Hey friends 👋
Whenever I'm talking with someone who is skeptical about web3, I tell them the same thing: it's just the internet. Our collective online experiment has evolved before and it will continue to evolve as new technology adds new functionality.
In the world of web2, I became very enamoured with the idea of the creator economy. Platforms like Patreon, Kofi, and BuyMeACoffee (as well as OnlyFans and similar for adult content), have helped break down the power dynamic that big tech has disproportionately held over content creators.
I've explored the idea of onchain patronage extensively in my newsletter and through experiments like my patronage NFT (available on Ethereum, Zora, Base, and Optimism). Similarly, Lens, Mirror, and Paragraph offer fans the ability to mint posts as an NFT, which serves as a kind of tip wherein the tipper gets a digital collectible reward.
Combine these onchain receipts with tools like Guild, Tribes, Console, or Collabland and you can see the parallels to Patreon and the like. The differrence is that supporters can remain anonymous or at least pseudonymous, there are no restrictions who can support, or whether they can sell or gift their collectibles (and thus access) to others, and like all things crypto, there are no borders, little to no middlemen, and everything happens near instantly.
So why then shouldn't we tackle yet another of web2's greatest hits: crowdfunding. Recenlty, I decided to try out a new tool called Fabric which works like a crypto version of GoFundMe.
The creator of the campaign sets a number of days, a total goal amount, and their preferred cryptocurrency (currently only ETH, USDC, and DAI). For example, I created a crowdfunding campaign to help fund a new laptop, since I don't own my own and I will soon have to give my work laptop back.
Anyone, anywhere in the world can contribute as little or as much as they want towards the goal, and like GoFundMe, if the goal isn't met, contributers can get their funds back. And since I've created my campaign on the low cost Ethereum L2, Base, it only cost a few pennies in transaction fees.
Right away, someone who barely knows me decided to contribute; a reminder that generosity knows no borders. I'm grateful for that contribution and I'm hopeful there will be more, and that this crowdfunding will help me achieve my goal. I remind myself that many GoFundMe campaigns don't meet their goals and that even if I am unsuccessful, it's still incredible to be able to do an experiment like this with just a few clicks.
That's the beauty of this new open, blockchain-connected internet that's being built. It breaks down the barriers and removes the gatekeepers so that all we need to get started is a little know-how and enough ETH to pay for gas.
Note: At the time of writing, there are 28 days left in my campaign. If you enjoyed this article and want to explore this new open crowdfunding protocol, please consider contributing to my campaign. Any amount is greatly appreciated, and I've committed that if the campaign is successful, anyone who contributed 0.01 ETH or more will be airdropped my patronage NFT with its fun and playful claymation artwork. Holders of the token can also ask Q&A questions which I'll try answer in the newsletter for everyone to read.
Either way, I'm happy to be able to introduce you all to this new primitive so that you might become just a fraction as bullish web3 as I am.
Until next time,
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