Celebrating 10 Years of Ethereum

Hangout 4: Revolutionizing Creator Monetization with Lucas Campbell & Dan Simmons of Pods Media


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In this episode of 10 Years of Ethereum, we dive deep into the future of podcasting with Lucas Campbell (CEO) and Dan Simmons (CTO) of Pods Media. Discover how they're solving the podcast industry's biggest challenges through blockchain technology and why they believe we're on the verge of a creator economy revolution.

Lucas shares his journey from being the first employee at Bankless to building Pods Media after experimenting with podcast NFTs during the FTX collapse. Dan discusses his transition from Web2 startups to Web3 building and why he bet on Lucas's vision for on-chain content.

Together, they reveal how they're tackling the podcasting industry's 20-year innovation gap, why they chose Base blockchain over Ethereum mainnet, and how their "upload once, publish everywhere" model is creating new distribution channels that didn't exist before.

The Podcasting Opportunity

  • Why a 27% annually growing industry has seen minimal innovation
  • How current ad-based monetization fails creators and listeners
  • The shift from short-form to long-form authentic content

Technical Strategy & Decision Making

  • The evolution from Ethereum mainnet to Base blockchain
  • How RSS feeds enable seamless Web2 composability
  • Building social graphs that unlock new creator-fan relationships

Consumer Crypto Reality

  • Honest assessment of current UX challenges
  • The "girlfriend test" for Web3 applications
  • Strategies for abstracting complexity while retaining Web3 benefits

Distribution Revolution

  • How on-chain publishing creates infinite discovery surfaces
  • Farcaster Frames vs traditional social media promotion
  • The composability advantage of blockchain-native content

"Every single podcast episode on Pods is a forever edition... There's no scarcity, there's no speculation. It's just I'm collecting this because I want to support this podcast." - Lucas Campbell

"With Ethereum, it's effectively the shared global database that nobody can restrict access to... Any of this social graph that you're creating exists on chain and anybody can build on top of it." - Dan Simmons

"Media is in the game of distribution. Whoever has the best distribution wins." - Lucas Campbell

  • Lucas's early Ethereum experience (spoiler: it bricked his laptop)
  • The Bankless podcast NFT experiment that started it all
  • Why they switched from Optimism to Base
  • The Mr. Beast giveaway concept using on-chain minting
  • Vision for Spotify integration and mainstream adoption
  • Advice for first-time podcast collectors


Lucas Campbell - CEO, Pods Media
Twitter: https://x.com/0x_Lucas
Farcaster: https://farcaster.xyz/0xl

Dan Simmons - CTO, Pods Media
Twitter: https://x.com/simmons_dan
Farcaster: https://farcaster.xyz/simmons

Pods Media: www.pods.media - Apply to get your podcast on-chain via the "Become a Creator" link on their website


This episode is part of our comprehensive celebration of Ethereum's first decade. We're bringing together the builders, creators, and visionaries who shaped the decentralized future we're living in today. From DeFi Summer to The Merge, from memecoins to Layer 2s, we're documenting the stories that matter.

Series Links:

  • Twitter: @10yearsofeth
  • Podcast: https://pods.media/10-years-of-ethereum
  • Email: [email protected]


Chinmay Patel
Farcaster: https://warpcast.com/chinmaydoteth
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chinmaydoteth
Basket.farm


Marvyn Paul
Farcaster: https://warpcast.com/marvp
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mpweb3wordsmith
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/marvynpaul
Host of "Is This the New Internet": https://pods.media/is-this-the-new-internet

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This content is for educational purposes. Always conduct your own research before engaging with blockchain platforms or technologies.

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Celebrating 10 Years of EthereumBy 10 Years of ETH