Sandbox Part 2: Rolling Rewards, Proposals, and Time Bonuses

Sandbox Tasks, Rewards, and Engagement Structure: February 3rd, 2021

Tldr: This is part 2 of 3 of the Sandbox design. This outlines the proposed reward structure focused on fostering consistent engagement over time. A preliminary list of rolling rewards is listed below but as noted, contributors always have the freedom and creativity to adopt the same logic for their own NEAR Ecosystem interests.

Tasks:

What kinds of things are people going to be doing in the Sandbox? The answer, as has been outlined before by Eunice, is: Tasks that expand the Ecosystem with the different projects therein. These tasks may include:

  • Telegram/ Discord soft moderation

  • Development (Tools, Widgets, dApps, etc.)

  • Creative and design

  • Social media

  • Content writing and translation

  • Whitepaper Creation and Technical Writing

  • Videos

  • Events

  • Tech support

There are two points to go along with these tasks:

First, that other projects / guilds in the Ecosystem should be able to post tasks required by their projects that contributors can work to source either in NEAR or for some alternatively proposed reward (we are currently gauging value for how much a guild would have seeded to them). The idea here is that if a project joins the Sandbox they will be contributing to its growth by creating opportunities for contributors to add value to the Ecosystem.

For contributors the opportunity-zone created expands significantly, because they now have the opportunity to work across protocols within NEAR (i.e. Paras, Mintbase, Flux, Zest, etc.). For NEAR and the overall growth of the Sandbox, more opportunities and more tasks, means more production inside the ecosystem and more macro growth overall. In essence, win-win-win.

Second, the specific lists of tasks can be broken down into more concrete items with included descriptions. Here is an example:

*** Content Writing and Translation:**

  • Writeup on Most Important Takeaways from NEAR Engineering Meetings: Every week the NEAR Engineering Team posts a public meeting. Significant technical revelations on the development of NEAR can be discovered, especially when viewed over time. Provide a short weekly writeup and a longer monthly writeup on NEAR Engineering development. This should include main facts about what is happening. Each weekly writeup should be accompanied by relevant social media posting. Each monthly writeup should include outreach to one of the team members for request for comment on the development status.

  • NEAR Without the Noise Video Edits: Use the NEAR Without the Noise Video Edits to explain a certain facet of Web3 that is developing within the NEAR Ecosystem. Outline in an article or your own video how these developments are important for a specific industry that is digitizing or on the brink of significant innovation. Outline other companies working in this space that may not be familiar with crypto, and also outline the facts and figures of the market at hand.

These examples should serve as both opportunities and examples for contributors to be creative with their own initiatives and to also work with other contributors / Guilds to create value in a collaborative manner. When the Sandbox launches very clearly defined opportunities such as the above will be outlined.

Notably, there will also be less clear references to similar opportunities that could take place (i.e. if Createbase has a weekly call consider doing the same for them).

When we get this infrastructure in place there will be no shortage of activities to engage within as these foundational opportunities will replicate and scale as the Ecosystem equally develops with more projects signing on board.

Final note from this part: New and original opportunities will be rewarded more highly if they are of quality.

Rewards:

Our method for rewarding Sandbox contributors is characterized by two different logics: One in how rewards are measured, via Series of Contributions, Acts, and Proposals, and the other being in how rewards are built over time.

Series of Contributions, Acts, and Proposals:

When we normally look at rewards they are pretty often segmented into either grants or bounties. And frankly I don’t think either of them is sufficient for encompassing the concept of Long Term Ecosystem Development.

Instead, I think it would be better design to have contributors synchronize to a logic that compiles rewards and opportunities over time based upon commitment and engagement. After all, it is through being committed and engaged that people are able to demonstrate their passion and real feelings about an activity, as opposed through a one-time check the box event (That in my mind is key).

So how will the Sandbox compile rewards based on commitment and engagement?

We break up all activities into individual events (ACTS) and the integration of multiple acts into larger events (SERIES). The financial incentive should come from completing SERIES of actions as opposed to individual actions.

Example:

Take any of the listed items above for different activities in the Sandbox: Say creating a video. It’s one thing to create a video, it’s another to add animations and subtitles in another language, and it’s another to ship it around social media. The real goal is that final product, instead of just a video being completed. And we want the creator to take ownership and pride in the fact that they not only created the video but also tweeted it out and added animations.

Imagine if the video was something about Business Development on NEAR that would be great for the Chinese Community to see. Well, the video creator works with a member of a Chinese Guild to translate and add subtitles, and then works with 4NTS to tweet about the video and showcase it. In this manner more connections are made within the Ecosystem and more value is added.

What is important to emphasize here is the role that persuasion and conversation plays. In order to be successful on a big level, you will have to work with other people in the Ecosystem (which is really what this is all about). You could get 20% of the reward for just making the video. But by talking to different people and adding value to it, you would complete the SERIES and earn 80% of the larger reward.

Content Creation:

Rolling Updates on new announcements / what is going on in the NEAR Ecosystem. Generally speaking, the more edited, designed, promoted, and recorded the content is, the more value it will have.

Focus Area Act Reward Series Final Reward
NEAR Weekly Updates on Development Bridge / EVM / DevEx / Marketing / Community 10 NEAR Edited / Add Graphics / Video Option / Promote on Social Media 25 - 40 NEAR
NEAR Business Updates Break Down Projects Developing on NEAR and Discuss Their Future Potential in line with Metrics and Analytics 15 NEAR Edited / Interview with Team Member / Add Graphics / Video Option / Promote on Social Media 25 - 45 NEAR
NEAR Token and Price Analysis s Technical / Fundamental / Staking 10 NEAR Edited / Video Option / Promoted on Social Media / YouTube (500 view bonus*) 25 - 40 NEAR

Bonus = 70 NEAR|
|NEAR dApp Guides|Create a Guide + Video Overview of a Project on NEAR: Paras, ZEST, Flux, Mintbase, Common Fund, etc.|15 NEAR|Edited / Translated / Posted on Social Media / Shared in Project Chats|25 - 40 NEAR|
|Web3 Innovation and Development|Provide an overview of a growing Web3 marketplace. Explain why NEAR is an accommodating L1 solution.|10 NEAR|Edited / Interviewed / Video Option / Ecosystem Engagement on Feedback / Conversation Starter / Shared on social media|20 - 30 NEAR|

UI / UX Testing: Coming Soon

Focus Area Act Reward Series Final Reward

Educational Content For NEAR University: (To be confirmed)*

Focus Area Act Reward Series Final Reward
Curriculum Testers Test Through 1 Piece of the Curriculum 5 NEAR Test multiple pieces of the curriculum with written feedback and collaboration with other contributors 20 - 40 NEAR
Writing Curriculum Work with Sherif to help write a Curriculum for NEAR University

(Trial)|30 NEAR|Edit, Give Feedback, Get Feedback and Write Multiple Curriculums|40 - 85 NEAR|

4NTS Vector Strategy:

Focus Area Act Reward Series Final Reward
Outreach Reach out to an academic, intellectual or business leader to set up an event 5 NEAR Consistent Outreach in the form of a list of different academics / business leaders to reach out to over time 10 - 30 NEAR
Event Hosting / Content Creation Host an event based on the vector in question: Interview / livestream / panel / 25 NEAR Host a series of events following certain topics / Panels / Debates on the Open Web Vectors / Share on Social Media 50 - 80 NEAR

Memes:

Focus Area Act Reward Series Final Reward
Brainstorming Collections Brainstorm a meme to have someone design in detail 2 NEAR Brainstorm a collection pack of memes that builds off of each other 10 - 20 NEAR
Meme Design Design a Meme 5 NEAR Design a NEAR collection pack / Post on Social media consistently 20 - 45 NEAR

Social Media NEAR Force:

Focus Area Act Reward Series Final Reward
Twitter Create Account / Posting Updates / Comments / News 3 NEAR Creation Bonus Reach 50 - 100 - 200 - 500 - 1000 followers 20 - 50 - 80 - 100 - 200 NEAR
YouTube Create Account / Post Videos 3 NEAR Creation Bonus Subscribers / Video Views / Multiple Videos (5 - 10 - 15 +) 50 - 150 NEAR

NEAR Wallet Support Group:

Focus Area Act Reward Series Final Reward
Wallet Support Join the Wallet Support Group and Actively Engage with Questions from Token Holders 3 NEAR Stay active in the group for 1 month / 2 months / 6 months / 1 year 10 / 20 / 40 / 80 NEAR
Content Tutorial Videos Create a video or piece of content going over how to fix a common wallet problem 10 NEAR Promote on Social Media / Add Images / Write a Tutorial / Share as reference in chat over time 30 - 50 NEAR

The drawbacks of this model is that it requires people in the Sandbox to be more outgoing, collaborative, and focused on value that is built up over time, as opposed to one-off actions. My approach to this is that it would be better to have 10 people who fit this mold really well, than 100 who just want bounties and will disappear.

Proposals:

The final element of this reward system is the proposal element. Once a contributor has been around long enough, the Sandbox should open up for them to be able to put forward proposals. This means that after X amount of time, they now have levelled up to the point where they are able to say I want to do X series including A, B, and C, for Z amount of NEAR over T Period of Time. This is an area that we lay the foundation for now, with the intention of actually rolling out and implementing in the next 3 - 4 months (from the best of the first batch of Contributors).

Time Bonuses:

One final point on the reward structure: Time bonuses are going to be built in for engaging with ANY ACTIVITY in the ecosystem. Actively involved means completing Y amount of acts and series on a monthly basis. Time bonuses make any posted activity + reward increased by whatever factor their time bonus allows for:

Time in Sandbox Factor Reward Increase
1 months 15%
2 months 20%
4 months 35%
6 months 40%
12 months Guild Status

This adds a further incentive to being a part of the Sandbox: The more series you engage in the more value you can make. In order to do a series you will most likely need to work with other people. As time goes on you are rewarded more for working with others.

Imagine a team of 10 people who get really good at working with each other. Well in 6 months they will have a pathway to earning solid reward and providing serious value with added value to their rewards simply because they have been around for 6 months.

3 Likes

This is so cool! I joined the Discord server but haven’t seen any rolling rewards yet, when does this go live? Also, is there any reward for brining people on? I can think of some friends in the crypto space who would pop off on this.

Wow great initiative! Looking forward to jumping in when this launches :slight_smile:

Hey @JosePerez :wave: , Yes we do have referral Program. Join Open web Sandbox Discord server, we will guide you throught this :slightly_smiling_face: