This answer is written personally by Daniel Pineda, Apptrade founder
Thank you for bringing forward your questions and observations.
Tokens are the best medium for expressing our unique "collaborative funding " model. Something cleaner than promissory notes or cumbersome LLPs that may be a bit too entrenched for app publishers simply sharing a portfolio, which means sharing a digital budget and their app users in cross pollination efforts.
The asset is the app portfolio. Tokens are the stakes to a portfolio’s pooled revenue. Tokens tie users into the blockchain even though they came here for the royalty dividends or funding. First goal is secured as we want to make Blockchain palatable, especially bitshares, to the general finance community and entrepreneurial community.
Plus with the central controls that bitshares tokens feature, we can treat tokens as non recourse factoring agreements. Individual app users pay to a blockchain escrow address to be unlocked with help the help of a corresponding smart contract. Pooled earnings are essentially account receivables that the platform helps portfolio hosts originate. Their future earnings are pledges to the whitelist agreement.
Whitelisting status includes some KYC ID verification for token buyers. Especially for the onramps/off ramps to the fiat gateways.
The restrictions on trading asset to asset coupled with certain time intervals create vesting periods that keep app publishers and sponsors committed to their portfolios.
As for constant buy pressure it would be a good thing if we manufactured a constant influx of liquidity as we expand an ever growing stockpile of Apps we predict the platform will attract.
The tokens are a forced long term hold as value can’t be redeemed until thresholds are met.
The cash flow and the app portfolio are the assets, the tokens are conduits to that value.Given the nature that these tokens are pegged to the whims of app culture of virality, many dumpers may miss out on tokens spikes because some random app became a hit somewhere in the world after experiencing a prolonged lull in downloads.
You're right, managing and gauging such market sentiment is elusive. We only know that as long as there are holders, the DAPP doesn't care if there are 5 or 5000 holders standing, it has to continue distributing growing profit streams that are scheduled to portfolio token holders. No matter how big or miniscule a portfolio’s profit reserve may be.
A. Our users will arrive to our platform for different reasons, app portfolios diversify risk for the kind of buyer we are targeting in the real world.
B. For app makers The portfolio is cross marketing. If they get accepted into a portfolio that portfolio goes to work at connecting the apps in the group. Now there are other entities promoting your digital goods, sharing the flow of traffic. An ecosystem of users in other words.
We made this because of the exact reason you've highlighted. Apps don't make money on their own. Add network's cater to top 2% and we don't blame them.
However deep linking apps and cross marketing in mobile apps works. Tapjoy, chartboost, and many other mobile ad networks aggregate offers and links to apps through offerwalls.
Cross device marketing :
http://www.adweek.com/digital/why-cross-device-programmatic-advertising-ready-take-2016-169025/Deeplinking trends:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/264391/deep-linking-into-mobile-trends-2016.htmlThese app portfolios won’t be static goods, the goods interact. The term "Apps" is a sexy word to described the full gamut of raw digital IP.
The app portfolio may be seen as asset for speculators, but for app publishers it's a way to self organize with others to link their apps together and share user acquisitions in this hyper competitive space. They compete as portfolios.
https://www.apptrade.io/faq/ It's still true that the prospects for the average app publishers across app stores are bleak, this is why the burden of performance lies with the users that launch portfolios onthe marketplace. We provide the environment where app makers and their supporters take risk directly against each other on the DEX.
We are counting on discovering a viral hit or two on our platform to give it staying power.
To the point of the growing digital goods market...Im sure you’ve seen the same stats. Maybe we are interpreting the potential differently.
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2017/02/current-trends-future-prospects-mobile-app-market/Anything on App annie or stastista.com will show mobile app adoption and revenues swelling. That may be coming from top 2% of apps, any app can become a top app. The thrown is fickle. Apps come and go.
Heres how we leverage these findingsApps makers can capture respectable levels of income that may not be impressive collateral at their local banks for funding. So with a shared reserve they can pitch in to acheive this collateral they couldn't have on their own with a shared digital reserve. It’s not a loan, it is a pre purchased of future income. Collective income is programmed to float across the tokens can dividend tools. Semantics, we know.
B2b digital goods markets.There are several thriving b2b app source code marketplaces online. Even bigger are general growing digital goods spaces. Think of Envato,stock graphics, urls, blogs, Unity 3D asset stores, virtual reality asset catalogues.
Indie distributions for games. On the consumer level, indie gaming outside of mobile, there are console indie developers.
leagues that.E3, indiecade, and with this weeks GDC happening, our App brokers are on the ground telling us about the demand for apps that need a boost.
Esports is getting big. http://venturebeat.com/2016/01/25/esports-market-to-grow-43-to-465m-in-2016-and-reach-1-1b-by-2019/More indie outlets like STEAMThe steam indie distribution program green light has been converted into steam direct and is no longer free. They are being inundated with requests for indie game submissions. Here locally we’ve hear from people in contect with HTC, SONY, Miscrosoft scouts and they tell us they are desperate for more virtual reality games and talent to make them for mobile.
Film companies and triple app shop these marketplaces for titles to acquire. Ready made template they can leverage in a short period for their promotions.
Your example denoted large businesses. The majority of apps we will include are a mix of large scale projects and smaller supplemental properties that provide consistent usership. Like anchors in a team race.
This is a segway to another relevant item:
How do we keep apps contributing to their the portfolios? No guarantees only contingencies. Short answer: Off network distribution license agreements and whitelists.
Long answer: Each publisher has an incentive to be apart of each portfolio's whitelist.
They want cross marketing via deep links with other apps in portfolio. Mainly they want access to portfolio's funds from token revenue. ( 1 token type per portfolio)
All activity is data driven, everyone knows what everyone's payment is based on App's metrics on a shared group dashboard. Their individual contributions are in direct proportion to their app's monthly earnings.
What metrics? All data is from App Annie or comparable analytics. Comparing inapp purchases, downloads and ads revenues against a simple month to month valuation that we apply to all apps listing.
A push notification is to appear in the dashboard where publishers will have the pre calculated rate based on individual performance.
Publisher only pay from what they earn to continue listing.
Since we have to verify the app source code directly, we'll have access to app store accounts as admins. We hold distributional rights to the app source code that will allow us to continue selling app under our Apptrade accounts if a payment or crucial app update is missed.
Process of joining a portfolio is subject, via vote within that portfolio's host and other apps. Every app knows each other or has voted to allow which apps join their shared portfolio. They do their own due diligence while we can focus on collective coordination of resources and updates along a shared group calendar.
Apptrade devs float in and out of portfolios to aid in screening apps.
our inhouse policy is that before any app is approved, it would have to give us admin access to their App Store accounts.
If they don't meet a payment, everyone within group sees it. If the ball is dropped completely, bad actor will be blacklisted, thus be removed from the portfolio's profit sharing.
After, distribution rights expire, rights transferred back to publisher regardless of increases or decreases in value. App owner will have to renegotiate for relisting. Obviously if app does great on our watch Apptrade or someone else will want to buy app rights.
App VotingOnce apps are in, they can't be voted out of their respective portfolios during their listing term. A vote is taken at end of portfolio term to determine if it will continue with said portfolio.
Rating systemYes there will be an internal leaderboard they all see. With a rating system across the network. This will feature an index that will go beyond downloads, and revenue but collect opinions on apps from users.
Ultimately our marketplace is an exit strategy. A place to list digital brands or raw digital goods. Only the app doesn't sit still, there’s a value engine incubating the app in the background.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. We'll be distributing a strategic overview shortly that addresses more of your items
We know there are more questions as this is a new model for backing blockchain assets with royalty streams.
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