[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant
Joshua Noriega
[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)
Individual
[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)
12
[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.
No
[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)
Using multiple early-stage AI tools, I will translate past and future YouTube videos (Late Game Crypto) for subtitles of different languages to increase access to education of developments on Cardano.
[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?
No
[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”
No dependencies.
[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?
No
[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs
The resulting product of the translated content will be publicly viewable on my main YouTube channel but the use of the multiple AI software tools is proprietary code that I do not have access to share. This proposal is primarily focused on the labor producing the translated content.
[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.
TL;DR - Video content is powerful and I have a plan to make a lasting impact for ALL viewers
Market Research & Modeling Evidence
Video content is arguably the strongest means of spreading brand awareness, community building, and increased transactional activity.
https://www.oberlo.com/blog/video-marketing-statistics
https://thesocialshepherd.com/blog/video-marketing-statistics
- In 2022, 82% of global internet traffic comes from video
- 96% of people turn to videos to learn about a product or service
- 54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand or business that they support
- 88% of video marketers report being satisfied with the ROI of their video marketing efforts on social media
- 86% of Marketing Professionals use video content as a marketing tool
- 78% of marketing professionals say videos helped increase sales
- 66% of video marketers get more qualified each year
Long-term Content Strategy
My content strategy has always been to create accessible “evergreen” content, to increase discoverability in the long-term. I spend more time producing my videos to a 7-14 minute video length range for optimal time-commitment accessibility and balanced depth of content.
While remaining consistent with my existing strategy, I plan to employ 3 new strategies to increase Cardano's exposure to wider audiences that exist outside the ecosystem:
- Cross-pollinating content
- Cardano-based content is only serving communities that are searching for Cardano-related topics, which is limiting to the ecosystem's expanded reach. I plan to create more content that appeals to both Cardano and crypto-users from other blockchains.
- Example:
https://youtu.be/KVybMwBKKTg- I’ve already implemented a weekly livestream where I play some mainstream games with friends in the Cardano space. To expand on this, I plan to add another weekly livestream where I play exclusively blockchain-based games in the Cardano space.
- A lot of my content is VERY saturated with terms that are only understood by crypto-users. While I intend to maintain a lot of the kinds of content that I currently produce, I will be more intentional about adding content that is more accessible to non-crypto users, such as entertainment-based content (rather than education-based content). These content forms will be split between my regular YouTube videos and the implementation of shorts/reels to draw in new kinds of users.
Website
As part of this campaign, I intend to leverage a dedicated website to Late Game Crypto to enable translation efforts to become self-sustaining. On this website, I will implement multiple features that will complement translated content, including website ads, notice of service pricing, affiliate programs, and an email newsletter to help generate revenue that can be put towards further content translation.
The Problem of Content Translation
- Cost: The cost of producing translated subtitles can typically range between $0.18-0.25 per word. For some of my more popular videos, this could cost between $291-$460 PER VIDEO for just ONE language. Rates can get much more expensive for certain languages like Japanese.
- My proposal does it for an average cost of $212 per video AND it includes a targeted marketing strategy to make the impact of these videos more effective in reaching the appropriate audiences.
- Accuracy: Even for professional services at this cost, there is a big problem with the accuracy of the translated content when it comes to industry-specific terminology. It often causes entire ideas to be completely distorted.
- Between refined testing to continue improving the process and feedback from native non-English speakers, I will be able to uniquely produce the translations specific to the terminology of my content.
- Time: A vast majority of the prominent Cardano-based content creators speak English exclusively and are unable to commit to providing translated content due to time restrictions (as well as the problems listed above).
- There are no other prominent content creators that are giving this issue any attention. The longer we wait to pursue solutions to this issue, the more difficult it will be for non-English speaking users to participate in the Cardano ecosystem. This is an issue that I care about and will pursue to the extent that I can continue pursuing it sustainably.
[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.
Increase GLOBAL Accessibility
With more of my time dedicated to Cardano-based content creation, I can invest efforts into a wide range of outreach efforts. The most pressing matter would be the translation of my video content into different languages. This is an effort that I have pursued in the recent past but delayed efforts because of dictation problems:
Here are some of the additional languages that I’m currently targeting:
- India
- 7.1% national adoption (97.5m crypto users)
- Most popular asset: BTC
- Primary language: Hindi
- 10% English speakers
- Brazil
- 7.8% national adoption (16m crypto users)
- Most popular asset: USDT
- Primary Language: Portuguese
- 5% English speakers
- Kenya
- 10.71% national adoption (6.1m crypto users)
- Most popular asset: BTC
- Primary Language: Swahili
- 19% English speakers
- Vietnam
- 18.73% national adoption (18.6m crypto users)
- Most popular asset: BTC
- Primary Language: Vietnamese
- 50% English speakers
I have spent a lot of time experimenting with AI technology but the technology is still very early, especially in the use-case of dubbed audio translations. I believe that I have found a solution in the utilization of multiple AI services to refine the outputs of each other but I have not been able to dedicate enough time to execute.
[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?
- 8 years of video content creation
- 2 years of Cardano-based content creation
- 170k+ views
- 300+ videos produced
- Established Brand Ambassador for 2+ major Cardano-based projects
- 3 years of competitive collegiate debate
- 3 years of camera operator experience
- 2 years as a professional business analyst
- Catalyst PA Fund 8 & 9
- 171 Lifetime Proposal Reviews (152 Valid)
While I have demonstrable evidence of translated content above, it is not up to the standard that I would like to produce on my channel. If anything, these products speak more to the reliability of the individual AI tools that I've used. Through the use of multiple tools to refine the end result and more time committed to producing translated content, I can expand the reach of Cardano far beyond what it is currently equipped to.
[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?
Month 1
- Develop and research AI coordination process
- 10 past videos translated into Spanish
- Feedback collected from native Spanish-speaking community members
- Corrective action implemented
Month 2
- 5 past videos translated into Spanish
- 10 past videos translated into Portuguese
- Feedback collected from native-speaking Portuguese-speaking viewers
- Corrective action implemented
Month 3
- 5 past videos translated into Spanish
- 5 past videos translated into Portuguese
- 5 past videos translated into Indonesian
- Feedback collected from native-speaking Indonesian-speaking viewers
- Corrective action implemented
Month 4
- 5 past videos translated into Spanish
- 5 past videos translated into Portuguese
- 5 past videos translated into Indonesian
- 5 past videos translated into French
- Feedback collected from native-speaking French-speaking viewers
- Corrective action implemented
Month 5
- 2 past videos translated into Spanish
- 2 past videos translated into Portuguese
- 5 past videos translated into Indonesian
- 5 past videos translated into French
- Analyze YouTube Analytics on subtitle usage
Month 6
- 2 past videos translated into Spanish
- 2 past videos translated into Portuguese
- 3 past videos translated into Indonesian
- 5 past videos translated into French
- 5 past videos translated into Chinese
- Feedback collected from native-speaking Chinese-speaking viewers
Month 7
- 2 past videos translated into Spanish
- 2 past videos translated into Portuguese
- 3 past videos translated into Indonesian
- 3 past videos translated into French
- 5 past videos translated into Chinese
- 5 past videos translated into Hindi
- Feedback collected from native-speaking Hindi-speaking viewers
Month 8
- 2 past videos translated into Spanish
- 2 past videos translated into Portuguese
- 3 past videos translated into Indonesian
- 3 past videos translated into French
- 5 past videos translated into Chinese
- 5 past videos translated into Hindi
- Feedback collected from native-speaking Hindi-speaking viewers
Month 9
- 2 past videos translated into Spanish
- 2 past videos translated into Portuguese
- 3 past videos translated into Indonesian
- 3 past videos translated into French
- 5 past videos translated into Chinese
- 5 past videos translated into Hindi
Month 10
- 2 past videos translated into Spanish
- 2 past videos translated into Portuguese
- 3 past videos translated into Indonesian
- 3 past videos translated into French
- 5 past videos translated into Chinese
- 5 past videos translated into Hindi
Month 11
- 2 past videos translated into Spanish
- 2 past videos translated into Portuguese
- 3 past videos translated into Indonesian
- 3 past videos translated into French
- 5 past videos translated into Chinese
- 5 past videos translated into Hindi
Month 12
- 1 past videos translated into Spanish
- 2 past videos translated into Portuguese
- 3 past videos translated into Indonesian
- 3 past videos translated into French
- 5 past videos translated into Chinese
- 5 past videos translated into Hindi
[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?
Content Creator: Josh Noriega
Bio: I’ve been creating YouTube videos for 8 years, driven by a passion for education, debate, and movies. In an effort to improve my own content-creating capacities I’ve served as a video operator, studied various livestream operations, and learned about social media management at various levels. I’ve been creating Cardano-based video content for 2 years. In that time, I’ve gotten involved with multiple projects as a brand ambassador, developed multiple relationships in DeFi & NFT spaces, and I’ve learned a lot about the technology. At some point, I decided that this industry is what I want to dedicate my life to.
I am not a Cardano-maxi but I do create Cardano-based content because it is most aligned with my views on economic philosophy, environmentalism, and technological integrity. I find it most effectively purposeful to serve the Cardano ecosystem by helping drive its mission forward, rather than fragmenting my efforts with other blockchains with different missions.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-noriega-b-a-3086bb117/
[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.
Current ADA Price: $0.38
Requested Amount: 115,000 ADA
USD Value: $44,700
Budget Breakdown
Labor: $30/hr x 25 hours/week x 52 weeks (12 months) = $39,000
Targeted Marketing Services & Paid Feedback: $390/mo x 12 = $4,680
Website Hosting: $1000
Celebratory Chipotle: $20
Total: $44,700
[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?
40 videos translated into Spanish - Estimated value: $12,000
36 videos translated into Portuguese - Estimated value: $10,800
36 videos translated into Indonesian- Estimated value: $3,600
35 videos translated into Chinese - Estimated value: $14,000
33 videos translated into French - Estimated value: $9,900
30 videos translated into Hindi - Estimated value: $15,000
Total Initial Estimated Value: $65,300
This proposal will effectively allow me to identify non-English viewers that are most interested in watching my content, so that I can more efficiently prioritize languages to continue investing in. Presumably, this proposal will allow me to reach a wider audience to make content translation a self-sustaining pursuit for my channel. While on my own, I will continue to pursue content translation within my capacity but will eventually hire assistance to continue content translation beyond this proposal. Therefore, the value of this proposal extends beyond the term of the funding.
[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agrees to Fund Rules and also that data in the submission form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.
I Accept