Greetings everyone! The lesson given by the professor this week is on a content sharing platform called "Verasity". I would be handling the tasks given by the professor in this post.
What is Verasity?
Verasity is a platform for eSports and video sharing in a decentralized manner that would benefit all parties involved. The platform works just like every other video platform that we know, but offers rewards to everyone involved in the platform. People involved range from content creators, advertisers and the viewers.
Verasity was created by RJ Mark in 2018. The platform has partnership with popular platforms that have already been established in business of sharing videos. These platforms include YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo and FlowPlayer amongst others.
My Thoughts on the Performance of this Platform
In my opinion, Verasity has an optimum performance in it's activities. The platform makes it possible for everyone involved to receive rewards just for active participation. This is a way to draw more users to the platform. Rewards are earned for activities as simple as viewing a video on the platform. No other video sharing platform offers such service.
Verasity is built in a way that content creators are rewarded for receiving organic views on there videos. The platform uses the Proof of View mechanism to filter bots from real viewers. This also ensures that advertisers enjoy the full value of money they paid for their adverts to be put out.
Because Verasity filters bots from organic views, it is possible to be able to point out content creators that get large number of views on their videos. This would attract contracts from advertisers to trustworthy content creators
The platform is built on the blockchain which means that activities are decentralized and transparent. Information and data on the platform are made public to all users. This promotes accountability on the platform.
Given the number of popular partners that this platform has pulled in such a short amount of time, I believe that it is safe to say that the platform has a promising future. For now we may only be brushing the surface of benefits that can be reaped from this platform. We just have to wait and see what the future would bring.
How the Proof of View System used by Verasity Validates Real Viewers
Platforms that render the service of video sharing are usual plagued by bots. Bots are used to gain large number of views on the videos of content creators and they are very difficult to differentiate from real organic views. This poses a problem for companies that pay content creators to advertise their products. The advert would not gain good audience because most content creators utilize bots to maximize their views.
The Proof of View comes in to solve this problem. The Proof of View System uses an artificial intelligence model to detect the bots on the platform. Bots have a similar pattern of operation that the PoV system studies and learns from in order to detect them. A clear illustration of this can be seen in Google searches. The system gives recommendations on searches that are related to the thousands and millions of searches a user has made in his lifetime. The system studies the user through the type of searches he makes. Google would even go the extra mile of giving video recommendations on YouTube based on past and recent searches because these two platforms are connected. If the user changes his pattern of searches, the recommendations would also change.
The Proof of View system works in a similar fashion. It studies the activities of bots inorder to detect them, and also learns the new behaviours that may be exhibited by this bots in the course of time.
This system is advantageous to companies on the platform because it makes it easier for them to pay creators with organic views for the advertisment of their products.
Why "fake viewers" are Detrimental to All Parties related to Videos and Advertisements that are shown
Fake viewers are a major problem especially for businesses that want to advertise their products. Advertisment on video platforms receive engagements from organic views. When real human beings are watching a video, the information is passed on. As the advert pops up in the video, the viewers are informed about the product and/or service that is being advertised. This is a medium for the businesses to grow and gain more customers.
Fake viewers are a problem because the information that the business paid to broadcast does not receive organic views. The business would end up not getting the value of money it paid for the advert, and the business would not grow at the rate it should because it is not being advertised to a real audience.
To content creators that are authentic, fake viewers makes it difficult for them to receive deals from businesses when their organic views are less than the fake views received on the video of creator that utilizes bots. This makes the entire system unfair and fraudulent.
Ways to Obtain VRA Token Rewards
The VRA Token is the native token of the Verasity platform. It is given to users in the platform for both active and passive participation. There are three ways to obtain VRA tokens as rewards on the Verasity platform:
Content Creation and Publication
The Verasity platform was created for the publication of videos. The platforms rewards users when they publish their videos on the platform. Also, as videos receive views, the creator of the video would be given VRA tokens as rewards for obtaining views. This is a method used by the platform to attract more users to share videos on the platform which would in turn promote the growth of the platform.
Viewing of Video Contents
Like I mentioned earlier, Verasity rewards all the users on the platform. Users can earn rewards by simply watching videos on the platform. No other platform is known for rewarding viewers for watching videos except Verasity. This attracts users to the platform, promoting overall growth in the platform.
Staking of VRA Tokens
Users can also passively obtain rewards on Verasity. This is done by staking the VRA token to provide liquidity in the network. The staked tokens would yield rewards for the user in the form of more VRA tokens. With this method, the user is not required to be active on the platform. He can simply purchase VRA tokens and stake them on the platform to earn passively.
VRA Virtuous Cycle
The VRA virtuous cycle is a cycle that details how VRA tokens enter the ecosystem, what the VRA tokens are used for and how VRA tokens are distributed to users as rewards. It consists of six components and they are as follows:
"Buyers buy VRA"
This is the process whereby investors purchase the VRA tokens. Investors in the ecosystem are publishers, sponsors, game developers and influencers. They purchase this token from exchanges to fund their campaigns in the platform."User Benefits"
The investors/users in the platform obtain benefits as revenue is generated from campaigns, advertisements and tournaments."Users earn VRA"
All users in the ecosystem earn VRA for the activities they perform. Publishing, game development, watching of videos, etc earn rewards for users in the ecosystem."Verasity Earns"
Verasity earns a percentage of of tokens for all activities that are performed in the ecosystem. These activities include ads, campaigns, sponsorship, tournaments, etc."USE VRA"
VRA are used for a number of activities in the platform which include subscription to games and tournaments and also for staking to earn passive rewards."Cycle Repeats"
The entire cycle repeats itself as the revenues that are obtained by the investors, publishers, game developers, etc are used to fund more projects in the ecosystem.
Steps to Create a VeraWallet Account
Step 1: Go to https://verawallet.tv/ and select "Create account".
Step 2: Select language, input email and password. Tick the box to agree to T&C and privacy policy. Click on "Create account".
Step 3: Enter verification code sent to email and click on "submit".
Step 4: Scan QR or manual verify in authentication app. Select "next" after verifying.
Step 5: Enter the generated code and click on "Done".
Step 6: Copy the secret key and/or select "Save the code". An image containing the key would be downloaded.
Step 7: Select "Go to complete account".
Step 8: Input data that would be required during account recovery.
Select "submit" when done.
Step 9: Account successfully created.
Note
All images in this section of the task are gotten from https://verawallet.tv/.
Use Cases of VRA Tokens in the Verasity Ecosystem
The VRA token is the native token of the Verasity ecosystem. This means that every activity in the ecosystem would require the VRA tokens. The following are use cases of the VRA token in the Verasity ecosystem:
The VRA token is used by publishers, sponsors, game developers, investors, etc for the funding of campaigns, tournaments and other projects in the ecosystem.
The VRA token is rewarded to investors as revenue for funding projects in the ecosystem.
Other users use the VRA token to subscribe to tournaments and other contents in the ecosystem.
VRA token is given as rewards to users for actively participating in activities as simple as watching videos and taking part in tournaments.
VRA token is also staked to yield extra rewards as liquidity is provided in the ecosystem.
Steps to follow to Stake VRA Tokens
Step 1: Go to https://verawallet.tv/ and sign in.
Step 2: Click on "Staking".
Step 3: Select "Stake VRA".
Step 4: Input the amount and select "Continue".
Step 5: To stake VRA tokens, a minimum of 10,000 VRA tokens is required.
Note
Image source: https://verawallet.tv/
Practical Work on Obtaining Rewards by Watching Videos in the Verasity Ecosystem
Step 1: Go to https://verawallet.tv/ and sign in.
Step 2: Click on the options menu.
Step 3: Select "Earn VRA".
Step 4: Select a link from the "rewarded video" section.
Step 5: You'll be redirected to the website where the videos are located. Select a video.
Step 6: Watch the video to earn reward. Take note of the trophy at the top right corner.
Step 7: At the end of the video, the trophy turns green and it signifies that the reward has been successfully claimed.
Step 8: Click on the trophy icon to view details on the reward obtained.
Step 9: I checked my VeraWallet and noticed that the reward claimed from watching the video is showing in my wallet.
Image sources: https://verawallet.tv/ and https://technews.guru/.
Conclusion
The Verasity platform is very efficient in the services it offers. Offering rewards to all it's users encourages them to stay active on the platform and be involved in the happenings of the ecosystem.
The Proof of View is beneficial to both advertisers and users because fraudulent activities are easily checked by this system that can differentiate views by bots and organic views.
On a final note, the Verasity ecosystem seems to have a bright future because it has partnered with well known platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, and it has seen much growth in just a small amount of time since it's creation.
Cc: @wahyunahrul