I’ve been thinking about creating a personal token for quite some time. Late last week, I finally did so. I tested the distribution of these tokens on a few subscribers to one of my Paragraph posts. I sent 100 tokens to all three collectors and all three collectors have confirmed their receipt. But that’s not the end of it.

Why Create a Personal Token?

What is a personal token and why should I (or anyone) create one?

Excellent question.

A personal token (also called “social token” or “creator token”) is a token created for personal use. There are really two reasons to create a personal token. The first reason, perhaps a vain one, is for the novelty. The second reason is to give it some utilitarian purpose. A token with utility is far more valuable to others, and to its creator.

So, did I create my personal token out of vanity, or is there some particular purpose in mind?

Another great question. Initially, I came up with the idea for a personal token out of curiosity. Because I’ve written two books on Web3 social media, and creator tokens are a small aspect of that culture, I wanted to see how they work. So, I’ve done a fair amount of research on these types of tokens and their several use cases. Before I dove into the rabbit hole head first and created my own token, I wanted to make sure it had a useful purpose. That is, some sort of utility.

At first, I was skittish about creating the token because I didn’t want to use a platform like Coinvise or Roll. The reason is very simple. Those who created tokens using Rally know the complications in using such a platform. As soon as the platform disappears, your tokens lose all value. I didn’t want that to happen.

To use the words of Web3 evangelist Joe Pulizzi, “Thou shalt not build on rented land.”

Those are wise words. That’s why I searched for a protocol that would allow me to create a personal token that I could control under any circumstances. The protocol would have to allow me to create my token on the blockchain of my choice. I’ve found that Polygon suits my purposes quite well due to its speed and low gas fees, plus it is widely used. Therefore, I created my personal token using a protocol called Bake My Token. It was virtually free and absolutely seamless.

Now that you know the backstory, allow me to share my personal token and its planned uses.

What Is a Taylor Token?

Once I decided to create a token, I had some decisions to make. One of the most important decisions was what to call it. It needed to be something that is brandable, something that would represent my brand.

And what that brand?

I have several of them, but all of them boil down to me. Who I am, what I do, what I stand for, and who I serve. In some sense, they all boil down to my identity, which is not a singular concept.

First, I’m a writer. I’ve been freelancing for 17 years, and most of that time has been under the business moniker Taylored Content. Second, as an author, I have published several fiction and non-fiction books under the name Allen Taylor. I’ve also edited a multi-author fiction anthology series under the same name. Finally, as publisher, I’ve published my own books under that name and have published books under the names of two different publishing companies, both of which bear my name as sole proprietor. Any way you look at it, people know me under my legal name.

It seemed that Taylor Token was a natural fit. The ticker symbol, $TAYL, was a clever take on the name.

As stated earlier, I wanted the Taylor Token to have some utility. Since I’d decided to create one, I needed to give it some utility. While none of this is etched in stone, these are the ways I’m thinking of giving the token some utility, and I confess that this is a learn-as-you-go process.

• Books and merchandise - Since book publishing is a primary gig of mine, Taylor Token holders will be able to trade those tokens for books and other merchandise. Currently, all I have are books, but that could change.

• Access to gated content - Currently, I only have one piece of gated content, but that will change as I create more content. Taylor Token holders could gain access to this gated content for free or in exchange for some of those tokens.

• Access to the Taylor Discord community - This does not exist yet, but I am thinking through how this will work. Taylor Tokens could be used as an access token for the community, but I am leaning toward a tiered community where token holders might have access to more benefits, including potential consulting opportunities, based on the number of tokens they hold.

• Opportunities to help me on future projects - I’m not sure how this is going to work just yet, but I am thinking up ways for token holders to vote on and help me make decisions on topics I write about, project priorities, and other details of my writing business. At this point, my thinking is to use quadratic voting to allow Taylor token holders to vote on book cover options, non-fiction topics, fiction characters, and many other writing details allowing token holders to be key influencers on the direction of my writing. This will not give token holders any rights to royalties or ownership privileges, but it will go a long way to making token holders key influencers in my business.

• Board of directors - Stepping up the game a bit, I’m considering a personal board of directors. This will be the highest privilege of all, giving a limited number of key people more influence in the direction I take certain projects. These individuals will serve as mentors and advisors to my business. If I implement this, it will be based on the number of Taylor tokens held and an interviewing process to determine whether the individual is a good fit for my writing goals.

• Other ideas - This does not exhaust my ideas concerning utility. I may come up with more (and probably will).

Disclosure: Much of this is speculative. It may work, it may not. But I’m playing around with a new model for my business. One thing of importance to note is that Taylor Tokens hold no monetary value, and will not be listed on exchanges. The reason for this is because I don’t want speculators to take over and drive up the value of the tokens only to sell them off and crash my economy. That’s not what this is about. I’m not interested in making people rich. I’m also not interesting in playing around with the SEC, so there is no promise that anyone is gaining ownership rights to any of my work nor a promise to profit from holding Taylor Tokens. That said, once you acquire Taylor Tokens, if you wish to sell them on your own, you may do so peer-to-peer and wallet-to-wallet provided you find a willing buyer. But you must also make sure those buyers understand they are not buying equity in a business nor should they expect to make a profit.

How to Acquire Some $TAYLs

Are you ready to get some tokens? I’m ready to give some away.

I’m limiting this give away to 5 people. Collect this post and you’ll earn 50 $TAYLs.

That’s all there is to it. Collect this post and earn yourself 50 $TAYLs. Tokens will be distributed to your wallet address on the Polygon blockchain.

If you have suggestions on how to improve utility or distribution, feel free to leave me a comment below.