Infobeing, an American not-for-profit foundation, is launching a token sale on 23 November 2017 to fund the development of its social mobile app and DApp (decentralised application). The app is a social platform that uses blockchain functionality to create “a more efficient process of meeting people”.
The fundraising target is 2.5 million dollars and the IAM token will be available on the Ethereum blockchain. The sale is taking place to fund the development of the DApp platform. The funds raised will also cover the operational costs of the foundation during its first two years and associated marketing costs for the public launch of the DApp, which is scheduled to take place during the first quarter of 2019.
In a recent Irish Tech News interview , Mark Manney founding partner of I am by Infobeing said: “’I am’ is the world’s first attempt to combine spiritual wisdom with a social application. This is more than social media—it is a new People Economy (an Internet of People (IoP)) that enables people to finally connect in the realm that matters—to fulfill the unique purpose of our lives through giving, creating, and connecting with each other.”
The IAM token sale could be described as a crowdfunding exercise by the not-for-profit foundation. The white paper states that “ IAM cryptocurrency is not an investment or security. It is the utility token required for the optimal functioning of the I am DApp.”
As a relatively recent development, initial coin offerings (ICO) and token sales can be extremely high-risk for investors because of their uncertain status. Any investor thinking about ICOs needs to obtain all relevant independent advice and carry out appropriate due diligence. As such, a token sale could be understood as a form of crowdfunding that uses the blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
How does I am work?
The white paper outlines that the project’s aim to develop and launch a new social media platform on the blockchain. An algorithm matches people based on compatible ‘I am’ statements written in a set format:
I am [Verb] [Description] [Where] [When] [Price].
Statements are stored in the blockchain. Only users with complimentary statements would be able to see each other’s statements. For example, a user who is selling a certain good or service would be matched to another user who is looking to buy that particular good or service. Once this connection has been made, users would be able to communicate with one another through the platform’s secure communication channel, agree smart contracts and carry out user to user transactions using IAM tokens, Ether or Bitcoin. The IAM token will be primary cryptocurrency for user to user transactions and the foundation plans to take a percentage commission from transactions carried out in Ether or Bitcoin.
The white paper outlines the functionality of the I am statement and how it is constructed from the individual components that allows the matching process to occur.
The IAM token is a utility token for transactions with the social DApp. According to the white paper, anyone who purchases the IAM token during the sale will have access to the alpha and beta releases of the application. These contributors will also be able to test and provide feedback on the development of the project. Token holders can sell their tokens after the public launch which is scheduled to take place during the first quarter of 2019.
User trust and privacy are important issues that any social platform must have robust processes in place to deal with. The blockchain allows for user data to be stored anonymously. The Infobeing foundation plans to use a third party identity and reputational management partner to protect users. However, it’s unclear from the white paper how this would work in practice.
The roadmap
The white paper outlines the road map for the development and launch of the social DApp and mobile app. An algorithm prototype is due to ready during the second quarter of 2018. The expected launch date for I am by Infobeing is 1 March 2019.
After the launch, Infobeing plan to run a viral marketing campaign to bring new users to the DApp and mobile app. A referral scheme will be used to obtain new users following the public launch by giving away 45 million IAM tokens. Users will only be able to spend these IAM tokens within the DApp.
The full white paper can be read here.
