two years ago, I published “The Passion Economy and the Future of Work,” which laid out a vision for online work that was informed by and a reaction to the challenges of the gig economy. While the gig economy represented a major development in the evolution of online-enabled work—removing geographical constraints for work opportunities and offering greater flexibility—it also entailed risks that were disproportionately borne by workers: red...
The Leaping Corgi Scholarship sponsors players to start earning in the metaverse
By Li Jin, Leah Callon-Butler, Gabby Dizon, Richerd Chan, and Jason LiIn January 2020, essayist Matthew Ball pronounced the metaverse to be the “next great labor platform.” Beyond a portal to entertainment, he envisioned the metaverse as the enabler of an inclusive, high value economy, in which any individual, regardless of location or identity, could participate via virtual labor. Months later, in the wake of pandemic-induced economic fallout, this prediction quickly materialized. While some...
The Leaping Corgi Scholarship sponsors players to start earning in the metaverse
By Li Jin, Leah Callon-Butler, Gabby Dizon, Richerd Chan, and Jason LiIn January 2020, essayist Matthew Ball pronounced the metaverse to be the “next great labor platform.” Beyond a portal to entertainment, he envisioned the metaverse as the enabler of an inclusive, high value economy, in which any individual, regardless of location or identity, could participate via virtual labor. Months later, in the wake of pandemic-induced economic fallout, this prediction quickly materialized. While some...
The Case for Universal Creative Income
By Li Jin and Lila ShroffIllustration by Annie Zhao for Li’s NewsletterIn the 1930s, the New Deal was a series of programs and projects instituted to aid the unemployed, support economic recovery, and reform the financial system in the midst of the Great Depression. Among the programs was Federal Project Number One, which devoted $27 million—roughly $522 million today—to provide employment for tens of thousands of artists across music, design, visual art, theater, writing, and more. As the la...
The Case for Universal Creative Income
By Li Jin and Lila ShroffIllustration by Annie Zhao for Li’s NewsletterIn the 1930s, the New Deal was a series of programs and projects instituted to aid the unemployed, support economic recovery, and reform the financial system in the midst of the Great Depression. Among the programs was Federal Project Number One, which devoted $27 million—roughly $522 million today—to provide employment for tens of thousands of artists across music, design, visual art, theater, writing, and more. As the la...
