Kevin Kelly wrote an epic article titled 1,000 True Fans. In it, he outlined his vision for the future.

Here is what he had to say:

To be a successful creator you don’t need millions. You don’t need millions of dollars or millions of customers, millions of clients or millions of fans. To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor you need only thousands of true fans.

A true fan is defined as a fan that will buy anything you produce. These diehard fans will drive 200 miles to see you sing; they will buy the hardback and paperback and audible versions of your book; they will purchase your next figurine sight unseen; they will pay for the “best-of” DVD version of your free YouTube channel; they will come to your chef’s table once a month. If you have roughly a thousand of true fans like this (also known as super fans), you can make a living — if you are content to make a living but not a fortune.

This all seems like a wonderful goal. Sadly, things did not quite evolve this way.

So what happened?

What Kelly did not expect was centralized intermediaries stepping in and taking control. These platforms started the process of extracting money from the content creators. Hence, the value that came from 1,000 true fans was not realized in the way Kelly envisions. Instead, the platforms took the bulk of the benefit, through the harvesting of data and selling advertising.

Web 3.0 offers something different.

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Bring Kelly's 1,000 True Fans To Life

Web 3.0 has the potential to alter what is taking place.

For many, this seems like a buzzword. To me, it is a restructuring of the Internet. The read-write-own proposition really changes things a great deal.

We are moving towards a world where networks are abundance. Today, the scarcity lies in the fact that X, Google, Amazon, and Meta can dominate. They have very powerful networks that overwhelm the rest. The processing power contained here is something that cannot be matched.

Web 3.0 alters this since the network itself is not the primary value. Since many of these blockchains can be forked, the databases themselves might not be unique. What becomes unique is the attention that is given.

Here is where the entire model shifts.

Unlike Facebook, which forges connections for its own benefit, blockchains provide the same service in an agnostic fashion. The blockchain is neutral, bringing people together simply based upon what is taking place.

This allows creators to connect with their true fans. These people, in return, show their financial support in some manner.

When we alter the ownership model, cryptocurrency actually enters in means of support that even Kelly did not anticipate.

Payments In Many Ways

The article spells out the method that Kelly thought would take place.

Here’s how the math works. You need to meet two criteria. First, you have to create enough each year that you can earn, on average, $100 profit from each true fan. That is easier to do in some arts and businesses than others, but it is a good creative challenge in every area because it is always easier and better to give your existing customers more, than it is to find new fans.

Second, you must have a direct relationship with your fans. That is, they must pay you directly. You get to keep all of their support, unlike the small percent of their fees you might get from a music label, publisher, studio, retailer, or other intermediate. If you keep the full $100 of each true fan, then you need only 1,000 of them to earn $100,000 per year. That’s a living for most folks.

This certainly summarizes blockchain. With crypto, people can make direct payments without any third party. Of course, there is an added layer here.

If there is a platform performing the service, the creators, along with the fans, can also own a piece of that. tokenization offers the potential of layering monetization. Here is where we see the extraction of a traditional social media platform redirected.

Under the old concept, a creator with 1,000 fans paying $10 per month would gross out over $100K.

With cryptocurrency, a few more potentialities are offered.

What happens if the payment is done in a way that allows one to get a hold of value capture tokens. This could result, if it is a platform that is active, in the $100K ballooning to a larger figure.

Another variable is the network itself. While one can have stake in the platform, tokenization applies to the network. Here is where the layering becomes evident. Over time, this can generate the potential for a much larger return.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) could also present a massive opportunity.

The Kevin Kelly article can be used as an example. This is an epic piece of work in Internet lore. Unfortunately, the monetization is limited. There can be a stream of revenues due to the advertising on the page if that path is taken. We also might see the total value of the blog or "publication" be derived. This, naturally, is enhanced by that page.

But what about the page itself?

If a NFT was issued as ownership of the page, Kelly could then have an asset to sell. The page suddenly can be split out from the rest of the blog, at least from an ownership perspective. Hence, the value, based upon market forces, could provide a healthy return if sold.

Micro-Earning

This is a concept we touched upon on a number of occasions.

The 1,000 fan idea is just the beginning. Like most approaches, the focuses upon income. That is a starting point but not the entire story.

Ultimately, Web 3.0 is about providing the opportunity for wealth building. Creators of all kinds can not only derive income from their activities yet also have equity in a lot of what is taking place. This can be coupled with basic financial decisions that start to earn a yield on top of all else mentioned in this article.

What this all means is money streams in from many different sources. The 1,000 fans can operate as the core to work from.

In the present system, that is the extent of the payouts. With Web 3.0 it is just the start.

The kicker is that everything can be monetized. We have the "tokenization of everything" bantered about. This means that all activities can have a monetary component built into them.

It is the piece that alters the entire equation. Much of what people do has the potential to be monetized. While a lot of it might not be in large numbers, there are bit that can roll in over extended periods of time.

Kevin Kelly's original vision for the 1,000 true fans might not only come to life due to Web 3.0, it could exist on steroids.

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