To take Steem to the next level, we need to make a visible, physical impact on the world’s best cities.
We saw this with Steem Park, where @hansikhouse and @voronoi pioneered a physical installation of benches and signage (and much more besides) in a heavily trafficked park in Brooklyn…
Yesterday, I made a post to brainstorm ideas of how we could do a big-impact project in Raleigh. It hit #1 on the hot posts chart site wide - the first time I’ve ever reached that point on Steemit - very exciting!
Clearly there is interest for big projects built on the steem blockchain. We’ve seen how digital groups can collaborate across borders through initiatives like @curie (built by @kevinwong and @liberosist), Steemit Open Mic (by @luzcypher and @pfunk) - and Minnow Support Project ( @aggroed and many others).
Going global is one way to pursue collaboration. Another is to go radically local, creating social structures and organizations that can facilitate amazing projects in the physical space. Non-profits for the new era, powered by the blockchain.
Why Focus on the Steem-Powered Music Venue Idea?
After I made yesterday’s brainstorming post, the most notable thing for me was that the biggest, craziest idea - a full-on house venue powered largely by steems - seemed like the most realistic.
The concerts might be a bit smaller than this, lol
The other two ideas just don’t feel big enough. Idea #1, to sponsor weekly or monthly music events, would be cool… but that’s doable with a single corporate sponsor. Not a big enough idea, and without enough impact to blow people’s minds.
Idea #2: A Steem-powered record label, isn’t tangible enough. There would be no permanent physical impact on the city - and even if we can fund a few great records, is that really going to benefit a large number of people? It’s a cool idea, but again - very doable without Steem. It’s not showing off the power of the blockchain.
Idea #3… sponsoring an entire venue…. now that’s remarkable. What if a non-profit venue, funded by Steem upvotes, could host shows 3-5 days a week and act as a local rehearsal space / recording studio / Steem recruitment and educational center during off-hours?
What if this venue was able to allocate all proceeds from ticket sales to the performers, the people working the door/sound/etc, and to local charities that make an impact right here and now in Raleigh?
To me, this is a big idea. It’s something that demonstrates the power of the Steem blockchain to create real change in the world. We don’t need to beg for scraps from the powers that be, we can make amazing things happen with the resources we now have available.
Today’s Phone Call
Forgive me for being vague on a few details in the remainder of this post - these talks are in the early stages, so I can’t reveal names yet.
Yesterday night I reached out to somebody I’ve met a few times - a cool dude with a history of running house venues in the area. I had heard that he wanted to start something new, and I wanted to see if additional funding would help to unlock some of the ideas he’s tossing around.
Today, in the late afternoon, we spoke on the phone. Within 10 minutes, my jaw was on the floor. Here’s what he told me:
(1) He used to run a house venue that was completely charitable. He and some friends put up the rent out of pocket, and all proceeds from every show went to bands and charitable causes. They never took profit, nor did they even compensate themselves for the cost of rent.
(2) They lost the lease on that house, and have been searching for a new space. However, so far, the opportunities haven't felt right - the only opportunities were more traditional, to try and run a venue for profit, not charity.
(3) Most importantly - they have the booking and logistical infrastructure in place. The same team that successfully ran the old house venue for years is ready to go - if they can just find the location and work out the funding model.
Are you seeing what I’m seeing? I’m seeing an opportunity to start a non-profit, community-focused venue within Raleigh - which posts daily updates to Steemit, garners powerful upvotes from key curators on the site, and uses those funds to pay to rent out a suitable location in the heavily trafficked downtown area of the city.
The space would double as a steem recruitment center, with every band that comes through being given the option to arrive early, or stick around until the next morning, and receive free coaching on how set up their own steemit accounts.
It won’t be a hard sell - “this whole venue is being funded by Steem, y’all should probably start earning money for your content too!”
We could even discount ticket prices by the amount of a user’s 100% upvote - they would just upvote the previous day’s post on their phone, then show whoever is collecting money at the door. “That was a $2 upvote, so instead of $7 for my ticket, here is $5.”
More Info Soon
I am meeting with the entire booking team over the weekend to pitch this idea. The one guy who I spoke with on the phone sounded very interested - and the main barrier right now, I believe, is just helping them understand blockchain technology.
Once they can grasp the ecosystem of steem and understand how it works - I hope they’ll be excited to move forward. More updates soon :-)
Awesome idea! I really like the concept of a discount on tickets according to the value of an upvote. That's better, I think, than just selling the tickets for Steem, since it encourages participation in the Steem community rather than just upfront monetary investment or the like. Cool stuff!
Thanks for reading! The "upvote for discount" scheme is something I really want to implement in a wider way - one day, I'd like to see it as an API that can be applied to anything - for example, selling music on bandcamp, accessing video content via YouTube/LBRY/Netflix... etc..
Development is complicated and expensive, so, doing it by just showing the door person your upvote seems like a way simpler way to test the idea at first. :-)
Damn thats a pretty amazing idea
I think you have something really awesome going there, including as a greater Steemit promotional tool... all performances are taped and shared to the performers' YouTube channels with big "Steemit" banners in the room-- of course to Dtube, as well. It becomes a two-way street.
And glad to see you're working with @sndbox on this!
Absolutely! Having the branding set up so that when artists share their content, the Steem stuff is naturally a part of that, is a good idea.
I probably wouldn't use DTube to be honest - I prefer LBRY for blockchain video hosting. I'm gonna post some more about them soon, actually...
Well It is an thrilling idea and I also agree in the physical installation of steemit material. However I'm really surprised that why there aren't any big marketing projects yet. I'm also thinking to do some guerilla marketing close to universities banners and stuff.
If you pursue some marketing projects locally, I bet there would be a lot of support. My understanding is that Steemit is relying on a "crowd-sourced" marketing strategy - it's up to us users to come with the ideas and start making them happen, and a lot of the whales are open to supporting that stuff.
If you want to brainstorm some ideas in the sndbox slack channel... I'll be hanging out there throughout the day tomorrow :-).
When a whole lot of serendipity like this happens, it's usually a pretty good sign. Imagine something like this in every city...
And imagine variations that help non-profits learn about Steem. Or sellers of the Big Issue.
A big, bold idea!
That's the goal... one city at a time, more and more people start noticing.. "Wow, there's a lot of amazing stuff happening on this 'steem' thing, what is that?" -- and it'll be harder and harder to deny the real world power of Steem, as opposed to the bubble of overfunded ICOs that many other tokens represent.
"Aim for the moon fall amongst the stars !!!". Great work you have already made Raleigh seem like an enticing stop when I get over to play in the States. Keep it up funk Steemian brother
Awesome idea! If we ever come to the states, count us in for a concert :)
You know I'd love to book you!
So much scope! Hope all goes (or went well) with the meeting. Following with much interest!
Yay! great news to hear after reading your previous post about music venue idea!
wow what a great post on steemit i like it
thanks for sharing keep it up
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Amazing post @heymattsokol. Following you
That's great! BTW, do you know anyone in Raleigh who would want to do idea number one (though small)? I've been looking for an event host for a while... Here's what the first one was like: https://steemit.com/contest/@improv/official-open-mic-call-for-entries-1-50-sbd-in-prizes-this-is-the-official-post-for-the-contest-i-ve-been-talking-about-all
I do know people, but I don't know you. - you feel me?
Good luck with what you're doing but I can't just refer you to my contacts when we've never met :-P
Um...Sure. I think you misunderstand.
@papa-pepper solicited ideas for how to build the steemian community.
I proposed (and then carried out) a steemit event that was intended to be a recurring event, an open mic to bring together steemians who are local to each other.
I hosted the first one in L.A. and now it's time to pass the torch to another city.
If anyone were interested in hosting an open mic and offering prizes, I have a prize pool (provided by @papa-pepper) of SBD 37.
That's all. If you don't want to host it and don't think anyone does, no problem. But I think you think I want you to tell people I'm a great guy, and that's certainly not necessary or expected.
Completely understand you my dude, sounds like a great idea. I won't be able to help out, but best of luck with finding someone.
Thanks. Good luck with your venue.
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STOPI read your article interesting.I look forward to seeing you.
Nice please vote me
No. Flagged 10% as a warning for spam.
This the good post on steemit. follow me and i will follow you
No, this is spam. Flagged 15% as a warning.