Self-Service Publishing: Multimedia Book Reader w Audio and Animation tools

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Rodolfo Espino - GQ

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

Entity (Not Incorporated)

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

4

[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)

We aim to test a multimedia reader platform that allows for creatives to publish image, text, video and audio for a unique reading and/or listening experience.

[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

We are in the testing phase of this platform. Over time if our ecosystem is matured and developed, we're planning on open sourcing portions of the codebase in stages so others can create their own tooling around this concept.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Cardano is filled with wonderful technical and creative people. The problem is there are few outlets for expressing that creativity on chain. This results in a lack of Cardano adoption, especially from those outside the ecosystem from a creator perspective. This has a knock on effect of limiting the potential of users that may be attracted to the chain.

We want to start this proof of concept from a basic level and if it proves it's usefulness, continue to expand the technology in order to build out a structure that can run as decentralized as possible.

We will be building and testing the following concept:

1- Creator publishing:

• Ability to upload page images to the platform
• Ability to add animations for page flipping
• Ability to add music and / or narration to the pages
• Test various on page layer / transition effects for an more animated experience

2- Cardano blockchain integration:

• Start with NFT art that acts as a token gate to the graphic novel contents. Have it be centralized for testing but move to storage in either IPFS or Iagon.
• Experiment with cryptographic key generation mechanisms in order to store the entire contents in a decentralized way, only to be revealed and decrypted by holding the NFT.

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

We believe that this concept will create opportunities for users around the globe. Bringing together many talents from writing, illustrating, photography, voice acting and musical artists to create a multitude of products for the ecosystem.

Since this is early stage, we will measure impact based on feedback from creatives and customers who have experienced the 1st published work on the beta platform. We will also measure interest by reporting on the number of creatives who have signed up to get access to our beta publishing platform.

These published works would provide income for creatives, value for customers and generate excitement for those outside of Cardano to check out what is being built here.

If successful we plan on expanding the team and our efforts to make this one of the premier ways to consume and publish visual or audible books across both web3 and web2.

[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?

Like many ideas, they start when there is a need without a solution in the marketplace. Book.io has had tremendous success on the Cardano ecosystem, however the offerings did not fit our needs. We have looked at many other ecosystems in and outside of web3 to identify that this is a worthwhile endeavor.

We have experience in developing rich multimedia experiences with Hamza's involvement on HerMonsters. Their web based game is a shining example of what is possible.

Regarding funds, the Product Manager has over 20 years of business management and entrepreneurial experience. He has been in the blockchain space since 2020 and an avid NFT enthusiast since 2021.

Validation of feasibility will be done with the help of deliverables outlined and beta tester feedback.

Please see project team section and LinkedIn for more information on the team.

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

Outputs:

• Create backend database for testing token gated access of a multimedia graphic novel
• Create self-serve publishing tools - basic image upload, audio upload
• Create sign on for popular Cardano wallets

Acceptance criteria:

• Working backend database for testing token gated access of a multimedia graphic novel
• Working self-serve publishing tools - basic image upload, audio upload
• Working sign on for popular Cardano wallets

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Publish video or live stream of all criteria working

Outputs:

• Test and Create a on page few layer effects
• Test and Create page transition effects
• Optimize for Mobile and Desktop

Acceptance criteria:

• 1-2 working on page animation effects
• Working page transition effects
• Working Mobile and Desktop views

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Publish video or live stream of all criteria working

Outputs:

• Mint and Test NFT and token gating functionality of graphic novel contents
• Create a GUI for content creators to manage their published works

Acceptance criteria:

• Working NFT token gating
• Working GUI for content creators to use all previously mentioned features

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Publish video or live stream of all criteria working

Outputs:

• Set up beta group of creatives and readers for testing
• Gather feedback through questionnaires

Acceptance criteria:

• Eliminate bugs found in beta group
• Publish the results of the beta testing and questionnaires

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Publish video or live stream with updates

Outputs:

• Have a working small scale model in a closed beta phase
• Publish a graphic novel that can be traded on the open market

Acceptance criteria:

• Have 2-4 creatives onboarded to the platform, working on publishing their work
• Have at least 1 graphic novel published

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Publish video or live stream with updates

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

Answer:

Rodolfo Espino

LinkedIn

Rodolfo has 20 years of experience in sales and management in technical fields. Notably worked at Xerox Corp. as a Major Account manager with Sales and Annuities in his old territory over $5M USD, a 15x growth from his predecessors. Management of technical, support and administrative staff was instrumental to his successes. Currently manages a 76 year old e-commerce family business, wearing many hats. He has been a participant in Blockchain technology since Q2 2021 across 6 chains and uses what has worked in order to make educated design suggestions and communicate solutions effectively.

Rodolfo will work as product manager, marketer and QC tester.

Hamza Asif

LinkedIn

Hamza has been a developer for 5 years and worked in web3 since 2021 on both Cardano and Ethereum. He has worked on many web3 projects for fun and has been working with Cardano's Her Monsters team as one of their 2 Developers.

Hamza is a full stack developer who will be creating the multimedia reader.

Smart Contract Developer (looking to recruit):

We would love to find a smart contract developer to work with us, that is passionate about creating tools like this that empower people with creative talent. This way we can experiment with cryptographic key generation for the platform.

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

Budget:

Infrastructure Costs: 4000 ada

Front End / Database Development Costs: 16000 ada

UI / UX Design: 4000 ada

Product Management, Testing: 4000 ada

Marketing: 1600 ada

Smart Contract Experimentation: 8500 ada

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

Our costs are based on current competitive rates for the work involved. Here is how we arrived at these rates:

ADA at the time of proposal submission: $0.43 USD

We looked at US national hourly rates for a Product Manager, Designer & Marketer, Full Stack and Smart Contract Developer and we are able to exceed a 25% savings based on the work involved in this proposal.