LitePaper
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” – Lao Tzu
RayMiner.com is the first step in what will be a really long. exciting and (hopefully very) fruitful journey.
It is the first of a series of experimental websites and platforms planned as part of a large ecosystem of projects tentatively called “Empire” (or “The Empire Project”).
This “LitePaper” is a summarized first draft of the final whitepaper. It sketches out the basic framework on which this social experiment is designed.
RayMiner.com and the “Empire” Project
This LitePaper refers specifically to the RayMiner platform but also includes an overview of the larger Empire Project ecosystem (of which RayMiner is a part and a pioneer platform).
The Empire Project is planned to consist of a broad network of numerous interconnected Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 platforms, applications and metaverses clustered into ecosystems, sub-ecosystems and even sub-sub-ecosystems.
The primary purpose of the RayMiner platform is as an experimental pilot program and proof of concept to develop a blueprint that can be used to rapidly deploy other similar platforms and clones that will make up the first sub-ecosystem of The Empire Project.
Ecosystems of Ecosystems
The Empire Project will be made up of numerous interconnected ecosystems of online platforms, real-world businesses and services which will in turn be made up of numerous ecosystems and sub-ecosystems.
The Vision of the project is to make earning an income easy, fun and accessible to all the people of Earth (and the moon!).
The Mission is to create profitable, sustainable and eco-friendly interconnected digital and physical ecosystems that mimic real world economic complexity and cultural diversity, managed by a fair, transparent, efficient and decentralized governance structure.
The Premise of the Empire Project is our proposition that:
By creating multiple ecosystems in numerous niches and verticals, each made up of a broad mix of many viable projects and platforms (all interconnected and interoperable), the strongest support and organic growth boost will be created for any digital assets (cryptocurrencies, NFTs etc) that will be used to power these ecosystems.
This organic growth boost will be largely due to the network effects that arise from having such a pseudo-realistic complex system where everything is interconnected and interacting with each other, one way or another, directly or indirectly, in a manner that mimics the complex interactions found in real world economic systems.
This proposition forms the basis of the “Ecosystems of Ecosystems” (EoE) concept which we have developed and adopted.
The EoE concept provides the foundation for our proprietary “Multilayer Ecosystems-of-Ecosystems Model” (MEEM) which aims to mimic the quantity, diversity, network effects, complexity and interplay of the real world global economy and culture.
It is a purpose-built financial and social model enabled through the use of a network of numerous interconnected and commercially viable platforms, stacks and ecosystems interwoven with shared and diverse cultural values in a multilayer hierarchy.
In summary, the primary mission of The Empire Project will be to create numerous semi-independent projects all interwoven and networked in such a way that they support and boost each other and the digital assets that power them.
These projects will also include several cryptocurrencies, NFTs and other digital assets that will be provided with multiple, nearly endless utility through their use in the ecosystems, sub-ecosystems and platforms.
Some of the future cryptocurrencies that will be used in these ecosystems are the ones currently being mined on RayMiner.com
During the “Alpha” test phase of RayMiner, these cryptocurrencies will not yet be “listed” on exchanges and cannot yet be withdrawn but will only be available on the RayMiner.com platform.
When the platform reaches 2 million email subscribers and an average of 100,000 daily visitors then the cryptocurrencies will be listed on Decentralized Exchanges (DEXes) at which point you will be able to withdraw them from the Platform and hold in your wallet or trade on the DEXes.
After listing, more platforms will be developed both for fund raising and to begin with the development of the Roadmap. See the RoadMap here.
Governance token (pGV) holders will receive airdrops of all new cryptocurrencies that will be launched as part of the Empire Project. Read more about the RayMiner cryptocurrencies here.
Empires of Empires
Just as there exists the concept of Ecosystems of Ecosystems, there also exists in The Empire Project the concept of “Empires of Empires”.
This is the cultural aspect of the Project: an attempt to mimic real world cultural diversity and complexity. It paints a picture of many interconnected empire-like constructs made up of equally interconnected sub-empires that are all autonomously operating entities.
It comprises of the following pillars amongst others:
- Factual and fictional stories that make up the official Lore and Canon
- Shared community values, ideals, culture and standards
- Common vocabulary
- Community created content (fan fiction, fan art, memes, viral content etc).
- Community evangelization (Shilling and spreading the word about the Project)
We expect this concept to further strengthen the community spirit and enable everyone to participate (and benefit from their participation) in a meaningful way.
At its basic essence, part of the culture of the Project revolves round every community member perceiving themselves as “Warriors” building and growing their “Tribes” (communities) and benefiting from the interconnectivity with other Tribes and community members (Tribespeople).
These Tribes may be perceived as parts of various interconnected empires.
These Tribes are meant to be employed primarily as a way to achieve a Warrior’s personal or brand goals while at the same time building their Tribe and also spreading the word about the Project.
This will help to grow the whole community virally by drawing non community members into these Tribes organically.
The idea of the Tribe and Empire is a loosely defined one and could take any form from one person to another. Community members are encouraged to spin off their own visions of these concepts based on any official guidelines given (starting with the scenario above and the below example).
A common example would be to see your Tribe as your personal following or community which you have created to propagate and promote your own content, ideas, talent, services or anything you care about, at the same time promoting the Empire Project.
The creator of The Empire Project is to be referred to as “The Empress” or simply “Empress”. She is said to be a kind and benevolent leader who built the empires and rules kindly and wisely over all of them.
RayMiner Platform Overview
RayMiner.com is an experimental platform which is the first of many platforms that will make up one of the sub-ecosystems of the Empire ecosystem.
The main purpose of the platform is three fold:
- To use it as a pilot test version to develop a blueprint that will enable the rapid launch of numerous other similar platforms like it.
- To build up a large community of millions of dedicated users who will promote, participate and benefit from The Empire project.
- To generate funds to kickstart the development of other platforms in the ecosystem
The first release of the RayMiner platform is the Alpha version which implements the “Proof of Scroll” consensus mechanism using basic Web 2.0 technology.
The Alpha version is a test version that will be improved over time.
Though the platform is under testing, everything (pre-)mined is valid and can be withdrawn when the withdrawal facility is activated at the 2 Million Subscriber mark (see the RoadMap for more on this).
RayMiner is built on top of legacy Web 2.0 technology and is primarily advertising supported. This is the reason why there appears to be so many adverts clustered in certain areas of the user interface.
Proof of Scroll (PoSc) Consensus
Rayminer platform is a system that operates on a “consensus” mechanism which we call “Proof of Scroll”. This is not so much a technological mechanism as it is a conceptual one.
Consensus, as used here, is meant to be analogous to any action that needs to be taken to secure a network or platform in any given aspect or regard.
Viewing this security from the aspect of FINANCIAL security (i.e profitability of the platform), it can be said that :
The Proof of Scroll (PoSc) consensus allows a platform to generate advertising revenue from users when they are shown adverts as they scroll up and down the platform.
The base strategy of the RayMiner experiment is to first attract visitors to the platform by providing them with free cryptocurrencies. This visitor traffic is then monetized using various methods most of which employ the Proof of Scroll mechanism.
The RayMiner Proof of Scroll implementation generates advertising revenue by using a purpose driven design paradigm which compels users to visit and scroll through the platform in order to receive rewards.
To be able to receive their periodic incentives, users have to scroll down the platform past clusters of adverts.
This action brings the user in contact with the displayed adverts ensuring that they see as many ads as possible as they scroll. With this method, the adverts are less obtrusive and gets viewed in a more organic way.
Proof of Time (PoT)
Another ideological consensus mechanism being employed on RayMiner is what we refer to as “Proof of Time (PoT)” (similar to concepts such as “Proof of Wait (PoWa)” or “Proof of Elapsed Time (PoET)” ) which causes users to have to wait for specific amounts of time before being able to earn from certain parts of the system.
An example is the daily lottery which can only be re-played after waiting for up to 24 hours to pass since the last time you played.
As stated previously, these mechanisms are not technically “consensus” mechanisms as commonly understood in blockchain technical parlance. Instead, they are more of a concept or idea whose implementation may or may not approach the technological intricacies of the complex consensus mechanisms implemented by cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Revenue Generation
Visitor traffic to RayMiner.com is monetized using mainly paid advertisements (3rd party and direct) while a smaller percentage of revenue is expected to come from affiliate commissions and direct sales of digital items in the Shop.
To maximize revenues, Rayminer takes a “passive-aggressive” approach to the display of third party advertisements.
This means that while there is a relatively heavy use of adverts and banners on many areas of the platform, there is also a conscious effort to be moderate.
This moderation means that we try to display ads that are as less obtrusive and disruptive to the user experience as possible. The guiding policy is to avoid pop up adverts and minimize the display frequency of more risque or adult oriented adverts.
Incidentally, many of these types of adverts which are not displayed tend to generate higher revenues. It is therefore important to note that in being moderate, RayMiner.com sacrifices additional revenue in favor of a better user experience.
Because of this, it has been decided that if this first experiment (RayMiner.com) goes as planned, there will be other similar mining platforms like RayMiner launched in the future that would have various levels of aggressiveness in their approach to generating advertising revenue.
In fact, these types of miners will make up one of the sub-ecosystems in the overall Empire project. There will be several other similar platforms targeted at various categories of people, demographies, geographical locations, interests and risk tolerance.
A Note on Decentralization
At this stage of the project, there is an unusually high degree of centralization because most of the control and access currently resides solely with the Lead developer. This is not ideal for project longevity.
To remedy this situation, a priority of The Empire Project will be a rapid decentralization of key aspects by leveraging DAOs, DACs and other technologies that may be available. This is already baked into the roadmap and will be tweaked as the Project progresses.