Mick Tsai Discusses the Inspiration Behind COS.TV and Its Goal to Empower Content Creators

Welcome to our "Behind the Startup" series, where we dive into the world of decentralized content creation with Mick Tsai, the founder of COS.TV. In this interview, we discuss the inspiration behind the platform, the role of AI and VR technologies, and how COS.TV is revolutionizing the content creation industry with the power of Web 3.0. Join us as we explore the challenges and opportunities facing the platform and the future of content creation.

Ishan Pandey: Hi Mick Tsai, great to have you here for our "Behind the Startup" series. Can you please tell us what inspired the creation of COS.TV?

Mick Tsai : During my time working for the popular streaming platform LiveMe in LA back in 2017, I had the chance to interact with many YouTubers who expressed their growing concerns regarding centralized content platforms. The issue at hand was the feature algorithm, which controlled both their viewership and monetization, leaving content creators and users with no control on the centralized platform. As a solution, we established Contentos and COS.TV, with the goal of creating a new decentralized content platform that would empower global content creators by allowing them to truly own their creations, while also providing users with great content to enjoy.

Ishan Pandey: What problem does your platform aim to solve in the content creation industry?

Mick Tsai: At Contentos, we firmly believe that the creators, the audience, and the platform should all have equal standing, as each of them plays a crucial role in the content creation ecosystem. Unfortunately, centralized content platforms have become dominant, leaving the other two parties with limited power. We aim to change that by creating a decentralized platform where the value of the content is generated collaboratively by all three parties. Our token design ensures that the value is shared fairly among contributors, including creators, audiences, and the platform. Those who make positive contributions to the community are rewarded and gain influence on the platform. This approach significantly alters the current dynamic between content creators and centralized platforms, providing a more equitable and fair system.

Ishan Pandey: How does COS.TV plan to integrate emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality into its platform in the future?

Mick Tsai : Currently, A.I. is playing a significant role in enhancing the experience of creators and audiences on COS.TV. For instance, through the OpenAI integration, including ChatGPT, creators can now easily generate an appealing video introduction by providing just a few words. This feature is particularly beneficial for creators who struggle with writing video introductions, which is a vital part of attracting an audience to watch their content. Moreover, this feature facilitates global creators that want to reach a broader audience in different countries.

In the upcoming release, we plan to integrate even more OpenAI/ChatGPT-like features into COS.TV. One of the new features currently in testing is a video search behavior that uses ChatGPT-like design, which can significantly enhance the video searching experience not only on COS.TV but also on other video platforms.

Regarding VR, we are thrilled to announce the latest update to COS.SPACE, our metaverse project built for content creators. COS.SPACE now supports VR headsets, which offers creators and their fans a more immersive experience. We welcome you to visit our Consensus 2023 booth and try it out!

Ishan Pandey: How do you envision AI transforming the content creation industry, and what role do you see COS.TV playing in this transformation?

Mick Tsai : With the advent of various AI tools, AI-rendered virtual avatars have become increasingly popular. Moreover, more and more channels on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok now feature entirely AI-generated content. This type of content can be produced quickly and inexpensively, posing a potential threat to traditional content creators. Additionally, AI-generated content may eventually overtake the recommendations algorithm of these platforms, leading creators to explore alternative strategies to retain their viewership.

However, the core issue remains the same - identifying the type of content that users desire and how best to help them find it. At Contentos and COS.TV, we believe that human participation and community support are still key. While AI tools may be capable of executing tasks perfectly, the initial inspiration must come from the creators themselves. Moreover, the valuable feedback and input from the community are essential for identifying high-quality content and personalizing recommendations for each user.

Ishan Pandey: Can you explain how COS.TV utilizes web3 technology to differentiate itself from traditional content platforms?

Mick Tsai : At Contentos and COS.TV, we strongly believe that anyone who makes a positive contribution to our ecosystem and community deserves to be rewarded and become an integral part of the platform. In addition, we believe that community members should have the right to participate in content moderation, or a content DAO. Unlike traditional content platforms, where content moderation is solely the responsibility of the platform team, in Web3 we believe that everyone should have the power to participate in this crucial task.

We are proud to say that on a daily basis, over 500 community members from all around the world join the content DAO and actively contribute to filtering out bad content for the community. Our system is permissionless, which means anyone can join or leave the content DAO at any time. Moreover, all decisions made by every member, along with the final decision, are recorded on the Contentos blockchain, ensuring complete transparency in the decision making process.

In the future, we plan to introduce more community-driven content tagging and decision-making features on Contentos and COS.TV. We believe that decentralization and transparency are the key advantages of Web 3.0 content platforms compared to their Web 2.0 counterparts.

Ishan Pandey: How does COS.TV plan to incentivize content creators to join the platform and produce high-quality content? Can you describe the revenue model of COS.TV and how it plans to monetize the platform?

Mick Tsai : Most content creators are likely familiar with the Ad revenue sharing model, first introduced by YouTube a decade ago. COS.TV also utilizes this model, but with one key difference: creators receive 60% of ad revenue instead of the typical 50%. In addition to this, several unique Web 3.0 monetization mechanisms have been introduced in COS.TV, providing creators with additional revenue streams.

1. One such mechanism is the Gifting Vote, a peer-to-peer donation system where Contentos native token COS is used to purchase the Gifting Votes, with 60% of the revenue going to the creator and 40% to block producers. Pay Per View and subscription models are also available to creators for monetization.

   
   

2. Another exciting feature is the video NFT model, allowing creators to mint NFTs of their videos which can be traded on OpenSea right after publishing.

   
   

3. Our latest feature is COS.SPACE, a 3D metaverse product that enables creators to host exclusive private 3D parties for their fans. Creators can sell VIP NFT tickets, allowing fans to purchase tickets and join the event.

Ishan Pandey: How will COS.TV balance the benefits of AI with potential concerns around privacy and data protection for its users?

Mick Tsai : With the rapid advancement of AI technology, it's only a matter of time before it's able to accurately interpret video content, including live streaming. It will be able to identify valuable content, flag any potential unwanted or copyright-infringing material, and categorize content with proper hashtags for interested audiences. Take, for example, the popular "HOW-TO" search keyword on YouTube. While users can search for videos on their own, an AI-enabled chatbot could understand a user's needs and deliver highly relevant content, providing specific instructions with video clips and transcripts. However, privacy is a big concern, as no one likes being watched. Zero-knowledge technology could be a good solution for protecting chat/search history. Users could choose to "contain" specific conversations, so the AI bot doesn't track the session. Additionally, data shared by creators or audiences must be anonymous but still proof-able to maintain legitimacy. Blockchain can store video view counts, vote counts, and other data that anyone can verify, but without identifying user identities.

Ishan Pandey: What steps is COS.TV taking to ensure that AI-powered content moderation is effective and unbiased?

Mick Tsai : COS.TV has several layers of defense to ensure appropriate content moderation. The first line of defense is powered by AI, which can detect and remove any pornographic or violent content. This is a widely-used technology in many content platforms today. The second line of defense is the community members. Any user who holds a small amount of VEST statking tokens (5000, approximately $35) can become a DAO member and help decide on problematic content that is reported by the community. As it is a permissionless design, anyone can participate, which empowers the community to moderate the content and align it with their interests.

The third line of defense is currently under development, which involves leveraging an emerging AI, similar to ChatGPT, to gain a deeper understanding of the content. This will assist in categorizing and filtering low-quality or bad content, providing higher quality content more exposure to reach a broader audience. Even with the implementation of this new component in the future, the community DAO will still play a critical role in justifying the AI's work.

Ishan Pandey: What kind of community-building initiatives does COS.TV have in place, and how do you engage with your user base to foster a sense of belonging and ownership on the platform?

Mick Tsai : COS.TV is unique in the crypto space because it offers an accessible user product that brings together creators, audiences, and Contentos mainnet participants. This is also where our team and I engage with the community the most. With over 100K daily active users, COS.TV is a platform that fosters genuine content creation and consumption. In addition to COS.TV, we also use social media platforms such as Twitter, Telegram, Medium, and our community forum to connect with and engage Contentos supporters.

Ishan Pandey: Can you talk about the role of cryptocurrency in COS.TV's ecosystem and how it benefits both content creators and users?

Mick Tsai: COS is the utility token circulated in the Contentos ecosystem. Creators who contribute the content can get COS from the main-net mining process, so does any user who makes positive contributions to the ecosystem such as helping content moderation, or providing valuable feedback. The calculation process is built in the Contentos main-net, which is a fully open-sourced project on Github. Meanwhile, the block producers election also requires COS as the vote, those elected block producers can become the infrastructure providers in the Contentos main-net, in this case, they also have the right to enjoy the new mining reward. Any regular user can also use COS as the payment instrument to purchase the utility provided in cos.tv such as GiftingVote or the PaidPerView function. Holding the COS can also help you potentially acquire more chances to be featured in the cos.tv main page and attract more viewership.

COS is the utility token used within the Contentos ecosystem. Creators that share content earn COS through the mainnet mining process, while users who contribute positively to the platform, like assisting with content moderation or providing feedback, can also earn COS. The calculation process for rewards is built into the Contentos mainnet, which is a fully open-sourced project on Github. In addition, COS is used to vote in the election of block producers, who become infrastructure providers in the Contentos mainnet and receive mining rewards. COS can also be used by regular users to purchase utilities on COS.TV, such as Gifting Votes or the Pay Per View function. Holding COS may also increase a user's chances of being featured on the COS.TV main page, and attract more viewership.

Ishan Pandey: Finally, what are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing COS.TV in the next few years, and how does it plan to navigate them?

Mick Tsai: Gaining public trust is a major challenge, particularly in light of negative news surrounding cryptocurrency, such as the incidents involving Luna and FTX. Mainstream media often highlights the negative aspects, leading to skepticism among the public and hindering adoption of crypto in the content creation industry. However, the current centralized content platforms have stringent monetization requirements and content censorship, which has raised awareness for the need for a truly decentralized content product. A decentralized content platform presents a great opportunity for global creators and product developers. The impact of emerging AI on content creation and consumption cannot be overlooked. With AI, creating and remixing content will become easier and even become fully automatic, reducing costs. In the future, Web3 technology will play a crucial role when AI tools are linked together and the content monetization system is calculated and settled by a token economy. This will become one of the most important use cases for the blockchain industry.

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