The Interledger Community 🌱: Rashon Massey

Helping Small Businesses Adopt Web Monetization — Final Grant Report

Rashon Massey — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 14:06:39 +0000

Project Update

I DID IT! I can't express how excited I am to share this final grant report because this journey really pushed me to becoming a greater content creator, business owner and advocate for web monetization.

The goal of this grant was to build an entirely new web monetized website on Wordpress, before distributing free Coil trial memberships to my existing MICOPEIA.com customers, as a value proposition for those interested in taking my herbalism workshops and courses. My initial proposal had some lofty ambitions of being able to build an entirely new website THEN figure out a membership service plugin component. Honestly, because of my past experiences with Wordpress, I thought it would be a breeze...but it wasn't.

...and somewhere in those moments of tech frustration that would ebb and flow from June-July this year, I realized something: the goal of my grant is to successfully be an example to other small business owners that web monetization can be a powerful and EASY tool to adopt; however, who am I to expect that every small business owner is proficient enough to build a whole new website BEFORE offering their own value proposition to onboard folks to engage with their Coil-exclusive content?!

I legit realized: "Rashon, this is not practical and/or realistic...AT ALL!"

So I went back to the drawing board to honor the work I'd already been doing on my website and business, to align my efforts alongside the growth of web monetization. I suddenly realized - "I need to make this all make sense for other small business owners, with a specific focus on fellow owners building their stores and communities on Shopify."

This was a major wake up and shifting moment in my journey.

Doing this, I was able to reach out to some developers during the last 45 days of my grant funding, and together, we were able to figure out how to create a courses section RIGHT ON MY OWN EXISTING WEBSITE/STORE/SHOPIFY! This is HUGE because now, my customers/community members don't have to go to an entirely new website and space to access my educational content; rather, everything is ALL IN HOUSE! Now, customers can purchase a workshop and/or course (the first course is available for FREE), and then, I am able to create sections of my courses for BONUS CONTENT that is web monetized!

Some perks of this shift also include the fact that all of the videos through my courses are self-hosted which means that I don't have to upload them on YouTube, keeping them exclusive to my space. Also - this journey forced me to build new friendships and strengthen older alliances.

In researching how to make Shopify compatible with web monetization, I was able to make friends with tech grantees from the XRPL Grant program who are working to facilitate micropayments with Shopify through their grant. Im hoping between linking that team with the developers behind my courses, we'll be able to figure out how to create built in gated sections to my courses that are only accessible by Coil subscription! I also found out that XUMM wallet creator Wietse Wind has hopes to integrate the ILP within the XUMM wallet, and has been trying to work with Shopify on integrating XUMM within the platform. So...we are very close to the cusp of game-changing innovation between web monetization and Shopify...which is MAJOR!

In the meantime, to keep this experiment with a value proposition alive, my dear buddy and amazing soul Adam from gFam (and fellow GFTW grantee) came through with a whole superhero cape on. Now - I will be hosting the bonus web monetized content, in addition to even more exclusive content, on gFam Learn! A new space dedicated for gFam users to share lessons and tutorials, I can make content Coil-exclusive, simply linking my MICOPEIA.com courses directly to my gFam Learn lessons! This means that I can still distribute those free Coil trials to my customers/community members, in order for them to access my bonus content!

Progress on objectives

"To successfully introduce my existing community to web monetization while being an example for other small businesses to look towards, the leading objective in this proposal is to build an entirely new web monetized Wordpress website to host my educational wellness workshops and courses. Then, as a value proposition for customers, offer complimentary free 1-month trial subscriptions to Coil with every purchase they make, thereby introducing them and potentially onboarding them to web monetization via a content creator/small business owner they already know and support."

Amazing things happen when you get out of your own way, and I love going back and reading my initial intentions with this round of grant funding. Sure, things didn't execute exactly how I had planned, but they certainly have worked out much better than I had dreamed of.

I haven't really done a proper announcement that the first FREE course is now available on my website and so far, in the first 24 hours, close to 20 people have already completed it! When I share the news about Coil, bonus content and how they can get free trials...I think we may break the internet.

Throughout October, I will be promoting the new courses section, the MICOPEIA x gFam content partnership (which is web monetization promotion) and distributing those Coil trials.

Key activities

For reference, here were the deliverables that I outlined in my initial proposal:

~~1. Completion of Writing 3 Evergreen Webinars/Courses in Wellness and Herbalism

Completion of the New MICOPEIA Web Monetized Wordpress Website
Acquiring 300, 1-month free trial subscription codes from Coil
Dedicated social media posts/ads marketed towards promoting the new workshops and courses~~
Distributing 1-month free trial Coil subscription codes to customers who make a purchase at MICOPEIA.com
Social media contests seeking followers to nominate a woman or POC to receive a MICOPEIA Care Package that includes a 1-month free trial Coil subscription to access the new web monetized website's content
Completing a 60-day post-project completion report examining how many users renewed their memberships after the 1-month trial

As far as key activities, as stated in my grant progress report, I needed a 30-day extension due to a residence move I had to make towards the beginning of the grant funded period; moreover, with those technical delays I faced after the move, I wasn't able to distribute trial codes or start the social media contests according to my proposed timeline, and now those activities are planned for October! So PLEASE - make sure you're checking me out next month because there's a bunch of conversation about web monetization that will be taking place, as I encourage folk to check out my herbal workshops and bonus content.

Sometime before the end of the year, ideally at the Interledger Summit, I'll share details and data from my post-project completion report so we can see how many of those trial members actually ended up signing up for Coil after the trial ended.

Communications and marketing

I made sure to budget for social media marketing, primarily on my two most active social media channels - TikTok and Instagram.

...and y'all...I AM TAKING OFF!

Like...WOW!

If you've been riding with MICOPEIA since the before and/or the earliest days of Coil, you remember me before I even had a TikTok (which was created during the first round of grant funding in 2020) and my MICOPEIA instagram only had a few hundred followers.

Well, I can't shout it loud enough from the mountain tops that GFTW, Coil and Interledger have changed my life...because with the social media marketing and communications for this grant period, I have gained over 8,000 new Instagram Followers and 20,000 TikTok Followers since I began pushing/boosting posts that promote the new courses! THIS IS SOOOO HUGE! I now have close to 9,000 Followers on Instagram and over 67,000 Followers on TikTok.

You can see my recent videos here on TikTok and Instagram: https://tiktok.com/@micopeia and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/micopeia/ .

What’s next?

Well, I already have 3 completed courses that I am slowly releasing, in an effort to promote Coil user retention (a la _Stick around and renew your Coil membership because a new course is coming next month), and I will be starting to distribute those Coil trials in the next few days!

I am genuinely excited about having completed this whole integrated system of content and business in a way that I can stand on any platform and teach others! My sales have taken off, community engagement is through the roof on social media and people are already taking my classes! I dreamed of this moment a few years back and never could I have imagined it would be a new community and technology that would come along to bring it to fruition...but by golly...I am so incredibly grateful and blessed.

...and y'all! The MICOPEIA community feels it too! They are so excited about this content and opportunities to learn more about investing in themselves, valuing their content and their time online. I even have requests to do a LIVE workshop so I can explain GFTW to my community and how they can get involved! So THANK YOU for truly supporting me to this amazing new level ...in LIFE!

As far as small businesses and content creators using web monetization, I genuinely know that MICOPEIA is just the first example of what's to come, and we are still at the very early stages.

I truly look forward to working more closely with gFam, Coil, GFTW and Interledger to keep advancing what we're doing AND to bring more people into our communities!

What community support would benefit your project?

The first workshop/lesson is already up. Go ahead, sign up, go through it and then get ready for the next one to be released in October. The best part? You're already a Coil subscriber so you'll be able to access the bonus content on gFam with NO issues!

I'll be adding a space to allow for participants to leave course comments and engage with other students in the workshops, AND I'll be hosting Coil-exclusive LIVE workshops on my website (hosted through a private YouTube stream)...so follow me!

Relevant links/resources

http://MICOPEIA.com
https://www.instagram.com/micopeia/
https://tiktok.com/@micopeia
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9XRHpy4fyzU4f9BHmG2QwQ
https://twitter.com/micopeia

Helping Small Businesses Adopt Web Monetization — Grant Report #1

Rashon Massey — Wed, 18 May 2022 14:39:49 +0000

Greetings Friends!

Taking some time to tap in about my Grant for the Web funded project - Helping Small Businesses Adopt Web Monetization!

This project is building off of a previous funded Grant for the Web project (2020) - Helping Minority Content Creators Monetize on the Web. That project allowed me to use funds to upgrade my own production equipment to produce better online content; moreover, the project also provided resources for me to educate and even onboard other content creators of color into the world of web monetization. By the end of the grant period, I had hosted a couple workshops dedicated to discussing web monetization, showcasing a couple fellow 2020 GftW grantees (Shout out to Pamela J. Alexander and Adam from gFam!) and delivered my most popular workshop to date about web monetization, social media marketing and building your online community (that workshop has been watched over 1,000 times)! Actually - Here is a link to my grant reports for that funded project: https://community.webmonetization.org/hmccmw

This time around, I want to educate and onboard more individuals into our exciting world of web monetization!

You see, I am both a content creator AND small business owner. Since becoming an early supporter of Coil and Web Monetization, I have always been open and eager to explore the ways in which I could comfortably fit myself into the world of advancing the messaging for online micropayments, tipping content creators and bridging gaps between online businesses and their existing/potential customers. As a content creator advocating about the benefits of web monetization, my last funded project saw so much success that I went from not having a TikTok account before it to now having well over 50,000 followers! This is largely attributed towards my first round of funding that made it possible for me to deliver premium quality content, while offering viewers clear ways to engage with me further after watching (whether that be following a link to my web monetized storefront - https://MICOPEIA.com and/or encouraging them to follow me (@micopeia on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube) so that they can participate in my next web monetized workshop and course.

So this project keeps this locomotive going, baby!

By the end of this project, we will have an entirely new web monetized website from MICOPEIA LLC that exclusively hosts my evergreen herbalism workshops and courses. The really cool part is that customers who purchase from MICOPEIA.com will be given free 1-month trial memberships to Coil to then access my exclusive content!

You see, what I'm doing here is offering a value proposition that may potentially further the adoption and education of/around web monetization, simply by meeting and introducing individuals new to the technology on their own terms.

Progress on objectives

To successfully introduce my existing community to web monetization while being an example for other small businesses to look towards, the leading objective in this proposal is to build an entirely new web monetized Wordpress website to host my educational wellness workshops and courses. Then, as a value proposition for customers, offer complimentary free 1-month trial subscriptions to Coil with every purchase they make, thereby introducing them and potentially onboarding them to web monetization via a content creator/small business owner they already know and support.

The past 4 months of this grant period have allowed me to lay the groundwork for the launch of the new website, and while there were some minor adjustments, this project has been rather smooth and extremely exciting to work on.

Key activities

For reference, here are the deliverables that I outlined in my proposal:

Completion of Writing 3 Evergreen Webinars/Courses in Wellness and Herbalism (1 of 3 already completed at the time of writing this proposal)
Completion of the New MICOPEIA Web Monetized Wordpress Website
Purchasing 1-month free trial subscription codes from Coil (approximately 300 total)
Dedicated social media posts/ads marketed towards promoting the new web monetized website
Distributing 1-month free trial Coil subscription codes to customers who make a purchase at MICOPEIA.com
Social media contests seeking followers to nominate a woman or POC to receive a MICOPEIA Care Package that includes a 1-month free trial Coil subscription to access the new web monetized website's content
Completing a 60-day post-project completion report examining how many users renewed their memberships after the 1-month trial

Since the project began, I have both finished writing my courses and workshops, and I even developed my educational content further, to strengthen the pipeline between individuals who discover my brand via social media that also eventually become recurring customers. Seeing how many of the new and existing MICOPEIA social media followers appreciate my short 1-minute wellness hacks, tips and tricks, I decided to start building an ongoing Herb Library just to create and archive this type of content.

Not mentioned above but outlined in my proposal was the need to also grow to a new physical space to record this educational content. I honestly had built my company starting in my parents home in 2016 and grew to small studio spaces in Detroit and Colorado for production work, but to record the materials that I proposed, I needed to find a retail partner that would be open to letting me use their space and/or rent a commercial space with a kitchen; unfortunately, even though I reached out to several small businesses and even looked into commercial spaces, I found that partnering businesses weren't able to help and that the funding I requested for this purpose wasn't enough for 6-month lease options that I was offered (I truly was hoping to find a 2-3 month pop-up lease option or partnership). Being one always open to pivoting for positive change, once I saw that things weren't working out with those plans AND my parents had some health scares working, I decided to just invest further into MICOPEIA and find a much more ideal working situation.

I ended up finding a larger home to move into, dedicating two spaces within the home completely to the production efforts of my small business. In this move, I've been able to completely level up the company, my efforts as a content creator and small business owner and begin recording content for the new website!

(https://community.interledger.org/remoteimages/uploads/articles/pufqkkcbmu2owio2pyox.jpeg)

The only drawback that has come is the time delay of moving MICOPEIA into a new space. Moving took from mid -March through the entire month of April which is not something that I was anticipating, but it was exactly what was needed. The move pushed back the time that I was planning to work on the new website and record content for the website; however, not only was I able to be a good son and move closer to my parents, but I also found a home where I can dedicate taxable space for my business...and it also has 6 raised bed gardens outside allowing me to even expand into educational gardening content.

Since getting things set up in the new spaces, I have been back on my TikTok game @micopeia, recording educational content for the new website and dedicating time to working on the new website!

Communications and marketing

Though there has been a delay, this project clearly has a map to introducing and onboarding individuals into our web monetization ecosystem!

A huge part of that are marketing efforts lead by my existing social media presence. Though I haven't launched the social media contests and posts specifically promoting the new website, since getting set up in the new space, I have been shouting out the fact that I am working on a new website within my most recent TikTok videos and Instagram posts. This has certainly continued to generate interest, sales and open doors to conversations with individuals eager to sign up for my forthcoming workshops! So...minor delays, but we are still cooking! You can see my recent videos here on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@micopeia and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/micopeia/ .

What’s next?

I am going to file a no-cost extension with Grant for the Web explaining further about my 1-month delay, hoping that 30-60 extra days will give me the time to finish the website, recording my initial educational materials and begin distributing the free 1-month trial memberships to Coil. I also would want that extra time because I have a planned post 1-month assessment of my proposal which looks at the retention percentage of individuals who ended up getting a Coil subscription AFTER their trial ended. So the extra days would be rad!

What community support would benefit your project?

FOLLOW ME ON TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter all @micopeia! The more engagement I receive on posts, in theory, the more those platform algorithms will share my content with potentially interested individuals.

Additional comments

BIG THANKS to the Grant for the Web community for really being awesome! From MozFest 2022 to just building new relationships with fellow grantees, this time around, I am having much more fun, and I am really excited to share this new web monetized website with my community. You can even see in the recent comments for my latest TikTok videos that people are ready to learn more about herbalism through MICOPEIA, and I think it's really going to be an onboarding game changer when I share that they can do so with me in my web monetized community...for a few bucks a month (in comparison to others offering similar courses for well over $100!).

Relevant links/resources

http://MICOPEIA.com
https://www.instagram.com/micopeia/
https://tiktok.com/@micopeia
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9XRHpy4fyzU4f9BHmG2QwQ
https://twitter.com/micopeia

Helping Small Businesses Adopt Web Monetization — MozFest 2022 Web Monetization Action Plan

Rashon Massey — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 16:04:31 +0000

Project Description

I am very excited to be attending MozFest 2022! As a participant, I am looking to connect with others to discuss the amazing benefits and potentials for both content creators and small business owners to adopt web monetization.

About my Grant for the Web funded project:
Serving as a case study and roadmap for other online small business retailers, this project seeks to use Web Monetization as a vehicle for driving the potentiality of new/existing customers of MICOPEIA.com to exclusive online content, while also opening a pathway to growing a Web Monetized online community.

MICOPEIA is an online wellness brand that relies heavily on education and community engagement in order to sell products. This project will help introduce and engage customers with Web Monetization by building an entirely new Web Monetized website using the Wordpress Coil Web Monetization plugin, to offer evergreen herbalism webinars, educational courses and exclusive content. This project will offer free trial Coil subscriptions to new users to build MICOPEIA’s unique Web Monetized community.

Web Monetized Resources at MozFest

Ways in Which I Am Web Monetizing These Resources

As a content creator and small business owner, the supplemental wellness education that I provide has become both a driver of new customers, as well as a retention tool for active customers in between their purchases. While I am building a completely new web monetized website via Wordpress and the Coil-plugin, I am currently utilizing web monetization on my website (MICOPEIA.com), YouTube channel (@micopeia) and on Cinnamon Video. In time, as a value proposition, customers of MICOPEIA.com will receive free trial memberships to Coil, allowing them access to my new web monetized website; however, for current Coil subscribers, you can visit my existing website, YouTube and Cinnamon channels to engage with the content I have been building thus far.

Copy for a Tweet About My Web Monetized Resources at MozFest

We’re sipping all of the tea & exploring herbal wellness hacks with @GrantForTheWeb grantee & small business @micopeia! This #MozFest, treat yourself to wellness while using #WebMonetization & discover educational content that may help boost your health! HTTPS://www.MICOPEIA.com

I'd Love the Community Support with this Project By ...

I'd love for you to visit my website MICOPEIA.com, and also follow me on any of the social channels listed below!

Let's Stay Connected (optional)

Follow @micopeia on TikTok, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram!

Helping Minority Content Creators Monetize on the Web — Grant Report #5

Rashon Massey — Mon, 17 May 2021 16:16:47 +0000

TONIGHT IS THE DEBUT OF WINNERS OF THE WEEKEND!

As part of my GftW project, I was given the opportunity to mentor a fellow minority content creator through the process of becoming a thriving creator implementing web monetization.

Inspired by my buddy's weekly new music playlist, Winners of the Weekend is a live streamed show that features a rotating panel of guests who are invited to debate which song(s) are the best new releases! Fully interactive, viewers can also engage via Twitch chat box!

Super proud of Grant, and thank you to GftW for helping to make this show possible!

https://twitter.com/micopeia/status/1394297440694571011?s=20

Helping Minority Content Creators Monetize on the Web — Grant Report #4

Rashon Massey — Fri, 14 May 2021 18:52:25 +0000

Project Update

This is banana’s to think that this is my final project update for this grant period!

It definitely bums me out because I truly have seen my life change in so many positive ways, since both upgrading my content production equipment and introducing web monetization to my existing online communities.

I knew that this was an opportunity that could not only greatly change my life, but understanding the potential of web monetization, I knew that this project could open doors for other individuals who identify as minorities; for this reason, the last two-thirds of my project’s timeline was dedicated towards learning, mentoring and co-producing content with existing content creators. Though this project had: 1. budgeted stipends for my mentee content creators, and 2. time and support to see up to 4 minority content creators successfully launch themselves on the Coil platform, through my months-long mentorship with them, it was revealed that web monetization and Coil may not be suited for every content creator at this time.

As we look towards the successes of this project, the greatest gift that emerged was from pinpointing how to best maximize web monetization tools for the type of content that myself and mentee wanted to produce. Though it took some trial and error that ultimately revealed that web monetization was not suited for three of my four mentee content creators, I found that the best output efforts to maximize profit, engagement and retention efforts for a content creator using web monetization came by adopting successful practices maintained by content streamers on existing platforms like Twitch. In realizing this, I was able to redirect the focus of this project to produce two pieces of original copyrightable content that far exceeded anything that I initially hoped to achieve.

Now, through the blessings of this project, I now have my own live streamed web monetized show that allows me to connect with guests and cover topics revolving around wellness, investments and culture! I hosted my first two episodes in April 2021, with the first dedicated to discussing the benefits of mindfulness with fellow GftW grantee Pamela J. Alexander (Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy2JV3qaCzM ), and the 2nd episode was a near 4-hour long workshop on branding, social media and web monetization featuring fellow GftW grantee Adam from Australia of gFam and the Founder of BleacherReport.com (watch here: https://twitter.com/micopeia/status/1383073898233663500?s=20) ! MAJOR SUCCESS! Thus far, the second episode has been viewed by more than 900 people! Both episodes, dedicated time was spent towards discussing web monetization, Coil, Cinnamon and the awesomeness of what we’re doing! It was super rad having guests engaging and learning about web monetization especially during the 2nd episode/workshop with Adam from gFam).

This is a clear reflection of being able to produce higher quality content more consistently, while strengthening the creator to audience relationship in such honest and meaningful ways that individuals who have never engaged with my brand have gone from discovery as potential followers/customers to super brand evangelists who purchase my products, follow me on all social channels and sign up for my workshops within thirty minutes of viewing one piece of content for the first time.

I am so very glad that my mentee Grant Henderson allowed himself to be open to this journey, really working to see how and where web monetization would make sense for his existing brand. I had a really great show concept and idea I had been nurturing for some time, and I was able to pitch to Grant an interactive live streamed video broadcast show that would bring to life his new music playlist. I knew that if he was onboard, the show would be an amazingly fun time that pushes the envelope of the future of web content…and I am so glad that he was onboard! Together, we have co-created Winners of the Weekend, a show that brings together a curated panel of guests that discuss and debate which newly released songs are the best! Featuring an open chat box that allows for guest participation across multiple social channels, the show has already been a BIG hit in our dress rehearsals, and I am so excited for when it finally debuts! You can watch an 11 min selection from the first dress rehearsal here! https://cinnamon.video/watch?v=583300921388173049

Progress on objectives

As shared, the objectives stayed the same; however, getting to the finish line did require some changes.

This project showed that web monetization just isn’t the best fit for everyone, even for existing content creators with thriving communities; moreover, for some content creators, preexisting terms of engagements that rule over their established online communities proved to hinder their ability to move forward with incorporating web monetization tools via Coil and Cinnamon.

Whereas-

My brand channels @micopeia are just thriving beyond my wildest dreams, and TikTok has proven to be the channel best suited for the content that I make. The cool part is watching TikTok followers go to my website (Coil-enabled), follow me on YouTube (Coil-enabled) and attend my live streamed workshops and shows (Coil-enabled). Several of my TikTok videos have gone viral to the point of generating sales at MICOPEIA.com, and I’ve been spending the first part of May 2021 writing new outlines and copy for my next workshops! I’d love to do more interviews and dedicated content that spotlights GftW and Coil content creators, but that would take some more support and coordinating.

My mentee Grant Henderson’s web monetized live streamed show is coming along great! We’ve had 3 dress rehearsals so far, and I know he wants to time the debut of the public show with his company’s Summer clothing line release, to generate as much excitement and awareness about the show as possible. More details of when Winners of the Weekend will go live should be known soon.

Key activities

Purchased New Production Equipment
Improved Production Space & Output Quality
Created Original Content (Videos/graphics) promoting web monetization
Mentored Content Creators with 1 developing a strong roadmap forward on best navigating web monetization for their online presence
Launched a web monetized live streamed broadcast - The BEST Live Show; Two Episodes in April 2021 - (Ep 01- fellow GftW Grantee Pamela J. Alexander, guest; Ep 02 - fellow GftW Grantee Adam from Australia and Founder of gFam, Dave Nemetz - Founder of BleacherReport.com, Todd Walton - Social Entrepreneur and Philanthropist)
Launched a web monetized live stream broadcast with my GftW project mentee - Winners of the Weekend

Communications and marketing

This is cool to look back upon, and I’ve included stats from my first grant update, to show just how much growth has come from being able to produce better content thanks to GftW funding.

Grant Report 1 (Feb 2021)

Highlights to date: Over 30,000 combined video views from @micopeia + @RashonMassey on Tik Tok, Instagram.;
76 social media posts from @RashonMassey and @micopeia tagging @GrantfortheWeb, @Coil, @CinnamonVideo, @PumaBrowser, #GrantfortheWeb, #Coil, #CinnamonVideo, #PumaBrowser, #Mozilla/@Mozilla and/or @CreativeCommons/#CreativeCommons
Coil/GftW program acknowledgement from State of Michigan Representative Jewell Jones

FINAL Grant Report (3-months later)

Over 160,318 combined video views from @micopeia + @RashonMassey on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter (numbers since Grant Report 1 - TikTok - 104,830; Instagram - 24,588; YouTube - +40 subscribers; The BEST Live Show - The first two episodes have been watched over 900 times!);
164+ social media posts from @RashonMassey and @micopeia tagging @GrantfortheWeb, @Coil, @CinnamonVideo, @PumaBrowser, #GrantfortheWeb, #Coil, #CinnamonVideo, #PumaBrowser, #Mozilla/@Mozilla and/or @CreativeCommons/#CreativeCommons
GftW scholarship program shout out retweet by the Founder of #OscarsSoWhite - @ReignOfApril

What’s next?

I’m continuing to book talent to appear as guests on my web monetized show The BEST Live Show, while launching the first season of Winners of the Weekend this summer! I’ll be continuing to strengthen the pipeline of communication with my existing audience that GftW has allowed me to build, by furthering the free educational BTS/DIY herbalism videos that I’ve been creating. I’d like to work with GftW and Coil to see The BEST Live Show become an interactive marketing asset that they too can leverage, as we work together to spotlight talent and developments within the web monetization space online! A curated show featuring the BEST of what we all are doing, I feel, would go a long way, while fostering a LIVE online space for the community to gather and fellowship. I would also like to continue developing new talent that would be great for web monetization, as my return to Executive Producing has proven to be a MAJOR success in this space. I know with my innovative visions and the amazing talent thriving throughout the world, we can launch a strong series of original content much like Netflix, and that really would go a long way with advancing the efforts of web monetization (the creation of original, interactive content not found and/or easily replicated on exiting platforms). This goes in line with research surrounding disruptive innovations, and I speak more on this in the next section below

What community support would benefit your project?

Group Video Conferences where projects have the option to present (if they choose) updates, talk challenges, etc. I think now that the framework of how to publish updates has been paved, the opportunity to video meet, discuss and vocally support fellow grantees would be incredibly beneficial for grantees. Based on my conversations, most grantees hit a wall somewhere around month 4; however, great progress was made once we found opportunities to connect, ideate and grow together. Big shout out to Chris Lawrence for being the person to facilitate these conversations, helping to connect grantees where there were potential synergies. I know this really helped me reevaluate my project, in order to make some 11th Hour decisions to see me finish successfully! I received a recent email about an informal zoom meeting happening, but some formal ones to keep enthusiasm and foster connections during the process would’ve been massive.
Web monetization is a vehicle that will be a behemoth for content creators willing to develop original copyrightable content that can’t be sourced elsewhere. Under the lens of author Clayton Christensen, web monetization is a disruptive innovation, and I think we will really see more content creators succeed when more focused effort is directed towards identifying, developing and successfully launching NEW content exclusively available through Coil. Clearly, through Coil Experiments, I am seeing this effort executed, but if we appreciate web monetization for the true disruptor that it is, we potentially can’t see it’s full success by following models of old content creation and distribution, backed by a marketing title that immediately says to the viewing audience that “this content is an experiment so its okay that it fails because we’re just happy that you’re watching.” So I see this as a GftW opportunity to fill this void! I think this concept needs to go FULL STEAM…or might I say…FULL STREAM and take on developing live streamed content that opens the door for real time engagement and monetization. I’d love a job and a seat at the table, if there is a team that wants to bring me on for a more hands-on role! Having launched my own show with another FIRE concept and interactive show coming, I'd love to scout, recruit, mentor and help develop talent here! I already see some great powerhouses within our online communities and spaces who would GREATLY benefit from support, encouragement and would LEAD in championing web monetization for us. JUUUUUST SAYIN! <3 <3 <3

Additional comments

GftW literally changed my life, at a time when I really needed funding support to take my brand, business, visions and goals to the next level; moreover, this incredible gift saw me not just grow as a content creator but further spread my wings as a mentor, brand advocate and executive producer, by being given the opportunity to mentor other minority content creators throughout the process. This project was both incredibly successful and eye-opening towards the vision of how content creators can utilize the power of web monetization. It would be a bummer if this ride stopped here, but hey - I am beyond grateful for the past 6-months of support!!!!

Thank you to Ayesha Ware, Chris Lawrence, the Grant for the Web team, Coil, Interledger and entire online community who really showed up for me! Can’t thank you all enough for this blessing!

Helping Minority Content Creators Monetize on the Web — Grant Report #3

Rashon Massey — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 19:23:09 +0000

Last week, April 06, 2021, I launched my web monetized LIVE show, and it was a complete success!

I really wanted to upload the full episode to Cinnamon; however, with is running 1.75hours and almost 2G in size, I am not sure Cinnamon will be able to successfully allow me to do so; nonetheless, you can Rewatch the episode right on my Coil-enabled YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy2JV3qaCzM

I broadcasted the episode to my YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Twitch channels. What I love most about using Restream is the ability to broadcast to multiple channels at once, while having their dashboard filter all the comments into one chat box. It makes the entire live streaming process smooth, with the grand opportunity to meet audience members on their own native turf of choice.

Since I want to keep as many of these workshops as free as possible, I’ll make the transcripts and any handouts, downloads and supplemental information to be made available exclusively to Coil members! This way, I am still rewarding our community with information, resources and engagement that is not publicly shared.

Coming up, this Friday, April 16, 2021 is the next episode of The BEST Live Show!

I’m bringing to life my most popular Coil post to date about Creating a Permeable Brand Presence Online (which you can read here: https://coil.com/p/MICOPEIA/CREATING-A-PERMEABLE-PRESENCE/zEh6Jmeev), while inviting some top-notch CEO’s to join the workshop. With special featured guests including Dave Nemetz (Founder of BleacherReport.com) closing out the session to discuss organic community building and audience retention, the free online event also will see Adam Waring, CEO of our beloved gFam joining me for an exclusive conversation on web monetization, Coil and the benefits of content creators using gFam and understanding the value of their original copyrightable content!

You can RSVP for an email reminder with links to the broadcast at MICOPEIA.com! The show will stream simultaneously across @micopeia on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter and Facebook, starting at 11a EDT, this Friday, April 16, 2021!

If you also recall, I've been mentoring three fellow content creators during my grant period! For the past two weeks, we've held our initial dress rehearsals of Grant Henderson's web monetized series Winners of the Weekend! (Check out this Coil post where I introduce him: https://coil.com/p/MICOPEIA/MICOPEIA-s-BEST-Live-Show-Introducing-Winners-of-the-Weekend-/ev13mqQCF)

A live streamed show broadcasted to both his Coil-enabled YouTube and Twitch channels, weekly Grant curates a playlist of hot new music, before inviting an esteemed panel of guests to debate the new tracks and declare a best new track/winner of the weekend that following Monday. The video files are large, but I am in the process of having Grant edit a 1min highlight reel to share to Cinnamon. Grant is doing such a phenomenal job, and he will be ready to publicly host the show following the final dress rehearsal next week. I've known Grant for several years, watching this influential entrepreneur grow a collegiate brand and foster a cultural movement. Back when Winners of the Weekend was just a Spotify playlist he curated and shared amongst friends, the Content Creator and Executive Producer in me instantly visualized what the show's potential could be, if we took some cues from ESPN's Around the Horn. I pitched the idea to Grant, and backed with the funding from Grant for the Web, we've really been able to create an original piece of content that we feel can be a major disruptor in the online music and entertainment spaces; moreover, like my own show The BEST Live Show, it is original programming specifically created for web monetization. Weekly, Grant will share the Winners of the Weekend playlist to his Coil blog, with highlights of the episode going on Cinnamon. Follow Grant on Coil here: https://coil.com/u/grant_henderson)

My other two content creator friends have been having a much more difficult time finding their footing in this process, and we are having to be honest that maybe Coil isn't really the best option for them as individuals and/or their existing communities. They have been working their tales off for months, strategizing on how to make it make sense; however, one buddy has an existing Patreon and no matter how we structure it...Coil may potentially frustrate his massive existing audience. My other gal pal seems to be way too overwhelmed to even try to take on developing a live broadcast. I was wise not to distribute any of my grant funds to them as stipends per the agreement, until we knew for sure what would be executed...so I am happy that no money was lost or misused in this journey for them.

Please make sure you're following MICOPEIA on Coil!

Helping Minority Content Creators Monetize on the Web — Grant Report #2

Rashon Massey — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 23:28:49 +0000

In my last update, I shared that I would be able to return with an even more exciting followup post, if our advising team here at GftW were to approve of a budget reallocation.

Y’all…THEY APPROVED!

I’m BEYOND excited to share that my whole entire life has done a full circle moment, as I will be starting a weekly LIVE broadcast series via my Coil-linked YouTube and Twitch channels! As a content creator AND small business owner, this is a MAJOR moment for me.

Starting Sunday, March 07, 20201 - join me, @micopeia on YouTube and Twitch! The time is currently set for 7pm ET, and we’ll be spending this first month ‘celebrating the individual that is you’, discussing basic self care tips, hacks and ways we can further invest into ourselves. I’ve structured moments within each broadcast, to specifically discuss Coil, web monetization, Interledger, Puma Browser and Cinnamon! My first GftW mentee associated with my funded project will be my tentative guest on the March 14, 2021 live broadcast, and I’m working with my other two mentees on when it will be best for them since Sunday’s aren’t ideal; HOWEVER, we do have some dates set to do cross-promotion that I will share with everyone, sometime during the top of March.

I’m super excited about all of this, and I invite you to jump over to my Coil to read the real heart and soul behind why this return to LIVE broadcasting is so major for me!

I’ll be back next month, with more dates and updates to look forward to from this project!

Relevant links/resources

https://coil.com/u/MICOPEIA
https://cinnamon.video/MICOPEIA

Helping Minority Content Creators Monetize on the Web — Grant Report #1

Rashon Massey — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 19:44:11 +0000

Project Update

Greetings Everyone!

It’s Rashon Massey, the team leader and lone member of this really rad project that specifically utilizes my experiences, perspectives and existing online presence as a content creator, as a means to introduce other individuals from minority groups to the benefits of web monetization tools like Coil and the Puma Browser!

I am officially at the half way point of this project, and other than one slight shift in my initial plan, EVERYTHING really is happening smoothly; gratefully, this is in large part due to the fact that in my project funding, I was able to budget support for myself and allocate the needed time to seeing each step completed successfully.

Progress on objectives

As this funded project ultimately introduces, educates and engages individuals from minority groups (people of color, women and/or individuals with disabilities) to/with the tools of web monetization via Coil and Puma, I knew that I could achieve this within three objective phases.

PHASE 1, which began the moment that Spark Level grant recipients were announced, focused first on directing initial funding towards upgrading my current tech and production equipment, while preparing content that promotes web monetization (specifically text/copy) to be produced by a team of hired graphic designers and videographers. - DONE - BOO - YAH! Haha 😆

Phase 2 is where we currently are at, and it’s all about the distribution of assets and utilization of new production equipment. If you follow me on Coil and Cinnamon Video @micopeia you have certainly seen the growth of my ‘Getting to Know’ herbs/mushrooms series. I’ve been able to incorporate images from Creative Commons into my blog posts, using illustrations from graphic designers to make fact memes. I’ve also begun sharing that video content across other channels, slowly beginning to intoduce my pre-existing social media communities to the world of Coil and Cinnamon Video!

For those following my Coil blog, in this phase, I was REALLY wanting to bring my Mom’s online Tai Chi and Enhanced Fitness for Senior’s class over to Coil; however, this is where I have experienced my only project adjustment thus far. While, as a son, I think my Mom is a Superwoman, it just became apparent that the changes happening in not just her life but all of ours in 2020’s wasn’t allowing her to confidently expand her online education beyond her established community. Since a huge part of this project is mentoring content creators, I never could’ve imagined this first experience of compassionately working with my Mom would open my eyes to the realities of adopting something new. As we continue to discuss the growth of her presence online, she has expressed an interest to prerecord “Tai Chi tips and breathing exercises” that can be shared on Coil and Cinnamon Video. If you know me, I’m just happy that my Mom’s not giving up on herself because she’s awesome, her class is fun and sometimes the best in us is right around the corner of something new.

Phase 3 sees me mentoring our other content creators, before launching their presence on Coil and Cinnamon Video during the final month (March 2021) of this funded project, and honestly, these cats and I have been working and developing their material since like early December! We are really building fun, interactive and enriching content to do together and individually for our web monetized Coil and Cinnamon Video communities!

Key activities

Key Success Indicators for this project continue to be very straight forward, and down to upcoming dates, here’s how this project is coming along!

The purchasing of new tech and video production equipment - Completed [Production Equipment Purchased Oct - Jan 2021]
Creation of original infographic content promoting web monetization specifically for minority communities, content creators and individuals with skill sets - Completed [Copy/Video Promo Text Written & Completed - Nov 2020; Videographers Booked for Video Promo – Dec 2020; Video Promos Filming Date - Month 5 (Feb 20-21, 2021 Weekend; Flexible to move to following weekend if roads/weather in Michigan are bad); Infographics in-production by hired designers to be completed and shared Month 6 (March 2021), as new content creators are launched on Coil]
Initially this was the space to launch my Mom’s live Tai Chi classes; however, I am going to request to a slight change to the project that will still allow for us to go LIVE together! If some budget reallocation gets approved, I’ll make my next update specific to sharing the news of the change!
Sponsoring three minority business owners as they create a Coil account and original exclusive material to be shared on enabled web monetized platforms (Coil, Cinnamon Video and YouTube via Coil Monetized Coding). - In Development; To be completed March 2021

Communications and marketing

Even though my project doesn’t use it’s advertising or marketing budget until the final month (March 2021) as the new Coil and Cinnamon content creators are launched, I went ahead and strategized in my initial proposal on how I could leverage the 5-month journey up to that point, to slowly introduce the Coil and Puma brands to my existing community. I am happy to report, awareness is building!

So far …

State of Michigan Representative Jewell Jones publicly acknowledged my receiving a Spark Level grant from Grant from the Web via his Instagram account - October 2020

I’ve edited and reshared all of my new content produced as First Round of Promo for Web Monetized Platforms Coil & Cinnamon

Highlights to date: Over 30,000 combined video views from @micopeia + @RashonMassey on Tik Tok, Instagram.; 76 social media posts from @RashonMassey and @micopeia tagging @GrantfortheWeb, @Coil, @CinnamonVideo, @PumaBrowser, #GrantfortheWeb, #Coil, #CinnamonVideo, #PumaBrowser, #Mozilla/@Mozilla and/or @CreativeCommons/#CreativeCommons

Held Web Monetization chats on the new iOS app Clubhouse, specifically talking about ILP, Coil, Puma Browser and the benefits of content creators profiting from their own content, especially as a gig economy continues to dominate! In fact, I’d love to host more frequent Clubhouse conversations where our community can get together, chat about what’s going on and introduce the world to the exciting future that is web monetization! The discussions I’ve had on the platform have been wonderful thus far!

What’s next?

Another level of original content coming from MICOPEIA's new video equipment, while mentoring our new content creators for the next month!

What community support would benefit your project?

Whereas my name and exposure is growing on other platforms with this new production equipment, not too many people are actually reading my Coil posts and/or watching my videos on Cinnamon. Personally, I know I have to schedule specific time to dedicate towards reading Coil blog posts and watching Cinnamon Videos because I am a small business owner so I do have to prioritize; for that reason, I get why many people may not know about my content because maybe I’m not engaging enough on Twitter. I’m still growing myself in this space so be patient with me, but genuinely, the only support I’d like is just supporting more of what I’m working hard to contribute already! If you like something I’m contributing to Coil and Cinnamon, please share it and let me know! Come March, I'd also love this support shown to the new creators that will be introduced to these platforms via my funded project! ... and look, I also realize that maybe my content isn't that good yet so I'll keep working hard to win over your reads and views!

Additional comments

I really do appreciate you taking the time to read this project update!

Relevant links/resources

https://coil.com/u/MICOPEIA
https://cinnamon.video/MICOPEIA