I have now published the code, work-in-progress as it is, so that I can share my progress with you all as I work on this.
After a chat with @theycallmedan, I decided to give this a higher priority among the Hive projects I'm working on, to get this out soon, so expect quick progress :)
The repository with the backend code for the protocol is now on GitLab.
Repo: https://gitlab.com/imwatsi/native-ads
Docs: https://gitlab.com/imwatsi/native-ads-docs
This is work-in-progress and I'm working toward an alpha release.
How far along am I?
I would say 50% done toward an alpha release.
I've got the basic logic to parse data from the blockchain written. In the dev branch is where most of the code I'm currently working on resides, which deals with:
- Custom JSON op parsing
- Ad workflow processing
- DB processes
- Server endpoints
- Caching
How it all started
If you're interested in how Native Ads began as an idea, you can read my earlier blog posts, from last year.
In short, it was a Hivemind extension, implemented in my fork of Hivemind. I have since improved and expanded on the idea, deciding to make it a standalone protocol.
Brief overview of how it will work
The aim is to create a protocol that creates enables frontends, community owners and Hive account owners to accept ads that are native to the Hive blockchain. In essence, allowing them to sell ad space and ad time.
How it will work:
- Use a Hive account to activate either a Monetizer Account or an Advertizer Account, or both.
Note: this doesn't require the creation of new Hive accounts. You use existing accounts to "activate" the above for that account.
Monetizer Accounts can be whole frontends (like Hive.blog, 3Speak, PeakD), or individuals who own communities or channels.
They will be able to define ad spaces that they offer, along with various other properties/options. For example:
Advertizer Accounts can be any Hive accounts that want to use Native Ads to reach an audience.
They will be able to create ads, submit them to Monetizer Accounts for scheduled display. For example:
Placing an ad
- If you've activated an Advertizer Account, you can place ads directed at Monetizer Accounts and their spaces.
- You create the ad by creating a post (populated to include Native Ad metadata by the frontends)
- You choose the time you want it to show and the duration
- The protocol will be flexible, so many types of ads will be supported (banner, animations, slideshows, videos, normal posts, etc)
- Once an ad is created, you submit it to the Monetizer Account(s) you want
- You set a bid price (there will be an open market for this)
- Moderators of said Monetizer Account will see live bids for ads to review
- Once reviewed and approved by them, the ad can be paid, after which it is scheduled automatically
I'll be posting frequent updates on Native Ads development in this community. If you have feedback, suggestions or questions, feel free to leave a comment :)
Repo: https://gitlab.com/imwatsi/native-ads
Docs: https://gitlab.com/imwatsi/native-ads-docs
This is brilliant and exactly the direction that we need to be going in. I have written about it many times and hope to see ads on our blogs and communities in the near future.
I would love to see it get to the stage where we just click an opt in button for our account or community and get a hive or bitcoin payment every month relative to the factors set for value of the account and total price of ads for the month.
I know it might take a while to get there but simplicity is everything in the online world and being able to show people how to create their own monatized space just by bloogijg on hive or creating a busy community is a huge selling point. Cut out wordpress altogether and let people build here and piggyback off the full content library and seo of hive.
It's the future for earning from online activities.
I was writing about this just yesterday and was shown to your post. I do remember your old posts from last year but hadn't seen anything about since so it's great to see you making more progress.
https://peakd.com/hive-102930/@niallon11/make-hive-the-wordpress-of-crypto-monetized-communities
You're right, I also believe there's a lot of value in this. I wrote an article about the exponential effects of "perceived attention value" that might interest you:
https://peakd.com/steem/@imwatsi/insights-into-the-exponential-effects-of-steem-price-vs-perceived-attention-value
As for multi-currency support, a @blocktrades integration in the future could support direct conversion to support other cryptos as payment for ads.
I don't mind the multi-currency so much at the moment depending on how the ads are going to be sourced as for me the most important part of integrating ads is that they are used to add buying pressure to hive on the markets.
Whatever source the ads are coming from if that is payed in bitcoin to a custodial account, that the money is used to purchase hive from the markets and add buying pressure to the hive token. If it is USD that again it's used to purchase hive and distribute that amount between the accounts showing the ads.
A lot of which would get powered up and use their voting power to attract more people into their community and further the positive cycle.
Ads will only add value to hive if they are coming from an external source with an external source of revenue to feed into our system. If the ads are only sourced internally from hive the demand won't be there for them and it will only be hive getting recycled rather than outside money coming into the system and feeding the token price which is what we badly need.
If the hive for ads is bought externally first and then used to buy ad space that works too but i'm not sure how many advertising sources would go to that trouble or if there is more to be made from already existing infrastructure that requires less effort. Simplicity is always key and most companies just want to pay per click or google ads...ect.
Just some thoughts as I don't know what your plans are with the design to allow ads on HIVE but i'm sure that you have a plan and have come up with a good one. Have you checked out the @leofinance site as they have already brought this into play for their tribe and have been using the ad revenue to buy their token from the market and add value to it?
https://leofinance.io/hive-167922/@steem.leo/july-leoad-report-all-time-high-for-leofinance-users-and-ad-revenue
I agree with your point on simplicity. Front-ends will be free to use whatever token models they want, I'm keeping flexibility in mind when designing the protocol.
I suspect that there will be services that bridge that gap and bring fiat money, other cryptos and traditional ad agencies into the Hive economy, through Native Ads. It will be an opportunity for entrepreneurs. If our dApps have attention that can be monetized, many ways to bridge the gaps will be developed. I'll make sure the core protocol supports it.
Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. I'll share more aspects of the design when I make an alpha release and keep seeking feedback from the community.
Great to hear it. Keep up the good work and looking forward to more updates. I think that this is the most important thing being built for hive right now and appreciate the work that you are putting into it.
💪
The way these embeds are structured, would they be picked up by normal ad blockers or be largely immune to them?
The more "native" ad types like
post,videoorpollswill be rendered just like any other post, so they'll probably be "immune" to blockers. It'll be up to the front-ends to decide what kind of ads to show and design how to embed them. The Native Ads protocol will do all the heavy lifting in the background (to sync all the ops) and serve ads that are scheduled to show, when they are due, which front-ends will have access to via API.What I'd like to see is somewhat like the Brave method where at least here on Hive frontends we can CHOOSE to see ads or not and get compensated or not accordingly. i.e. somehow the viewer gets some benefit from viewing ads and can forgo that not to see them or even, perhaps give a micropayment to the content creator instead.
Who will validate views, clicks etc? What measures will be taken to prevent fraudulent traffic?
Where ad content will be hosted?
Advertising is always a lever for development. Therefore, it is worth having knowledge about the type of advertising. I highly recommend this post comparing Sponsored Content vs Native Advertising. This text is really helpful.
Don't forget to use a VPN when browsing online.
@borislavzlatanov just a friendly reminder.