Why We All Need Curators

Hey there! Welcome back to the IGIN newsletter. Thanks to the 11 new IGIN readers that have joined us since our last issue. That puts us at 243 people who can now impress their friends with their knowledge of web3, the creator economy, and the internet.

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Before we get into today's topic, I really want to get some feedback from you. I'm writing this newsletter for you...also myself...but mainly for you. So I'd love to get an idea of what type of things YOU are most excited to read about. I promise if you click that big button below, you'll be back here reading again within 25 seconds. Just click it...for me...actually mainly for you...but also for me✌️ 

What are we really doing here?

No, not "here" as in "here on this earth where we are just a tiny speck in an expansive universe where its impossible to decipher the true meaning of life and so we're left to forever ponder our existence". Nothing like that.

I promise — I'm not about to get all existential on you. Just wanted to grab your attention.

What I really meant is "what are we doing here with this newsletter"?

If we break it down to it's simplest form, you (the reader) is trusting me (the writer) to go out in the world and return with some worthwhile knowledge to pass on to you. In other words, I am curating content for you. 

I spend an unreasonable amount of hours each week reading up and learning about all of the inner workings of the web3 and creator economy ecosystems, and I'm one of the few people who have the time or energy to do this themselves. That's for good reason. If we think back to how civilization went from hunter-gatherers to the crazy world we live in now, it all boils down to specialization. 

I'm more knowledgeable in certain areas than most, yet I know nothing about 95% of the other things you could specialize in. That balance is what keeps the world moving. I could teach you about web3, but I can't teach you how to file your taxes. We all need people we can trust  to help us get around in today's world. 

You might've guessed where I'm going with this by now, but through all of this researching and writing, I've come to notice a strong underlying trend taking a hold of the internet — curation. It's everywhere. That includes the creator economy. That includes web3. That includes the internet as a whole. The way this is manifesting is slightly different depending on the space, but the macro-trend of curation is only becoming more and more important.

Allow me to curate a few examples...

• Creator Economy.

  • Creator's curating Content

  • Creator's curating products.

• Web3.

  • DeFi-as-a-Service (DAAS)

  • Crypto Index's

Curation in the Creator Economy.

We live in a world full of content. There is a never ending supply of fresh videos and articles and podcasts that are all seeking to grab our attention, yet no one has enough time to see it all. This is simply the reality of the world today, and as we have discussed before, much of this new wave of content is coming from creators. Not only this, but more and more people are now expecting to receive content through their favorite creators rather than through traditional media. 

This connection between creators and fans is growing stronger than ever. People trust the creators to fill their feed with content that they'll enjoy. Inevitably, this has led to creators leveraging this trust to become curators for their audiences. 

Getting curated content from a creator you support is akin to getting your Netflix recommendations except the added layer of connection between curator and audience drives the engagement and excitement to much higher levels.

So, how does this dynamic play out in reality?

Let's start with an example from one of my personal favorite content creators, Cody Ko and Noel Miller. The comedy duo have been long time creators, getting their start all the way back when Vine was dominated the social media space. However now along with them both producing solo content on their respective channels, the pair also have a runaway success in their comedy podcast, Tiny Meat Gang, or TMG for short. 

Regardless of whether you enjoy their content, you have to be impressed with what they've accomplished. They have been pushing the limits of what's possible as creators for years, and the success is evident. With now over 27000 people paying a monthly subscription for their weekly podcast, the two recently decided it was time to expand their brand into curation.

Over the last 5 months, they have launched two podcasts under the TMG Studios brand and started a weekly newsletter. Some quick stats: 

• TMG Newsletter hit 100,000 subscribers within two months of launching.

• "Trillionaire Mindset" podcast jumped to #1 podcast on Spotify in the first week after launch and currently sits as the #18 business podcast on the platform.

• "Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast" broke straight into the top ten of all podcasts during their launch week, and have settled into the #6 spot of the Society and Culture category after one month of weekly episodes.

The worlds of podcasts and newsletters are both overflowing with content, and there's a constant two-way challenge where creators are looking for audiences and audiences are trying to sort through the clutter to find content they enjoy.

This is where the role of "curator" allowed Cody and Noel to solve both problems at once. The speed at which all three of their new projects have gained traction just goes to show the power of curation from the most popular creators of today.

The trend is spreading as well. Rhett and Link, the brains behind the YouTube channel "Good Mythical Morning" leveraged their 17.5 million-subscriber audience with their own production company. They recently launched a podcast hosted by one of their very own producers, Trevor Evarts. I wonder how well this creator-curated podcast is doing...

You guessed it. It's doing pretty damn well (#54 on Comedy Charts).

However creator-led curation can go further than just content. Creator's are also curating products. Social media apps are becoming the shopping platforms of the future, so with creators now beginning to directly influence culture, a product or fashion recommendation has the ability to create huge demand for goods.

As reported on by The Publish Press, lifestyle creators are becoming increasingly prevalent. One such creator, Tinx, has caused multiple sell-outs for her recommended products. Imagine the impact for a small-business if a single recommendation can bring in hundreds or thousands of orders. She even teamed up with book subscription company Literati to start a curated book club for her fans.

The Takeaway: Today's world needs curators to sift through the overwhelming amount of content and products. Those who can command an audience have the power to leverage this trust to recommend content and or products. This is beginning to look like it will be the way the next generation will interact with media and retail.

Curation in Web3

So I've heard that you wanna understand web3? Well...it's complicated. 

Whether you've been around the space for years or for days, it still takes some time to digest how everything works in this space. That's simply the nature of being a part of a brand new ecosystem. However, it has become abundantly clear that there are some really good opportunities in the space.

However, for every DeFi ninja out there who can play the markets perfectly, there are another 10 people who simply can't match that level of expertise. That doesn't mean you need to be in the top 1% of knowledge to do well in the space, but it does leave many people wishing they could "up-their-game" in terms of maximizing earning potential.

With this sentiment growing throughout the space, the next era of DeFi began to show its face — DeFi-as-a-Service, or DAAS (no I didn't planning on writing a rhyme, but it was too good to take it out).

Things move fast in the space. We talked about the so-called DeFi2.0 model when we discussed the OlympusDAO protocol just a few months ago, and we have already begun the movement to DeFi3.0 with DAAS. I might be stretching the definition a bit here, but to me it almost sounds like...curation. The goal of these projects is to go out and find the best money making opportunities in DeFi. Then come back and return the profits to investors —  similar to this newsletter except instead of curating information, they're curating profits.

There's been an explosion of protocols touting themselves as the DAAS protocols. Some good. Some bad. Not every protocol can live up to their promise of being "the best at DeFi". That's simple not possible. There will inevitably be problems with this system just like DeFi2.0 had it's own set of problems, but I'm sure there will also be a few winners. 

Ironically, I'd argue that one of the best DAAS protocols out there is actually OlympusDAO, the OG DeFi2.0 protocol. Although most people wouldn't think of Olympus when they imagine DAAS, the protocol might be the most well positioned protocol in the space to do just that. The protocol has over $500M worth of assets in their treasury, and are estimating over $200M in annual revenue outside of their bonding mechanism. This revenue comes from their Olympus Pro service, liquidity providing fees, yield farming, and fee sharing agreements. I'm not going to dive into how all of these work specifically, but let's just say that I'm intrigued by where this project will go in the next year. 

Other forms of web3 curation can be found in projects like...

• Cook Finance: DeFi indexes that allow you to purchase a curated basket of crypto assets

• Pollen: Community-generated decentralized indexes

• Kassandra Finance: Data-driven investment funds, such as a fund that invests based on social media engagement. (Strong communities are hugely important in web3...)

 So yeah... consider the trend of "curation" officially uncovered. You heard it hear first.

Whether its content, finances, or information, in this wave of the internet, those who can gain the trust of an audience or community will become the voices that direct the energy, attention, and capital in the future.

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-Levi

I do my best to explain how it all works in these letters, but I won't be able to outline all of the risks. So if you read this and want to get involved, make sure you do your due diligence. For full transparency, I am involved in some of the tokens mentioned in the writing. This letter is not financial advise.