1. Matera Protocol

An open standard to reward creators for their engagement on socials

Matera points

Matera introduces points to reward Creators for the engagement they get on socials. Creators can then claim points for rewards in the DeFi ecosystem.

For the system, Points fulfil a more complex function, helping the network measure creators' reputation (social capital). As of today there is no reliable, trusted standard to measure social capital online. We believe it is essential to have one in order to create a benchmark for liquidity distribution across the creators.

While several companies, such as Klout, aimed to define a standard, they failed to do so because they kept their calculation algorithm as a black box, losing the public trust.

Matera Points act as an open source measure of social capital across the internet, similar to a ‘creator credit score’, engineered so that:

• it represents a creator’s monetization potential - our definition of social capital

• its formula is open source and governed by the MATR token holders

• it is generic and composable so that every creator network data can feed to it

• its record are public on chain, creating a transparent and immutable audit trail

• it remains credibly neutral and not owned by any creator network

For the launch, the Matera Points formula is deliberately naive and upgradable. Initially, the calculation comprises of 2 components:

• A web2 component using engagement metrics, such as reach and engagement

• A web3 component - a direct function of users staking on behalf of a creator, which will represents the main measure of social capital in the network

Points are uncapped, initially driven by web2 engagement but eventually driven by staking. MATR holders have governance over the entire formula and the ability to change the calculation or introduce new parameters.

Matera Points Formula

Points are calculated weekly on Monday at 12am UTC, and measures activity from the previous 7 days.

We adopt the generic terms of ‘Followers’, ’Impressions’ and ’Reposts’ used on X, which can be substituted with the appropriate term for the given platform, e.g. ’Subscribers’ for YouTube and action such as ’Adding to story’ on Instagram.

Defining the following parameters:

• F: The amount of accounts following the creator (network)

• I: The amount of impressions the creator's content is generating during the past 7 days (reach)

• R: The amount of reposts generated during the past 7 days (amplification)

Weekly points Z are calculated as:

Z = (R/F) * I * 1000

Matera Rewards Distribution

Matera operates a 'reward pot' funded by the Matera treasury, brands, sponsors, and other DeFi companies. This pot is then split between creators as a function of their number of Points, and global staking S of MATR, expressed as a proportion of circulating supply.

• ω{S}i is the stake weighting for creator i with a respective stake of Si

• ω{Z}i is the score weighting for n creators with scores Zi:

The resulting reward ζi for a creator is the combined weighting reached from the Staking and Points:

Rewards are originally paid in MATR tokens, and can be converted in our DeFi platform.

An open standard

Matera Points are the linchpin of the new creator economy, acting as a credit score for creators to attract liquidity. The open source nature of the Creator score also maximizes composability for thousands of developers to build applications around it. Similar to Worldcoin establishing proof of humanity, Matera establishes a credit score benchmark for 300m creators online, that investors, lenders, liquidity providers, stakers, brands or sponsors will be able to rely on.

Incentivizing creator behaviours

From a game-theory perspective, Points introduce a strategic element to creator behavior, as Creators are incentivized to maximize their points by growing their follower base, driving engagement, and attract stakers. Points being open source means that creators can actively influence it to grow. This aligns with the principles of mechanism design (Myerson, 2008), as it encourages creators to take actions that benefit the overall ecosystem.

Bringing the social graph on-chain

Eventually, Matera will offer the option for creators to bring their social graph on-chain, and join Creators clubs. Doing so, creators will start to own the relationship with their audience, outside of the platforms.