Journalism + Web3 = Immutable Type Crowdfund Campaign

Immutable Type Crowdsourced Campaign to Develop Our MVP

Journalism has reached an all-time low. Immutable Type has defined nine problems it may solve to establish a new design for media and restore it as a trusted source of information for our communities.

Web3 and NFTs for journalists have yet to take off or solve the significant structural problems of the media. The Stadium Gates community is building its first product, named Immutable Type, which will provide a solution for journalists and creators to mint and publish original editorial works as NFTs outside the control of the centralized media complex.

Today, Thanksgiving 2021, we’re launching the Immutable Type crowdfunding campaign to fund the development and design of a working application which will be available via Immutabletype.com.

Contribution Goals for the Campaign:

  • 1 ETH to reward the first journalist to publish on Immutable Type.
  • 3 ETH to fund website design, creative elements, and derivative NFT collectibles.
  • 15 ETH to fund MVP application development.

Funding will be capped at 20 ETH. (We reserve the right to end the campaign at any time and begin work with existing commitments.)

Recruiting journalists will begin immediately upon 1 ETH commitment.

Website design and development will begin independently of application development when the 3 ETH goal is achieved.

We will need to achieve the full application development goal of 15 ETH to secure proper engineering commitments and begin development.

Campaign Backers will Receive:

Tier One Rewards: .025 ETH

  • 2022 annual subscription to Immutable Type.
  • 2022 Discord access (upon launch).
  • $ARTICLE1 access tokens proportionate to allocation for .025 ETH

Tier Two Rewards: .1 ETH

  • Tier rewards from .025 tier
  • 2023 annual subscription to Immutable Type
  • $ARTICLE1 access tokens proportionate to allocation for .1 ETH

Tier Three Rewards: .25 ETH

  • Tier rewards from .025 and .1 ETH tiers.
  • A numbered collectible “1 of n NFT” with “n” being the total number of backers who each contribute .25 ETH or greater to this campaign.
  • Access to bid within a reserve auction for a 1-of-1 NFT as inspired by the website design work.
  • Zoom meet-and-greet with the contributing journalist of the genesis article.
  • $ARTICLE1 access tokens proportionate to allocation for .25 ETH

Tier Four Rewards: 1 ETH or Greater

  • Tier rewards from .025, .1, and .25 tiers.
  • Lifetime membership access to the Stadium Gates and Immutable Type communities and new applications.
  • Genesis collectible NFT “1 of n”.
  • First access to live deployment of Immutable Type via gated wallet access.
  • Monthly Zoom call updates with Immutable Type leadership during 2022
  • $ARTICLE1 access tokens proportionate to allocation for 1 ETH

All collectible NFTs will be part of the creative work to commence post-funding. The delivery schedule of the NFTs will be determined as part of the scoping process and communicated to contributors as the SOW is finalized.

Immutable Type Product Features

The minimum viable product will include:

  • Web-accessible user interface with Web3 wallet connection.
  • A display layer for connected users to view articles.
  • Minting function for journalists to commit articles to a decentralized storage system.
  • The ability for journalists to sell the NFT as a fixed-priced offering.
  • The ability for users to “purchase” the work as a fixed price NFT.
  • The ability for any user to “tip” the journalist.
  • The ability for the holder of the NFT to “sell” the NFT.

The operative word here is “minimum”, however, we will allocate the entire contributed 15+ ETH to product development and engineering once the MVP is achieved. We will include additional features as the budget allows. Readers may review the broader concepts for Immutable Type on the Stadium Gates Substack here.

Why Journalism?

We’re all able to see how the traditional media chooses to curate information into an open pit of boiling sewage. While that is an inelegant description of their practice, it's true. Great journalists still exist and lifting them from the control of centralized corporate media and freeing their ideas is a minimum goal. Immutable Type’s technology will aid journalist onboarding to Web3 by building publishing and funding mechanisms that allow them to directly work with their community and supporters. Artists and Musicians are two examples of the creator “types” that are off to great starts with decentralization, as the tools to support their medium are established and gaining power. I believe customized tools for journalists will greatly expand Web3 participation from the ranks of media professionals. I have written more deeply about this perspective on Mirror and Substack, so I won’t spend too much time here at this moment. In summary, I contend there are nine problems of journalism we may address.

The problems I intend for Immutable Type to solve:

  • Restore trust in journalism by establishing immutable primary source information and reporting
  • Return local voice to all communities
  • Provide sustainable and affordable technology
  • Localize economic impact of operations
  • Obviate dependence upon ad revenue models
  • Create incentives for the community to participate in curation
  • Fund broader networks of contributors
  • Return data ownership back to users
  • Reduce the de-platforming risk of contributors and communities

While the above will require significant resources and time to affect, we are able to start building the MVP and prove the concept in the wild. Once built and publication commences, we will have taken a significant step toward pursuing the nine opportunities as per above. A viable product will allow us to continue to build upon its foundation and find new opportunities to onboard journalists and creators to further refine the product and create an ongoing operation from those activities. It is a simple toehold, but it’s the most critical.

The Marketing (spam?) Campaign

I hit you up intentionally because this mission seems like it may jive with your style. You appear to be part of a tribe that is seeking promising Web3 innovations, and journalism is a universal tension we can all solve together. Or, perhaps, you’ve found us via WOM or a referral, which means someone very cool thought you’d find this project inspiring. Either way, if you’re here, it seems likely we’d vibe. The campaign’s outreach is intentionally informal. Everyone is busy, and warm intros are going to take too long. You have a Twitter account that looks like it will gel with our mission, so we shot our shot and tagged you directly. I think what we’re doing is something you’ll find to be of value, even if it’s just informational and isn’t right for you at this time. We’re not offering equity or seeking investors at the moment, but if we do, we’ll certainly be starting from a pool of (accredited) people who have supported us from the beginning. This is the beginning, and we’re glad you’ve forgiven our Twitter marketing (spam) campaign and found your way into our DMs. Please tell your friends about Immutable Type and this campaign. I’ll be forever grateful.

About Me:

My name is Damon Peters, and I have founded Stadium Gates to build products to “Bridge the masses to Web3”. I have spent 20+ years as a founder, director, senior executive, and consultant focused on building e-commerce businesses, marketplaces, and DTC sellers. My notable roles have included: executive for Overstock.com (OSTK), CMO of an auction marketplace with >$5b GMV, and CMO of an art supplier ranked #32 on the Inc 5000. I earned a B.A. in English from the University of Maine and believe decentralized journalism is the quickest way to create interconnected incentives for our communities to help guard against inept and corrosive corporate media. I’ve traveled within all 48 of the contiguous United States and have observed life on the sideroads firsthand. I have found time and again that we’re all so very similar, but we lack a way to communicate with each other directly without intermediaries crafting the narrative of our relationships. I’ve spent the entirety of 2021 onboarding to Web3 and believe we now have the technology to come together as a society. We just need to build it as fast as possible.

You may find me online through the normal channels:

Please join and share our Twitter account with anyone that may have an interest in our community: https://twitter.com/stadium_gates

Operationally, I am looking for introductions to artists and creatives who may be interested in participating as collaborators. Designing the website assets and NFT artwork will be key to providing value to contributors. Bounties will be available for collaborators, and we want to keep these opportunities in-house for community members, so please do join Stadium Gates.

Disclaimer*: Nothing herein is an invitation to purchase a share or equity, or is an offer for ownership in a business or enterprise. The contributions may result in total loss of funds if the project is unsuccessful and “Rewards” are unable to be delivered. All reasonable efforts will be made to complete the project, though the failure of the project will not result in the return of funds lost by any participating parties, including the sponsors of this crowdfund. Best efforts will be made to ensure success, but contributors accept the risk of loss as benefactors to the project described.*

Thank you for reading, and thank you to those who are able to contribute.

Damon Peters

Backers