Proposal Name: Establish Communications Team (ApeComms)
Proposal Category: Core Ecosystem Fund Allocation
Original AIP: Establish DAO Communications Team and Processes
Original Author: @Vulkan
Abstract:
This proposal puts in place a Comms Team to establish communication channels in order to increase the flow of news, information and educational content within the ApeCoin ecosystem - working group name, ApeComms.
Recent Twitter posts and proposals regarding council elections, staking delays, bug bounties, etc have highlighted the need for clear, concise and consistent communications between the Special Council, Ape Foundation and the ApeCoin DAO.
The ApeComms team will administer information between the community, the Ape Foundation, and related entities and serve to increase Awareness, Participation, and Education of token holders by curating new channels for communication.
The ApeComms Team will be responsible to perform five primary functions:
- Build and maintain an official ApeCoin DAO Discord server
- Coordinate ApeCoin Twitter for AIP awareness & education
- Develop educational content for the community & support members during the AIP process
- Administer the lines of communication between Ape Foundation Entities & the ApeCoin DAO community
- Increase coverage of the Apecoin DAO ecosystem and cooperate with media contacts
ApeComms requests $998,000 (in $APE) for a 12-month assignment, inclusive of initial set-up costs. Any unused funds at the end of the first term will remain in the ApeCoin DAO Ecosystem Fund.
Motivation:
ApeComms, which will serve the ApeCoin DAO community, aims to increase the frequency, quality, clarity, transparency, and visibility of information running through the community. The ApeCoin DAO community will have access to increased information flow directly from the Ape Foundation, resources to streamline proposals from a draft to voting, and support from ApeComms.
The guiding values for ApeComms are:
- Awareness: Communication in the APE ecosystem should be transparent and consistent.
- Participation: Driving proposals forward will create opportunities and more demand.
- Education: Understanding ApeCoin DAO process & decisions will encourage further action.
Rationale:
The ApeComms Team recognizes the collective responsibility of ApeCoin DAO members to perform essential and non-essential services for the ApeCoin DAO. The purpose of ApeComms is to create a comfortable and secure environment to realize ideas which are relevant to the DAO, while educating the community regarding technical processes or best practices. To accomplish this, it is necessary to increase awareness and education using multiple channels for communication, with transparency as a guiding principle.
Key Terms
ApeCoin DAO - ApeCoin DAO membership is open to all ApeCoin holders. ApeCoin DAO exists because decentralized governance is critical to building and managing a globally dispersed community—and therefore critical to the success of the APE ecosystem.
APE Improvement Proposal (AIP) - AIPs allow ApeCoin DAO members to propose and vote on decisions regarding Ecosystem Fund allocations, governance rules, projects, partnerships, and beyond.
ApeCoin Ecosystem Fund - 470,000,000 tokens to DAO treasury and resources
(117,500,000 unlocked at launch, then 7,343,750 unlocked per month for 48 months)
150,000,000 tokens to BAYC/MAYC (All unlocked for claim at launch)
APE Improvement Proposal Draft & Analysis Report (AIP DAR Package) - both the AIP Draft (submitted by the proposal author) and the AIP Analysis Report (submitted by the project management team engaged by the APE Foundation) as a package after the analysis report is conducted.
ApeComms Operating Fund - The budget included for the ApeComms initiative.
APE Foundation Moderator - Contracted by the APE Foundation to facilitate operations on the forum and otherwise.
Discord - A virtual space to talk and hang out. Discord is among the easiest ways to talk over voice, video, and text.
Discourse - The forum software for our community.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) - KPIs are quantifiable measurements of the improvement or deterioration in the performance of an activity critical to the success of a business. A KPI can have a target, a set of ranges, or both, which measure how well a business is achieving its objectives. A KPI obtains its value either from aggregating a metric or from a calculation based on other KPIs.
Twitter Analytics - Twitter Analytics allows you to track and view key metrics, like follower gain/loss, impressions, engagement rate, and retweets. The tool is secure and available to all Twitter users, including both personal and business accounts.
Snapshot - Snapshot is a decentralized governance platform that makes it easy to vote on AIPs.
Specifications:
The ApeComms Team will be launched to perform five primary functions:
- Build and maintain an official ApeCoin DAO Discord server
- Coordinate ApeCoin Twitter use for AIP awareness & education
- Develop educational content for the community & support members during AIP phases
- Open lines of communication between Ape Foundation Entities & the ApeCoin DAO community
- Increase coverage about the Apecoin DAO ecosystem and cooperate with media contacts
Below are details on the five primary functions mentioned above:
1. Build and maintain an official ApeCoin DAO Discord server
The ApeComms Team will establish and maintain a community Discord server. Prior to going live, proper security protocols will be put in place and the team will schedule appropriate support.
- Alerts to remind members of upcoming AIPs and Snapshot voting
- General channels for members of the DAO to engage in an informal manner
- Support channels to facilitate coordination with future working groups, sub-DAOs & AIP proposers
- Dedicated education channels with materials for members to learn on their own time
2. Coordinate ApeCoin Twitter use for AIP awareness & education
The ApeComms Team will coordinate with the Ape Foundation to help supplement content for the official ApeCoin Twitter account. This medium will provide an opportunity for ApeComms and the Ape Foundation to host live discussions with AIP proposers, and other token holders.
- Sparking conversation by introducing proposals and providing community updates
- Individuals & Teams invited to explain proposals to the community on recorded Twitter Spaces
- General discussions, proposal support, and technical explanations regarding AIPs
- Monitor Twitter Analytics
3. Develop educational content for the community & support members during AIP phases
ApeComms will help members navigate the AIP process by creating on-demand educational resources and offering live in-person sessions. Fully complimentary services are available to all token holders.
- Develop an archive of resources and FAQs to guide new ecosystem participants
- Hold regular “office hours” where authors can submit ideas for editing and feedback
- Help members understand nuance and potential obstacles moving through the public AIP process
- Analyze DAR packages and the associated Ape Foundation moderator notes
4. Open lines of communication between Ape Foundation entities & the ApeCoin DAO community
The ApeComms Team will attend Special Council meetings to help gather and contribute relevant feedback for the ApeCoin DAO community during sessions. This is meant to bridge communications between the community & entities that operate the DAO, including Administrators & Special Council.
- Establish internal ApeComms Facilitator roles to streamline sharing high priority information
- Develop best practices for sharing information inside and outside of the community
- Manage a working document with reasons proposals are sent back for reconstruction
5. Increase coverage about the Apecoin DAO ecosystem and cooperate with media contacts
The ApeComms team will work with the Ape Foundation to maintain a list of media contacts for the purpose of sharing general ApeCoin DAO news, updates, and information about the participants within.
- Act as an optional point of contact for media inquiries on behalf of the ApeCoin DAO
- Maintain a list of industry contacts
- Highlight ApeCoin ecosystem projects and initiatives
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
The ApeComms Team will use surveys and statistical analysis to help guide the direction of the team. Metrics based on ApeCoin DAO awareness, participation, and education will be monitored. Compiled data will be reported to the community monthly and quarterly. ApeComms will remain flexible to adapt or adjust these reporting periods as the initiative develops. We expect there will be plenty of relevant info to report regularly.
- Organize data around DAO communications, including metrics from discussion, voting, and
proposal platforms (Snapshot, Discourse, Discord, Twitter, Dune) - ApeComms will develop surveys to gauge awareness & education levels inside and outside of the community
- Editorialized reports generated by the team will be made available to the community at regular intervals
Operating Fund & Expenditures
ApeComms budget requires an Operating Fund for ongoing expenses:
- General operating and setup costs
- Maintenance and security costs for a community Discord
- Potential developmental & ongoing tech expenses
- Relevant content creation
- Legal support
Working Group Information & Considerations:
The ApeComms Team works autonomously to support ApeCoin DAO.
- Coordinates with the Ape Foundation, community, and ecosystem projects
- Suggestions for activities & improvements can be made by any $APE token holder
- Majority voting within team to make decisions regarding Operating Fund allocation & current membership status
- The final results of decisions requiring team votes will be verified and made public
ApeComms begins with the following members from the BAYC/MAYC community & the Apecoin DAO:
This team was selected for their continuous long-term participation in the DAO including assisting w/ proposals, creating newsletters, helping others through unofficial channels, and more.
Facilitators (Project Managers): @Waabam @Lost
Coordinates ApeComms projects to ensure tasks are relevant and help set reasonable milestones. Serves as the primary point of contact with the Ape Foundation Administrators, Moderators and Special Council teams. Responsible for communicating verified ApeComms team consensus for additional costs and personnel changes.
Campaign Managers: @AdventurousApe @boredelon @Lost
Coordinates with projects in the ApeCoin ecosystem to help others become more informed about prospective new proposals and existing proposals.
Data Analyst: @Waabam @Amplify
Compile ecosystem data for ApeComms & ApeCoin community. Record and present ApeComms data, interproject communications, and broad ecosystem stats. Develop relevant surveys to help aggregate community feedback.
Discord Moderators: @Amplify @Halina.eth @Lost @0xSword @SSP1111 @Waabam
Answers community questions, helps to maintain the security of the server, engages with the community.
Educators and Consultants: @AdventurousApe @Amplify @Halina.eth @Lost @0xSword @SSP1111 @Waabam
Helps the community to understand the steps forward from a discussion to an AIP Idea, and moving beyond that to a vote. Develop educational material about the ApeCoin DAO for the community. Direct point of contact for proposal authors to help discuss ideas and gather feedback.
Steps to Implement:
Communications Structure
- Directs Ape Foundation to facilitate ApeComms attendance at Special Council & Administrator meetings, including “Office Hours” calls
- Directs Ape Foundation to provide proposal status updates to ApeComms
- Directs Ape Foundation to coordinate with ApeComms for use of ApeCoin Twitter Account
- Directs Ape Foundation to assign Moderator(s) to co-host Spaces using ApeCoin’s Twitter Account
- Directs Ape Foundation to join new & existing channels for interacting with ApeComms Team
- Directs Ape Foundation to provide a direct link to the ApeCoin DAO Discord server on apecoin.com
- Directs Ape Foundation to immediately begin sharing with ApeComms all past, present and future DAR packages, including the Ape Foundation moderator notes from the AIP Moderation phase
Operating Fund
- ApeComms team will verify team consensus for expenses
- Facilitators of the ApeComms Team will provide invoices to the fund moderator
- Directs Ape Foundation to assign a Moderator(s) to co-manage the Operating Fund with ApeComms
- The Moderator(s) assigned shall be granted signing authority for invoices submitted by Facilitators
- Any unused portion of this budget will remain in the Ecosystem Fund if ApeComms dissolves
Timeline
The timeline to implement the ApeComms initiative begins immediately upon approval. The ApeComms team formed and began work several months before proposing this formal AIP, so much of the initial legwork has already been done.
Since this initiative is among the first working groups from the ApeCoin DAO, and as we are reliant on information from the Ape Foundation itself, ApeComms may exercise a certain amount of discretion in implementing this timeline
Phase 1 : First Quarter (Months 1-3)
- ApeComms has already joined together with members of BAYC to begin pre-seeding a Discord server with some of the first token holders to make proposals, interested brands, builders, and other APE token holders. ApeComms will finalize initial staffing, setup, and security for the ApeCoin DAO Discord server so that more token holders may join.
- ApeComms will begin supplementing blog content and live audio content via Twitter Spaces for the ApeCoin Twitter account.
- ApeComms will develop and accommodate multiple channels of communication with Ape Foundation members. Slack, Signal, and Discord channels will be set up based on feedback from members of the community and the Ape Foundation.
- ApeComms will work with the Ape Foundation to set up best practices as an optional point of contact for media inquiries. The team will begin to develop and maintain a list of relevant media contacts.
- ApeComms will begin analyzing DAR packages as soon as we begin receiving them. There is some considerable backlog and we will aim to prioritize the newest DAR packages as they should contain the most up to date guidance. The team will coordinate with the Ape Foundation to avoid creating overlapping content.
Phase 2: Second Quarter (Months 4-6)
- ApeComms will coordinate with the Ape Foundation to include a link to the ApeCoin DAO Discord on the apecoin.com website. Continued development, maintenance, and learning best practices to serve the community. Server will be open to all token holders.
- ApeComms will continue to introduce consistent mixed media content through the ApeCoin Twitter account to better alert and inform the community.
- ApeComms will continue to elevate projects and initiatives from the ecosystem using media resources.
- ApeComms will continue to develop best practices for the volunteer and recruiting initiative.
- ApeComms will begin to roll out educational material based on ApeCoin DAO process and historical best practices. We expect there will be changes with the DAO process and the Ape Foundation/Special Council going into 2023. The ApeComms team is prepared to adapt to changes and educate the community.
Phase 3: Third Quarter (Months 7-9)
- ApeComms will continue to work with the community to curate the culture of the ApeCoin DAO Discord.
- ApeComms will use metrics gathered from the ApeCoin Twitter account to improve content and gain better understanding of the team’s impact from the first 6 months of the initiative.
- ApeComms will continue to develop a working document with AIP submission best practices, for the community, including reasons proposals are quickly sent to Snapshot for vote or sent back to the proposer for reconstruction.
- ApeComms will begin to formally draft the next iteration of the ApeComms proposal based on the first several months of operations and continued feedback from the community.
Phase 4: Fourth Quarter (Months 10-12)
- ApeComms will continue to develop internal guidelines and best practices for the team following our experience in the previous quarters. Our goal is to onboard significantly more contributors through this program and to the ApeCoin DAO as a whole.
- ApeComms will continue creating initiatives to engage the community and encourage participation from new and existing ApeCoin holders.
Overall Cost:
ApeComms requests $998,000 (in $APE) set aside for ApeComms initial setup and the first year of contribution. This budget includes funding for operations and developmental expenses. Additional initiatives with costs exceeding the proposed budget may be submitted later through specific AIPs. Any unused funds at the end of the first term will remain in the ApeCoin DAO Ecosystem Fund.
Operating Fund
- $110,000 set aside for the Operating Fund
ApeComms Compensation
- Compensation is entirely in ApeCoin to further align incentives of ApeComms with DAO Members
- Each ApeComms member receives $111,000 in ApeCoin for 12 months of service, subject to equal monthly vesting over the course of their term ($9,250.00 of ApeCoin/month for 12 months).