[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Sarah Faulkner

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Individual

[GENERAL] Co proposers and Additional applicants

None

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

7

[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)

A self-service web app where creators configure token-gated video and live-streaming, requiring no code or advanced knowledge. A new form of instant, cross-site distribution control and monetization.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[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.”

NFT-GATR, our own app for self-service NFT utility (this proposal is a feature extension). Please see the Youtube video playlist for a short walkthrough of its core features.

The app is live at: https://gatr.netlify.app

A frontend use-case is also live, at: https://janus-j2.netlify.app/OPS.html?callback=https%3A%2F%2Fjanus-j2.netlify.app%2Fplay

Link 3 in this proposal is a Youtube playlist with a few interface walkthroughs.

At the time of this writing it is live and working, but labeled as "in beta" as I am making a large feature update.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

This project involves the creation of a resource API server (OAuth) that can store new token gate configurations on request from a frontend, provide resource auth tokens to OAuth modals, and provide gate payloads to third-party websites. It is this NodeJS server that will be fully open source so that others can create their own token gating service solutions. It will be stripped of the secure environment variables we use, branding language, and niche functionality pertaining to our app, a version that is less confusing for developers to come in and customize.

The components that communicate with that server in order to form a complete gating solution will be proprietary. That includes the self-service frontend, OAuth interstitial app, and web app API. However, the OPS (on-page script) is meant to be publicly hosted and will be provided in the documentation for the gate server on GitHub as an example for using the gate server's various API routes.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

Intent of App

Creators understand that the media platforms are profiting off of them, not the other way around. It is difficult for videographers and content creators to distribute content across multiple media platforms at once, unless they pay for a third-party solution to push videos across various accounts. However, once videos are hosted by these web2 platforms, they are subject to the miniscule monetization terms programmed by each platform.

The mass majority of creative content publishers are not familiar with blockchain and don’t have a tangible example to fully understand the benefit of utilizing NFTs as access to value for consumers.

We need a self-service web app that allows users to apply video-based utility to their own website secured by a token-based access control scheme that would allow creators to monetize video through NFTs without needing to know how to code.

We need a simple way for even those not familiar with blockchain to monetize access to video content through NFTs that will work on any website, not just a centralized web app.

There needs to be a service layer that acts as a bridge between NFTs, web2 video hosting providers, and the creator’s own website. The solution should be open-source so that others can create their own applications for marrying token ownership with gate payloads.

Primary Components

Video hosting and streaming is handled by an API partner, SproutVideo. This token-gating app will communicate directly with the user's Sprout account to fetch and play embedded streams for token holders that can be securely restricted to one or more domains, which allows for a new form of distribution control and monetization across multiple video websites at once, with the monetization and distribution settings firmly in the hands of the content creator.

Among participating video “curation” sites where a universal script is utilized, media that is gated with this app can be unlocked securely for any domain in the whitelist of the gate creator. The gate object both dictates the cost of access (via the NFT), which websites can host the streaming, for how long, and other distribution control and monetization options.

An advanced version of the Sprout token gate is login-based access to videos. The difference between domain-restricted video and the Sprout API for Logins and Access Grants is that a wallet-based OAuth flow can create conditional access to videos (such as max plays) for individual token holders that does not need to be restricted to one website at a time to remain secure. In other words, we are creating a new form of instant distribution control for artists where a token gate can be played for holders on all websites that utilize a form of the on-page script.

This proposal also includes a scope of work for the token gating object, distribution control. At this present time the app allows users to create token gates that work on any website with a copy/paste script. This new functionality would allow content creators a new form of distribution control - for any video streaming app using this on-page script, creators can dictate which websites their videos can show up on or are banned from, and the effect is immediate.

What is unique about this solution is that the functionality can work on any website thanks to the usage of a custom Oauth flow process and a wallet-based resource server. This third-party authentication approach was important to us because most NFT functionality is hardcoded to work in one way, on a singular website, and it was critical to the vision for the app that the user is in complete control over content access and monetization. We hope that Cardano projects that produce animations, film or other content can honor this app by using it as a service layer for engaging with their audiences.

We have described the use-case flows for this system from a component standpoint, but the below org tree highlights platform-specific integration features based on our research of the third-party API documentation.

1. SproutVideo
2. Authentication API
3. Authenticate account in Integrations section of User Profile and store API key
4. Videos API
5. List videos when creating a new SproutVideo type gate
6. Playlist API
7. List playlists when creating a new SproutVideo type gate
8. Livestream API
9. List livestreams when creating a new SproutVideo Stream type gate
10. Access Grants API
11. Create new grant configuration when making a video tokengate
12. Edit an access grant if a video tokengate has been edited
13. Delete access grants when token gates are deleted
14. Logins API
15. Create a consumer login when the Gate API processes a request to access a gate payload

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

Ecosystem Impact

This solution allows creators to monetize content, livestream performances or full-length films to a wide audience through their own NFTs as access. Video access can be applied retroactively to existing projects to provide never-ending opportunities to engage with NFT holders.

This proposal provides an opportunity for the Cardano ecosystem to support mainstream video-based entrepreneurs. Creators and performers who have grown weary of the restrictive monetization abilities of their host platform can use Cardano NFTs to monetize access to their live or recorded works and get started with very little resistance.

Main Goals

Provide a way for existing and legacy NFT projects, particularly those without coding resources, to refresh engagement with their audiences by providing access to various forms of video content.

Create a self-service business app that is built from the ground up for mainstream appeal. Attract new consumers to the Cardano space by first attracting new business users with tools that make sense and make money with their videos, on their own terms.

Play host to live streamed views of official events such as Cardano Consensus and FutureFest.

Become a commonly used service for filmmakers to monetize full-length films on their own website, and provide a path to a new form of distribution control as dictated by the content creator.

[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?

Deliverability

The team involved in this project has already created Cardano apps in prior funds and are looking to expand on what we have learned along the same theme of token-gating as a service.

We have already set up our UML diagramming, shared drives, and project management through ClickUp. Top-level work-sprints were made to assess the time and cost of this project, and once funded will be broken down into smaller tasks for assignment.

Risk Factors

We have carefully assessed the risks to completion, from project scope creep to external unforeseen events, and we have a high level of confidence that we can complete all milestones on time. Below are a few of the primary concerns our team will be continuing to monitor.

The price of ADA could decrease significantly and if the market value of ADA is below 0.25 cents at any point in the next 12 months, the project could potentially be at risk of losing value it presumed it would have. However, we feel that 0.25 is a moderately low conservative guess for ADA moving forward this year.

The OAuth flow is a complex security mechanism for providing access to private resources, so the project has allotted a budget for an Oauth 2.0 security contractor and an API architecture consultant to help ensure that the app not only works, but can work safely as expected at a large scale.

Project Team

Sarah Faulkner

Fullstack developer and project manager

Sarah creates operational business strategies from competitive and internal analyses of e-commerce brands. As a Plutus Pioneer student she devotes his time to learning smart contracts for use in B2B services to grow utility and tooling on Cardano.

Relevant Experience Sarah Faulkner, MS Computer Science Sarah has twelve years of experience writing apps for e-commerce and web analytics applications. A graduate of Plutus Pioneer Program, she is also deeply familiar with blockchain queries and smart contracts.

Performance Metrics

While our functional milestones represent the definition of complete for this project, key performance indicators measure the success of each milestone against arbitrary targets. 

Our core KPIs for this app after launch are listed below. Rate of growth is unknown, so success is measured as a percentage increase over the prior analytic sample.

• New video type token gates created
• Number of video gates accessed per month
• Average audience size for livestreams
• Number of 3rd party media accounts integrated

We hope that the resulting impact to the ecosystem will be:

• More utility NFTs minted
• New first-time consumers loading ADA and buying tokens
• Higher visibility for the blockchain as a result of popular content

Market Adoption

We will partner with existing content creators on Cardano as well as physical events in order to cross-promote artists with other events and projects, using this service layer suite as a go-between for branded third-party entertainment websites, token holders, and the web2 video streaming world. Our primary focus will be Cardano adoption - while we want to assist cNFT projects to start using the tool, we see a major opportunity to provide filmmakers and other content creators with a true business case for using blockchain.

Revenue Models

There are independent plans for adding features to this app that would require a monthly subscription payment in order to use higher levels of gate service and advanced gate features. However, that functionality is outside the scope of this project. 

The revenue model that will be available to the project at the moment of launch is the concept of the login token. This app will sell login tokens through a popular minting service whose policy ID is synonymous with account profiles. As the user base grows, we may be able to self-fund our billing server without the proposal we wrote specifically for it.

Sharing Results

We will share the progress and results of this work product on our website as blog updates as well as in partnership with project partners on Twitter and Youtube. We want to assist Cardano organizations to utilize this service layer to token gate video such as live streamed events and educational material, led by existing popular and commonly used NFT series.

[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

High-Volume CDN Architecture: The frontend and backend servers involved in this app need to be upgraded to performance tiers that can handle the expected volume of API requests, Blockfrost calls, and data transfers to support a large and consistent viewing audience. This project is not building a streaming service but integrates with streaming platforms, and the app servers must be load-tested to interact with a large number of users and 3rd party API calls.

• 2 work sprints covering estimated 215 hours
• Starting 12/8/23, target launch 1/2/24
• Projected cost: ₳30,703 ($7,676)

Component Initialization: Set up accounts, data buckets and server instances for the components required for this project in the service tiers specified by the project costs table. Ensure basic architecture is in place and apps deploy successfully.

SproutVideo Configuration Tables: Implement relational data tables for user-owned SproutVideo data and access configurations. Securely store user profile and token gate configuration objects to be accessed by the gate resource server and web app API.

Web App & API Server: Build an SPA web app built on Vue3 that serves as a user interface to creating and editing profile and gate configuration objects. Build a supporting API server on NodeJS to store user data on a MongoDB account.

• 4 work sprints covering estimated 300 hours
• Starting 1/5/24, target launch 2/9/24
• Projected cost: ₳17,725 ($4,431)

Web App Frontend: Develop a Vue3 SPA with views for Home, Login, Profile, and My Gates. Develop a two-tiered login system; a restricted account with a wallet-based login and an upgraded account with a login token requirement.

Web App API Server: Create an API server for handling data requests from the web app including SproutVideo integrations to profiles and access control configs to video gates.

Create Gate: Multi-Domain Access: Add options to the Create Gate form and data object, to provide a domain whitelist and blacklist option to each gate payload.

API Route: Create Gate: Refactor the Create Gate API to accommodate the new gate data structure for whitelists and blacklists.

Cardano OAuth Interstitial: An independent Vue3 app acts as an interstitial modal between third-party websites to communicate with the gate resource server and produce authentication tokens to the callback site. Connect a wallet, reference internal data on matching token gates, and present options to the user. 

• 2 work sprints covering estimated 310 hours
• Starting 2/12/24, target launch 3/19/24
• Projected cost: ₳18,316 ($4,579)

Cardano OAuth Interstitial App: Develop an OAuth flow app that handles third-party website gate authentications from the on-page script in collaboration with an OAuth security expert.

Open Source Gate Auth Server: Create an independent API server for handling consumer-side gate requests from third-party websites.

Universal Third Party Script: Write a universal script meant for app users to copy/paste to their own websites to enable token-gating functionality. The script instigates a wallet-based OAuth flow and uses authentication tokens to fetch gate payloads along with parsing instructions from the gate resource server. 

• 2 work sprints covering estimated 265 hours
• Starting 3/22/24, target launch 4/21/24
• Projected cost: ₳60,377 ($15,094)

Cardano OAuth Interstitial App: Develop an OAuth flow app that handles third-party website gate authentications from the on-page script in collaboration with an OAuth security expert.

Open Source Gate Auth Server: Create an independent API server for handling consumer-side gate requests from third-party websites.

Integrate the SproutVideo API Library: Refactor all components to include new data objects, functions and menu items to support interaction with the SproutVideo API libraries. Users can configure a video type gate with options relating to SproutVideo access grant schemas.

• 5 work sprints covering estimated 545 hours 
• Starting 4/24/24, target launch 6/26/24
• Projected cost: ₳32,200 ($8,050)

Custom App Registration: Register a custom app with SproutVideo

User Profile Integrations Modal: Add a SproutVideo subsection to the Integrations section of the User Profile view. Perform the OAuth2 flow to obtain the account API key on-page, then update user integrations data via the Web App API. Create a button to confirm key status at-will.

Listing Account Content: List existing Videos, Playlists and Livestreams from the Create Gate interface.

Resource Logins API: The OAuth module will ask the Gate Resource API to generate a new Login object via the Sprout API when a user selects a gate and enters their email in the Gate Details popup.

Access Grant Management: At the time that a Sprout type gate is created, store a new Access Grant configuration in MongoDB and associate it with the new gate.

Large-Scale Soft Opening: In this phase we upgrade app and API servers to enterprise tiers for a live concert in partnership with community projects, as a soft-opening load testing phase.

• 2 work sprints covering estimated 210 hours
• Starting 6/29/24, target launch 7/23/24
• Projected cost: ₳12,407 ($3,102)

Debugging and Security Testing: Small groups of users must stress-test the system and report on ways that it may break or malfunction.

Coordinate Three Live Shows: Work with performers in the community to host token-gated live streamed concerts as a form of stress-testing the system and getting feedback from the community.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Sarah Faulkner

Fullstack developer and project manager

Sarah creates operational business strategies from competitive and internal analyses of e-commerce brands. As a Plutus Pioneer student she devotes his time to learning smart contracts for use in B2B services to grow utility and tooling on Cardano.

Relevant Experience Sarah Faulkner, MS Computer Science Sarah has twelve years of experience writing apps for e-commerce and web analytics applications. A graduate of Plutus Pioneer Program, she is also deeply familiar with blockchain queries and smart contracts.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

For more details on these expenses please review the proposal worksheet, tab name Project Costs.

• Project Team
• Sarah, Full Stack Developer (proposal author)
• ₳109,008 ($27,252) for 1,845 hours of work
• Hardware
• We do not need to purchase any physical equipment.
• Marketing
• This project team believes it does not need to increase the overall asking price of this project by including a marketing budget and would prefer to grow organically as a service layer in partnership with select users.
• Technical Contractors
• OAuth 2.0 Security Professional
• $4,500 USD for 90 work hours
• API Architecture Consultant
• $1,750 USD for 35 work hours
• Service Providers
• SproutVideo Test Account, Sprout Tier, 6 months, ₳840 ($210)
• For regular testing of video gates during development.
• SproutVideo Test Account, Forest Tier, 2 months, ₳2,360 ($590)
• For large-scale load-testing and live soft-openings for long-format media.
• Netlify, 12 Months of Pro Tier, Web App, ₳912 ($228)
• Used throughout development and testing.
• Netlify, 12 Months of Enterprise, Oauth App, ₳7,200 ($1,800)
• For app performance post-launch, with 99% uptime, faster machines and a high-performance edge network.
• Render, 12 Months of Team Plan, ₳912 ($228)
• 500GB of bandwidth for hosting web app and oauth app.
• Render, 12 Months Standard Tier Node Service, Web API, ₳1,200 ($300)
• One year of standard hosting for the self-service web app
• Render, 12 Months Standard Tier Node Service, OAuth API, ₳1,200 ($300)
• One year of standard hosting for the ticket resource (OAuth) server used in this project to demonstrate the usage of the 2FA server to be built.
• MongoDB Atlas Dedicated Cluster, GCP Tier M30, 12 Months, ₳18,662 ($4,666)
• Data storage at a service tier fit for development and first-year public use.

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The cost of this proposal is a one-time price that will produce a self-service Cardano app that can be used by the entire community to add web3 functionality to their own websites. It has the potential to allow all projects of the past to reinvigorate their tokens with access to video-based rewards.

Once online, Cardano community can begin reaching out to web2 creators with a new reason to use Cardano and an easy onboarding mechanism to become a web3 entrepreneur.

All team members have committed to a baseline cost of living for the duration of the project. All hard costs have been plotted out, and the hourly rate for labor amounts to approximately $12 per hour. We do not plan to outsource development work, and this proposal will allow the team to focus on the project around the clock until it is completed.

[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