Current challenges for donors and content creators
The historical institution of patronage has changed in both the supply and demand sides. On the supply side, you do not need to be a king, noble or rich merchant to be an content creator’s donor; anyone with enough wealth and artistic interest can be a donor. On the demand side, there is a wider array of content creators and, as previously mentioned, the word content creation seems more appropriate to encompass various forms of expression, including areas like health, education or charity.
There is, however, something that separates patronage from other ways of supporting a content creator, such as crowdfunding through platforms like Kickstarter. And that is the personal aspect of being a donor. There should be a personal connection between a donor and a content creator, even if physical acquaintance is not necessary in today’s digital world. And this is, precisely, what generates some modern-day challenges for the system.
The connection between a donor and a content creator should be such that the donor is not simply interested in the creation but wants to feel like being part of it. Crowdfunding platforms are mostly impersonal: you like a specific initiative, and you donate or invest some funds; but you do not usually get to know the people behind it. That is simply not how crowdfunding is designed to be.
Social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter can help in generating some kind of personal connection; but they are not designed for funds contributions, and do not provide match-making functionalities, at least not for linking potential contributors with content creators.
The fact is that, for content creators, gaining visibility and finding the right donor is quite challenging and time consuming. Individuals who wish to support aspiring creators, on the other hand, do not have either many sources to find individuals who truly align with their preferences, priorities, and aesthetic sensibilities.
This does not have to be the case, and the Marvellous Agency of Support (MAS) has a solution.
However, before explaining how the MAS platform works, we shall comment on how modern content creation donation is a great use case for applying a technology that is revolutionizing many sectors: blockchain.