WGONQC, a hyper-local Facebook group, has developed into an unexpected juggernaut in the Quad Cities media landscape. Today, it is doing so bolder than ever by jumping into the world of NFTs. It's a fascinating move, especially considering they're outperforming established players like the Quad Cities Times. Is this a real game-changer for local journalism, or a long-shot bet with a dubious return?
NFTs Powering Local News? Seriously?
On the surface, it sounds pretty out there to use NFTs to power a local civics-oriented news site. Seriously, that is a provocative statement! Though this technology has frequently been associated with million-dollar JPEGs, now it’s being put to use broadcasting city council meetings and local events. Dig-A-Hash, the company behind this grand experiment, is currently minting each and every article as an NFT on the Polygon network. But here's the catch: the actual content isn’t stored on the blockchain itself; it’s sitting on Amazon S3.
Because it highlights a fundamental tension at the heart of this experiment: the promise of decentralization versus the practicality of cost and efficiency. For one, Segura says that in contrast with AWS databases, Polygon saves customers money. Is the minuscule cost savings really worth the risk of connecting your project to the volatile and dangerous crypto market?
Think of it like this: it's like buying a fancy, high-tech safe to store your spare change. Sure, the safe seems cool and all, but is that the right tool for the job? This raises a crucial question: Is it decentralization or just decentralization theater?
South Asian News and Financial Freedom
So, let’s look at this through a desi lens. In this ranger-led region, access to reliable information often breeds financial empowerment. Picture how much greater the impact would be if this model could be both narrowed and expanded to support local news hubs scattered throughout South Asia. Imagine if the ability to have NFT royalties bypass platforms and pay journalists creating longform reporting on topics such as healthcare, education, or government accountability.
The potential is enormous, but so too are the risks. Even assuming the streamers could extract and pay those royalties, the crypto market’s volatility could disappear those royalties in an instant. In sum, regulatory uncertainty may hinder innovation in the cradle before it’s even born. As much as we would like to believe these advances, let’s face it—the digital divide in most of South Asia is still vast. Because of this, widespread adoption is very far away.
With all of these caveats, the idea of using NFTs is just so hot and sexy. It provides a new, unique opportunity to create local news revenue streams. We’ve been glad to see other models like this being explored elsewhere. Potential such as DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) which are already gaining traction funding all types of creative projects, including journalism projects. The WGONQC experiment could be a stepping stone towards a more sustainable and community-driven model for local news, not just in the Quad Cities, but globally.
This was a bit like the Grameen Bank model started by Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh. Through unlocking capital, microloans have changed communities by shattering economic ceilings formulated by oppressive systems. In just the same way, NFTs could strengthen our community press through new streams of support. It's about financial inclusion for journalism.
Can Community Own the News?
The part that holds the most promise and makes this such a fascinating experiment is the idea of community ownership and governance. Imagine this: local community members are able to purchase NFTs auctioned off. These tokens grant them the power to vote on editorial decisions and how resources are distributed. Not only would this build a better sense of ownership and accountability, but it would create active participants in the process rather than just readers.
This raises some thorny questions: Who gets to decide which NFTs confer voting rights? How do you stop rich people or institutions from purchasing all the voting NFTs and drowning out the original intent? And perhaps most importantly, how do you make sure that the process of making those decisions is transparent and equitable?
DeFrieze’s other NFT dog-related venture, The Dog Plex — to tokenize dogs as NFTs — completes their dystopian trifecta. Is this not a logical extension of the same idea? Or does it indicate the first step away from producing robust journalism to a world of tokenizing everything? It’s this kind of surprising connection that will leave you looking for the bigger strategic vision in the long run.
The bottom line is this: WGONQC's experiment is a bold one, but it's far from a guaranteed success. This is a worthwhile gamble with great potential payoff, financially and socially. To that end, we need more research, more experimentation, and a healthy dose of skepticism. That doesn’t mean we should discount it altogether. This extraordinary new financial vehicle—if authorities get it right—could spark a local news financial revolution or, on the flip side, serve as a warning against hype, overreach, and false promises. Only time will tell.
The question is: Are you ready to place your bets?
