Seam envisions an internet where everyone can freely share their ideas, creations, and memes with the world. Despite the vast potential for collaboration, traditional models of creative attribution online have remained limited, often crediting only the single account that posts the final product. At Seam, we aim to enhance this process by enabling people to collaboratively remix the internet. To do so, we’re introducing Point Splits—a feature that allows for the programmatic distribution of rewards among all contributors involved in developing new miniapps.

The Limitations of Online Attribution Systems

In traditional online platforms, whether it's coding on GitHub, posting videos on YouTube, or sharing photos on social media, attribution is typically tied to a single account. The person who uploads the content is the one who receives credit, recognition, and in some cases, monetary rewards. For example, on YouTube, the channel owner collects all ad revenue from videos posted. Similarly, on music platforms, the artist account that uploads the song is the one paid for that content.

While this system has worked to a certain extent, it doesn't accurately represent the collective nature of most creative processes. Creativity thrives in a collaborative environment. When individuals come together, share ideas, and build on each other's work, the result is often far greater than the sum of its parts. This collaborative spirit is evident in numerous fields—especially in software development, where designers, developers, and testers work together to create apps.

Despite the collaborative nature of creativity, the current systems of attribution on the internet remain largely individualistic. This misalignment between the reality of the creative process and the systems designed to attribute credit has led to a situation where many contributors remain unrecognized for their work. Designers, ideators, and other non-developer roles are particularly overlooked, even though their contributions are crucial to the success of any project.

Introducing Point Splits on Seam: A New Era of Creative Attribution

At Seam, we believe in the power of collaboration and the importance of recognizing all contributors to a creative project. That’s why we are thrilled to announce the introduction of point splits on our platform. This new feature is designed to more accurately reflect the collective effort involved in creating a good miniapp.

How Point Splits Work

Previously, when a miniapp was unlocked on Seam, the creator received 30 Seam points. Traditionally, these points would go solely to the developer who wrote the code. However, with the introduction of point splits, this reward can now be divided among multiple contributors based on their involvement in the project. The split can be completely controlled by the creators in code. To learn more, read about Adding Teammates in the Seam developer docs.

createdBy: [{username: "jamesburet", split: 0.5}, {username: "rocco", split: 0.5}]

Point splits allow for programmatic division of rewards, ensuring that everyone who contributed to the creation of a miniapp receives their fair share of recognition and reward. Whether you’re a designer who made the app visually appealing, a developer who brought the idea to life, or even the person who came up with the initial concept, point splits ensure that your contribution is valued.

Expanding the Scope of Collaboration

Point splits open up new possibilities for collaboration on Seam. By making it easier to distribute rewards among all contributors, we’re encouraging a more open and collaborative creative process. For instance, if you have a great idea but don’t know how to code yet, you can share your idea on Seam, where others can pick it up and carry it further. Designers can then take your concept and transform it into finalized mocks, from which developers can turn it into a functional miniapp in the Seam iOS app.

This approach lowers the barriers to entry for creative projects, allowing more people to participate in the process, regardless of their technical skills. As a result, we expect to see a surge in creativity and innovation on Seam, as more ideas that would have otherwise remained undeveloped are brought to life through collaboration.

The Future of Creative Collaboration on the Internet

The introduction of point splits on Seam is just the beginning of our efforts to foster a more collaborative and inclusive internet. We envision a future where creativity is no longer constrained by the limitations of traditional attribution systems. Instead, we see a world where anyone can contribute to a project, and everyone involved is recognized and rewarded for their efforts.

This shift towards a more collaborative internet has the potential to unlock new levels of creativity and innovation. By enabling people to build on each other's work and rewarding them for their contributions, we can create a thriving ecosystem of creators who are motivated to share their ideas and collaborate freely.

Conclusion: Remix the Internet

As we move forward, Seam will continue to explore new ways to enhance collaboration and ensure that all contributors receive the recognition they deserve. Point splits are a significant step in this direction, and we are excited to see how this feature will empower creators on our platform.