A paradigm shift in art, culture, and community is currently underway, driven by true digital ownership enabled by web3. We are moving to a world where you can now directly invest in people, allowing for both creators and their communities to share the upside of success and unlock new value.
At Agora Labs we’re developing infrastructure for creators to build and scale their tokenized communities. We’re betting on the fact that the future belongs with tokenized creators who can truly create personal value, monetization, and community ownership.
The social media industry has billions of users and hundreds of companies generating trillions in revenue. However, it is plagued to the core with systemic issues.
A handful of companies have monopolized digital content and are capturing most of the value from creators on their platform
An oversaturated ads-driven business model has caused creators to be underpaid, under-engaged, and under-monetized
Content creators and their communities are, as a result**,** locked away from true ownership and interaction with their own community.
These issues have led to the creation of a new type of blockchain-focused on scaling a social network and community without the misaligned incentives of a middleman. Here, each brand, individual, or community issues a social token, a cryptocurrency that represents the value of its creator.
The tokens represent a brand, individual, or community and overall enable a more direct relationship between creators and followers—at scale.
Practical applications with social tokens are in the works, however similar to much of web3 right now, the space is full of hype, FOMO, and financial speculation. Many people are in it simply to get rich. This economy lacks what creators, fans and their communities truly need — consistent value and utility. In the long term, this community will collapse on itself and on creators. Without native utility, social tokens are ineffective at best and dangerous at worst.
Our mission is to help creators develop authentic tokenized communities. We provide a platform for creators to reward and engage their tokenized community.
Agora Labs makes it easy to layer additional utility on top of a creator’s tokens, also known as token gating. Through Agora, creators will be able to gate exclusive experiences, content, and merchandise with tokens + NFTs. On the platform, premium content is locked behind tiers. Only fans who qualify for a tier (by holding the creator’s token/designated NFT or exchanging # of tokens) may access the rewards under it.
Creators can set up airdrops and bounties that reward fans with social tokens in exchange for time or contribution. The goal is to incentivize true fans, who may not have the financial capital to buy tokens, but wholeheartedly support creators with their passion and energy. On web2 platforms, this comprises the majority of fans, who support creators entirely for free. We believe this closed-loop creates a viral trend effect, in which a creator’s community becomes more active the more they are rewarded, creating even more activity.
Bringing traditional creator tools to web3, the Agora platform provides opportunities for fans and creators alike to explore their space. Through a global feed and trend analytics, users can view the hottest new experiences and rewards from creators all around the world.
For a creator, social tokens offer a great initial way to raise capital from their fanbase; allowing supportive fans to buy into and take a stake in their favorite creators' future success. However, without consistent transactions and engagement involving a creator's token, the creator is unable to source any steady revenue. Through the value and utility creators can add through Agora, we hope to create a consistent use case for a creator’s token. Creating a system where a community will always create revenue for a creator by buying, holding or sending tokens to unlock rewards and premium experiences.
Ultimately, we stand by the thesis of social tokens—that is, we should be able to invest in people. We believe that creators should capture the majority of the value they create, and this will only be possible if social tokens have native utility.
In the long term, we have plans to build an ecosystem of tools to enable creators to build long-lasting communities powered by their own coins. Let’s get to work.