The education marketer’s guide to blockchain and crypto + applications for HE

Where were you in 2008? I was running around London flyering arts venues when I should have been starting a Let’s Play YouTube channel. Social media was BLOWING UP and the majority of businesses still viewed it as a fad, something that wouldn’t stick around and rewrite the rules of marketing. We live and learn.

Or do we?

I see a similar pattern with blockchain and crypto - technologies that are in no small way changing the fabric of the internet, but only being explored by a curious few.

What’s happening with blockchain and crypto?

This year alone, Visa has purchased its first NFTs, Time Magazine decided to accept 30 different cryptocurrencies as methods of payment for subscriptions and, if you live in El Salvador, you can pay for your McDonald’s in Bitcoin.

Something is definitely happening here. Even Walmart (an almost 60 year old business) was recently on the hunt for a “crypto product lead” to design new experiences for its customers. WALMART!

Blockchains, NFTs, cryptocurrencies, the philosophy of web 3.0 and decentralisation… I won’t deny, it’s complicated stuff. It’s taken me months to get my head around it and even now I’m learning something new every day. In fact, I’ve tried to publish this article 3 times, but the topic is developing so quickly that its hard to capture it in a guide. 

I’ve pulled together everything I’ve learned, what’s inspired me and, most importantly, what matters for higher education marketers. 

I’ve included an overview of how the web has evolved, the difference between emerging web 3.0 tech and the 2.0 world we’re accustomed to. I’ve also shared some potential “first-move opportunities” that you can use to scare people in team meetings.

If you are already familiar with web 3.0, the ethos of decentralisation and crypto, you can skip to Community Coins. Each section introduces a new blockchain based technology, how it’s being used by commercial brands, and explores its potential for higher education marketers.

I hope you find this useful. Feel free to book in some unoffice hours to chat about any of the below. Sometimes it helps to have a sounding board.

What is web 3.0?

By now, you’re familiar with social media. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other breakout successes like TikTok and Clubhouse. All of this is part of web 2.0 - apps, walled gardens and anything that made dorm room kids like Mark Zuckerberg billionaires.

Before that we just had (wait for it) websites…. Web 1.0 was the “wild west” of the internet. It was experimental and common to get sites with funky backgrounds, mid screen menus and (my favourite) hit counters at the bottom of pages. The web looked like the original SpaceJam website:

Characteristics of web 3.0

Now, the internet is 32 years old. It’s moved out of its parents’ basement, is getting its life together and is working out what comes next.

We don’t know exactly what the future holds, but it’s likely to be the result of several mega trends - all of which are characteristic of web 3.0:

• Privacy: Big tech bending to consumer demand for greater privacy. “How do I stop being interrupted by ads and go about my life without the weight of a thousand cookies?”

• Social media monetisation: Social media becoming a mature category and baking in monetisation features. “How do I turn followers into dollars?”

• Decentralisation and owned platforms: More journalists leaving big publishers and the rise of the middle class content creator. Creators building businesses on their own platforms, not just those rented from big tech companies. “How can I have more control and not be at the whim of algorithms or editors?”

• The return of the newsletter: The medium of choice for the independent writer, a destination in itself and a trusted voice for its subscriber. “How can I hear from the voices I care about regularly, without getting lost in the social media cacophony?”

• Blockchain and crypto: The technical side of the decentralisation narrative. Companies, systems and processes not governed by hierarchy but by community. “How can we build financial governance that responds to the needs of an increasingly flexible labour market and digital economy?”

• VR and augmented reality: An emerging category and route to how we will scale “in-person” experiences. “How can I connect with the people and things I love when space separates us?”

Enter blockchain

At its core, a blockchain is a type of database. The only difference is that this database is verified by the many.

Every time a new data record is created, it is shared with every other computer that has a copy of the chain and verified for truth. It’s extremely resilient. You would need to attack many computers simultaneously to rewrite the chain with malicious code.

Each data record is encrypted (hence the word “crypto”) and all transactions are publicly available for major chains. You can actually watch the Ethereum chain in real time. It’s alive!

Use cases for Blockchain:

• University of Melbourne uses a blockchain for student credentials, allowing students to share verified copies of their qualifications with employers in a secure system.

• Nestle uses a blockchain to provide transparency around milk from farms in New Zealand that gets sent to factories in the Middle East.

• Microsoft is planning to use a blockchain to prevent piracy across its products - and who uses the Microsoft suite? Universities!

• DeSo blockchain: A new chain for the next generation of social media platforms, current apps include the Twitter-like BitClout (bit of a wild west), NFT marketplace Polygram.cc, social tokens exchange BitCloutPulse, and “Clubrooms” which is a 3.0 take on Clubhouse.

The one thing to remember about a blockchain is that it is decentralised. There is no one person in control and, as a result, large crypto projects are often governed by community. At its best, it’s egalitarian, at its worst you get cult-like leaders manipulating the value of tokens. More on tokens and community later.

Cryptocurrency and decentralised finance

Cryptocurrencies operate on a blockchain. Essentially, they are digital currencies that remove the need for a bank to verify transactions. Transactions are performed by two consenting parties and are verified by the respective blockchain.

Here’s a way to picture it:

If I have a pile of apples and I want to give one to a friend, my friend says, “ah yes, that is an apple” and accepts it.

That’s a peer-to-peer crypto transaction, which forms part of a new block in the chain.

Alternatively, if a bank is involved, it goes like this:

“Here,” I say, “the apple you wanted.”
“Hang on,” says my friend, “I’m sure this is an apple, but - hey, Barclay!” Barclay the bank walks over. “Is this an apple?”
“Yes, indeed,” says Barclay, “I can confirm that is an apple.”
“Thanks.”

When you own crypto, you are essentially your own bank. You take responsibility for your financial transactions.

Why it matters for education marketers

If you are communicating with Gen Z and Millennials you are in conversation with the largest proportion of people using and investing in cryptocurrencies.

• 94% of Crypto Buyers are Gen Z/Millennial (STILT)

• 53% millennial investors say they are “very likely” to purchase products or services with crypto (Piplsay)

• 40% of stock investors aged 18 to 40 own cryptocurrency (Motley Fool)

And the penetration of crypto is growing - fast. Recently, Exponential View reported that “DeFi (decentralised finance) protocols now manage roughly $60 billion of digital assets, with even bigger numbers when counting adjacent areas such as stablecoins, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for digital artwork and collectables.” That’s from a base of $1b at the start of 2020. On a chart, it looks like this:

It’s easy to dismiss the significance of cryptocurrencies based on internet chatter alone. You wouldn’t believe the growth of their popularity based on a snapshot from Google Trends.

Why is this? A lot of crypto chat tends to happen on private networks, especially Discord. I’m a member of two paid communities (I bought access using crypto tokens) and the chat is alive with how marketers, social media managers and content creators can use crypto to build an audience.

Publicly, some big brands (and nations!) are experimenting too:

• Budweiser paid 30 ETH (~$100K) for the rights to “beer.eth.” They are also investing in NFTs, which we’ll explore later.

• Substack has integrated bitcoin as a payment option. A significant move as Substack is a child of independent journalism and the web 3.0 movement.

• Revolut became the first company to pay WeWork for office space in Bitcoin.

• Audius, a crypto music streaming service, raised $5 million in a round funded by Katy Perry and other stars. It has millions of users and is even partnering with TikTok to widen the selection of songs available in the app.

• Even AMC, the cinema chain at the heart of meme stock pumping, is now accepting crypto as a form of payment for tickets.

Crypto adoption is happening. What avenues are you exploring?

Creator AKA Community Coins

Creator coins fascinate me.

rally.io has launched a network where a creator or organisation can start their own currency. The currency exists on Rally’s network, which is part of the Ethereum blockchain.

The “creator coins” you buy on the network are classed as “tokens.” These differ from cryptocurrencies as they only hold value on the Rally Network. In this respect, they are similar to loyalty card points. However, you can exchange creator coins for Rally Coin ($RLY) which can be converted to USD.

This enables people to create their own personal economies (!!!) which blows my mind. The implications of this technology, especially for community marketers, is profound. Here’s a brilliant video by Rally’s founded Chris Fortier on the new ways fans are getting community-driven experiences from brands, influencers and content creators.

I like to try things for myself, so I invested in Tilt Coin, which is headed up by Joe Pulizzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute and the man who (literally) invented the phrase “Content Marketing”. Sounds like a good investment, right?

For my small stake in Tilt ($5), I get access to Joe himself, an extremely active Discord community and first dibs on education / training opportunities. It’s the strangest thing seeing Joe, someone who would otherwise be well outside my social reach, just pop up in my messages. That’s the power of adopting these things early.

The hidden power of creator coins

The thing that shocked me most was that I didn’t need to spend my crypto to access perks. I just need to hold it.

The more people who buy the creator’s currency, the greater the value of the coin. Much like the stock market.

My $5 worth of Tilt is now actually worth way more than when I started, plus I’m getting the inside track on content marketing, access to some of the greatest minds in the field and Rally (the platform this is built on) rewards me for using the network. You get regular “rally rewards” that you can exchange for more creator coins or even USD.

I’m being paid to use a service? It seems to be a trend in 3.0 - make money from your community, but ensure your community benefits financially too.

“Creator coin feels like the wrong name,” says Gregarious Narain, an entrepreneur with a Rally creator coin. “I think of them as community coins.”

I’m more excited about community coins than I am crypto in general. If you invest in something like Bitcoin then thousands of dollars can be wiped over night due to a high proportion of speculative investors. That’s not the way with community coins.

The best coins have vibrant, informed and engaged communities backing them which completely transforms the type of investor. The people buying these things genuinely believe in the creator.

They buy the coin to be part of a movement as much as they do to access to the rewards.

If web 2.0 was about building a platform with a view to monetisation, web 3.0 is about helping your audience financially benefit as a result.

NFTs

You’ve probably heard the term NFT or Non Fungible Token, going by Google Trends, I’d be amazed if you haven’t.

NFTs are unique tokens, or you could view them as certificates of authenticity for digital assets. That could be a piece of art, a famous meme or something like a ticket for an event. If you purchase an NFT, your record of ownership is stored on the blockchain.

NFTs are big business. The leading NFT marketplace OpenSea generated $3.04B in volume in August. For context, that’s the equivalent of Etsy’s second quarter for 2021, which has been in business for 16 years. 

But why would people want to own a digital asset? For the same reason people go nuts over blue checkmarks on Twitter - digital assets have cultural and social value.

It’s why the 2011 Nyan Cat meme can sell for $600,000 and Cryptopunks (being some of the first ever NFTs available) can sell for a lot more.

The selling off of memes is pretty fringe, but more towards the centre you have brands like Budwiser partnering with Gary Vaynerchuk to launch an NFT marketing strategy; Vogue doing features on luxury brands experimenting with NFTs; And one of my favourite newsletters Garbage Day, funding its next phase of business growth not through loans and subscriptions, but through NFT sales.

NFTs are versatile and their use case will continue to evolve over the next couple of years. Interestingly, NFTs aren’t just for digital artwork, but as a means for giving their owner access, whether that is to exclusive events, perks or communities.

Yes, you own a Keynote Koala, but that also gives you access to a premium seat at any of Vaynerchuk’s public keynote appearances occurring from May 6, 2021 to May 5, 2024. I think NFTs will be common place in events marketing by 2025, if not sooner.

Publishing and content

At the shallow end of the publishing pool, Time magazine already allows people to pay for content using 30 different crypto coins. Advertisers can pay using Bitcoin. There’s even talk from its president on creating NFTs that will give readers access to experiences - what those will be is yet to be determined, but I’m willing to bet they’ll be taking a page out of Gary Vaynerchuk’s VeeFriends playbook.

Crypto news site Decrypt has its own token that readers can earn for just engaging with their content. If you share, like or comment on an article - you get rewarded. Show me another publication that rewards its readers, its community, financially for engaging with its content. Web 3.0 is not only about generating revenue from your own content, but doing the same for your readers. 

“We are certainly going down the path of community involvement and ownership in forms of tokens, [and] thinking about the tokens as a governance mechanism,” says Roazzi-Laforet, Chief Revenue Officer at Decrypt.

Finally, mirror.xyz is a blockchain based publishing platform. On the surface it looks similar to Medium but there’s a lot going on under the hood - technically and how it’s governed.

The writers who publish on the platform are also its governing community. They decide who gets to write and what gets published.

Every week, there is something called the $WRITE RACE where new applications to the platform are evaluated by existing $WRITE token holders. 10 winning writers are chosen and they are given the option to exchange their tokens for a piece of content on the site.

All writers are co-owners of the platform, much in line with the decentralisation and community theme of web 3.0.

Why publish this way?

On mirror.xyz, all articles are automatically NFTs which can be bought and sold like any other asset. More interestedly, some have been using the platform to crowdfund content work, including novels and long form journalistic projects.

For something like a creative project or novel, the value proposition is that you are buying ownership in the project. If you invest in someone’s novel (and it goes on to sell) you automatically receive funds into your crypto wallet the moment the transaction is verified.

It’s like if kickstarter offered equity, with the proceeds of a project being paid in real time.

🤯

DAOs: Decentralised Autonomous Organisations

I’ve saved the most sci-fi example until last - organisations with no corporate structures.

See ShapShift for a recent example.

In short, DAO structures are powered by “smart contracts” - day to day decisions that are fully automated and recorded on a blockchain.

All major decisions are made by the organisation’s token holders. A community member can suggest work that benefits the organisation. If accepted by the community, the work is commissioned and its contributors are paid accordingly.

An example would be if Uber pivoted to driverless cars, the vehicles were modular and sensors reported when they needed to be recharged of fixed. You could eliminate people entirely from day-to-day operations and have them focus solely on governance issues. It’s remarkable.

My go-to source on the future of work, Dror Poleg comments, “the corporation of the future will look more like an investment fund or Hollywood studio; instead of a stable hierarchical organization, it will be a dynamic and amorphous portfolio of bets on creative projects and individual people.”

Put simply - the entire community (token holders) will decide who works for the organisation. People who work for the organisation will also (automatically) have a stake in its success. In the future, knowledge workers will operate much like freelancers, but with skin in various enterprises.

Help, advice and further reading

Web 3.0 is a chunky topic. If you are interested in learning more, I recommend reading and listening to the following:

Newsletters

The Tilt Newsletter: For content entrepreneurs and those interested in using content in new ways.

Exponential View: Weekly dive into the tech industry, regulatory issues and how fringe tech is changing how we live.

Garbage Day: Twice weekly long read into internet culture and the strange things people do online.

Unchained: Daily newsletter exploring blockchain and its application. Its writer has a new book coming out called The Cryptopians, which I read as “The Kryptonians” but it’s still an awesome title.

Websites

Coindesk: The hub for Cryptocurrency news. Not a fan of the new design though!

Dror Poleg: Looks at how digital is changing human behaviour - talks about the impact of remote work.

Podcasts

This Old Marketing: The business of content marketing and digital media. NFTs and community coins are a big part of the conversation now.

The Breakdown: Daily podcast into the culture of blockchain, crypto and various other 3.0 tech. Big on decentralised finance and the new world it could build.

Content Inc: The godfather of content marketing diving down the rabbit hole of Crypto, NFTs and community economies.

Private Discord Groups

The Tilt: Group that explores the changing role of content creators and the emergence of the middle class content entrepreneur. Discusses blockchain, NFTs and Crypto from a community and content perspective. Accessed once you hold a certain amount of $TILT, acquired from rally.io.

$MOVE: Similar to the above, but with the additional focus of how to run a digital business in 3.0 economies. Accessed once you hold a certain amount of $MOVE, acquired from rally.io.

What bubbles at the fringes soon arrives at the centre

I mentioned at the start that the web has been through a series of evolutions:

1.0: Websites are great!

2.0: I share everything now!

3.0: Sharing is fine but only with my community

The full picture of 3.0 is yet to be seen, but I think we’re living in a time where the internet is maturing, new digital revenue models are emerging and technology is pivoting to match the human strength for collaboration and community.

The question is: How are you preparing for the inevitable shift?