Over the last couple months, @khaleelkazi has mentioned the idea of creating a flywheel on Leo. This is something that is possible with digital platforms. Probably the two best examples of this are Amazon and Apple. It then can be followed up with the social media entities, especially the Facebook family.
While this is common practice in Web 2.0, we see very little discussion of it in Web 3.0. Instead, we have the focus upon either A) price of token or coin or B) getting more users. Unfortunately, neither of this is the proper order. While they are part of the process, this article will show how these are further down the road.
The reason for this is the implementation of the flywheel concept is something that happens by design. A digital platform has the ability to capture it, something that is not easy in a typical business. Leo has a chance to implement the strategies that can make this so.
Before getting into what Music on Leo is doing, I will state this is likely the first of a number of articles on this topic. LeoGlossary was started with the idea of the network effects that exists outside social media. Here is where the ability to disrupt truly resides.
Therefore, in the first one we will deal with Music on Leo since that is the simplest to grasp.
Flywheel Effect
For those who are not sure what this is, we should explain it.
The Flywheel Effect is something that can implemented in digital platforms. Basically, it is the idea of getting something started and then it snowballs. While this is often mentioned as the network effect, it is a bit different.
A digital platform has the ability to capture small incremental increases in value and spread them across the entire platform. This means the efforts of every participant have an impact, usually on a greater than one basis.
It is often associated with the monetary aspect of things, i.e. revenues or profits. That said, it can be framed in different ways to illustrate the process.
The idea is that small "wins" over time keep building momentum, creating the "snowball effect". Many writer cite Amazon as one of the major examples of how this operates. There is no breakthrough moment where the company went from nothing to something. Instead, it was a series of actions, over a long period of time, that resulted in the explosion.
Music on Leo
Music on Leo is a simple design means to mirror another digital platform, Spotify. Here we see how the network effects can assist in this endeavor. All of this will, hopefully lead, to the flywheel.
Many notice the posting of music. Leo Premium members are using threads and embedding YouTube videos. Here we are basically making Leo a front end to the repository that Google runs.
The threads are captured and entered into a database. They are then posted on the blockchain so that we can locate the music over time. This is important since threads tend to be temporary in their utility. A song, on the other hand, can be played repeatedly by the same person. It is a crucial concept when we get into the idea of lifetime page views.
Getting the music into the database is the first step.
Playlists
Another feature is the development of playlists. This is done, for the most part, from the music in the database.
What does this process entail?
Simply, a thread is created with the tags playlist and musiconleo in them. From there, the artist name, song, and embed code is placed under the main thread, creating a playlist.
Using the database means it is easy to find the music, get the embed code, and place it in the playlists.
Network Effect
Here is where the numbers games enter.
We have roughly 4,500 songs in the database. We also have an addition 550 songs in the playlists. The idea is to get more songs in the database while also expanding the number of playlists. The latter is captured on a page on the blockchain, broken down by month.
Obviously, there is some potential with 4,500 songs. However, it is not as good as 14,500. When we reach that level, there will be a larger database, providing the potential to generate more page views.
If the click rate is .1, then we get 450 clicks under the first scenario. Using the same "conversion", with the second, the number moves up to 1,450.
Page views operate in a similar manner. Each level of input can be used for other purposes. As the playlists expand, they can be captured and placed on different pages. Right now we are dealing with a page based upon date of entry. There is the potential to break down by genre, artist, or language. In other words, the data can be repurposed in the directory to provide even more opportunities. Of course, if we are considering page views, all of this can lead to more.
After all, a page of playlist of Cuban artists could be passed around by those in that community. Of course, they also have the opportunity to add whatever songs they like.
Polls
This is something that I discussed briefly but let's put it out there.
When polls returns, the goal is to add them to the different songs. Here is where we start building more utility to each thread (song). With a poll, anyone is free to vote on whether he or she liked it. Naturally, to do this, one actually has to visit the thread.
Can you see where this is going?
Each time that happens, we have another page view.
Circular Impact
Simply put, as the music database grows, there is more to listen to. This is the most basic level. New users can participate the same as older one.
We also have the ability to keep adding features. As the UI evolves, things can be implemented to enhance the user experience regarding the music.
Of course, newer users can also add their own music, creating a feedback loop where the database keeps growing.
This is enhanced by things such as search when going to the Music on Leo community.
There are some other ideas which were forwarded to the development team to implement. All of this is designed to enhance the viability of Music on Leo.
Assisting The Flywheel Effect
Now that we see the circular nature of Music on Leo in terms of the network effect, what is the impact upon Leo?
This is self evident when we consider page view. The design of the system is such that activity leads to revenues. As more songs are added to the database, essentially providing more threads to be visited, we can see how the pageviews can grow. It is important to keep in mind that playlists are really nothing more than threads (similar to threadcasts and threadstorms).
The key is the ability to add on a daily basis. Unlike most content which sees people basically starting from scratch each day, especially with short form, here we have a database of threads that are captured and have repeatable utility. This is crucial.
If we expand this out, how do things look with 1 million songs? How about the lifetime page views.
Here is a quick search of YouTube of Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven".
Even though the song was posted a number of times, the lifetime counts are over 100 million...each. While we cannot expect that, we can foresee a time when many songs have thousands of page views. How many written articles have that?
Also, when it comes to numbers, it can get ridiculous. There are over 100 million songs on Spotify. Basically we are looking at the potential of adding hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of songs.
What does this do for the ad revenue potential?
In Conclusion
As stated, this is just one piece of the puzzle. There is no reason why we cannot build a "Spotify on the Blockchain". While we are using YouTube as the feed, this same could be done with 3Speak. Both can be embedded into Leo.
We were told that LeoAI was trained on 1 million threads. Where are most of them now? Lost forever. It isn't a major issue since whatever was in them was pretty much useless about 5 seconds after posting. Microblogging isn't the highest form of quality communication.
With Music on Leo, we are adding a new dimension. The cumulative impact over time is what we are seeking, This can have a direct impact upon the revenue that is generated by providing with utility. The network effects will ensure that growing the number of songs on Leo means we are going to have a similar impact upon revenue.
This is how platforms operate.
It all feeds into the Flywheel Effect that is hopefully developing.