City of Candles

An experimental poem co-written by attendees of the Broadcast conference

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Several People Are Typing is an experimental magazine about the wild future of decentralized media & creative collaboration. It was co-created by Foster, Seed Club, and Metalabel, along with dozens of writers and dreamers. You can collect a free NFT version, or purchase the physical magazine, from Metalabel.

This piece was co-authored by the attendees of the inaugural Broadcast conference.

The inaugural Broadcast conference that took place on May 19, 2023 was not just an event—it was an embodiment of a vision. A vision of creative collaboration, co-ownership, and the fascinating potential of on-chain media. In the spirit of this vision, we initiated a unique experiment: a live, evolving poem. Using an application available at broadcast.foster.co, participants of the conference were invited to share their ideas, insights, and choice quotes throughout the discussions. These contributions were ingeniously processed in real time, with each idea helping to craft a poem that was displayed on TV screens around the conference—a dynamic, quirky, yet insightful representation of the collective consciousness at the event.

As the conference concluded, this live, generative poem was refined and finessed to reflect the depth of discourse, resulting in the experiment you are about to read. The embodiment of our discussions didn't end there, though. In the spirit of decentralization and shared ownership, this poem was initially minted as a unique Non-Fungible Token (NFT) under the aegis of Foster's zine. However, it will also stand alone as its own NFT, its value shared among all the creators and participants at the conference. This innovative step ensures that all 94 contributors will earn in perpetuity from the proliferation of this poem.

This creative endeavor encapsulates what we believe is one aspect of the future of onchain media. It’s not just about creating art–it’s about breaking boundaries, blurring roles, and redefining ownership. It’s about creating something fun, participatory, and collaborative. It’s about embedding the assurance of provenance and immutability. It’s about celebrating the multitude of voices that contribute to the evolving narrative of media. It's about the promise that every voice, every contribution, and every idea matters–just as every verse of this poem does. This is the future we envision at Broadcast, a future we are excited to share with you through this poem.

In the labyrinth of our shared reality,
A question dangles, ripe with perplexity.
Is this onchain community building a curiosity,
A new form of media, or mere fleeting tendency?

On the canvas of interconnected infrastructure, we explore,
Seeking operational models that offer more,
Luxury media experiences, sparkling galore,
Narrate tales in the onchain core.

With a touch of anti-utility, a dash of aspirational identity,
We venture through the uncharted sea,
Bringing forth remixes of IP,
In a symphony of collaborative creativity.

Against the backdrop of AI's endless replication,
In a world of permissionless social gravitation,
The question of authorship sparks an interrogation,
As we navigate the torrents of information.

The dance of blockchain and media, intimate and complex,
Informs the rhythm of our collective reflex,
In this room of enthusiasts, shaking off the Web2 annex,
We bring a new vision into context.

Podcast NFTs and co-ownership lead the narrative,
Challenging us to rethink how we live,
How we create, how we give,
In this digital, cryptographic sieve.

Woven into the tapestry of pixels and chains,
Is a resonance that remains,
'Engagement walls' and 'paywalls' we reframe,
In the ethos of Web3, forever ingrained.

From zine aesthetic to broadcast babe,
We've written a new page,
In the annals of the digital age,
A new perspective on the stage.

With DAOs, creators, and voices diverse,
Together, we traverse,
The contours of this media universe,
Where co-creation and community converse.

From AI abundance to crypto's scarcity,
We question content's veracity,
In this city of candles, glowing with audacity.

Co-written by Adam Delehanty, Alexa Lombardo, Ameer Suhayb Carter, Amanda Young, Amir Gamble, Austin Robey, Blake Minho Kim, Bradley Freeman, Chase Chapman, Christina Beltramini, Claire Miran, Cyprien Grau, Dan Hunt, David Phelps, David Feld, Diana Chen, Doug Petkanics, Eli Zeger, Eileen Isagon Skyers, Eric Tang, Gregarious Narain, iain nash, Isabel Gonzalez, Isabella Arnao, J Myers, Jess Sloss, Jess Sun, Jihad Esmail, John Garry, Jonathan Victor, Jose Mejia, Kelsey Byrne, Kelvin Fichter, Kristie Graybill, Kurt Slaw, LDF, Leah Smith, Mathurah Ravigulan, Michael Silberberg, Mikey 0x, Monty Preston, Natalia Murillo, Natasha Hoskins, Nick Susi, Patrick Rivera, Patrick Workman, Payton Garland, Rafa, Richie Bonilla, Rocco, Rodolphe Ködderitzsch, Sage D. Young, Samantha Ayson, Sara Campbell, Serra Saridereli, Shannon, Shawn Cheng, Sierra Henry, Simon Yi, Steph Alinsug, Sterling Proffer, @rmxceo, Thomas Scaria, Tina He, TOADY HAWK, Will Collier, Xian Zheng, Yana Sosnovskaya, Yondon Fu, Viren Parmar, Zack Guzman, Nicolas Madoery, Amelie Lasker, Austin Barack, Cheryl Douglass, Christian Reza, Francois Vaxelaire, Gavin Bains, Iban Sadowski, Jason Goldberg, Jonathan Colmenares Mendez, Julienne Worring, Kinjal Shah, Manuel Dilone, Max Segall, Michael Kriak, Mike, Niko Cunningham, 0xsmac, Ravi Bakhai, Ruby Thelot, Sam Furness, Sören Wrenn, Wenyi Zhu