Threshold
This proposal is really concerning, with all due respect to your work. I lay down my concerns below:
**1. Salary/Task Double-Counting - **
The proposal allocates $22k/month for both:
Salaries (5 full-time roles at $3.4k-$4.1k/month each)
Deliverables (24 articles, 4 videos, 6 livestreams/month)
This creates redundancy. Why are so many people being paid salary while also getting others to write articles and pay for them? Salaries should inherently cover labor costs for these outputs. The current structure effectively charges twice: once for staff time, and again for deliverables they produce during paid work hours.
2. High Per-Unit Costs
Articles: $925/article ($22k ÷ 24) vs. standard Chinese market rates:
Freelance writers: $100-$300/article (Upwork, Fiverr)
Professional agencies: $300-$500/article (ChainNews, BlockBeats)
Video Editing: $868/video ($3.4k ÷ 4) vs. typical rates:
Basic editing: $50-$150/video (Taobao freelancers)
Premium editing: $200-$400/video (Bilibili creators)
**
3. Unjustified "Media Distribution" Costs
**
$8.3k/month allocated without:
Proof of third-party partnerships
Performance metrics for external platforms
I would appreciate if someone did a competitive study about the value PolkaWorld is providing from a media perspective to the ecosystem and compare it with other chinese platforms like ChainNews, BlockBeats etc...
The PolkaWorld proposal exhibits systemic financial mismanagement and questionable value delivery.
I took the time to look through the March report and here are some observations:
March 2025 Performance Shortfalls
Underwhelming Engagement
Articles: 26 articles → 25,533 total views (~982/article)
Top article: 7,512 views (29% of total monthly traffic)
72% of articles received <1,000 views despite $925/article cost.
Video ROI Failure
4 educational videos: 4,403 total views (~1,101/video)
Cost: $3.4k/month for editing/uploading → $0.77/view
Social Media Decline
English X:
Impressions ↓33% | Engagements ↓19%
Relies heavily on 1.2K verified followers (7.8% of total)
Chinese X:
Engagement rate ↓3.6% despite** "quality over quantity" claims**
Vote "No" to uphold responsible treasury spends. Please
Please take a careful look at our proposal and make the appropriate calculations. Thank you!
Polkaworld has been a leading voice when it comes to community building and media in China and beyond. Their content is informative and timely and brings in a variety of different voices. I think a big problem of Polkadot in the past has been that media spending has been too focused on one single outlet. Rather, alternative Polkadot-native media outlets should be embraced wholeheartedly. Having a native Chinese outlet is incredibly important, given that this is arguably the country with the biggest developer community which we need to reach if Polkadot is to be successful in the long term. And while Polkaworld is a leading voice in the Chinese market, it should no longer be considered restricted to this jurisdiction, as the wealth of new English language content has shown.
Edited
Polkaworld is undoubtedly the largest and most influential Polkadot community in China. Before 2024, it focused on producing Chinese content and media, with most Chinese media citing Polkaworld's content as the official information source. However, as Web3 information sources gradually migrate to X (formerly Twitter), Polkaworld will also place greater emphasis on developing X content after 2024. It will simultaneously produce content in both Chinese and English and gradually gain more attention and influence in English content. A lot of progress has been made.
I support this proposal and hope to collaborate with Polkaworld to amplify the voices of DOT holders in Asia and enable them to participate in OpenGov discussions, proposals, and voting.
Ah, the classic ‘But China is expensive now!’ deflection. Let’s clarify:
Geography ≠ Argument: My critique isn’t about East vs. West salaries, it’s about PolkaWorld vs. ChainNews/BlockBeats rates in the same region. If PolkaWorld’s "quality" costs 3x competitors, show us the receipts (or the 3x ROI).
Monopoly Math: "No alternatives" ≠ justification. If PolkaWorld’s been the only option for years, maybe it’s time to ask: Why? Healthy ecosystems thrive on competition, not loyalty programs.
Transparency Theatre: For $266k/year, we deserve more than "trust us, we’re quality" especially when March’s top article had 7.5k views (roughly $123/view). Even Netflix gives us watch-time metrics.
Keep calm and compare apples to apples. 🍎🔪🍏
We've been working with the Polkaworld team for the last 3 years. They are one of the early supporters of Polkadot and have greatly helped raise awareness of Polkadot in the Chinese and APAC markets. I fully support the Polkaworld team with this proposal. Ryan | SubWallet
Edited
I have concerns regarding the effectiveness of PolkaWorld’s marketing efforts. Based on available data, much of their output appears to focus primarily on translation work. While translation has value, it does not constitute a comprehensive marketing strategy.
It’s also worth noting that WeChat metrics can be easily inflated, making it difficult to assess true engagement. Despite several years of operation, their X
YouTube channels have shown minimal growth in terms of subscribers and viewership — which raises further questions about long-term impact.
Additionally, to my knowledge, the team is not exclusively dedicated to the Polkadot ecosystem and is also involved in operations for other networks. This may explain the size of the team, but it also suggests a lack of singular focus and long-term commitment to Polkadot’s growth.
Overall, the cost-to-impact ratio appears unfavorable. Given these concerns, I recommend voting NAY on this proposal.
It's not the largest community at all, not even a community at all. Because they haven't invested any time in operating the community
Just for the sake of salary, so their quality is lower
Just for Gavin's work, not the community, they focus on pleasing Gavin
The core members are not focused on the Polkadot ecosystem, but also work for many other ecosystems
Given the above situation, this cost is too high
I suggest cutting the fees by 2/5 to match their work quality.
When evaluating PolkaWorld’s contributions, assessing solely based on “content production cost” overlooks its unique and long-term value to the Polkadot ecosystem. While other Chinese blockchain media may offer broader distribution, they often lack PolkaWorld’s deep understanding of Polkadot’s technical roadmap and governance evolution.
PolkaWorld consistently produces high-quality content, closely follows developments like OpenGov and ecosystem updates, and offers meaningful exposure for projects. Notably, its monthly interviews are shaped by community input, creating a rare and valuable feedback loop between users and builders—something blockchain media cannot replicate.
In the Chinese-speaking community, PolkaWorld serves as a primary entry point for many DOT and KSM holders. It has built a strong, cohesive community and continues to be a trusted home for long-term supporters.
In my view, PolkaWorld plays a foundational role in ecosystem development and governance education. I sincerely urge the committee to consider its lasting impact and community influence beyond short-term marketing metrics 🙏
— Yuki Pan
Dear Proposer,
Thank you for your proposal. Our second vote on this proposal is AYE.
The Medium Spender track requires 50% quorum and simple majority of non-abstain voters according to our voting policy. This proposal has received six aye and one nay votes from ten members, with two members abstaining. Below is a summary of our members' comments:
The voters expressed strong support for Polkaworld, highlighting its significant role in the Chinese-speaking community and its efforts to enhance English content for broader engagement. Many praised its dedication and reasonable funding requests, emphasizing the importance of continued growth and development in the region. However, some raised concerns about transparency and the perceived overselling of their capabilities, leading to a few abstentions and a dissenting vote. Overall, the sentiment leaned towards endorsing Polkaworld's initiatives and contributions.
The full discussion can be found in our internal voting.
Please feel free to contact us through the links below for further discussion.
Kind regards,
Permanence DAO
Decentralized Voices Cohort IV Delegate
📅 Book Office Hours
💬 Public Telegram
🌐️ Web
🐦 Twitter
🗳️ Delegate
The sudden change of ticket for '14D', as I mentioned, the fact is that as long as they provide good service to Gavin not Polkadot community, it's enough to make him happy. They also passed it with Gavin's help before, right.
gav's statement on Twitter changed the outcome.
Provide a fair price to a media company that serves multiple blockchain ecosystems simultaneously. They are not missionaries, far from it.
Continue to persist in opposing.
On behalf of Trustless Core DV and as a consequence of the impossibility to issue feedback from that account, the corresponding feedback is presented:
"Dear Proposer,
Thank you for the proposal
Trustless Core voted AYE.
Polkaworld team has been working in the Asian community since the earliest of Polkadot, playing a huge role in spreading awareness across the Chinese and APAC markets.
Some members raised concerns about the cost of the proposal but Trustless Core considers it is important to support this team that are part of the Polkadot ecosystem.
Best regards,
Trustless Core"
Hey community! Here comes the PolkaWorld Monthly Report - April 2025!
Please find more details here.
Hey community! Here comes the PolkaWorld Monthly Report - May 2025!
In May 2025, we published 24 articles, attracting a total of 22,733 views in the Wechat ecosystem; the average number of reads per article is nearly 950. For comparison, PolkaWorld’s average over the past year was around 800. And the most-read article this month (1,584 views) was Polkadot Core Just Sold for 2000 DOT! Surged 220x in Less Than a Month!
Hosted 6 online live streams—2 in English and 4 in Chinese, 3,236 views across YouTube and Twitter, compared to 2,592 views last month. That’s an increase of approximately 24.8%.
In May, we planned to interview the JamZig team, but due to scheduling conflicts, they requested to postpone it to June. Although PolkaWorld did not complete the interview in May, we will conduct two interviews in June! Please check out the 65 interview videos we have already released!
We created 4 educational short videos that collectively garnered 5,717 views within the WeChat ecosystem. The video with the highest viewership (2,739 views) was ‘Why Is Polkadot Hub Called the Polkadot Version Prodigy? Understand Its Importance in Just 5 Minutes’ (Please note, this data is specific to the WeChat ecosystem, these videos are also available on the PolkaWorld YouTube channel).
In addition,PolkaWorld published 17 videos on its WeChat Video Channel — including original educational shorts and English ecosystem content with Chinese subtitles — reaching a total of 28,708 views on our WeChat Video Channel, averaging 1,688 views per video, marking a 22.95% increase compared to last month’s average of 1,373.
In May, PolkaWorld’s English X account saw a 6.7% increase in impressions to 247.7K, a 0.1% growth in engagements to 13.1K, and a 131% surge in replies to 835. Despite a slight 6.2% drop in engagement rate to 5.3%, the content reached a broader audience, with a 33% increase in reposts to 828, reflecting improved user engagement and content sharing.
PolkaWorld’s Chinese Twitter account’s impressions dipped by 6.7% to 67.2K (partly due to China’s May Day Holiday from May 1–5), engagement quality and depth improved—engagement rate rose by 8.4% to 7.2%, total engagements slightly increased by 1.1% to 4.8K, profile visits jumped 31% to 471, and reposts grew 7.7% to 195—demonstrating continued user interest and highlighting the need to refine content strategy and sustain momentum.
Please note that we had a public holiday in China for Labor Day from May 1st to May 5th!
Please find more details here!
IDK why they put their proposal behind a Google form that makes you request access. Here is a copy of it for anyone who would like to view it.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VVGIKr0DWQsrtlTDDPRdvRhX3YsM3lMvJ82X6pbcGEE/edit?usp=sharing