Grant Proposal: SiaPeopleLearn

[DappMentors]

Introduction

Project Name: SiaPeopleLearn
Name of the organization: Dapp Mentors

Project Description:

We propose to build an educational platform called SiaPeopleLearn, powered by the integration of Sia Renterd. SiaPeopleLearn will be a rebuilt version of our existing Dapp Mentors Academy system, incorporating the decentralized storage of Sia and making it available to the Sia Ecosystem.

Project Beneficiaries:

• Educators: Online educators will benefit from our project as it allows them to transition away from centralized course hosting platforms. Our cost-effective platform, running on the Sia network, offers them greater control and ownership.

• Content Creators: Our project also benefits content creators by enabling them to move away from centralized video hosting platforms. They can reduce costs while having complete ownership over their content through our Sia-based platform.

• Community Users: Users within the Sia network community benefit from our project as it provides them with a decentralized and user-owned educational platform. Additionally, our open-source code will serve as valuable examples for community members interested in contributing to the Sia ecosystem.

• Application Developers: Developers working on applications within the Sia ecosystem can leverage our project’s open-source code as a valuable resource. It not only allows them to integrate with our educational platform but also provides useful examples for building upon, fostering innovation and contributing to a richer Sia network ecosystem.

How our project serve the Foundation’s mission of user-owned data:

By developing SiaPeopleLearn, we are creating a full-stack open-source project that enables online educators and content creators to move away from centralized course hosting platforms. Instead, they can use a more cost-effective platform that runs on the Sia network and is owned by them.

Grant Specifics

Project Budget:
We are requesting $25,000 which shall be paid inline with the milestones below. This budget will covers the following cost:

• Project Development.
• Project Hosting.
• Team salary for the 4 months to be paid along the milestones.
• Sia Renterd service cost ($1,000 worth of SC).

Project Milestones:
Full or half of the first milestone payment will be paid on approval to enable us to begin work. Here are the project’s milestones for a total of 4 months:

• Milestone 1: Analysis & UI/UX design
  *Duration: 3 weeks
  *From October 25th to November 15th, 2023

• Milestone 2: Sia API Backend development
  *Duration: 6 weeks
  *From November 16th to December 27th, 2023

• Milestone 3: Front and backend integration
  *Duration: 4 weeks
  *From January 2nd to January 30th, 2023

• Milestone 4: Testing, finishing touches, and deployment
  *Duration: 2 weeks
  *From January 31st to February 13th, 2023

The total duration of these milestones is 4 months, spanning from October 25th, 2023, to February 13th, 2023.

Potential risks of the project:
Two potential external risks we consider are:

1. Restrictions on Credit and Debit Card Usage for Crypto Transactions: There’s a risk of credit and debit card usage for cryptocurrency transactions being banned in certain countries, such as India (2018), China (2021), Nigeria (2021), and others. This could potentially hinder users from purchasing Sia Coins. However, it’s worth noting that this risk is relatively low nowadays, as an increasing number of countries are recognizing crypto assets as valuable commodities rather than threats.

2. Dependency on Stripe for Payment Processing: Another external risk is our reliance on Stripe for payment processing, which SiaPeopleLearn uses to facilitate learner subscriptions. Stripe is only available in 46 countries and could be susceptible to disruptions due to regulatory changes, especially in regions with evolving central bank regulations. To address this risk, we intend to offer alternative payment methods in cryptocurrencies. This approach provides users with greater flexibility and ensures uninterrupted access to SiaPeopleLearn. It aligns with our commitment to decentralized principles, enhances user convenience, and reduces our reliance on centralized payment processors. Additionally, it’s important to note that the backend of SiaPeopleLearn can be utilized by community users and application developers independently of Stripe, further mitigating the potential impact of this risk.

Development Information

Will all of our project’s code be open-source?
Yes, all project code will be open-source and made available on GitHub.

A link to where our code will be accessible for review: GitHub - Daltonic/SiaPeopleLearn

Do we agree to submit monthly progress reports?
Yes, we agree to submit monthly progress reports in the forum.

Contact info:
Email: darlingtongospel@gmail.com

Any other preferred contact methods:

Forum: @DappMentors
Discord: Daltonic
LinkedIn
X-twitter
YouTube
Website

We kindly request your support for SiaPeopleLearn. We believe your approval will drive innovation, foster collaboration, and grow the Sia network ecosystem.

[mike76]

Hi, thanks for your proposal.

I have a question: how exactly are you going to integrate Sia into your platform?

[DappMentors]

Hi @mike76,

Thanks for your reply.

We’re intending on using Sia Renterd with a custom API to manage uploading/downloading, streaming, payments, statistics, and user management. Sia’s cost-effectiveness and decentralization align with our vision for this innovative platform. Kind of like the Pixeldrain platform but for courses and educational content creators.

[mike76]

Oh nice!

Can you point us to the piece of code where you implement that?

[DappMentors]

@mike76
We’re eager to embark on this journey of building a web3 project from scratch in alignment with the vision outlined in our proposal. However, please note that our current codebase is private (web2), and we are committed to creating a fresh web3 project.

As we move forward, the implementation and code development will be transparent and open-source. We’ll ensure that all relevant code and details are readily accessible and well-documented for your reference and collaboration. We appreciate your support in this exciting endeavor!

[DappMentors]

We’re excited to share our vision for the transition from a web2 standard to a decentralized platform. Our proposal entails the development of a system from the ground up, and its successful implementation will empower course and content creators to utilize Sia’s technology for hosting their content without daunting upfront costs.

Content creators will retain a significant portion of their earnings, while SiaPeopleLearn will serve as a seamless facilitator for content, payments, and creator earnings. To provide a relatable analogy, think of it as a similar approach to BuyMeACoffee.

[mike76]

Okay, anywhere else that we could look at some of your code?

A demonstrated ability of the developer to deliver on the expectations is one of the criteria for a proposal to be approved.

[DappMentors]

Ok @mike76, please sign up on our platform Dapp Mentors and share your email with me I will grant you a one month subscription to interact with our system.

Here is a proof of our private repo and platform interface:

[mike76]

Thanks! This is what I was looking for.

[DappMentors]

Thank you @mike76 ,

In summary, our vision is crystal clear: we’re committed to developing a cutting-edge web3 platform called SiaPeopleLearn, it will be powered by the Sia Renterd service. This platform will revolutionize the online course and content creation landscape, offering creators the opportunity to launch their online courses without any upfront costs.

SiaPeopleLearn will play a pivotal role as the facilitator, hosting video courses and seamlessly delivering them to students. Moreover, we’ll handle all payment processes while harnessing the exceptional capabilities of Sia’s decentralized file storage platform.

With unwavering confidence, we’re excited to make this vision a reality!

[Kinomora]

Hello @DappMentors,

Thanks for this proposal! Typically when we see fairly large proposals with aggressive goals, we urge the proposer to apply first for a proof of concept grant to show that Sia actually fits your use-case. This is usually the better path to go down before committing funds that will be used for things like marketing, user acquisition, and customer support.

Please re-submit a slimmed down proposal targeting just the Sia integration, something like replacing your existing backend with renterd and seeing if it can support it. Additionally, the committee just approved new grant guidelines that your new submission should follow. Find them and the new proposal formats here: Sia - Grants.

Some additional questions/concerns that will help our team here and in the future:

• Is the intent to build a brand new platform, or re-build Dapp Mentors using Sia?
• We’d like to see better risk analysis.

Regards,
Kino on behalf of the Sia Foundation and Grants Committee

[DappMentors]

Hello @Kinomora,

We have slimmed-down our proposal to focus on Sia integration. We have also aligned our submission with the new grant guidelines.

Additionally, we have improved our risk analysis section.

We appreciate your guidance and believe these adjustments better align our proposal with your expectations and the Sia Foundation’s goals.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to your review of our revised proposal.

[mike76]

Thanks for your flexibility in adjusting your proposal.

Just for you to know (if you are not yet aware), Stripe sees crypto-related activities as a high-risk business, so your two bullet points in the risk assessment are potentially killing each other. I hope you have a mitigation plan.

[DappMentors]

Hi @mike76,

While your observations are insightful, our dependency on Stripe is limited to learner subscriptions (not for purchase of crypto assets) and poses no risk to the development of the Sia Integrated backend. Community users and application developers are free to remove Stripe altogether or use an alternative payment partner.

[Kinomora]

Hello @DappMentors,

Thanks for your answers to the team’s questions and your revised proposal.
Congratulations, the committee has voted to approve your grant proposal.

We’ll reach out soon via email for onboarding.

Regards,
Kino on behalf of the Sia Foundation and Grants Committee

[DappMentors]

Wow, thanks @Kinomora and the grant committee for this opportunity to build and promote the Sia Network. We are super grateful…

Contact:
Email: darlingtongospel@gmail.com

[DappMentors]

Hello @kinomora,

I trust you are doing well. We were anticipating receiving the onboarding email in line with your congratulatory response last week, but we have yet to receive any communication from you or anyone from the grant committee.

Can we get an update on that, thanks.

[steve]

Hey @DappMentors, thanks for your patience. We were updating some processes on our end but will be sending that out shortly.

[DappMentors]

Thanks for getting back to us @steve,
we’ve submitted the required information in the email you sent us.

[DappMentors]

Monthly Project Report (November 2023): SiaPeopleLearn

Introduction

This report provides an update on the progress of the SiaPeopleLearn project for the month of November 2023. The report is intended to keep all stakeholders informed about the project’s status, accomplishments, and any challenges encountered.

Project Overview

SiaPeopleLearn is a project aimed at creating a platform that enables people to learn and share knowledge using Sia Renterd for course content hosting. The project is divided into four milestones, each with its own duration and objectives. This report covers the first milestone, which focused on project analysis and UI/UX design.

Accomplishments

During November 2023, the team completed the following tasks:

• Completed the first milestone of the project, which involved project analysis and UI/UX design.
• Chose NextJs, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS for frontend development.
• Chose NodeJs and TypeScript for backend development.
• Accomplished the UI/UX design with the most important pages of the application added.
• Kick-started the development of the frontend, which is the 2nd milestone.
• Prepared a short video showcasing the project on Figma.

Challenges

The team encountered a few challenges during the month, but they were able to overcome them. For example, there were some difficulties in choosing the right technologies for the project. However, after careful consideration and research, the team chose NextJs, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS for frontend development and NodeJs and TypeScript for backend development.

Next Steps

The team plans to first translate the Figma design into frontend codes before proceeding to the 2nd milestone, which involves Sia API backend development.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the team made significant progress on the SiaPeopleLearn project during November 2023. The team completed the first milestone and started the 2nd milestone (Frontend Development). The team also prepared a short video showcasing the project on Figma. The team will continue to make progress on the project in the upcoming months.

Attachments

The report includes the following attachments:

• A video showcasing the project on Figma

Contact Information

Should you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best Regards,

Darlington Gospel
Lead Developer
darlingtongospel@gmail.com