TechCrunch Crypto Pitch-off: Cityverse

TL;DR

CityVerse is a platform that aims to bring communities together through local news, offering features such as profiles, web 3 concepts, public spaces, and content mining tools.

Transcript

I'm Joe Hamilton I'm the head of network for cityiverse I'm going to put a load of ideas in your head in the next four minutes so please buckle up so City verse we're going to start with a problem and that is content has changed drastically with the admin Advent of the internet and with social media people expect to participate in content and they ... Read More

Key Insights

• 📰 Traditional models of local news are struggling due to the changing landscape of content consumption and declining revenue from subscriptions and advertising.
• 👾 CityVerse offers a comprehensive platform that includes profiles, wallets, and NFT galleries for individuals, as well as spaces for artists, organizations, and public discussions.
• 💁 The platform aims to bring back local information that used to be found in newspapers through content mining tools and partnerships with neighborhood associations, schools, and other entities.
• 😑 Civic participation is incentivized through NFTs and rewards, fostering community engagement and expression.
• 🤘 CityVerse follows a multi-pronged approach to signing up cities, starting with building a strong local news network, reaching out to civic leaders, and eventually involving residents through equity tokens.
• 👻 Content moderation on CityVerse focuses on civility, allowing controversial ideas while promoting respectful discussions.
• 🛄 CityVerse aims to connect communities and foster civic awareness, reducing monetary value around NFTs to prioritize civic action.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does CityVerse plan to incentivize civic participation through NFTs?

CityVerse plans to reward civic actions such as beach cleanups with NFTs. It also aims to partner with local theaters and sell tickets that include NFTs for users' galleries, enhancing civic expression and promoting local art.

Q: How does CityVerse approach signing up cities and expanding its platform?

CityVerse uses a multi-pronged approach, starting with building a strong local news network in each city to attract users. They then reach out to civic leaders, politicians, nonprofits, and small businesses to get their content and involvement on the platform. Equity tokens are also sold to city residents for a buy-in and stake in CityVerse's success.

Q: How does CityVerse moderate user-generated content to ensure civility?

CityVerse moderates every piece of content, including comments, for civility. While controversial ideas are allowed, any content that shuts down conversation or contains insults is not permitted. The platform has experienced success in fostering civil discussions in its four years of running the Catalyst news platform.

Q: What are some common use cases on CityVerse?

Nonprofits, civic action initiatives, and community connections are common use cases on CityVerse. The platform aims to facilitate virtual tools around users' physical lives in their cities, augmenting their experiences with local news and content.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Traditional models of local news are failing due to the scattered attention of subscribers and declining advertising revenue.

• CityVerse offers a platform that includes profiles, wallets, and NFT galleries for individuals, as well as spaces for artists and organizations to express themselves and connect.

• The platform also focuses on public spaces for community discussions and content mining tools to bring back local information from social media.