FAQs on Voice

1. What makes Voice technologically unique? Harnessing the open-source EOSIO protocol developed by Block.one, Voice leverages the inherent characteristics of blockchain technology: security and auditability. Through Voice, we promote trusted and transparent interactions, as well as visibility into the way the platform promotes content.

2. What are Voice Tokens, and how are they earned? Voice Tokens are consumable utility tokens that capture the attention of other users; you can spend them on specific content to increase visibility on the platform. Because everyone has the right to be heard, users earn the same amount of Voice Tokens each day. You can earn additional tokens by creating content that other people consume and appreciate. Initially, you can use tokens to purchase space below published content, but Voice Tokens are conceived as the gateway to all forms of promotion and advertising on the platform.

3. How does Voice handle promotion and advertising? Voice Tokens live on a blockchain ledger. This enables unprecedented levels of transparency into the databases in which tokens are stored, including transparency in promotion and advertising. By enabling users to see who and how much is behind promoted content, promotion becomes engaging and less manipulative. This auditable transparency also extends into the distribution and consumption of Voice Tokens earned by authors and users and spent by those seeking promotion.

4. What about people who are more passive and primarily consume content? Why would they switch to Voice? Real members. Real content. Real value. Voice is designed for consumers and creators of content alike. Every member on Voice has the power to influence which pieces of content garner the most visibility. To ensure this, all verified members receive an equal base amount of Voice Tokens each day. We believe everyone’s opinion matters, and the Voice Token is how we ensure it truly does.

5. How do Voice Tokens help promote content? Each post on Voice has the opportunity to be “Voiced”. This means a member can use their Voice Tokens to boost the post and control the top comment. This action offers a reward to the content creator and brings more visibility to the post, as well. At that time, the members’ Voice Tokens are spent on the post. If someone else offers more Voice Tokens to take control of the top comment spot on a specified article, the previous bidder loses control of that spot but is rewarded more Voice Tokens than they originally spent to obtain it. They can then decide if they would like to place a new bid for the spot to regain control.

6. How does Voice address pandemics like fake news, bullying, and manipulation? How is content moderated? The large-scale attacks and manipulation that take place on current platforms mostly result from lack of content attribution to end-users. This cultivates an environment ripe for fake, commercialized, and manipulative content and behavior. Voice members are verified with real identities, which dramatically decreases the prevalence of fake accounts and illegitimate content. Everything is attributed to a specific person.

Moderation is still a concern, and the rules governing moderation generally rest beyond the controls of platform operators and in the hands of regulators and applicable laws. As a company, we believe in freedom of speech. We will prioritize that freedom while operating within the constraints of all laws and regulations.

We’d like to enable decentralized content distribution and moderation in the future but for phase one, we are primarily focused on delivering core functionality that can be enhanced in exciting ways.

7. Will everyone on Voice be required to verify identity? For everything other than content consumption, yes. Authenticity is fundamental to bringing alignment between people and platforms. Identity verification ensures that every account belongs to a real person. We can also mitigate the risk of bots, fake news, and other negative experiences caused by malicious actors who hide behind anonymity and commercial interests.

Moreover, we enable a deeper level of engagement in the tokenized economy. We are not oblivious to the hurdles required to achieve this but know the transformative experience it unlocks is worth it. We are focused on making the process as streamlined and easy as possible.

8. What is the Voice Beta program? Like all new products with big ambitions, Voice will require iteration and trial and error to ensure that alignment centers on the user, security is strong, and people love it. We expect many things about the product and this FAQ to change as we continue to iterate. The beta will open the doors to members of the community to experience Voice for the first time, test its design, and start building your network.

9. What is the Road to Beta Voice Blog? Transparency is at the heart of everything we do and as we continue to build Voice, part of that means opening the door for our community to see firsthand the struggles, successes, and the steps Block.one is taking to deliver on Voice.

Over the coming months, through our blog and FAQ, we hope to start a dialogue with the community around the issues that plague social media today, and the role Voice will play in changing the social media paradigm, and our road to launch Beta. Our Blog will highlight interesting aspects of our journey as we address the challenges we face, and the opportunities we see. The initial Road to the Beta announcement can be found on the new Voice Blog, along with an FAQ that will continue to grow as we approach launch.

10. When will Voice be available? The Voice team is hard at work aiming to release a public beta for Voice on February 14th, 2020. You can request beta access at Voice.com to stay up to date on the latest developments. While the initial release of Voice Beta will be English only and include a limited feature set, we want to make it available to as many people as possible to begin experiencing the direction and provide feedback. We encourage you to join us by requesting beta access here if you have not done so already.

11. Where will Voice be hosted? While Voice is in beta and a highly iterative state, it will be run on a purpose-made EOSIO blockchain. In time, we would like Voice to leverage the EOS Public Blockchain, and potentially others that can meet the performance and governance demands of Voice.

12. In which countries is the beta version of Voice available? Voice is designed to be a global community welcoming different experiences and cultures. As we work towards that goal, the beta version of Voice will initially launch in English and in as many countries as feasibly possible. As we optimize Voice for local languages, standards, and regulatory landscapes, we will expand access for members around the world. For more information, please follow our Voice Blog. We’ll post updates on timelines, challenges, and more.

13. Interested in working with Block.one on Voice? We always welcome interest to explore working with Block.one on Voice. For more information regarding joining the Block.one team, visit our careers page to view positions we’re currently hiring for.