CoinMinutes' Model for Responsible Crypto Content Curation
With the advent of cryptocurrency, information about it is everywhere. Nevertheless, it is becoming overwhelmingly difficult to distinguish signal from noise amidst the flood of cryptocurrency information that social media, exchanges, and news sites provide. A bad actor that has malicious intentions promotes a shady project, market volatility causes the headlines, and technical concepts are getting diluted to the point that they become incorrect. These actions place investors at risk and decrease public trust in blockchain technology innovations.
CoinMinutes has created a content curation model that is socially responsible and serves not only as our editorial guiding principle but also as a strategic advantage in building reader relationships. This method enables you to take the right decision basing it on the true facts.
Core Principles of CoinMinutes' Responsible Curation Model
We developed our strategy around seven rules that direct each content piece we publish:
Editorial Independence: We editorial content creation team are completely independent from any commercial relationships that the company has. Unlike many crypto-related websites, our journalists are not allowed to be in possession of the assets they write about. Our writers have counted us out for three times in 2023 by claiming that our policy is too "rigid," but for us, it is absolutely necessary to uphold this separation.
Technical Accuracy: We do not rely on just one source for the information; instead, we substantiate it with several sources before it sees the light of the day.
Accessibility: Complex concepts deserve explanations. We build knowledge step by step, defining terms and using analogies that connect unfamiliar ideas to familiar ones.
Balanced Perspective: Every technology, project, and trend has both promising aspects and limitations. We present multiple viewpoints, especially on controversial topics where experts disagree.
Transparency: We are open in communicating whenever we have conflicts. It also embraces partnerships, sponsored content (which undergoes the same technical review as organic content), and institutional relationships.
Educational Focus: We are more concentrated on educating you rather than motivating the immediate action. Market conditions are always susceptible to change, but core knowledge is always valuable no matter the market cycle.
Regulatory Awareness: Although we are not offering legal advice, we are aware of the regulatory environment surrounding cryptocurrencies, which is helpful to you in an ever-changing market.
The main idea of the brand turns into actual editorial practices - however, I must confess we are still working on refining these processes:
The first step in our content selection process is a question: "What helps readers understand cryptocurrency fundamentals better?" Instead of riding the wave of short-lived tokens, we concentrate on concepts that have enduring value.
For market analysis, we set up a requirement for writers to depict different scenarios with respective probability figures. The fact that markets cannot be predicted with absolute certainty is acknowledged by the content creators responsible for the issue.
We use an editorial inspection framework that involves:
Verification of facts by experts in the relevant fields
Ensuring correctness of any given code or protocol that may be included in the content
Checking if the content is digestible for the target audience while trying to keep the complexity of the idea
Meeting Different Reader Needs
One of the main reasons behind the popularity of Cryptocurrency is its ability to attract a wide range of audience - from complete beginners to experts in the field - and content that is meant to be accountable should function equally well for each group.
For beginners, we create "Start Here" books that contain not only basic concepts but also an explanation in common language. Each industry-specific term is linked to a glossary, which not only gives a definition but also expands the term technically. These guides took us much longer than we initially thought - it turns out that writing in a simple way is more difficult than writing in a technical one!
The "Connections" series is something that users would find useful in terms of the ways in which different concepts are interrelated. By learning the effect of consensus methods on transaction speeds, you get a better idea of how to evaluate the projects instead of just memorizing the facts.
Advanced participants gain by learning about our deep dives on upcoming protocols and technical developments. These documents are written under the assumption that the reader has prior knowledge but do not use the terms that are only known to the insiders. As a result of the recent article we had on ZK-rollups vs. Optimistic rollups, there was an animated discussion in the comment section, and even the technical team of StarkWare joined the conversation.
Coinminutes Cryptocurrency didn’t stop there. We broadened our scope to address the curiosity of institutional investors by offering regulatory updates and enterprise applications in a way that is understandable for everyone.
Business Case for Responsibility and Future Development
Education creates more knowledgeable readers over time. As your knowledge grows, you seek more content - creating a cycle of engagement.
In an attention economy that rewards extremes, responsible content stands out. While it may generate fewer viral spikes, it builds a foundation for growth.
Building on this foundation, we're working to improve our responsible curation model in several ways:
A community review board would be instrumental in defining standards for difficult and controversial topics. This would allow us to bring new perspectives on how we make editorial decisions. We have not yet finalized the governance structure for this - it is difficult to find a balance between community input and editorial efficiency.
We are working on technology tools for verification, one of which is a blockchain analytics dashboard that fact-checks claims about network activity in real-time. The prototype is functional for Bitcoin and Ethereum, but it is quite difficult to extend it to the multitude of networks.
What if the entire industry followed suit and adopted these standards? We have initiated conversations with other content creators regarding shared guidelines for responsible crypto communication. To be honest, the response has been a mixed bag - while some outlets are enthusiastic, others are apprehensive and express concerns about engagement metrics.
We are still struggling with the decision on the handling of anonymous team projects, which are prevalent in the crypto industry but pose challenges in terms of transparency. If you have any insights on this matter, I would really like to know your opinion.
Besides the articles, we are broadening our educational initiatives to include learning modules that personalize the content based on the user's knowledge level.
The Path Forward
Information quality in the world of cryptocurrency has direct financial and technological consequences. By adhering to the principles of responsible curation, we strive to deliver content that remains effective irrespective of market conditions.
I am of the opinion that the media, if responsible, can be instrumental in the transition of cryptocurrency from being merely a speculative instrument to a technology with transformative potential. Transparent and precise information enables you to make sound decisions and at the same time, the entire ecosystem becomes more robust.
With blockchain technology gradually making its way to the mainstream, the quality of information regarding it is becoming increasingly important. By our dedication to the responsible curation of content, we anticipate that we will contribute to this positive change.
What standards would you set for content related to cryptocurrency? What elements of our strategy would you like us to elaborate on? Your feedback is instrumental in the way we construct this model, which is our commitment to delivering the information you require in this intricate sector.