Merculet proposes a growth methodology based on user attention: Merculet constructed Attention Value Network. This Network connects both the supply and demand sides of attention with an open protocol suite to promote a virtuous circulation of the Internet of Value. On the one hand, it provides diverse methods for user operation. On the other hand, it offers real users and business scenarios for various existing public chain projects, promoting the effective circulation of value. Attention Value Network realizes the value circulation in a distributed commercial society, brings a brand-new production relationship experience to users and entrepreneurs, and re-defines the structure of valuable user traffic. The core components of the project include: 1. User Attention Value (UAV) evaluation system: UAV System effectively evaluates user attention, completes digitalization and capitalization, and provides a proof of effective workload, that is, UAV. It established a long-lasting trust relationship between entrepreneur and user as well as a new mechanism for the community of interests; 2. Attention Incentive system: UAT (User Attention Token), Application Market of Merculet UAT Alliance Entrepreneurs can issue UAT to users based on UAV value. The UAT will be anchoring the basic MVP (Merculet Value Protocol) token, enabling the synergy and the value exchange between entrepreneurs, thus creating an era of the token, which is a means of the welfare, equity, entry admission, and identity. 3. To address the source of user attention, Merculet will provide a blockchain based Merculet Open Content Platform: Based on consensus and driven by token, it will provide a decentralized platform for the entire industry chain globally. It also dedicated to solving the problem of global content circulation brought by cultural differences.
Theta is a decentralized video delivery network, powered by users and an innovative new blockchain. Theta is an open source protocol purpose-built to power the decentralized streaming network and will allow for vertical decentralized apps (DApps) to be built on top of the platform to enable esports, music, TV/movies, education, enterprise conferencing, peer-to-peer streaming, and more. SLIVER.tv’s DApp will be the first application built on the Theta network leveraging its existing user base of millions of esports viewers. DSN and the Theta protocol solve various challenges the video streaming industry faces today. First, Theta tokens are used as an incentive to encourage individual users to share their redundant memory and bandwidth resources as caching nodes for video streams. This improves the quality of stream delivery and solves the “last-mile” delivery problem, the main bottleneck for traditional stream delivery pipelines, especially for high resolution high bitrate 360° virtual reality (VR) streams. Second, with sufficient amount of caching nodes, the majority of viewers will pull streams from peering caching nodes. This significantly reduces content delivery network (CDN) bandwidth costs, which is a major concern for video streaming sites. Lastly, the Theta network greatly improves the streaming market efficiency by streamlining the video delivery process. For example, advertisers can target end viewers at a lower cost and reward influencers more transparently.The Theta blockchain introduces three novel concepts: Reputation Dependent Mining: In the Theta protocol, the caching nodes play the role of miners in the blockchain. The block reward is not a constant, but depends on the reputation score of the caching node that mined the block. To obtain more mining rewards, miners not only spend computation power to mine blocks, but also relay video streams to downstream viewers to increase their reputation scores. Global Reputation Consensus: We propose a mechanism for the Theta network to reach the global consensus on the reputation scores for each caching node. Proof-of-Engagement: We introduce a novel Proof-of-Engagement scheme to prove that viewers legitimately consume the video streams, providing better transparency to advertisers and a basis for viewers to earn Theta tokens for engaging with the content.