Socrates Beginner's Guide: The 'Cultural Nexus' Offering Debate-to-Earn Rewards

New Web3 social media and entertainment platform Socrates aims to transform the way we communicate and engage in the digital landscape, combining elements of GameFi and SocialFi across multiple blockchains.

Socrates users earn rewards by participating in activities such as creating multiple-choice Q&As, voting, commenting on answers and liking others' comments.

Billed as a “cultural nexus that encourages intellectual exploration and values every voice,” the platform embraces freedom of speech, rewarding its users for sharing unique perspectives, engaging in vigorous debates, and persuading others to accept their opinions.

It’s a simple, easy to understand platform that doesn’t require users to engage in complex game strategies. And points earned on Socrates can be redeemed at a 1:1 ratio for USDT, with several questions on the platform already accumulating 10,000 USDT worth of points.

Here’s how to get started.

Getting started with Socrates

Socrates supports both Android and iOS, as well as web browsers (note: for now, iOS users need to use TestFlight to make in-app purchases). There are two ways to onboard onto the platform:

1. Create an account by importing existing Web3 wallets like MetaMask.
2. Directly create a new wallet on Socrates.

Currently, Socrates supports the Polygon, Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain networks (with support for Arbitrum One and Optimism coming soon). Once a chain is selected, all deposits and withdrawals must be completed on that chain, with no option to switch between chains.

To officially begin your Socrates journey, equip yourself with a non-transferable SBT Pen and/or a transferable Genesis Pen (see below) and some points. There are three levels of SBT Pens, offering users different benefits, such as a larger share of the prize pool. Points serve as the basic fuel for user interactions, including asking questions, voting, commenting and liking. Each interaction requires a certain amount of points, and collectively, these points form the prize pool for each question, which is distributed at the end.

Who can play Socrates?

Socrates welcomes everyone to the platform, respecting all voices from different backgrounds and perspectives—whether you're interested in earning rewards, enthusiastic about engaging in debates, eager to explore new perspectives, or simply seeking freedom of expression.

Once equipped, you can move to the heart of the platform—participating in questions and answers. Users are not confined to a single role; whether asking or answering questions, both are equally important for independent thinking. With sufficient points, you can engage in various interactions at the same time, choosing to spark interesting discussions or participate in ongoing debates.

How does play-to-earn on Socrates work?

Socrates rewards both question creators and answer contributors. There are five different prizes that users can earn rewards from through various actions in-app — the Question Creator Prize, Support Prize, Discussion Prize, Reason Prize, and Likes Prize.

To help spark insightful discussions, the platform has introduced the Question Creator Prize for those asking questions on the platform. Users can create a multiple-choice question with 2-4 answers on any topic, customize the points that it will cost for other users to vote, and choose how long it will be active for; creators are guaranteed a minimum of 5% of the total points earned by other prize winners when the question ends. Socrates also shares the previous day's SBT revenue with the Question Creator as a trending bonus when the question becomes trending—encouraging users to create interesting and eye-catching questions, in the hope of receiving additional incentives.

The Support Prize is another prize relevant to the question. All users can actively support questions they believe have the potential to become trending (see below) using points or Genesis Pens, which significantly enhances a question's popularity. Users can receive the reward if the question does trend; if it doesn't, the supported points are returned.

Engaging in discussions by answering questions is the easiest way to participate in the Socrates platform. The largest proportion of the prize pool is therefore allocated to the Discussion Prize.

Participants can earn a share of the Discussion Prize by simply voting for an answer to any question. How the prize pool is distributed amongst winners is based on factors such as the number of participants, voting timing, voting rates, and if the user uses an Genesis Pen to vote.

Socrates doesn't encourage users to just 'choose the correct answer'; its rewards system ensures that participants are rewarded for their early engagement, independent thinking, and meaningful contributions to discussions. Other interactions, such as providing reasons for your chosen answer and supporting others' comments, also have the chance to earn the user Reason and Likes Prizes.

In December 2023, Socrates introduced the 'bonus package' feature. Users can now bind bonus packages to questions that can be claimed by any participant, encouraging more users to interact with that question and offering additional ways for them to earn rewards.

What are trending questions?

In Socrates, you can create questions on various topics, with the platform’s algorithm calculating a 'popularity value' based on people interacting with that question. Users can find popular questions in-app on the leaderboard, and the platform selects those top of the list to become 'trending questions'.

Trending questions are displayed on all users' homepages, meaning it attracts more participants, resulting in a larger prize pool and substantial rewards for prize winners.

How do NFTs play a role in the game?

Like SBT Pens, Genesis Pens can be used to interact on the platform and are also NFTs, but only 30,000 will ever exist. However, Genesis Pens offer users additional advantages, significantly boosting their potential to earn rewards by ensuring a larger share of the prize pool when calculating shares among eligible winners.

Using Genesis Pens to support common questions also increases the chances of those questions trending, providing users an opportunity to win the Support Prize.

There are a few different ways that you can get a Genesis Pen: airdrops such as competitions on Socrates’ social media channels; or purchasing one on OpenSea.

In the future, Socrates will introduce more features related to Genesis Pens such as airdrop bonuses for NFT holders, so it’s certainly worth trying to get your hands on a Genesis Pen.

Any tips to earn greater rewards?

Socrates is designed to be user-friendly and fun, eliminating the need for complex gaming strategies. Whilst owning Genesis Pens and creating trending questions can increase your rewards, the platform’s core philosophy is that engaging in thoughtful debates is a part of daily life. The fundamental rule for getting the most out of Socrates is active participation. By connecting with thinkers, debaters, and wisdom seekers worldwide, you not only gain valuable insights but also earn rewards every day.

As the community becomes more vibrant, with increased participation and interactive voting, Socrates expects the overall question prize pool to grow significantly, encouraging users to share their diverse perspectives and points of view—and help create a thriving community where every voice is valued and rewarded.

Join the Socrates community online at app.socrates.com, or download the app on Google Play and Apple iOS TestFlight. Sign up now with the invitation code 8kbe8hsq or use the invitation link.