Sovryn Branding Town Hall: Discussion

Adoption Hive
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Hi All,

Please find here the recording of the Townhall from Tuesday:

The PDF of the presentation can be found here: Sovryn Brand Townhall.pdf - Google Drive

Goal now is to open this up for public review. Some points that might deserve focus:

  1. Finding the right balance between the now and the future (Slide 4.)
  2. Greater clarity (and perhaps better wording) around what “nationhood” means
  3. The canonical values (Slide 21.)
  4. Better phrases, words and slogans. Basically, better memes.

One other thing that I think worth discussion: How do we introduce more women to the Sovryn cause?
I ask this not out of some woke “diversity” concern. Rather because Sovryn like the rest of Crypto is 90% male and I see this as a failure in a number of respects:

  1. You shouldn’t have to be male to free
  2. A citadel of only men is a monastery, not a nation.
  3. Hyperbitcoinzation cannot occur without half of the species.
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I think the presentation was good, thanks for doing that!

With regards to your point 1:

There’s a long way from a dapp to a neo-Nation. But what we have already in-between is our bitocracy and own governance. We are immune to regulators from other states unless they follow Sovryn rules and provide a SIP. This should play a big role in Branding imo, as it is relevant now and will have a lot of relevance going forward. I could imagine that a lot of people in Bitcoin and Crypto might find that appealing.

Describing the bitcocracy and our governance with striking phrases would also provide to your point 2.

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Just a few quick thoughts on the presentation. I think the suggested direction for the branding is too involved in particular interpretations, hopes and views about what bitcoin is and can do. Some of these views are interesting, but also controversial, and as such perhaps not the best basis for branding and narrative building.

For example, I don’t think all rights are property rights and I don’t think Sovryn can realistically, or even should aspire to anything like providing nationhood. Perhaps I’m wrong. But the point is that such disagreements should not be an obstacle to becoming part of Sovryn, and when controversial views are built into the branding, there is a risk of this. Same about the characterization of Sovryns as gentleman and scholars; I don’t think it’s good to say that only certain pre-defined types of people are Sovryns (or true Sovryns). (Its incredibly annoying in the bitcoin maxi world, where all kinds of ridiculous identity politics are pushed for the ‘true bitcoiner’, please let’s not make the same mistake).

I think it would be good to exercise more intellectual restrain, at least when it comes to the branding, and strip things down to something that is more neutral; something into which people can plug their own views about what bitcoin is and can do.

So far the critical part. I think there is a sense in which the current branding is absolutely fine; if it weren’t, this community would be in much poorer state than it is. The key idea around which the branding is centered need go no further than identifying Sovryn the project with something that drives hyperbitcoinization, wherever that will end up. A sovryn is then someone who believes that there is a good chance that the future will be bitcoin-based and who supports this (and this doesn’t require being a maxi, this could be degen altcoiner, as far as I can see). Possible slogans: ‘Built for the bitcoin-based future’, ‘expanding bitcoin’, ‘a bitcoin-based financial platform’, and so on. I know all of this is pretty close to what is already there, but like I said, I don’t think that there is a problem with the narrative-building ideas as such. It has the advantage that there is room in this for people’s own views about what a bitcoin-based future looks like, and about what is needed to get there.

When people complained in the past about the marketing, I think they mainly meant that they didn’t like the comic book look, that what is needed is simpler and effective UI/UX or more active/aggressive marketing/communication campaigns, not that there is a deep issue with the conceptual ideas of ‘Bitcoin DeFi’ or ‘Built for bitcoin holders’; changing these ideas in response to the marketing complaints risks destroying the bit of traction around ‘Bitcoin DeFi’ that has been accomplished, may make the new ideas about ‘neo-nations’ unnecessarily niche, and is ultimately not really response to what the complaints from within the community were about.

Edit: thinking more about Yago’s claims about sovryns as scholars, and intellectually curious etc. Although I think it may not be the best basis for branding, these ideas could be an interesting starting point for a dedicated feature on Sovryn. Sovryn could offer a ‘salon’ feature, a discussion place accessible to SOV stakers only, where people can discuss and present their ideas on what the bitcoin based future will be like, what bitcoin is, etc; the Sovryn teas serve as teasers/marketing for what is found within these communities. It could be an attractive feature to the scholarly-inclined bitcoiners. Anyway, just a thought.

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I took this to mean that Sovryn communications would adopt that tone, rather than it attempting to exclude people who wouldn’t characterise themselves as gentlemen and scholars (e.g. women!)

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This has got me thinking about Mintlayer again (Martin I remember you being as puzzled as I was about how that potential joint initiative just seemed to fizzle out)…

In some respects the Mintlayer project seems to be positioning as a major evolution of the bitcoin ecosystem, with their consensus mechanism locking into Bitcoin and using native BTC within the Mintlayer environment; also, they have a geographic base in San Marino and support from local regulators and government; is it too much to speculate that that gives them a potential real world territory in future to attract Sovereign Individuals?

However it seems to me that the “community” they have created is dominated (numerically) by airdrop hunters so it’s no surprise that they looked to build bridges with the knowledgeable and sophisticated Sovryn community (not me but many of you guys!).

Having said that the Mintlayer project has clearly had a big technical set-back, and I believe their relationship with San Marino authorities is a double edge sword given the KYC they have felt the need to impose on investors.

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I think it is totally fine to speculate about moving beyond nations, and fun to discuss these sort of ideas, absolutely. My point is just that they are politically-loaded and controversial goals, and indeed speculative claims, and as such they may not be the most suitable basis for the rebranding of Sovryn.

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It might be the case the the term @Yago refers to when speaking about NATION is something different than some of us think as a Nation. I don’t think that it is the case that Sovryn will replace America,or the UK or any other nation…I do think that THE SOVRYN NATION is something different than the classical perception of nation.

I also think that ‘‘the nation’’ is the aim and not necessarily the immediate goal but it is very important to know the direction and have that North Star to guide all the future developments. I think that reaching that far is a noble goal and surely controversial for some and that is why it is indeed a good idea. You cannot change the world and have everyone agree with you.

I think that a good definition , further clarification and a detailed map of how ‘‘The Sovryn Nation’’ might play out is necessary.

P.S: I do need to listen to the recording a few more times just to build up an image in my head that I understand thoroughly .

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I see, treat the idea of ‘(neo)-nation’ here in schematic fashion, something that delineates scope (a broad one) but whose more substantive content is to be determined. yes that’s helpful, thanks.

Yeah, I see what you mean, excellent point.

Given your comments, I guess I’d have to weaken my remark into a precautionary one in that case, something to keep in mind when giving further content to this idea, for the reasons mentioned.

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I don’t think Sovryn can realistically, or even should aspire to anything like providing nationhood.

I disagree :slight_smile: The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

  1. A Nation is a community formed on the basis of shared culture and ideals - with an aspiration to national sovereignty. If we decide we are a nation, we are a nation.
  2. We are already building the institutions and taking the actions of a Nation. A self-regulating free market, the Bitocracy, the B-Team. If we build a nation, we are a nation.
  3. A big step towards national sovereignty is physical autonomy. Will we be able to achieve national land? To quote an influencer and thought leader who actually managed to make this happen for his nation: “If we will it, it is no dream”.

But the point is that such disagreements should not be an obstacle to becoming part of Sovryn, and when controversial views are built into the branding, there is a risk of this.

Branding is about creating a strong feeling. Strong feelings tend to be controversial. The greatest brands include some of the most controversial brands: Apple (think different), Tesla (Musk), Catholic Church (crusades).

I don’t think we should shy away from controversy. Instead we should harness it spread awareness and make our message stand out. Not controversy for controversy sake - but for identity sake. Let’s stand for something.

I think it would be good to exercise more intellectual restrain, at least when it comes to the branding, and strip things down to something that is more neutral; something into which people can plug their own views about what bitcoin is and can do.

I think this is the beauty of the ideal of nationhood.Its a big idea, that people can their own views and dreams into. But unlike the vacuous slogans of politicians and corporates, they can plug into a system that helps make these ideals a reality.

The key idea around which the branding is centered need go no further than identifying Sovryn the project with something that drives hyperbitcoinization… Possible slogans: ‘Built for the bitcoin-based future’, ‘expanding bitcoin’, ‘a bitcoin-based financial platform’, and so on.

I think that is mostly where we are, and i fear it is too vague. We need something that stands out, provides a sense of what makes us important and unique, tells where we are going and - most importantly - can galvanize action.

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