Channel VIP Mick’s AMA Session!

On July 26th, our CEO Mick Tsai had an AMA session with our Channel.VIP Global Official community and introduced Channel VIP and our future SocialFi goals!

Read the AMA text below!

[Introduction]

Hi everyone, it’s great to be speaking with you guys!

It’s Mick from Contentos.

Good to see everyone here! Thank you for joining the very first AMA hosted on Channel.VIP, the new Social.Fi product powered by COS and the Contentos blockchain!

For years, our team and I have been searching for new ways to connect creators with their audiences, improve content monetization for creators, and provide fans with a closer interactive experience with influencers. Web3 and Social.Fi are key ingredients in this process. Without Web3 technology, creators cannot truly own their content and the ways to monetize it. For audiences, it’s also impossible to genuinely and fairly enjoy the privileges provided by influencers and the content platform.

Furthermore, anyone who sees the potential in a young and talented creator can support them by investing early, even before others recognize their talent. This is the most powerful and key differentiator of Web3 technology, which empowers creators in ways that Web2 never could.

This is why we launched Channel.VIP, the first true Social.Fi content product. Today, we are joined by a group of amazing and talented creators and fans. Every day, we have over 3,000 active Channel.VIP users, numerous live VIP Rooms, and millions of transactions. We have seen many great Room owners hosting various activities and engaging more with their fans. We have also seen many users proactively join campaigns hosted by the Contentos team.

Moving forward, Channel.VIP will be another major product alongside COS.TV. COS.TV will serve as an entry portal where every Web2 creator and audience member can enjoy content freely and easily. Channel.VIP will then convert all COS.TV Web2 creators and audiences into true Web3 content platform users and COS holders. With these two major products, I believe COS and Contentos will become stronger than ever!

[AMA Q&A]

Question 1: What is Channel VIP and what are its functions?

For years, the Contentos team has been looking for better ways to help global creators enhance their monetization opportunities. Channel.VIP is our latest endeavor: a membership-only chat room with various interactive and monetizable designs for not just the creators who own the rooms, but also for those investing in the rooms as Key Holders. Anyone can create a room as a Room Owner. To join a room, you need to obtain a Key (become a Key Holder), which has different price levels based on the Room Owner’s decision.

Room Owners should provide unique value to Key Holders, such as member-only messages or content, or curated events that increase engagement between the Room Owner and Key Holders (for instance: quizzes and airdrops!). In this scenario, the value of the Key can increase as more users want to obtain it. Meanwhile, as a Key Holder, you not only gain access to privileges to interact with the Room Owner but also share in the potential value increase when the Room Owner successfully manages the room.

If you decide to leave the room, you are free to trade the Room Key and reclaim the paid COS (the value may vary).

We believe Channel.VIP can serve as an important missing piece that the current Web 2.0 content economy cannot provide: a transparent, decentralized, membership-only, investable chat room that can become a significant Web 3.0 content platform fulfilling today’s content creators’ monetization needs!

Question 2: In what areas is the SocialFi sector currently falling behind, and what innovations or improvements are necessary to drive the field forward?

The SocialFi concept has been around for less than a year. Several products have tried to enter this new area, but most of them either collapsed due to a simple Ponzi design or lack of use cases. The narrative for these products has often been solely about token price pumps, attracting speculation rather than real users. As a result, most of them only last for weeks or a few months at most. The ultimate question is how to create true value for users, which can provide real support for the product and the token itself. I believe a good SocialFi product needs to generate real social value for users and then add financial elements that cannot be achieved in the traditional Web 2.0 world.

This is why Channel.VIP stands out among all the similar Web 3.0 SocialFi products. It has been built on top of a solid foundation — a group of video content creators and audiences around the world from COS.TV. On top of that, financial capabilities are added to make it a one-of-a-kind social content platform that you have never seen before. This is also why the value of the platform continues to rise even after nine months of its release, unlike other Social.Fi products that only have a one-month life cycle. Moving forward, Channel.VIP will add more interactive elements to create more use cases for Room Owners and Key Holders, thus elevating the platform and token value. We believe this is truly the healthy and correct development process for any SocialFi product.

Question 3: What do you believe are the main obstacles preventing mass adoption of SocialFi platforms, and how is Channel VIP addressing these challenges?

The majority of the world has never heard about SocialFi. Let’s face it, it is still a term that only exists within a very small circle in the blockchain community. Even most of the crypto community doesn’t understand the meaning of SocialFi. Why? It’s simply because most existing SocialFi products act like speculative Ponzi schemes and never create true value for users.

The first issue should always be: “What problem is a SocialFi product trying to solve?” What is the consistent value that a SocialFi product wants to create for users? I believe the mission that Channel.VIP is currently working on is a positive example. It aims to provide content creators and their audiences with an exclusive space where they can interact and exchange quality messages. For instance, a crypto KOL might get a lot of attention on Twitter or Telegram with free messages, but if any followers want more exclusive price predictions, Channel.VIP is an ideal platform. Additionally, Channel.VIP offers various tools for creators and audiences such as Airdrops, Webinar (AMA), and Quizzes, which help creators and followers enjoy a unique experience together.

As an investor, if I see talent in a creator’s content, I can invest early in their Room Key. This is not just a membership but also an investment in the Room. Later, if the creator becomes popular and the value of the Room Key increases, I can choose to sell the Key (or the membership in Web 2.0 terms) to others and profit from it. Since Channel.VIP is built on top of the Contentos mainnet, which is 100% transparent and has been operating for over five years, the buying and selling of Keys are entirely controlled by the Key Holders, not the platform. This is something that can never be done by any Web 2.0 content platforms.

Last but not least, Channel.VIP is backed by COS.TV, a video content platform that millions of global video content creators and audiences can enjoy for free. This means it has the capability to acquire real users instead of just speculators. You can think of COS.TV as a portal for any Web 2.0 content users since it is similar to YouTube or TikTok. From COS.TV, these users will be converted into the Web 3.0 world — that’s Channel.VIP SocialFi product! This is something very unique among today’s SocialFi competitors.

Question 4: Why should millions of people leave YouTube and choose you? What can you give them differently? What do you promise us to change our habits?

YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok serve as the most popular Web 2.0 content platforms for billions of people today. They are free and easy to use, making them the most attractive options for creators entering the content creation business. However, many creators suffer from the platform “featuring” system, which is controlled by a black-box algorithm. This algorithm determines whether your content can be seen by millions of people and whether it can generate revenue. Unfortunately, this system is often not transparent, preventing many talented creators from gaining visibility.

That’s why we need Web 3.0 — a decentralized, fully transparent content platform to solve this issue. The answer is COS.TV. With blockchain technology, COS.TV has helped many content creators around the world to be seen and heard. Take a popular Brazilian political creator, Gustavo Gayer (https://cos.tv/user/GustavoGayer), for example. Mainstream content platforms may not favor his content due to their algorithms, but COS.TV provides a fair space for him to speak to his followers. This is the unique value that COS.TV and Web 3.0 blockchain technology can truly offer to the world!

Question 5: Is there a plan to further increase the usage areas of Channel VIP?

Since launching Channel.VIP last November, we have seen significant popularity among global creators and fans. Every day, we have over 3,000 active users proactively joining different rooms and engaging with Room Owners and other Key Holders. We also observe new users not only joining from COS.TV but also from other social media platforms such as X (Twitter) and Facebook.

Moving forward, new user acquisition will be a major task for Channel.VIP. We plan to attract more Web 2.0 creators and their audiences worldwide. These users can first enjoy free content produced on COS.TV and later join the room hosted by the creator. It’s a smooth process to convert Web 2.0 users to Web 3.0.

As for new features in Channel.VIP, we are currently building a more interactive and fun chatting platform, which will provide more gamification mechanisms such as Airdrops (already rolled out), Webinar (just released!), and Quizzes (coming soon). After that, we plan to introduce voice messages to enable more direct communication in the rooms. More interactive games will also be a direction, giving Room Owners multiple ways to increase interaction and monetize. A more popular room also leads to increased Key value, ultimately benefiting all Key Holders in the room.

Question 6: Has the VIP channel reached its limit or will we still have major updates and hype campaigns like it was in the beginning?

Channel.VIP is just the beginning, and it’s a very good beginning!

In the past few months, we have seen a true SocialFi product come to life — Channel.VIP, backed by real global content creators and audiences. Unlike many so-called Social-Fi products that only last a few days or weeks due to their speculative value, Channel.VIP has proven it can truly create value for users.

At this moment, the Channel.VIP development team is keeping up the pace with several major updates each month. We believe that with the latest Webinar feature, Room Owners have a whole new way to interact with their Key Holders. Soon, you will see the next major updates about the Quiz system and the more customizable Airdrop feature, all integrated together to give Room Owners more freedom to create a “”VIP”” experience in their Rooms.

We believe that in the second half of 2024, with improved external market sentiment, Channel.VIP will become a new major driving force in the Contentos ecosystem and for $COS.

Question 7: How does COS.TV plan to collect and incorporate feedback from creators and viewers after the launch of the webinars? Will there be test phases or pilots to ensure that the functionality meets the expectations of all users?

The Channel.VIP development team believes in Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD), meaning that development will be rolled out consistently, with adjustments made swiftly based on user feedback and real-time statistics. After thoughtful in-house testing, any new feature will undergo phased deployment. This means the system will first upgrade a small number of users to observe how the new feature performs in the field, collecting feedback before moving to a larger scale deployment. Meanwhile, the team constantly reserves certain development bandwidth and resources to respond to the latest user feedback and requests, ensuring that this brand new Social-Fi product meets users’ needs.

Question 8: Is there still hope for cos space to return to action? Could a merger of Metaverse and SocialFi happen in the near future?

COS.SPACE is a Metaverse project launched in early 2022, which now supports various VR headsets such as the latest Meta (Facebook) Quest 3 and HTC Vive. In the past two years, numerous VR Expo events have been hosted on COS.SPACE around the world, including the most famous blockchain conference, Consensus. These expos allow worldwide users to have a VR experience similar to attending the event physically, and we have also helped many creators run their own VR events with their fans since launch.

On the other hand, we have learned that even though VR headsets are becoming more widely adopted, they are still not yet accepted by the general public due to resolution and pricing issues. These limitations restrict the development of COS.SPACE (and all similar Metaverse products, even Facebook itself).

However, we believe that the core idea — helping creators and their fans have a more intimate, immersive interaction channel — is the correct direction. This is why the Contentos core development team shifted the focus to building Channel.VIP. It is also based on the Room concept, similar to the idea behind COS.SPACE — a virtual “”land”” owned by Land Owners where they can invite anyone to join.

In the future, once VR/MR headset prices become more affordable and adoption rates increase, it is entirely possible to integrate the original COS.SPACE Metaverse idea into Channel.VIP. This would become an expansion or extension of the current Channel.VIP chatting rooms, providing a more immersive experience for users.

Question 9: What is the future of the SocialFi economy and what would be the contribution for COS.TV creators in 2025?

In traditional Web 2.0 content creation, if a young, talented creator wants to develop their own channel on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok, the best approach is to spend their own savings and hope to produce a viral hit. Later, they might get either sponsorship or advertisement revenue share. However, even if the content is good, it won’t gain traction unless the Web 2.0 content platform features it.

On the other hand, with Web 3.0, a more transparent and decentralized possibility has emerged. As long as your content is good enough for a small audience willing to invest early, you stand a good chance to grow your channel! That’s why we introduced COS.TV — the best Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 video platform — and Channel.VIP, the best SocialFi VIP chatting room.

We believe SocialFi is the most critical missing piece in today’s content production business. It allows everyone the right to discover the most promising future top-tier creators. This will completely reshape today’s billions of dollars global content production industry! Channel.VIP and COS.TV will be the pioneers of this great revolution!

Question 10: What are the plans for the remaining quarters of 2024? Will COS add more AI functions?

In the past year, several AI features have been added to COS.TV, such as the ChatGPT-enabled Video Description Auto Generation. COS.TV also hosts various AI video programs that help global AI video creators showcase their work. In the second half of 2024, we expect to see more development in AI image and video production, such as OpenAI’s Sora. We also anticipate more AI virtual content creators joining the content industry and producing high-quality content.

For Contentos and COS.TV, the best strategy will be helping AI content creators effectively distribute their content to the right audience and shorten the monetization cycle. Additionally, integrating more AI content creation tools to lower the creation barrier is a possible direction.

Last but not least, customized AI bots can be used as replacements for Room Owners while they are offline, ensuring that all Key Holders’ questions and concerns are addressed 24/7 in Channel.VIP. This will certainly increase the value of the Room in the future. As for the COS price, I still believe the core idea is how to create more value to the users which in the end will help to COS value, this is the best way to go no matter what.

[AMA Live Q&A]

Question 1: What is the prospect of the COS currency appreciating significantly? Do you believe that the inclusion of VIP rooms will help with this issue?

I personally still believe you need to first create value for users; then the token value will follow. Otherwise anything without true value support cannot last. Channel.VIP is a new way to create the real need for $COS, which in the end when the user base grows, the need grows. Ultimately, it will help with the $COS value.​

Question 2: Will dating-like functions be introduced for Channel VIP?

This is a very interesting question but it’s also a good direction to explore for sure. Dating is always a huge need for people, and Channel.VIP now is more like a connecting tool for a group of people that believe in the Room Owner. However, this type of relationship can also be transformed to 1-to-1, so it can be potentially become a dating system.

In this case, we definitely will develop more product features which helps the dating, but these features will cost $COS, so it will increase the need of COS.

Question 3: If the room is overpriced, what value will you get if you don’t have access to many friends?

As the Room Owner, you can choose to issue a Flat price Key (non-trade-able), just like we are doing for our official channel, so people can access your Room easily. Meanwhile, for people who wants to buy the trade-able KEY as an investment, later we will provide different priviledge to these two type of Key holders so you can provide unique privileges to trade-able Key Holders since they spent much more to enter the Room.

Question 4: Will Channel VIP status offer any special partnership or collaboration opportunities with other creators or brands?

We certainly will start the partnership with top tier creators and influencers in Channel.VIP, let them use Channel.VIP as a unique, exclusive way to engage with their fans and followers. This is one major use case we’d like to bring to the global content creation industry!

Question 5: What are the plans for COS.TV in 2025?

COS.TV still serves as the best Web2.0 to Web 3.0 video portal. In our plan, COS.TV will help global creators with easy access, just like they are using YouTube or TikTok, so they can publish their work right away on COS.TV. Their fans can also enjoy these videos without understanding lots of blockchain terms. Later COS.TV will convert these Web 2.0 creators and audiences to Channel.VIP. It will be a place that truly starts teaching them how to use Web 3.0 tech such as Wallet and Transaction on chain.

Join other official Contentos communities on your favorite platforms to stay up to date!

📣 Channel VIP Contentos Official Global https://cos.tv/v2/channel-vip/room/171626558055094\

📣 Contentos Official Announcement Telegram (https://t.me/ContentosAnnouncement)

📣 Contentos Twitter (https://twitter.com/contentosio)

📣 COS.TV Twitter (https://twitter.com/RealCOSTV)

📣 Medium (https://medium.com/contentos-io)

📣 Contentos official website (https://www.contentos.io/)