Title: The BANKLESS Book Club
Read the proposal: [LINK TO ORIGINAL SOURCE/DISCUSSION]
Authors: Ernest_of_Gaia#4762 & merkle_#6848, mason marcobΞllo 
Squad: Ernest_of_Gaia#4762, merkle_#6848, mason marcobΞllo , AttilaCzako#1705
Date Created: 7/26/2021
Date Posted: 8/26/21
Summary
- The goal of this club is to encourage members to take a “learn in public” approach to topics including but not limited to: cryptography, tokenomics, macroeconomics, game theory, etc.
- The focus of the club will be to explore the fundamental concepts of various projects at different layers of the stack (i.e., Blockchain protocols themselves, applications built on top of these protocols, social aspects of ecosystems, and anything else we may find interesting within the crypto space)
- The book club will aggregate our collective wisdom and research. Topics will range from simple to extremely in-depth.
- Alongside furthering education specific to crypto-economics, the book club will also compile and recommend authors, together with a curated list of their associated works in non-fiction and fiction genres. This aspect will help incentivize non-tech-savvy readers or people who wish to learn more about the broader complimentary philosophies, mental models, themes, and ideas that relate to decentralization, entrepreneurship, leadership, governance, social evolution, psychology, communities, and self-awareness, et all.
- To help accelerate real-world utility and strengthen community relationships within the DAO, the book club may also further its impact by allowing members to rent, lend, or gift paperback/hardback copies of recommended books throughout the world. If there is consensus within the DAO, book club members could also donate reading material or syllabus to educational platforms supported and built with open-source and decentralized technologies, i.e., built with bitcoin schools in Africa. The book club may also coordinate competitions or giveaways of signed books by authors and revered editors in the global crypto ecosystem.
- Associated social media profiles and handles, i.e. Twitter, Goodreads, and Telegram subscription channels, will be set up and managed by delegated book club members. These social posts and accounts will consist of a weekly top 5-10 recommended list of books and white papers. These social handles will also function as a way to engage and spark a relationship with authors, writers, researchers, and literary influencers for collaborations, partnerships, and awareness of the Bankless DAO.
- With the approval of Bankless DAO founding members, the book club can also release a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter with recommended readings and a collaborative article summarizing the agreed-upon theme by the community, be it a genre, a philosophy, a blockchain start-up, or a work of fiction.
- The book club structure will consist of general group meetings to discuss topics that are being focused, and smaller working groups that are interested in specific sub-topic of the overarching theme. Working and discussing in small sub-groups throughout the week will allow for there to be more intimate and meaningful conversations around the subject being explored.
BACKGROUND
Why are we making this proposal?
Many of us are individually doing personal research on many topics. It would be very efficient to pool our knowledge and wisdom into a crystalized form of a regular book club.
Learning with others also allows us to gain different insights from people who might have a different perspective on the topics we explore.
In addition, books and compelling written content are also valuable and fundamental components of the crypto ecosystem, both within and outside the DAO. Fostering a community that celebrates and appreciates the impact of the written word (both online and offline) will help strengthen and inspire writers, as well as people hoping to publish their work.
What problem or opportunity does this proposal target?
It creates a learning space for folks with different learning styles that are not currently addressed in the DAO. Some folks learn by videos, some learn by podcasts, and some folks learn by reading.
It gets people excited about learning. We want to make learning enjoyable. There are several desirable aspects of group learning we intend to leverage:
- Learning in a group holds people accountable.
- Being able to discuss what you have learned reinforces the learning one has done
- This will also make it easier for us to explain these concepts to others who are not in the DAO (yet)
- Being able to lean on the knowledge of others when one does not entirely understand the concepts being explored is invaluable
- Having someone who has already done the hard work of learning this on their own quickens the learning process for others. This will be a major value add when it comes to onboarding people who are completely new to crypto. We will have an army of well-read BanklessDAOers that can get people up to speed relatively quickly, which will also give them a chance to sharpen their knowledge.
- The tech industry is filled with layers of intimidating jargon and convoluted explainers written by people who may not understand what they’re writing about or can phrase their explainers using simple, eloquent language. The book club can help demystify and separate the gold from the rubbish in terms of white papers, books, and articles.
What are the driving factors behind why we think this is a good idea?
This proposal adds to the Diversity of Space within the DAO for relationships to form that nourishes the DAO as a whole.
This will be a major value add when it comes to onboarding people who are completely new to crypto. We will have an army of well-read BanklessDAOers that can get people up to speed relatively quickly, which will also give them a chance to gain a greater understanding of the concepts they are teaching.
MISSION & VALUES ALIGNMENT
How does this project help the DAO achieve its mission and align with its values?
In order for one billion folks to go bankless there has to be a depth of knowledge that becomes common and there has to be a diversity of paths for folks wishing to embark on this journey so that the bankless journey is an inclusive one.
Education is a cherished resource and fundamental component in the underlying mission of Bankless. Books are a natural complementary feature to the mission. And having a community that can curate, explain, recommend, and strengthen a love of reading across multiple genres, while simultaneously using this shared love of reading to inspire more people to join Bankless, helps facilitate layers of value for the DAO as a whole.
SPECIFICATION
Positions to be filled:
*Some roles will be marked as NTH (Nice To Have). These will eventually be required roles (if desired by book club participants), but for the rest of this season, we will keep the core roles to a smaller set that are more relevant to operations of this project
- Secretary for meeting notes
- Post-production writers:
- Expectations of these writers
- Social media approved
- Well written summaries about topics discussed
- Expectations of these writers
- Library architect
- Someone well versed in Knowledge management tools. Preferably a PM?
- Library website strategist and librarian AI operations director - overseeing the design, working with developers, helping coordinate sub-categories and features on the Bankless DAO library site, etc.
- White paper Annotators and Collaborators:
- This is something that could become its own role over time but for now, taking notes can be a community effort. There also may be some redundancy with this role and the post-production writer role
- Twitter moderator and Account Manager:
- We will need at least one media outlet when we start and twitter seems to be a great place to start
- Summarizing any writing or other content we intend to post - It would make the most sense if they are the post-production writers
- Goodreads Moderator and Account Manager (NTH):
- Pin quotes from the material we read and also highlight important passages
- Telegram Channel Moderator and Account Manager (NTH):
- Give announcements about upcoming events, topics, etc.
- Newsletter Writers and Collaborators (NTH):
- We could lean on the power of the writers guild for this
- If we have room for another newsletter, this would be a good addition
Structure
In the beginning, This will be a self-governed format for meetings and any members that show up to a meeting should be able to run the meeting.
Meeting structure
There will be a Club scribe who helps record the Debrief sessions and takes meeting notes. The Scribe will need a Supporter who can sub in for the scribe but more importantly spend time trying to bring joy to the club and stay attentive to club members’ needs.
Each week, members come together and submit topics or concepts (by Typeform) that they find interesting and would like to study. The group will then vote, by discord poll, to decide which topic will be the focus of the week. The group will then create a Reading List (in the Book Club discord Channel) of articles, papers, books, and other materials for the group to study.
It will not be required to read everything on the list but, each member should try to read at least one piece of material.
The next step is to have an Each One Teach One type of debriefing on the articles read where members share a summary of review of what they have learned. Multiple folks can read different sections of a book or a member can choose an article to study in whole themselves.
Announcements and Coordination:
Weekly posts will be released via associated social media profiles and handles. These social posts and accounts will consist of a weekly top 5-10 recommended list of books and white papers. They will also function as a way to engage and spark a relationship with authors, writers, researchers, and literary influencers for collaborations, partnerships, and awareness of the Bankless DAO.
With the approval of Bankless DAO founding members, the book club can also release a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter with recommended readings and a collaborative article summarizing the agreed-upon theme by the community, be it a genre, a philosophy, a blockchain start-up, or a work of fiction.
A weekly poll can be released across the DAO for specific book recommendations or reviews. We may also explore a collaborative relationship with https://onlinebookrecommendations.com or source their website to find and suggest books recommended by established and influential social figures.
Library architecting
The other aspect of this project is to construct a well-organized and documented repository of knowledge and information about the topics of crypto we cover. This could serve as a valuable resource over time as the library grows. We can use it as a reference for any material we may need in the future and also offer it as a good place to start when onboarding newcomers.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
For this season we are requesting 100,000 BANK. The rationale behind this is to give a salary to those who fill the critical roles for the book club. Furthermore, we can create a small fund for book club bounties which will make joining the book club more attractive to members of the DAO who are not already in the book club. We will also fund paying guest speakers.
There is also an opportunity for there to be in-depth discussions about topics explored in the book club to be discussed in podcast format. This would require assistance from the AV Guild, and they would need to be compensated for their effort
Should book donations to non-profit crypto organizations be properly considered then funding mechanisms would need to be explored here?
Paying guest authors or writers to contribute pieces or have an involvement with the Bankless DAO book club could also be considered pending the growth and consensus of the community. Perhaps a poll could be organized and equal contributed funds/ Bank tokens could be allocated to paying the featured guest.
BRAND USAGE
Bankless Book Club
Bankless Library
SUCCESS METRICS OR KPIS
The project’s success metrics will be attendance, enthusiasm, and the knowledge learned. It is also possible that the summaries provided to the guild solicit enthusiasm and appreciation and so Tipping the Publisher of the review or Tips to the guild in general for hosting the book club may also be a success metric.
In addition, we can also track the value added to the DAO through weekly polling and asking each guild if they find the book club adds value to them. We hope that the book club could be a place for the rest of the DAO to tap into if they are seeking information, resources, or answers to questions they have.
Current Attendance and interest for what has been happening
NEXT STEPS
Immediate action items, should this proposal be accepted
- Formalize the Club, have an opening ceremony, have a treasure hunt solicit for and attract members, and then we start choosing topics and creating a calendar of events.
- Establish social media handles and accounts.
- Coordinate with Bankless founders / key members to organize a book club newsletter or complementary list of 5-10 recommended books from the book club each week.
- Finalize the structure and schedule consistent release dates for weekly polls for book recommendations.
- Find several people willing to devote a good portion of their time to helping build out the book club library
- Further strategize niche projects and developments in the book club that can be structured with the podcast or writers, authors, and in environments like Decentraland, etc.
SQUAD BACKGROUND
Meet the Squad:
- Mason Marcobello(mason marcobΞllo #3835) - Project supporter, newsletter writer/ contributor, and library director. I’m passionate about building and overseeing the growth of our book club/Bankless DAO library, inclusive of organizing partnerships with related resources and communities that can help extend the impact of our group. I can also contribute my skills and background as a professional writer to coordinate newsletter releases or summaries for the book club. I’d also be willing to help set up and moderate the Telegram channel by releasing announcements, polls, reading lists, etc.
- Michael Daigler(merkle_#6848) - Initial proposer of the idea. I am interested in making this proposal because I think it will benefit all members of the DAO. Having a community of people that can support others in their learning process and also provide valuable insights and knowledge from their learnings is a major value add. A CS student taking a gap year to keep building in the crypto space.
- Ernest_of_Gaia#4762 - project supporter and secretary. I am passionate about helping projects that increase the diversity of people, learning, and education styles. My role in this project is to help folks clarify and bring to fruition their collective ideas and experiments and to help with any cross-collaborative efforts as well.
- AttilaCzako#1705 - Operational Role; I do love a good reading also to consume and create educational content about the future of finance regarding crypto, micro-macro trends, investment analytics, market psychology, etc. I could be useful for the squad as a pre-production writer, working on summaries and/or breaking down BanklessDAO partnership-related white papers.
POLL
Consensus poll
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I would join a DAO Reading Club where folks can as a group read articles together and study topics together
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I would NOT join a DAO Reading Club where folks can as a group read articles together and study topics together
0 voters
If you would join, the format that you prefer will be:
[/poll]
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Everyone to read the same thing.
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Everyone to read a different thing, but in the same subject.
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