When Facebook went down recently, many creators lost their ability to monetize their content — their livelihood — because of the outage.
Could blockchain technology give creators an avenue to break the shackles of traditional social media?
Today’s guest, Solo Ceesay, is banking on it. As COO and Co-Founder at Calaxy, Solo and his team are empowering creators with a crypto-fueled content platform that is revolutionizing how creators can capitalize on their creativity — from where they congregate to how they get paid.
In this episode, we discuss:
- The previously untapped utility blockchain can provide creators
- Why user experience lags far behind the technology when it comes to blockchain — and how Calaxy hope to change that
- The value NFTs can offer creators
The previously untapped utility blockchain can provide creators
In the context of Calaxy, blockchain enables creators and people of influence to build communities in a unique way. Using creator tokens, which are personalized cryptocurrencies, high-profile people can sell experiences like direct one-on-one access.
This allows people with a strong digital or celebrity-like presence to have a more significant impact and to build genuine financial value for themselves, in a decentralized and extremely simplified manner.
You no longer need to be a blockchain wizard to use and benefit from it.
Why UX lags behind tech when it comes to blockchain
“Right now in the crypto and blockchain industry, user experience is something that is really lagging behind the technology.”— Solo Ceesay
In most cases, it’s complicated for the average person to figure out how to use the back end of a system. As Solo mentions, the quick and easy experience of using social media is becoming the standard expectation of users, when they try new platforms.
Blockchain has yet to offer that simplistic ability to get things done without the delay of understanding the technology. Well, this was the case until Calaxy appeared.
How Calaxy hopes to close the UX-tech gap
Solo’s team doesn’t need or expect users to understand the blockchain, although they have the option. He likens the situation to understand the intricacies of your car’s engine versus just knowing how to drive the car to move yourself from one place to another.
Calaxy places power in the hands of creators who have their customers’ journeys packaged in one space that’s user-friendly for both the creators and the customers. Furthermore, the customer journey is simplified into behavior that people are already familiar with (using social media) — including the simple interface.
“Calaxy introduces utility through a suite of features that people already know and behaviors that people already do.”— Solo Ceesay
The value NFTs can offer creators
NFTs represent creator IP: specific products or experiences within the Calaxy app. These can be bought alongside offers like direct video calls with the celebrity or influencer whose personalized tokens have been set up.
As people purchase those NFTs, the system streamlines the process. There’s no need to go check an email or move to another app: It’s easy to sell, purchase, consume and deliver whatever a user purchases within the Calaxy system.
NFTs enable the same process you’d expect purchasing original art and other IP, only through the cyber world of blockchain. As verification methods evolve, it becomes easier and simpler to associate greater monetary value with NFTs — some of which never expire. If the NFTs are sold down the line for a profit, the creator will also be entitled to a portion of the sale, which makes it a lucrative marketplace with a more enduring potential revenue stream for creators.
The best part about it, for creators, is that money is presented to them upfront before the experience is consumed. The traditional influencer model couldn’t provide that, since the event or task (think of a sponsored post) had to be completed before the creator received value in exchange for the use of their image, presence, or reputation.
“I want to alleviate the issues that arise in the creator economy and how creators monetize themselves.”— Solo Ceesay
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Until next time!
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