Version 1.0
Date: 02-06-2021
Edits: none
Greetings Rally Community,
As it stands Rally is without a whitepaper. This is unfortunate because as many of you know, a whitepaper is a useful asset to those researching a particular blockchain or crypto native business in terms of overall understanding and as a potential investment. On top of that a solid whitepaper also inspires confidence, trust and gives users & creators something to refer to when discussing topics related to Rally. In short, a well-written and researched whitepaper is a major plus for Rally as a community and investment vehicle. The proposal herein is to write such a whitepaper. This will be done in close cooperation with Kevin Chou and the Rally team. It is also a project that will be continuously updated as Rally grows, evolves, and implements new solutions and ideas.
Crucially, before any (digital) pen is put to paper, the communityās feedback and subsequent vote of approval is a key component of the process. Suggestions regarding content, structure, and other topics are greatly appreciated. In turn, I will frequent the proposal to answer any questions and engage in meaningful discussion.
In what follows, I would like to share with you a general outline and vision of the whitepaper open to your feedback. The overall gist is to introduce the reader to Rally and bring understanding to the problems Rally addresses. The next step is to demonstrate to the reader the solution(s) and improvements of Rally and introduce the reader to the tokenomics, layer 1 & 2 blockchain structure, treasury, grants and all things related to blockchain-economics. Finally, weāll introduce the roadmap and vision of Rally and the team, advisors and key players that will make all of the above possible.
The paper will be written in an explanatory style and language use should be accessible to most readers. The overall aim of the paper is to provide information and address key issues crypto natives could have when researching Rally. It should also be useable as a reference source for further research.
Please note that towards the end of this proposal, I will conclude with some information about myself and the compensation structure for the work delivered.
[/beginning of paper]
Abstract:
Example:
āContent creators become successful through a dedicated and passionate community. Creators in turn monetize this community to make a living. Oftentimes this adherence to monetization leads to financially motivated decision-making by the creator which in many cases comes at the cost of community quality and engagement. In turn, this leads to disenchantment from the perspective of the fan. The underlying reason herein is a disconnect between the goals of a creator and the desires of the community. Rally aims to realign these incentives by allowing creators to establish their own, unique crypto-currency (token). This token can in turn be acquired by fans that can trade, pay and hold them as a way of benefiting from their participation in the creator-community. Subsequently, as a creator gains popularity and more fans acquire the token, the token value and both partiesā benefit. The creator coin is also used to provide access to gated environments, pay for a creatorās services and through Rallyās reward mechanism ā provide a stream of income for both creators and fans. We envision an environment of intrinsic social mediation and values that meet financial association and engagement which ultimately builds an incentive model that keeps fans and creators deeply engaged.ā
The abstract is basically one to two paragraphs that lets readers get a general understanding of Rally and the ecosystem. It prepares the reader for the whitepaper and contains the key points and concepts unique to Rally.
Contents:
The contents section serves to provide an overview of the whitepaperās chapters and their related pages.
Introduction:
This section functions to introduce the reader to all things Rally and the ecosystem in which it exists. For example, it will introduce the team, their history and role each member occupies in the Rally team. This section will contain an extensive introduction to the concept of Creator Coins, their use, the tokenomics, relation to Rally and token bonding curves. The introduction will also preface the current creator economy and engage with some of the issues prevalent in the creator economy. Other topics that will be discussed include the Creator Council, an emphasis on compliance, ease of use and the low barriers of entry to Rally. Finally, this section will go over some of the key terminology related to Rally.
Problem & solution:
The problem & solution section of the whitepaper will provide a detailed analysis of the problems surrounding the current creator environment. You can think of issues related to the misalignment of incentives such as the fact that creators want to monetize their community, but at the cost of the supporting community. Other examples you can think of are fanās inability to benefit from communal participation and the sizeable chunk of income platforms demand from creators.
In turn, the whitepaper will demonstrate the solutions that Rally and the native token enable. There will be an extensive explanation of the shared token space, NFTās, communal ownership, alternative forms of income, subscriptions and gated content. In essence, the solution to the problem.
This section will also include an analysis of competitors in the market (such as Roll and to an extent Chiliz) and other social coins such as $WHALE and $ALEX; the aim herein is to demonstrate key competitive and structural advantages Rally has over its competitors.
Closing this section will be a small summary of the above.
Tokenomics:
In essence this section will engage with all things related to blockchain and tokenomics. Examples include the token bonding curves, issuance rates of Rally, the treasury fund, community rewards, Rallyās sidechain, grants, etc. The tokenomics section will probably be a rather lengthy component of the whitepaper, but this is a key component to explain and engage with elements that may cause worry or concern to potentially new users or creators.
From my experience, tokenomics and blockchain can be difficult to understand. Especially when you are dealing with bonding curves, issuance rates and community rewards simultaneously. Therefore, the goal of this section is to break down these components and make them as easy to understand as possible. I imagine a lionās share of the work will go into this section of the paper, but it should be well worth it.
Motivation:
What is the motivation behind fixing the problems we have engaged with before? In essence, why does the Rally team want to spend time building Rally, addressing creator-fan issues and what is their vision of the future?
The reasoning behind including a motivation section is simply because it allows the Rally team to express themselves in a way that addresses any potential concerns reader may have. For example, a reader may have doubts in terms of the teamās commitment or long-term vision. By addressing these issues, we should be able to curb fear, uncertainty & doubt.
Roadmap:
The goal of this section is two-fold. On the one hand, it is to introduce and explain the roadmap. What are some cool concepts in the making (such as NFTās and gated content) and what do users & creators of the Rally community have to look forward to.
On the other hand, this section will demonstrate how the tokenomics of Rally help in achieving the roadmap. Examples include how the current inflation rate of Rally tokens make it possible to sustain the growth of the creators and their communities.
Team, advisors and investors:
Finally, the whitepaper will introduce the team, advisors and major investors in Rally.
Conclusion:
The conclusion will wrap up and reiterate all the content discussed in the whitepaper. In some cases a conclusion can also be used to place a particular topic discussed within a broader perspective. For Rally you can imagine the metaverse as a broader topic for example. The necessity hereof is yet to be determined.
Sources:
A list of sources will serve several functions. First, to underline the fact that the whitepaper is thoroughly researched and credible sources are used. Second, to allow the reader to examine the sources used. Third, to provide an overview of useful links to Rally documents, communities, and other points of interest. Finally, a list of sources adds a layer of professionalism that reflects positively on the whitepaper and the Rally project.
[/end of paper]
Final remarks:
As promised in the introduction to the proposal I would share some details about myself. My name is Paul, I currently work as a project manager for data driven projects in the military. These are not the Edward Snowden type projects; they are more in line with the management of military personnel. In my spare time I love gaming, Valheim is the game of choice at the moment. I share a house with my lovely girlfriend, a cat named Biscuit and a dog named Zulu.
Crypto and blockchain have been a passion of mine starting in 2015 when I bought my first Bitcoin. What drew me in is the fact that ownership over a Bitcoin (or other digital assets) means true ownership. Nothing or nobody could take this ownership away. I found this to be incredibly interesting philosophically and economically. I have not left the space since.
Iām incredibly passionate about Rally and Iāve spent considerable time analyzing the protocol, ethos and product-market fit. Some of my work you can find on the wiki, especially the tokenomics section. This is also why, for recompense, I would prefer to be paid in $RLY over $USDC, which I will reinvest in the community directly through the purchase of Creator Coins.
Funding:
Regarding the compensation for my work Iām looking for 200 $RLY an hour. In turn I aim to have the paper finished by September. Although there are several factors that make it difficult to determine the total number of hours it requires to write a whitepaper (research, feedback, writing, communication, etc.); I estimate between 150 and 200 hours should be sufficient. This puts the total at 30,000 to 40,000 $RLY. Needless to say, the time spent will be documented and throughout the process Kevin Chou and the Rally team will monitor progress, provide feedback and information where necessary.
Thanks in advance for taking the time to provide feedback. I look forward to hearing the opinions of the community!
Regards,
Paul
