Community Gro-wth Suggestions

Community
#1

Hey Gromies,

Over the last few days, our community has seen significant growth - which is awesome! The team is very grateful to all Gromies for keeping the social channels active and friendly with positive vibes only - we couldn’t do this without you! We love all the tweets, memes and conversations about Gro happening on every social media platform these days :rocket:

The core team is now considering the best ways to maintain community growth and engagement. We are looking to create a community growth framework that is scalable, flexible and rewards proactive and creative participation.

Actions that we want to reward:
-Gro-ing protocol TVL
-Spreading the word about Gro
-Customer interaction
-Creating content
-Referrals to other DeFi platforms
-Product feedback and ideas
-Other helpful actions we haven’t thought of

We would love to hear your feedback on this - let us know what you think are the best ways to grow the community and educate new Gromies about the product!
#LFGro

10 Likes
#2

To be honest I usually dont watch introduction videos, but filming a few introduction videos would make sense for newbies and people who love using youtube :slight_smile:

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#3

high APY in GRO pools, maybe it is worth to interact with L2 now it is popular
I know this is being worked on)
work on other blockchains (NEAR,Cosmos,…)

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#4

Podcasts, newsletters, videos to explain the story and protocol - eg bankless, defiant, unchained etc

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#5

Having multi-chain in the roadmap is a must if you want to be a true DeFi player at this point. So I’d love to see GRO consider and ultimately move forward with that strategy. This goes a long way with larger players in the space (i.e. partnerships, institutions, etc.).

I also think having an in-depth analytics dashboard will help grow the protocol overall. Things like TVL, user growth, revenue generated, etc. The dashboard today is fine for a general UX but what I am thinking of would be less instructional focused (so purely quant focused).

For content generation, DAOs are popping up that exclusively focus on content/video/etc generation and I’m sure would love to partner with up and coming protocols to translate seemingly complex topics into easy to understand concepts that would help outsiders feel more comfortable using the protocol and joining the community. DAOs that come to mind are ForeFront, Global Currency Research, and Bankless, among others.

Lastly, GRO is backed by some pretty big and well respected names in the space. I’d love to see some of them write up why they invested in GRO and what they see the future being for the protocol.

ETA: Layer3 is a new company that just posted bounties for 4-5 different protocols in their discord ranging from creating infographics, providing liquidity, video tutorials, etc. I think we should look at this one ASAP as it’s early for them and will be easier to collaborate now before they scale.

2nd ETA: One more thing I think would be extremely beneficial w/r/t protocol partnerships and traction would be potentially forming a grants program to fund the development of other protocols/services/etc. integrating with GRO. Incentivizing folks to do it and helping them makes it much easier especially as a new protocol. I would vote for the right proposal that included this.

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#6

Agree with all these points. Well written post!

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#7

I guess working with crypto content creators on YouTube is a good way to attract other people and make the community grow, but idk if GRO team wanna go this route. Also you have some of the best investors. 3AC, frameworks etc. should make a post about why they invested and why they believe in $GRO.
Also getting on binance or coinbase would be an achievement and makes it easier for people to buy $GRO and participate in the protocol. Most of the things is not really something people want to do/focus on, but it’s what it takes from my experience. Many coins who haven’t been able to get on major exchanges have not had much succes longterm; coins such as dragonchain etc.

4 Likes
#8

The more developers build on the Gro primitives, the better for TVL and Gro ecosystem. To me, that means prioritizing developer API + docs, and partitioning a $1mm fund for developers wanting to build on Gro.

3 Likes
#9

I would love for the idea of a community voice section to be promoted somewhere. We already provide the links to the various social channels, but sometimes there are people that for whatever reason may not want to jump immediately to the social circle of the community. But then they won’t have the chance to see what the community is like

I think by having a community voice section it’ll enable a wider range of people, especially those that are not heavy crypto enthusiasts, to gain insights to the the creators and also users of the product. Crypto can be so technical and daunting, but this will give a chance to show the more human side of things.

Some examples that can be included in the section are AMA/podcast/video recordings, user testimonials and investor introductions/interviews

2 Likes
#10

Hey this is super helpful, thank you! What form do you think it would best work in? A blog?

2 Likes
#11

Awesome feedback, thank you! Totally agree with everything - taking notes :pencil2:

2 Likes
#12

Hi! I would just like to express my interest in making mobile support available for Grohmies like myself that mostly use mobile/iPad when navigating through the cryptoverse. Thanks for your time. It’s appreciated.

1 Like
#13

Just got back on this. I think best to approach this in multi media format. Blog would be good for those inclined to write their thoughts. An audio format for those that are willing would be nice. But yea I think a blog can work and if you want a bit more structured at first it can be one with some pre-selected questions which volunteers can use

1 Like
#14

Hi Alona. Sorry for late response. Marketing is topmost I believe. Barring telegram, I feel we could have higher members in discord. That is one singular measurement as how powerful Gro community engagement is. Another urgent task is definitely mobile webapp compatibility. We need to be able to access Gro easily.

2 Likes
#15

Proposal: term funding through liquidity gates similar to Eth2 staking where there is a certain amount of stakers that can redeem their Eth from the Beacon chain in one day.

Could be for PWRD through: 90-day lockup, a certain % of TVL to unlock daily, or other ways

Impact: less fire sales in PWRD which could further stabilize confidence and price

1 Like
#16

If there’s an opportunity to get on prominent podcasts, that would certainly help. One of my favorites is TokenMetrics. They do a great job of finding the gems, doing a code analysis, etc.

#17

Gro NFTs for Community Engagement: Brainstorming

I’ll separate my post into four main areas:

  1. A brief overview of how some projects have used NFTs for community engagement
  2. Two in-depth case studies of relevant NFT community programs and applicability to Gro
  3. A discussion of a possible thematic approach to community incentive programs
  4. Other thoughts and final questions to consider

tl;dr - Brainstorming ideas for NFTs as community engagement tools. For NFTs, I would pick two methods as having the most potential for community engagement: NFTs as rewards for product usage and NFTs as rewards for donating to a project that is Gro-ing trees or Gro-ing good things in the real world.

Part 1 - How some projects have used NFTs for community engagement

A brief overview of some other projects that have used NFTs as rewards for community engagement:
-NFTs for largest depositors (Orca Finance)
-NFTs for beta testers (many projects)
-NFTs as gifts for fan art contests (WardenSwap - 1195 applicants, 170 winners for first round)
-NFTs as lottery-style rewards for social task completion by token holders (WardenSwap - https://gleam.io/hDOUd/wardenswap-x-ecio-nft-mystery-airdropcampaign)
-Commissioning artists to create & sell project-themed NFTs that users can bid for in auctions. NFT holders will get “future utility and benefits”. (Saddle Finance - https://twitter.com/saddlefinance/status/1448725560515973256?s=20)
-Alchemist Crucible - NFTs that function like smart wallets and allow you to stake in non-custodial rewards programs
-NFTs for “quests” (Zapper, Rabbithole)

  • This “quest” concept could be integrated with Gro via vesting bonus claims - users receive Gro XP every time they claim (via gasless transaction signing) & could save up their XP to purchase (or be rewarded with) the ability to “craft” a limited number of NFTs.

Part 2 - Two case studies of relevant NFT community programs and applicability to Gro

Case study #1: Nexus Mutual
Notes from this DeFi Dad interview: DeFi Talks with DeFi Dad - How to Reward Your Community with NFTs - YouTube
-A community manager (@Nedict0x) received a grant from the Nexus mutual community grants fund to start this community project.
-@Nedict0x commissioned an artist (erenarik.com) to create NFTs.
-Users rewarded with claimable NFTs for completing actions: Shield mining, buying coverage, staking, etc. This allows users to participate in different ways.
-Each NFT symbolizes a member’s contribution to the protocol. They have small details reflecting parts of the protocol or inside jokes/memes in the community.
-There are two tiers of NFTs based on the level of involvement: Static (for less involvement) and animated (for more involvement).
-NFTs launched on https://galaxy.eco/
-Nexus Mutual’s NFTs can be viewed at galaxy.eco/nexusmutual/campaign/315
-First 300 minters were allowed to claim a gas refund
-Timeline: 3-4 months
-Link to an article about the NFT launch and details about each NFT: Nexus Mutant lands on Galaxy to start the Mutant journey | by Project Galaxy | Oct, 2021 | Medium
Pros: Rewarding and incentivizing community members for genuine involvement
Cons: Gas fees, no other uses for these NFTs were specified by Nexus Mutual

Applicability to Gro:
A community grant proposal could be made for someone to take charge of this NFT community Gro-wth program.
NFTs could be rewarded to users based on their involvement.
Example: Using Vault, using PWRD, earning GRO rewards, claiming vesting bonuses, participation in governance, etc.
-Tiers could be decided based on length of time, size of position, frequency of claims, frequency of voting…
-Gro would have to decide if these NFTs would only be for viewing/flexing, or if other utility might be attached to them.

Case Study #2: The Crazy Crows Chess Club
Notes from this Medium article: Cross-Chain Breeding — The Crazy Crows Chess Club | by Kingmakereth | Sep, 2021 | Medium
-This started out as an NFT project built on Ethereum. 8,181 “Generation 0” Crow NFTs were sold to buyers. However, the NFTs minted have specific utilities:

  • Free Gold membership to chess.com
  • Monthly profit-sharing via the Founder’s Token (on Polygon)
  • Burning mechanism - users can sacrifice two “Generation 0” NFTs to be burned in exchange for a new randomized “Generation 1” NFT with rare traits, but that lacks these utilities (On Polygon, using Chainlink for data & randomization)
  • DeFi farming component - users holding two Generation 0 NFTs can “produce an egg” which can be staked in a yield farm to earn passive income. The longer you stake, the higher the chances a rare NFT will be hatched from it in the future. Gravity Finance and Chainlink VRF were used for this https://gravityfinance.io/. There are checks to make sure people don’t spam the market with eggs, and specific times of year when the cool down period is shortened. (On Polygon)
  • Access to secret channels for tournaments, treasure hunts, and airdrops - While eggs mature, users can participate in special events which will assign specific traits to the egg. For example, an event might be an IDO or other community event put on by Crazy Crow’s Chess Club or its partners. Once the egg is ready to hatch, users can “hatch” theirs while the smart contract burns the egg and mints a new crow with randomly assigned traits, and any extra special traits that the owner participated in.

-This project was built on Ethereum but uses Polygon to avoid the high gas fees on Ethereum’s mainnet. Details of the cross-chain smart contracts can be found in the Medium article.
Pros: NFTs that have a variety of practical utilities, have the ability to transform, and give a sense of being part of a privileged community.
Cons: Game theory regarding burning and farming might inadvertently lead to a competitive community atmosphere, may not last through a bear market with reduced levels of passive income.

Applicability to Gro:
-These NFTs could either be rewarded to users based on the involvement (as in case study #1), or sold with profits going towards artists/the treasury.
-NFTs for Gro could be given specific utilities. Examples for each of the utilities below.

  • Monthly profit-sharing - boosted profit sharing from withdrawal fees or vesting claims.
  • Burning mechanism - users could agree to extend the locked duration of their GRO token rewards in exchange for rarer NFTs. Thematically, this could be envisioned as a “Gro seed vault”. A burning mechanism could also be used to simply burn NFTs for GRO rewards, gas rebates, or partner project benefits. Or, simply burning a certain amount of GRO tokens for NFT rewards. That could be envisioned as “controlled burning” to maintain the health of the Gro forest.
  • Farming - A special staking pool could be created for holders of multiple NFTs. Incentives could be based on types of NFTs held + length of time GRO rewards have been locked for. Thematically, this could be envisioned as planting a Gro seedling. The longer it is staked for, the larger and more ornate it will become.
  • Events & access to secret channels - Users who participate in selected Gro events, such as AMAs, music socials, contests, partner events, etc. will allow users to assign traits to their Gro seedlings (could be fruit, special leaves, animals, objects, characters, etc.)

Part 3 - A possible thematic approach: Gro + Environmental Theme
I already explored some possible branding-related uses of the environmental theme in Case Study #2. However, NFTs for “doing good” in the real world could certainly align with Gro Protocol in a conceptual manner (e.g "Gro-ing trees or “Gro-ing real-world communities via philanthropy”) and provide a two-pronged incentive for community members: “Doing good” to obtain NFTs and possibly other Gro-related rewards, while also having positive real-world impacts.

Examples of some relevant projects in this environmental space below:
-Leyline - NFTs minted as a reward for philanthropic donations & exercise incentives. https://leyline.gg/.
-TreeDeFi - NFTs backed by real-world trees. They’re only on BSC though. Treedefi - The Sustainable yield farm
-Binance Charity’s “Tree Millions” - aims to plant real-world trees and rewards users who donate with an NFT (https://www.binance.charity/tree-planting)
-KlimaDAO - facilitating carbon removal projects. The (:evergreen_tree:, :evergreen_tree:) meme is popular over there.
-Woodies NFT - has donated ~73 ETH for planting trees in sub-saharan Africa. Possible partnership or artist collab idea. Historic NFT Donation To Plant 837,000+ Trees
-Nonprofits that accept crypto donations are listed on thegivingblock.com. For example, here is one called the FTPF, Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. Gro NFTs given as rewards for donations to select nonprofits is an idea to consider. Donate Bitcoin to Fruit Tree Planting Foundation | The Giving Block

The risk with many of the above suggestions is the climate impact that using NFTs themselves may have and how to address those concerns, particularly if going with the theme of NFTs for “doing good”. However, at this point, I think it unlikely that Eth mainnet would be the best place to mint these NFTs on due to the burden of gas fees for retail users.

Part 4 - Other thoughts and final questions to consider
-The PixelMe app profile pics with the purple background are quite popular in the Gro community. Is there a way to reward Gro users with custom NFT minting via purple-ized/Gro-ified NFTs? E.g., users are allowed to create one semi-custom Gro NFT using a picture of their choice that will be put through a purple pixel filter. Not sure if this functionality exists in an NFT platform yet, but could have potential. Users receiving these custom-built NFTs would feel a sense of comradery in the community and it would certainly pique the interest of other users online who notice people’s new Gro-ified NFT profile pics.
-POAPs are also an option to consider, such as when used as rewards for attending events or taking quizzes. That said, I don’t think they’d be a magic bullet for bootstrapping community growth at this point.
-Any major community incentives, particularly ones involving changes to vesting periods or GRO tokens, would need to be passed via governance proposals at some point.

Final questions
-Gas fees for NFTs on Ethereum - perhaps launching on AVAX or another L1/L2 (if Gro has plans to head anywhere else in the future) would make more sense?
-Many of these ideas could increase community engagement, but it’s important to consider what the specific expected outcomes of them are. For example, is the primary outcome to increase Gro Protocl TVL? Or, is it to increase customer interaction and spread the word about Gro, with the expectation that it will trickle down into increased TVL eventually as a result?
-In every example given here, we’d have to consider how to prevent people from gaming the system.
-Partnerships - Is there any way partner projects could be included or incentivized jointly in these community initiatives?
-Timing - If it takes 3+ months for some of these concepts to reach fruition, is that a reasonable goal for Gro Protocol and the community? What happens if the NFTs are launched during a bear market or after a bad PR event, or does this matter at all? Will people still care about NFTs a year from now?
-The OG Program has already been successful in incentivizing genuine participation from community members. So, what distinguishes NFT events from OGs, and how can we ensure that both groups feel like they have unique value?

Keep in mind that everything in this post is brainstormed ideas and far from being ready to implement in any way. Also, while NFTs play a part in many of these suggestions, they aren’t necessarily essential to implementing similar community engagement initiatives.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading and feel free to share any feedback!

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