For years Crypto has been educating individuals to pursue attention.

More followers. More impressions. More likes. More replies. More posts.

There is a problem with that game, though; attention isn't a durable commodity.

What may be a hot topic on a timeline one day can be completely lost the next. Meanwhile, there is a person playing around with a useful tutorial, testing a product, assisting a new user, or creating a tool without the same amount of attention given.

All that may be about to change.

A new paradigm in crypto communities is starting to shift the attention from generating the most noise to adding something useful.

From Social Media Activity to Real Contribution

Consider the typical crypto timeline.

There is a new project that announces something, and hundreds of people post about it within minutes. Some add some real opinions. Others just say it again, but in other words.

The end result is a lot of content, but not necessarily a lot of value.

This makes it an odd thing to think about: Activity sometimes counts more than helpful.

Another way of doing things may be to develop the next generation of crypto ecosystems that allows for the recognition, tracking and possible rewarding of contributions.

Instead of asking:

How many postings did you have?

The more pertinent question is:

What was the impact of your contribution?

This is a much more interesting measure.  

The Internet Needs a Better Reputation System

The concept of online reputation has always been based on followers and engagement.

It is undeniable that if one person has 50,000 followers compared to someone who has 500 followers, the person with more followers has a better influence.

Numbers can't always tell the whole story.

Suppose there were two individuals entering a crypto ecosystem.

One posts 20 articles daily, rehashing popular stories.

The other has one detailed tutorial which helps hundreds of newbies grasp the technology.

Who contributed more?

Traditional social media measurement might not work in favor of the first person.

The second can be recognized in a contribution-based ecosystem.

This disparity is significant because crypto is becoming a space where people aren't only consuming information. They create communities, applications, educate, test products and join communities in governance.

Those contributions might be easier to identify if there were a reputation system that was based on meaningful activity.

Quality Could Become the New Growth Strategy

This presents an interesting possibility for creators.

It's not a need to be the loudest person in the room.

You can be the most helpful.

A tutorial is worth more than 10 promotional posts.

A well crafted research thread may have a more lasting impact than a meme.

He or she who has solved the hard problem can make a greater contribution to an ecosystem than the one who has produced hundreds of impressions.

This doesn't rule out the usefulness of memes, posts, or social content. They remain relevant to communication and for community building.

It's just that content is more compelling when it takes people somewhere.

The introduction of an idea can be presented in a post.

It can be taught through a tutorial.

A tool is usable if it can be made so by a person.

It can be enhanced by a discussion.

A contribution is a step towards the movement of the ecosystem.

Onchain Activity Could Change How Reputation Works

It's always been blockchain technology that's synonymous with transparency in records.

There is an option to record transactions. It is possible to trace ownership. Activities are monitored.

One of the intriguing possibilities that follow is considering contributions in the same way.

Envision a digital history that reflects greater than just the amount of followers you have.

It might display tutorials you developed, projects you assisted with, events you arranged, tools you constructed, teaching content you created, and other helpful activities you carried out in an ecosystem.

That makes it more than just a typical profile on social media.

It turns into a record of participation.

If there are more signals about what this person has done, they will be increasingly useful when more and more of the signals will be coming from a decentralized application or an AI agent, who will be interacting with people and making decisions based on them.

A greater story will be told by your digital reputation than the number of followers you have.

You Don't Have to Be a Developer

Each of the most interesting aspects of contribution-based ecosystems is that contribution does not need to involve coding.

Not all of us is a developer.

There are some very good teachers out there.

Some produce visual materials.

Some organize communities.

Some write research.

Some host discussions.

Some create documentation.

Some test products and give valuable feedback.

Some simply assist newcomers to comprehend difficult concepts.

All are essential to a healthy ecosystem.

That's why it may be more beneficial to recognise various types of contribution rather than just one type of activity.

This is not the objective to have everyone do the same kind of contribution.

Its aim should be to provide people with alternative possibilities of creating value.

Stop Asking What You Can Post

There's a little tweak that creators will be able to make today.

Before you go to sleep, don't ask:

What are you supposed to post today?

Ask:

What can I make today that will be useful next week?

If that's the only question, everything changes.

Perhaps you can describe an intricate crypto concept in an easy and comprehensible way.

Perhaps a primer can be made.

Perhaps you can try out another platform and offer up truthful comments.

Perhaps you could make something small.

Perhaps you can arrange a neighborhood meeting?

Perhaps you're able to convert a difficult technical document into one that everyday people can grasp.

The actions may not always result in a virus count immediately.

They can produce something of greater value, however: a history of useful work.

The Future May Belong to Useful People

Crypto doesn't need any more people yelling into the time-line.

It requires more individuals building, explaining, testing, teaching and helping.

Attention's always going to be important. Social media will always be a way for communities to grow.

But the only measure of value is getting obsolete – attention!

The more interesting future is a future in which your digital footprint tell not only how visible you were but how useful you were.

There are various projects that are looking at the new ways of meaningfully engaging people with contribution systems, such as GenLayer, which is part of a larger discussion on meaningful engagement.

The idea is simple:

Don't make impressions simply for the sake of it. Leave contributions.

Timelines have a tendency to move quickly.

Algorithms forget.

But, useful work has a long shelf life.

But in the future of crypto, your reputation shouldn't rely on your loud voice.

It can be constructed with what is not done.