Vision of Amikers
We live in a time full of conspiracy theories and high mistrust of the government, media, and other people. Though initially intended for good, which was to provide free and accessible information to all, the internet had a side effect of causing overconsumption of information for majority of the people of America and the world, more specifically, misinformation and junk information. We’ve all been so consumed by it that even our own government is being influenced. Overconsumption of such “bad” information has significantly contributed to a worsening of mental health conditions of our society. Today, we have more than 1 in 4 American adults and 1 in 20 American children taking psychiatric drug on a daily basis. We have greater than 1 in 10 Americans taking an antidepressant. The suicide rate has increased to match that of America’s highest point in 1941 (source: dopamine nation by Dr. Anna Lembke). We are so connected to the internet that we no longer give ourselves the time to think, reflect, and really seek what we want out of our lives and how we want to influence our world.
This current condition of our mindset was what caused me to create Amikers, which is a web platform for hobbyists to showcase and pitch their inventions to the world. Amikers seeks to provide information that is fun and motivating to people. An invention, itself, is inherently motivating and causes our minds to think about the possibilities. By actively providing information on cool inventions and the problems that these can solve, people can take less time of their day in consuming junk information. Eventually, the goal is to have people become constantly curious about what others are creating and consume this information on a daily basis.
There are existing platforms in place to encourage creating. Some of them are Instructables.com, Hackster.io, Hackaday.com, and others. The problem with these platforms is that creators do not exactly benefit from showcasing their inventions. It is purely out of goodwill which can cause creators to eventually lose enthusiasm, especially during a downward economy, as there isn’t really any tangible return.
Amikers solves this problem through the implementation of a Web3 Reward System. Creators, also known as Columnists on Amikers, are awarded digital art NFTs and cryptocurrency through publishing good content and receiving Likes also known as “Lits”. Users pay 1 Polygon Matic (~$0.80) to “Lit” a content, and in return, receive NFT awards (20% chance of winning). The payment of 1 Matic goes to the creators of the “Lit” content. When the content receives significant amount of “Lits”, the content is pushed up to the highly visible “SUPER COLUMNS” and “HALL OF FAME” sections. When this happens, both the Columnists and the audience who Lit the content are awarded additional NFTs. Also, Columnists can move up the ranks and receive other types of NFTs that represent their ranks. The Web3 Reward System aims to provide lasting acknowledgement of users’ accomplishments, making the users to want to come back to engage more. Also, NFTs have the potential to increase in worth as the community around Amikers grows larger, giving them tangible reasons to be active. Imagine the sentiment around collecting trading cards.
The mission of Amikers is to empower individuals to believe in themselves and change any defeated or negative mindset into a positive and a hopeful one. Through the activity of creating, learning, being acknowledged, and receiving tangible rewards, we can bring about a healthier society where people love what they do and believe in the possibilities they can achieve.
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