Our “Into the Nouniverse” writing contest has ended.

It's been a lot of fun - from the first announcement, through the Nouns 101 reading list, up to yesterday's final voting.

Our writers answered what it means to be Nounish, how the Nouns bottom-up brand building works, how Nouns could become more sustainable, and what it would mean if the Nouns became the face of crypto.

In the end, we received 23 submissions from a diverse group of authors. From RobotFishGirl, who hosts Nouns Square, through WMP, who runs Bankless' Metaversal newsletter, and Peteris Erins, who runs Auditless, up to Simon de la Rouviere and long-time Kiwis like Naomi.

In the end, we received 113 eligible votes, determining the winners.

In this contest, we had two paths, as described in our announcement post: 

"The first track is called “Vox Populi,” and its winners will be determined by the number of upvotes received on Kiwi.

The second track is called “Vox Judicis,” and its winners will be determined by the jury from the Nouns & Kiwi teams. 

(...)

The "Vox Judicis" track is meant to reward posts that we consider good but didn't receive too much attention, so we are leaning into having 8 different winners in these 2 tracks."

Let’s start with the Vox Populi winners.

Essays that won the “Vox Populi” track

You can find below the 4 most upvoted essays that won an ETH prize.

Since two posts reached the #1 spot with an equal amount of upvotes, we combined the awards for the #2 and #1 places and split them equally among these winners.

[$] 4th place: Into the Nouniverse: Rise of Web3's Dark Knight
by mehdib.eth (7 upvotes)

Mehdib draws parallels between Nouns DAO and the evolution of Batman, portraying Nouns DAO as a symbol of the crypto community's aspirations and challenges. The essay traces Nouns DAO's journey from its idealistic inception to its maturation amid market fluctuations, highlighting its resilience and adaptability.

Prize won:  0.175 ETH

[$] 3rd place: Reinventing Nouns
by auditless.eth (8 upvotes)

Peteris Erins examines the depletion of Nouns' treasury due to arbitrage strategies. He suggests that the DAO's current auction mechanism, which sells one Noun daily, has inadvertently encouraged arbitrageurs to exploit the system, leading to a significant reduction in funds. To address this, Erins proposes adopting a strategy inspired by Magic: The Gathering, aiming to revitalize Nouns DAO by altering its economic model to deter arbitrage and promote sustainable growth.

Prize won: 0.2625 ETH

[$] 1st place: “Nouns a Household name
by bradq.eth (11 upvotes)

Bradq explores the potential for Nouns to become a prominent symbol in the crypto industry. Reflecting on the project's evolution, he emphasizes the importance of a unified, community-driven narrative to elevate Nouns' visibility and impact. He advocates for a collective effort to craft and disseminate a compelling story that resonates both within and beyond the crypto community.

Prize won: 0.65625 ETH

[$] 1st place: “The Concept of Nouns”
by naomiii.eth (11 upvotes)

Naomiii reflects on the multifaceted nature of Nouns DAO. Through a narrative set in a crypto conference, Naomiii illustrates the dynamic interactions and evolving perceptions surrounding Nouns DAO, emphasizing its adaptability and the broad spectrum of its projects.

Prize won:  0.65625 ETH

Essays that won the “Vox Judicis” track

As we mentioned before, the "Vox Judicis" track was intended to highlight essays that might not have been that popular but are still very interesting. The jury consisted of Tim Daubenschütz & Mac Budkowski from Kiwi and Chris Carella and JP from Nouns. It was very hard to choose the winners (we had many ties during our votes), but we finally made it.

Here are the results.

[$] 4th place: Beyond Definition: The Open Frontier of Being Nounish
by wmp.eth (5 upvotes, 4 jury votes)

WMP explores the fluid and evolving nature of the term "Nounish" within the Nouns DAO community. Emphasizing the absence of a fixed definition, the essay highlights how "Nounish" embodies a spirit of playful altruism, embracing experimentation, diversity, and decentralized creativity. This openness allows community members to interpret and express "Nounishness" in various ways, fostering a culture that values differences and continuous reinterpretation.

Prize won: 0.175 ETH

[$] 3rd place: Decoding the Unique World of Nouns
by richardmba.eth (2 upvotes, 5 jury votes)

Richard explores the Nouns DAO's model of decentralized governance and open-source brand building. He underscores the Nouns' commitment to transparency and inclusivity, positioning it as a pioneering force in the DAO space.

Prize won: 0.2625 ETH

[$] 2nd place: Nouns, Delivery At Dawn, and Collectible Media
by simondlr.eth (5 upvotes, 8 jury votes)

Simon de la Rouviere examines the Nouns DAO's approach to funding and media production. He highlights the "Delivery At Dawn" project, where Nouns funded a short animation celebrating Ethereum's EIP 4844 upgrade. The animation generated $529,000 for Protocol Guild and $130,000 for Nouns. This model exemplifies a high-budget approach to support creative works and open-source development within the crypto ecosystem.

Prize won: 0.4375 ETH

[$] 1st place: What does Nounish mean?
by robotfishgirl.eth (5 upvotes, 14 jury votes)

RobotFishGirl reflects on her personal journey within the Nouns ecosystem, emphasizing the community's commitment to positive change and inclusivity. She recounts her transition from corporate IT to full-time involvement in Nouns, highlighting the project's appeal as a beacon of innovation and community-driven initiatives in the crypto space.

Prize won:  0.875 ETH

Final words

These were the winning posts, but we received 23 submissions. This means that there are 15 other essays that we haven't mentioned in this recap. You can find all of them by typing "Nouns" in Kiwi Search.

Thanks to all the participants for sharing your thoughts! We also want to thank Nouns for sponsoring the prizes and co-organizing the event. We also want to share a shout-out to media that helped us spread the word about the contest, such as Bankless, Nouns Square, NounsDAO Newsletter, Builder DAO, Seed Club, Nounders, and everyone who supported our contest.

BTW we have a commemorative NFT you can mint here.

PS: If you won, please DM @macbudkowski on Telegram to learn about the next steps.

PS2: And if you would like to learn more about Kiwi, you can dig in here.