developer user story: a token representing e-book ownership

The casebook guides you through an example blockchain project, the problems it tries to solve and how Tokenscript addresses it.

Download it from this github issue:

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I am experimenting 2 styles of starting page of this casebook. Kindly provide your opinion on which one is better:

https://www.tokenscript.org/t/casebook-writing-style-the-story-style-or-the-hurried-manager-style/172

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Nice story.

Structurally, it jumps too rapidly from "NoZama will destroy Zamas monopoly on ebook markets" (goal) to the product description.

I didn't understand how Nozama helps to solve the major problem with Zama: The huge network effect of being the market. People will still buy ebooks at Zama, because they are used to buy everything on Zama.

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My guess: The power of tokenizing ebook is that you can access the book with any reader. You can buy it wherever you want, but read it with any software.

In theory you can buy it on Zama, but read it with FuckZama reader. But why should Zama sell it as a token instead of the file it monopolizes?

The answer must be: Because ebooks with tokenscript are better.

Maybe this: you can resell such tokenized ebooks. Currently ebooks can't be resold, or it happens in a legal grey zone or is planned to happen only in one format / for one device, which limits the market.

If you can freely resell an ebook, it increases the value of an ebook. So other markets which use the token can achieve higher prices and serve second hand ebook markets. It basically creates a market to which Zama has no access.

Another can be copy protection. I'm thinking about publishing an ebook myself, and copy protection is a terrible issue. Usually it is bound to accounts and servers and not very secure. Copy protection is a major restriction to the integration of the market and the scope of applications. It's also a reason why publishing companies hesitate to use new models, like reselling or lending.

So you can say: Tokenscript improves and widens the market for ebooks in a way, that the monopoly model of Zama can't take part it in without giving away its monopolist's punishing tools.

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I can address your comment, but I hope there is a way to touch the business model topic in a briefly (but convincingly) manner, so that we are not distracted too much from description of Tokenscript.

People will still buy books from zama, however there is a change in the air: previously there is no incentive for a start-up like Humble Bundle or co-op.com.au to start selling books, placing AdWords advertisements or utilise its network to sell books, because at the end stage the can only redirect customers to zama.com.

It's probably going to be more like the video game distribution model. Half of the games I bought are from Humble Bundle, IndieGala etc where the distribution channel steamapp simply allow games to be purchased anywhere to be redeemed on steam; yet the other half I bought them from steam directly. Steam is an example of a powerful distributor and retailer opened up the retail market, but the backdrop for Steam to do so is that PC game market was already heavily contented, unlike ebook market which was rather new and almost created by zama.com

I don't think zama.com will disappear. Big agenda like new interactive book format is difficult to move with free market, however, giants like zama, capable of doing so, will not do so unprovoked. Nozama can poke them. zama might join the network with evil or good intention too. How the story unfold is the topic of a novel but I hope to convey the reader that it is possible only if token logic is detached from its hosting app.

My guess: The power of tokenizing ebook is that you can access the book with any reader . You can buy it wherever you want, but read it with any software. In theory you can buy it on Zama, but read it with FuckZama reader. But why should Zama sell it as a token instead of the file it monopolizes?

You buy a book on zama but read it with FuckZama reader?? I guess you are using future tense in a world that zama decided to join nozama and issue book tokens.

Frankly I don't see why zama is eager to jump on the bandwagon. Is it relevant (if zama joins or not)? They are not publishers, therefore does not own the books' rights, so we are not depending on them for the books' availability.

If zama is going to join with all its books, putting it between nozama and publishers and act as a middlemen, it would instantly fill nozama network with books, but I don't see why would they do so. This situation is unlike the situation that caused NYtimes moved its news stories to the Internet in response to the new ecosystem; NYTimes owns its stories, but zama is an intermediary, not owning the books.

I rather prefer the Nozama Solution paper. I think it is easier to understand and more tangible to find out what is going on. One thing that is still a it unclear to me is the motivation of Nozama to construct the eBook token? Are they doing it as an altruistic non-profit or are they maybe going to cut a small commission of each token issued?

Another talking point that fits in the story:

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is still a it unclear to me is the motivation of Nozama to construct the eBook token?

Thanks for reminding me.

I guess their paying customers are the publishers or retailers since that has to go through a smart contract, but they may find that charging devices or streaming service providers is easier. I am afraid this level of detail will distract some readers from Tokenscript since it's smart contract logic?

I agree. Discussing financial incentives might be a bit out of scope for the casebook, but I think it is something we should keep in mind when trying to get Tokenscript out to the world.

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Incentives around the freemarket are communicated here -> https://medium.com/alphawallet/startups-in-the-blockchain-era-e44dd5831258 But it does not go into incentives around discoverability platforms (eg ad-based, or better referral models).