Last week, I sent out a small gift of 0.0001 BTC to paid subscribers. A total of 22 gifts were distributed— 12 readers opted for Muun wallet, and 10 chose Proton wallet. The activity has wrapped up for now, and we might revisit it in the future.
The new benefits for paid subscribers are gradually being rolled out. Yesterday, DHK Daoer Group officially started on Signal. If you're a paid subscriber but haven't received an invite, please reply to let me know. Although instant messaging groups may seem trivial in modern times, I’ve carefully considered setting up the DHK Daoer group, and I rarely send a message without serious thought.
Today's topic is closely related to the reform of subscriber benefits, as it discusses the reasoning behind moving the newsletter to Paragraph.xyz and introduces how readers can get involved.
Long-time readers might recall that I transitioned the newsletter from Substack to Paragraph starting in late May. After four months of exploration and adjustment, it's time to explain the move and help readers take part.
Why Did I Make the Risky Move to Paragraph.xyz?
Please accept this slightly flawed analogy for now: Substack is like a combination of Blogspot + Mailchimp + Patreon, merging blog posts, newsletters and paid subscriptions into one unified product. On the other hand, Paragraph is more like Blogspot + Mailchimp + Patreon + web3. It builds on Substack’s foundation and goes a step further by integrating web3 features.
Last week, I had lunch with Dave, and he asked if I switched to Paragraph because I was dissatisfied with Substack. That’s not the case. I’m very satisfied with Substack, and in fact, I even invested a small sum last year to become a tiny shareholder. However, Substack’s excellent features have essentially reached the "web2 ceiling", and there’s no sign of it venturing into the web3 realm. Its functionality is difficult to further expand. As someone who never "waits for the right moment", I enjoy getting involved with products when they are still immature but show potential. That’s why I boldly made the switch to Paragraph, even though its scale and smoothness are currently nowhere near Substack's level. I hope to grow alongside the product, the team, and the readers.
Dave also asked if constantly switching platforms was exhausting. Compared to people who still use notebooks (I mean real paper, not laptops), I do switch platforms often. But compared to those with tons of social media and messaging apps on their phones, I’m quite loyal. All my articles are published on ckxpress.com, and my WordPress backend has been in use for nearly 20 years. I initially used Mailchimp to manage subscriptions and send out emails, and I cross-posted on a few communities. I started with Blogspot, then moved to Medium, and later switched to Matters, which caters more to the Chinese community. In early 2020, I moved from Medium to Substack, using it not only to publish content but also to send emails and manage subscriptions, simplifying the publishing process. I only switched to Paragraph this past month, marking over four years on Substack. If a player switches teams four times in a 20-year career, that’s not excessive, right? And often, it’s not the player looking to join a championship team, but the team wanting the player to leave.
In my view, the key question isn't whether frequently switching platforms is tiring, but whether your audience (or in sports terms, your "fans") still follow you after each move. I mean, whether readers continue to follow after switching platforms or if you have to start from scratch each time. Most social networks and content platforms are walled gardens, so the answer is typically no. However, whether I moved from Mailchimp to Substack in the past or from Substack to Paragraph now, I brought along all the subscribers I had accumulated over the years. From an author's perspective, this is natural. But from a commercial standpoint, this is almost impossible. One reason I hold Substack in high regard and even put my money where my mouth is by investing in it, is because it embraces openness and doesn’t lock in users.
The transition was seamless not only for free users but also for paid subscribers. When I migrated platforms last month, I transferred all the Substack subscriptions to Paragraph. When subscriptions expire, Substack will no longer charge them; instead, Paragraph will handle payments, and the prices remain unchanged. If you receive a notification from Substack about your subscription renewal, reminding you to pay, please ignore it. I didn’t explain this in advance, which led some loyal readers to pay again through Paragraph. While I feel sorry for the confusion (and have refunded the extra payments immediately), I am also deeply grateful for their support.
Token-Gated Post: Reader Access with Tokens
It's probably no surprise to anyone that I switched to Paragraph because of web3— this might seem like a predictable storyline. However, the real intrigue lies in the specific web3 features Paragraph incorporates. Before diving into a full explanation, please visit the following page:
https://paragraph.xyz/@dhk/dhk-token-gated
Most readers should see this screen:
This is one of Paragraph's web3 features: a token-gated post. It requires readers to meet specific conditions to access certain articles, such as holding a certain number of tokens or owning an NFT issued by the author. One prime example is that DHK dao’s meeting minutes and community announcements are token-gated posts—those without DHK tokens cannot view them. People often ask what DHK tokens are used for, and this is one of the answers: as a pass to participate in DHK dao's community activities and claim benefits.
If you are reading this article in your email inbox, it means that your Paragraph account already exists, although you may not have set a password yet, and it is in a pending state. I recommend taking action right now to claim your account:
Use a browser that supports Ethereum wallets and go to https://paragraph.xyz/login.
If you are using a computer, Chrome, Firefox, Arc or Brave combined with wallets like Keplr, Metamask, Rabby or Brave’s built-in wallet will work well.
If you're only using a mobile phone or an iPad, I recommend using the Brave browser with a built-in wallet. Otherwise, you can directly use Keplr or Metamask to access the login page.Unless you're one of the few readers who have already logged into Paragraph before, click on "Forgot your password?" and enter the email address where you received this newsletter. Use the link in the email to set a password, then log in using that email and password combination.
Even if you are experienced with web3, do not log in with your wallet at this stage. Doing so will create two separate accounts that cannot be merged.Once logged in, click on your profile icon in the top-right corner, select Account Settings, and then click on the blue Connect Wallet button on the settings page to link your wallet address. Sign the message with your wallet.
That's it! You've successfully set up a Paragraph account linked to your wallet. From now on, you can either log in using your email and password or directly with your wallet.
Once you have an account linked to your wallet, I will no longer need to go through the trouble of collecting wallet addresses to send special NFTs, e-books, and red envelopes directly to specific readers.
Due to word limits, I've only introduced a small part of Paragraph's web3 features this time. I will introduce other web3 functionalities later, so get your Paragraph account with a linked wallet ready, and next time you can follow along for a more interactive and fun experience.
p.s. The upcoming release of 最後一課：在時代盡頭，留給未來的重逢之書, curated by Nowhere Publishing, features the final lectures and essays from Professors Chan Kin Man, Chan Cho Wai, Ying Fuk Tsang and Cheung Chan Fai, which they have left for Hong Kong. This will also be the first new book available for sale at 義守書店. If you're interested in pre-ordering, please leave a comment so I can estimate the quantity to airship. Keep in mind, the space in our small store is limited, and we can only stock about twenty books at a time.
