Communications Proposal (Cycle #2), Mid-February 2023 – June 2023
https://gateway.pinata.cloud/ipfs/QmTyaeLGX4N8TGmPioct8kFFen2irMAAc8fT9se2cLcWTR
Unsure about the conference section. I remember the last discussion I heard was that conferences weren’t a priority. I’m concerned about the budget allocated without seeing a plan for exactly how the promotion will take place. I think a separate proposal is needed for something as major as conferences and a strategy around it to ensure that it’s worth the cost
What audio is being edited?
This is the budget being allocated towards attending conferences for making sure we have some minimum presence there, which would be appropriate even if we weren’t beginning our BD outreach (we are). What you’re referring to is discussions about not making a big splash at an event due to not having the capacity to atm, which frankly spending on the lowest sponsorship tier is not even close to - we should have also done that, given that it’s only $15k. One of our very valuable connections even laughed at the fact that we weren’t doing that esp since our feeds are going live
@Marcus aims to support audio editing when needed, though he thinks helping with setups beforehand would eliminate the excessive hours spent on that. He’s currently working on editing my recording at KBW due to the trash quality that was given to us (the camera was picking up audio from around it)
In my experience, conferences are generally a waste of resources, both monetary and human capital wise. I’ve attended numerous events, and unfortunately, I’ve found that they often devolve into social gatherings rather than offering substantial “value” to attendees.
Most conferences seem to focus on parties and getting as much merch as possible, while the actual educational aspects, such as presentations or making meaningful connections receive less attention. For example, at ETHcc, the conference rooms were barely one-third full throughout the event on presentations (if it wasn’t vitalik). Given this reality, I believe that allocating resources to sponsor conferences would not be the most effective use of our funds.
Happy to hear arguments against this though.
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The points that you’ve made more highlight why we shouldn’t make a huge splash at events when things are in more of a lull
Having at least 2 people attend events to show that we’re not dead and even spot opportunities that we would otherwise miss from being mainly online is the bare minimum we should be doing
Otherwise the level of awareness around the project dwindles away, which is something I’d found at Dubai when talking to different people - we should be on everyone’s minds and viewed as an adequate player in this space, especially when the likes of Pyth (who had a big one in S’pore) and Redstone are going all out at these events
A big point here is that even if some solutions are objectively better than others, these nuances aren’t really clear to the majority of builders who don’t have the time to think about all this oracle stuff, so they’d have to rely on warm connections and awareness
Sponsorships serve to amplify the above and the idea that we’re a big player especially when all the shit has been washed away in the bear marke, agreed they have to be viewed critically tho; social gatherings you mentioned are key to that as well
TLDR we should have bare min presence for branding and also networking which mainly happens at side events/parties and sponsorships shouldnt be off the table
What you’re describing sounds like it needs a strategy around it for how to make a minimum presence actually worthwhile. Do you have any data or conversion rates from past conferences that show this minimum presence is worthwhile?
@Marcus aims to support audio editing when needed, though he thinks helping with setups beforehand would eliminate the excessive hours spent on that. He’s currently working on editing my recording at KBW due to the trash quality that was given to us (the camera was picking up audio from around it)
This sounds like it might beneficial to instead have a videographer on an as-needed basis. I haven’t seen the KBW video, but I can only assume that a videographer would not only ensure sound quality but also video quality. (Is it even worth having good sound if the visual isn’t on-par?) The proposal makes it sound like audio editing is a main responsibility, but since KBW is one video, and our YouTube channel also hasn’t had a video uploaded in 6 months, it seems strange to include it as a main responsibility. Now the more I think about it I think it should also be part of a conference proposal & strategy
Hello @T.API3,
I offered my assistance in enhancing the audio quality of our content because of the inconsistent quality of the material we posted on YouTube, such as AMAs, Community Calls, and Workshops. I have previously edited a number of podcasts and workshops, utilizing techniques such as the removal of background noise, the exclusion of distracting sounds (such as yawns, sighs, and coughs), ensuring seamless transitions, and optimizing the narrator’s voice through the use of EQ. However, due to the simultaneous restructuring of the marketing team and the shift in our content release strategy towards relevant material, none of these edited works were published as far as I know.
Resolving the sound issues at the source is a more efficient approach, in my opinion. Therefore, during the previous proposal, I offered my assistance in equipping and preparing our team members prior to any podcast or audio recording/stream. By implementing appropriate measures from the outset, we can avoid the need for extensive post-processing. This involves ensuring the use of decent gear (which need not be expensive), proper mic placement, and adjustments to recording device settings such as output volume, mic sensitivity, and a noise gate. Even with basic equipment, optimizing these factors can significantly improve the quality of audio recordings. My experience of working alongside a professional musician from an internationally recognized band over the past few years has taught me how to produce studio quality recordings. This expertise can be directly applied to the creation of any high-quality audio recording.
Regarding the KBW video, I think it should not be released. I had previously shared my concerns with Midhav several months ago, explaining why I believe that it is not a good idea to post it. The original recording quality is very poor, and any post-processing efforts will not be able to miraculously enhance it to a satisfactory level. Midhav’s voice is distorted/unclear, and the presence of loud background noise and other individuals speaking only exacerbate the issue. While it may be possible to mitigate the background noise, enhance the voice quality, and trim out the people speaking over Midhav to some extent, the overall audio quality will remain unsatisfactory and unpleasant to listen to. Given that even our high quality productions get minimal views, it is safe to assume that recordings of such inferior quality will not incentivize people to watch them. Furthermore, it negates our past efforts to improve the overall quality of our YouTube channel, and probably does more harm than good.
In my opinion, it does not make sense to engage an external video editor solely for post-processing, as it is now possible to significantly enhance video quality with modern software by simply following a few guidelines. Compared to resolving audio issues, this is a much simpler task. Therefore, I propose that we tackle this problem at its root as well. Instead of focusing on post-processing, we should aim to ensure that the initial recording is of adequate quality. For team members attending significant conferences, we could arrange for someone to film the presentations and equip our speakers with microphones to also improve the audio quality. The KBW video proves that we should not depend on the organizer’s recordings if we intend to utilize them.
Thanks for the clarification, Marcus! I really appreciate it- makes a lot more sense to me now.
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made some minor edits and reduced conf count to one conf and fixed bad math, so the total ask is reduced
now up for vote:
https://gateway.pinata.cloud/ipfs/QmTyaeLGX4N8TGmPioct8kFFen2irMAAc8fT9se2cLcWTR
also as an additional note i’ll be sending last cycle’s api3 to myself, since i’d paid it out to marcus beforehand (he is owed ~1500 api3, so he still has a debt of 500 api3 in terms of content writing after this)
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This isn’t a professional form of communication.
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Hey guys, appreciate the post-proposal discussion in here
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