AIP-545: Beyond the NFT: Renewal of NFT Lab Magazine’s Plan for Empowering ApeCoin’s Global Community

PROPOSAL NAME:

Beyond the NFT: Renewal of NFT Lab Magazine’s Plan for Empowering ApeCoin’s Global Community

TEAM DESCRIPTION:

Proposal Authors: Jason Au, currently a NASDAQ listed company director, focusing on Fintech, diverse investment, and technology solutions. Jason also founded The Elite Apes, a group of Bored Ape Yacht Club owners from countries all over the world holding numerous high-profile professions and big-brand affiliations.

Team:
Editor in Chief: Hung

  • Experience: Over 20 years of experience in publishing. Highlights:
  • Editor of NFT Magazine in Hong Kong: “NFT lab”
  • Chief Editor of “Car And Driver” Chinese Edition
  • Editor of The Best-selling Car Magazine in Hong Kong: “Automobile”
  • Editorial Director of “Autoworld” magazine in China

Illustrator and Web Admin: Iris

  • Creator artist and illustrator for multiple NFT projects
  • UI/UX designer for over 100+ websites

Photographer: Kevin

  • Professional Photographer with over 20 years of experience for photo shooting, including product shots, high profile public events, video shooting and editing
  • Photographer for NFT Lab magazines

Ambassador 1: Eric

  • Over 15 years of experience as liasson manager for a prominent university in Asia, responsible for partnership and communications with universities within the Greater China Region
  • Early BAYC investors and ApeCoin holders
  • Web 3 Ambassador for MAGIC DAO

Ambassador 2: Kan

  • Over 30 years of experience in tourism and hospitality industry, responsible for regional partnership development
  • Early BAYC investors and ApeCoin holders
  • Community Manager of Elite Apes

NFT Lab is funded and operated by the Elite Apes. Elite Apes is a BAYC community founded in July 2021 with over 150 early BAYC and ApeCoin holders. They are committed to driving the mass adoption of ApeCoin and BAYC awareness through media and education.

PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION:

NFT Lab Magazine is a well-established physical publication that has distributed over 40,000 magazines through 8 issues across 1,200 locations, reaching over 50,000 readers. After a year of operation, we learned that producing a magazine once a month is not feasible due to the rapidly changing market and the voluntary nature of community content contributions, which can lead to delays. To adapt, we have successfully shifted to bi-monthly editions with thicker pages (72-96 pages), enhancing the magazine’s prestige and allowing for more comprehensive content collection.

Building on the success of our previous AIP-314, which was well-received by the community, we are proud to announce that we have produced two years of Apefest editions. This proposal aims to continue promoting ApeCoin and Yuga ecosystem news and projects to both our existing audience and beyond. Our strategy includes generating content that spotlights community projects, ApeCoin DAO news, and Yuga initiatives, while also allowing communities such as MBA, Mocaverse, Pudgy Penguins, Azuki, Thank Ape and GWG to contribute contents upon selection.

We are excited to announce a partnership with TIMEOUT Portugal 2025 | Ultimate Guide To Where To Go, Eat & Sleep in Portugal | Time Out , which operates in 108 cities across 39 countries and has a global audience reach of 242 million across all platforms. This collaboration opens up possibilities for NFT Lab Magazine to be present worldwide for every Apefest in the near future. Its a remarkable milestone for a magazine that’s only 1 year old.

Additionally, we will introduce international shipping for a limited number of physical copies to our content providers, enabling them to promote their products and services globally through a tangible show-and-tell approach. Furthermore, we plan to implement token-gated content using ApeChain and $Ape, allowing exclusive access to our community and enhancing engagement.


Our online versions (as promised from AIP-314) are already available on multiple Asian news platforms such as “blockchain of the day”

https://botdnews.com/category/article/nftlab/

and as free downloadable e-books on the “Likerland” media platform.

By enriching the ApeCoin and APECHAIN ecosystem and utilizing token-gated content, we aim to drive mass adoption and potentially increase the value of $Apecoin and Yuga collections.

BENEFIT TO APECOIN ECOSYSTEM:

Currently, ApeCoin primarily revolves around Yuga Labs NFTs and their upcoming Otherside metaverse, but by promoting new use cases through NFT Lab, we can accelerate adoption for more real-world applications and mainstream acceptance in Asia. We will also promote other approved AIPs, MBAs and Apechain Dapps/Memes including becoming an official mentor and collaboration partner with the aid for physical exposure for other projects.

STEPS TO IMPLEMENT:

All the below timeframe are calculated based on fund approval. The project will last for 1 year upon funding approval.

Month 1: Renew the contract of the full time editor in chief (US$3,000 per month, subtotal: 12 x $3000 = US$36,000)
Month 1: Hire new part-time resources for illustration, photography, website administrations for content update (US$1,000 per month, subtotal: 12 x $1,000 = US$12,000)
Month 1: Hire 2 ambassadors to liaise with ApeCoin DAO Special council members (if they choose to opt-in), AIP proposal owners, and the BAYC communities for content sourcing (US$2000 Per month, Subtotal: 12 X $2,000 = US $24,000)
Month 1: Renew the contract with multiple platforms to continue hosting NFT Lab online version (US$1,500 per month, Subtotal: 12 X $1,500 = US$18,000)

Bimonthly publication (Month 2,4,6,8,10,12) [Bimonthly fee: US$11,500, Subtotal: 6 x US$11,500 = US$69,000]
•⁠ ⁠Printing costs
•⁠ ⁠Distribution costs
•⁠ ⁠Shelving
•⁠ ⁠International shipping

Month 4: Apechain and token gated implementation for online NFT lab publication (US$9,000)

Month 8 – 12: Prepare for the Apefest special edition in Year 2025 (share the human resources stated above, plus additional sponsors and grants to cover the printing and local distribution costs, like we have done in HK 2023 & Lisbon 2024)

Key Performance Indicator:
•⁠ ⁠Total number of publications (Minimum 6 per year, once very 2 months)
•⁠ ⁠Number of countries with NFT Lab magazines distributed
•⁠ ⁠Number of community projects covered in NFT lab magazines
•⁠ ⁠Number of readership , both printed and online version
•⁠ ⁠Number of stories covered for Apecoin DAO, Apechain, Yuga and BAYC/Apes related stuff

Since NFT LAB Magazine is already operational for one year from AIP-314. We have no further requests directed to the APE Foundation, thanks so much for your support.

REPORTING EXPECTATIONS:

There is a current X account @nftlabmag , we shall have a report announcement for every 2 months of the magazines that are in the market. All report and announcements remains on X for a duration of 12 months.
Online versions of the magazines links will also be published on the X account. (one month delay of the actual physical magazine)

OVERALL COST:

Total amount requested from the ApeCoin Ecosystem Fund = $168,000.

We are requesting $168,000 paid in $APE to support NFT Lab’s operations and expansion for one year. This increase from last year reflects a miscalculation on our part, (however, we continued to keep our promised delivery from our own pocket last year), as we learned from our previous operations. We also faced the loss of a printer sponsor, a significant drop in the value of $APE. for this term , the added costs of apechain implementation, token gated contents , international shipping and overseas collaborations.

Two tranches of funding have been requested:
1. $98,000 of the total upon approval.
2. $70,000 Five months later (when 3rd edition is ready to be published)

We appreciate your understanding and support as we strive to improve and continue our mission.

1 Like

Hi @JasonJape ,

The community feedback period for your proposal would be ending in less than 24 hours.

  • If you’re content with the feedback received, your next steps are to finalize your proposal using the AIP Draft Template.

  • A moderator will reach out to the author to finalize the AIP Draft. Upon receipt of the final Draft, we will review and provide instructions on the next steps.

  • Are you ready to proceed to the next phase or do you wish to extend community discussion for another 7 days?

We look forward to hearing from you.

-@Facilitators

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We would like to proceed to the AIP draft phase.

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This topic was automatically closed after 7 days. New replies are no longer allowed.

Hi @JasonJape ,

Thank you for your ideas [and the ApeCoin DAO community for the insightful discussions].

A moderator will reach out to the author to finalize the AIP Draft using the appropriate template.

  • Once the AIP Draft is confirmed by the author and meets all DAO-approved guidelines, it will receive an AIP ID number and move forward for Draft Analysis Review.
  • @JasonJape please see your messages for the next steps.

Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments. In accordance with DAO-approved guidelines, if the author does not respond within 30 days, the proposal will be automatically transferred to the Withdrawn category, and the author can re-submit the idea.

-@Facilitators

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Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

The AIP Draft submitted is currently incomplete and feedback has been provided to the author.

Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments.

Thank you,

-@Facilitators

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Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

@JasonJape has completed editing their AIP Idea to be their AIP Draft.

This proposal has been assigned the AIP ID Number 545.

Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments.

Kind Regards,

-@Facilitators

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Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

Our team has reviewed and discussed @JasonJape 's AIP Draft and have sent a list of initial questions. We await answers.

Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments.

Kind Regards,

-@Facilitators

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Answers replied and submitted

Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

@JasonJape has responded to our questions and they are in our review once again.

Expand Q&A

Please update the Team Description to include the team members mentioned in the Steps To Implement (including the editor-in-chief) and include any previous experiences in Web2 &/or Web3.
Below is the description of the team members:
Editor in Chief: Hung

  • Experience: Over 20 years of experience in publishing. Highlights:
  • Editor of NFT Magazine in Hong Kong: “NFT lab”
  • Chief Editor of “Car And Driver” Chinese Edition
  • Editor of The Best-selling Car Magazine in Hong Kong: “Automobile”
  • Editorial Director of “Autoworld” magazine in China

Illustrator and Web Admin: Iris

  • Creator artist and illustrator for multiple NFT projects
  • UI/UX designer for over 100+ websites

Photographer: Kevin

  • Professional Photographer with over 20 years of experience for photo shooting, including product shots, high profile public events, video shooting and editing
  • Photographer for NFT Lab magazines

Ambassador 1: Eric

  • Over 15 years of experience as liasson manager for a prominent university in Asia, responsible for partnership and communications with universities within the Greater China Region
  • Early BAYC investors and ApeCoin holders
  • Web 3 Ambassador for MAGIC DAO

Ambassador 2: Kan

  • Over 30 years of experience in tourism and hospitality industry, responsible for regional partnership development
  • Early BAYC investors and ApeCoin holders
  • Community Manager of Elite Apes

Please provide a comprehensive update on AIP-314 including the key performance metrics outlined:
Number of issues published
8

Number of physical copies sold
9,802 sold, over 40,000 physical copies distributed via partner networks
Social media engagement

Social media engagement

  • Ride on our platform hosting partner social media, where as LIkerland has 10,000 followers in Facebook and Instagram and NFT lab will have exposure in these platforms.
  • 332 followers in NFT Lab Magazines official X account.Online version: Visitors and page

Online version: Visitors and page views
average 1500 visitors per issues published online.

Number of merchants onboarded
30. Apefest HK alone have 10+ merchants on-boarded with NFT lab

AIP-314 stated that the “Apecoin corner” and “Empowered by Apecoin logo” will appear on every issue of the NFT Lab. Would there be any change to the placement or promotion of ApeCoin?
Everything will remain the same and we will keep all these in the upcoming releases.

a) The implementation of token-gated content would require Web3 connectivity, what are the plans for security audits?
We will openly invite talents from the BAYC / ApeCoin / ApeChain communities where there are many professional security experts. eg boring security and existing ape chain team.

b) Where would users access this content?
They will have to sign in the token-gated website using a wallet that owns 1 ApeCoin.

c) Would 1 ApeCoin (on ApeChain) be the minimum threshold required to access this content? If other, please specify.
We intend to use 1 ApeCoin to the be minimum threshold and using ApeChain is mandatory.

Your proposal outlines “international shipping for a limited number of physical copies to our content providers”. Is this shipping intended to be exclusively for featured communities or artists?
This will be for communities or artists or content contributors who have articles published in the NFT lab and we will ship them physical copies.

Given the fluid nature of the Special Council, please update the proposal to indicate an option for the Special Council to opt-in to participate.
We will provide a corner for the Special Council (roughly 4pages) in case the Special Council wants to participate.

Do you provide consent to apply updates to the relevant areas of your proposal based on your responses to the questions above?
Yes.

Do you provide consent to share these questions with the community in this forum?
Yes.

Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments.

Kind Regards,

-@Facilitators

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Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

We have no further questions for @JasonJape . This AIP is now under Administrative Review.

Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments.

Kind Regards,

-@Facilitators

1 Like

This proposal is live for vote on Snapshot. The voting period closes 13 days from now at 9PM EST.

The AIP implementation is administered by the Ape Foundation. Implementation may be immaterially or materially altered to optimize for security, usability, to protect APE holders, and otherwise to effect the intent of the AIP. Any material deviations from an AIP, as initially approved, will be disclosed to the APE holder community.

1 Like

I like what @JasonJape has brought both to BAYC via Apefest support, to MOCA with a great IRL event in Hong Kong and to ApeCoin (including them in IRL event in HK, growing the overall knowledge in the broader market via print media).

I like how he has requested the funds in two payments.

Clear KPIs in the proposal.

This is a yes from me.

1 Like

Can’t wait to learn more about this! Creative ideas with clear KPI’s will almost always get community support from our Delegation.

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Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

The voting period has closed for this proposal and it has been accepted with a 95.57% pass rate. The proposal will be passed on for implementation.

Follow this proposal under the AIP Transparency and Execution Category. A new post has been created here, Implementation Update | AIP-545: Beyond the NFT: Renewal of NFT Lab Magazine’s Plan for Empowering ApeCoin’s Global Community , and further updates will be posted.

Thanks,

-@Facilitators

1 Like