Exclusive interview with POPOLOGY® founder: Creating a shared attention economy, what will be the future of Web3 media?

Original: Max Clark，blockchainreporter

In an era where digital platforms shape global culture, a movement challenging the attribution of “attention value” is emerging. Founded by seasoned creatives Joe Rey and Oliver, POPOLOGY® is building a decentralized media ecosystem aimed at redefining interactions between creators, audiences, and brands. What started as a simple question about the influence of pop culture has evolved into a patented Web3 infrastructure where attention becomes a measurable, ownable, and earnable digital asset.

As traditional platforms struggle with transparency, ownership, and fairness issues, POPOLOGY® introduces an innovative model: it features a “Public Trust Ledger™,” NFT-driven curation tools, on-chain brand sponsorships, and a practical token compliant with EU crypto asset market regulations (MiCA), designed for real economic participation. Its grand mission is to transform culture into a shared economy, enabling those who create and consume media to ultimately own its value.

In this exclusive interview, POPOLOGY® founders delve into the origin story, core vision, technological implementation, and how the project aims to fundamentally reshape influence quantification and value distribution in the Web3 world.

Q1. Please tell us the origin story of POPOLOGY®, what inspired you to create it? And how did the brand name come about?

POPOLOGY® stems from a personal question I’ve pondered for years. Two weeks before the September 11, 2001 events, I was conceptualizing an activity to achieve “global inner peace” through pop culture, while grappling with the question: “If pop culture shapes the world… why can’t the creators and promoters of it own any of its value?”

My background spans music videos, advertising, and emerging media, giving me insight into the “engine room” of influence operations. I’ve seen firsthand how culture is shaped and how little autonomy the public has over the platforms that control attention—despite being the true owners of their own attention.

The origin of the brand name was a simple, almost spiritual moment for me:

• POPOLOGY® = the science of POPular.
• Not “popularity.”
• But “POPular.”

The stories, symbols, expressions, and sparks of creativity that naturally attract people.

I envisioned a system where this human-centric attraction could be measured, rewarded, and managed by the people, not the platforms.

This became the blueprint for POPOLOGY®. Think about it: “Popular” is both singular and plural, a belief system and a metric, a religion and a science. No other word can do that! POPOLOGY® is essentially a “global inner harmony” mechanism disguised as a media network.

Q2. If you had to describe POPOLOGY® in one sentence, what would its core mission and vision be? How has that vision evolved from project inception to now?

Mission: To transform human attention into a verifiable, ownable, and earnable digital asset through decentralized media. As our CEO states: “Leading the shared economy.”

Vision: To create a shared attention economy world where creators, audiences, and brands participate together, rather than a system controlled by a few platforms.

POPOLOGY® has evolved from a creative idea into a mature Web3 architecture, now including:

• A Public Trust Ledger™ (A Public Trust Ledger™)
• NFT-based POPcast® PEERstreams™
• POPmercial® brand underwriting system
• A practical token compliant with MiCA
• A global licensing model
• A patented media ecosystem

What started as philosophical thinking has become a solid infrastructure.

Q3. Could you give us a concrete overview of how this platform operates for audiences, creators, and brands? What is their typical user experience?

For audiences:

• Watch curated short video streams called “POPcast® PEERstreams™.”
• Their attention is verified cryptographically.
• Earn “POPs” points within the app, which can be exchanged for POPOLOGYcoin™ rewards.
• Own their data and get paid when they choose to share it.

For creators:

• Curate media content into “story playlists” and mint them as NFTs.
• Select and embed brand ads from the “POPmercial® Pavilion.”
• Earn dual token rewards from brand exposure and audience engagement.

For brands:

• Purchase POPOLOGYcoin™ tokens, underwriting 1,000 verified views per token.
• The “BrandSmart™” smart contract ensures brand safety, content matching, precise exposure verification, and transparent ROI.

Everyone participates in the same transparent, blockchain-based economic cycle.

Q4. What unique tools and monetization options does POPOLOGY® offer creators compared to other entertainment platforms?

Creators can access:

• NFT-based media curation tools
• Control over brand sponsorship—choose their sponsors
• 50% revenue share via the POPmercial® system
• Audience reward multiplier effects
• A complete Web3 identity with verifiable influence
• A global marketplace showcasing their curation taste

Unlike traditional platforms, we don’t see creators as “workers” within algorithms. We see them as co-owners of “cultural signals.”

Q5. For brands, how does POPOLOGY® help establish meaningful collaborations and achieve measurable ROI? Can you share a recent success story?

Brands on POPOLOGY® get a fixed, predictable media cost: 1 POPOLOGYcoin = 1,000 verified views. No auctions, no bidding wars, no hidden fees, no algorithm black box.

Before the platform launched, several brands trusted us and joined the ecosystem, such as rBeatz Radio, PS of Sweden, Science Under Nature, Graffiti Clothes. They spent heavily on other platforms and found many drawbacks; they see our solution delivering more precise media placement than any single platform. POPOLOGY®’s most disruptive power is enabling all platforms to work together, breaking the centralized platform model.

In POPOLOGY®, creators choose sponsors—this is the true engine of authenticity.

Q6. What incentives does the platform offer to encourage audience participation (like watching, sharing)? How do you balance user experience and monetization?

Every interaction earns “POPs” points, including:

• Watching videos
• Commenting
• Sharing content
• Fully watching a POPcast
• Engaging with brands of their choice

The platform never forces ads; viewing behavior itself is seen as “mining” POPs. Personal data is never collected before users opt-in. Everything is voluntary, and everything is rewarded.

POPOLOGY®’s philosophy: users’ time isn’t free, their data isn’t free, and their attention isn’t free. This creates the first user-owned media cycle, not a surveillance economy.

Q7. Your backgrounds are quite different—Joe as Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Oliver as COO and CMO. How did your respective backgrounds and experiences shape early product decisions?

As a creative director and production designer, I (Joe Rey) understand how culture and media operate—how images, symbols, and stories create emotional pull.

Oliver has decades of global production experience; he understands the importance of scale, execution, and narrative consistency. He knows what brands want and need, and how consumer experience impacts memorable journeys and potential profitability.

Together, we fused three elements: my philosophical vision → his operational and marketing discipline → blockchain transparency.

Q8. What were the biggest technical or market challenges you faced in building POPOLOGY®, and how did you overcome them?

1. Verifying attention: Integrating multiple platform user data into a meta-search engine, combined with on-chain timestamps.

2. Balancing copyright and fair use: Establishing the “Public Trust Ledger™” under a non-profit, and designing a curation workflow aligned with “transformative fair use” standards.

3. Tokenizing media value without speculation: Addressed by:

• Setting a fixed CPM unit (1,000 views per token).
• Using a purely utility token design.
• Ensuring compliance with EU MiCA regulations.

4. Explaining a new media model to traditional brands: Through the POPmercial® sponsorship model, demonstrating the high ROI of this new influencer/creator/attention economy.

Q9. Content moderation, discovery, and quality control are major issues for all entertainment platforms. How does POPOLOGY® handle content curation, moderation, and delivering the right content to the right audience?

We designed a peer-led moderation system featuring:

• BrandSmart™ filters
• Contextual metadata
• Content curation signals
• Blockchain-based digital rights management (supporting fair use)
• Audience ratings
• AI-assisted moderation
• NFT provenance for each POPcast®

Creators build trust over time. Their influence is measured by:

• Completion rates
• Audience engagement
• Brand fit scores
• Community approval

Content quality naturally improves because here: curation = ownership = reputation.

Q10. What metrics do you use to measure success? User retention, revenue, brand partnerships? Which is most important at this stage?

We track many metrics, including:

• Retention of verified audiences
• Creator revenue growth rate
• Token circulation speed
• Cost per successful brand sponsorship
• Data licensing participation rate
• POPcast® completion rate
• Expansion into licensed countries

But currently, the top metric is—usability.

This is the true standard of “popularity” created by the people, for the people! It’s the frequency with which POPOLOGYcoin™ underwrites views. Usability is the backbone of the entire ecosystem.

Q11. Looking ahead, what are POPOLOGY®’s priorities for the next 12 to 18 months? What new features, markets, or business models should we watch for?

• Launch in the Americas
• Public offering and TGE
• Expand licensing to EU, Latin America, Asia-Pacific
• MVP Beta release in April 2026, soft launch in July 2026
• Launch POPsphere™ 2.0 immersive interface
• AI-assisted curation tools
• Virtual commerce within the POPOLOGY metaverse
• Educational outreach via our 501©(3) Academy
• Creator union tools
• Build a fully decentralized media governance DAO

We are building a new broadcasting layer for the Web3 era.

Q12. Finally, what advice would you give to creators and brands considering joining POPOLOGY® today?

• For creators: Join early, own your influence. Here, your taste becomes your currency. You’ll get paid before the platform does. Be authentic, build your brand, and choose brands you truly want to work with to enrich your story.
• For brands: POPOLOGY® isn’t advertising; it’s supporting relationships. When creators choose your brand voluntarily, the effect is much stronger. POPOLOGY’s uniqueness is that creators select brands based on their own will, not algorithmic recommendation—this fosters loyalty. Creator loyalty influences their followers, bringing more conversions and sales. This innovative approach allows brands to connect more naturally with their target audiences and foster long-term growth.
• For both: The future isn’t about attention; it’s about intention. And what POPOLOGY® measures is precisely that—an intention more important than anything else on Earth. The future is here: brands increasingly rely on content creators to expand their influence and tell their stories. When brand and creator goals align, amazing results happen. Creators attract more attention, brands gain more exposure, and audiences get authentic, resonant stories—ultimately boosting conversions. This trend shows that collaboration between brands and creators will be even more vital in the future.