Welcome to the eleventh edition of the Expanse Newsletter for 2018. This publication is a bi-monthly newsletter issued on the 1st and 15th of each month to share happenings within our community. Here are a few highlights in this edition:
Expanse Awards First EXP.Grant
In our last newsletter, we wrote about the EXP.Grants program and how to go about applying for a grant for your project. Well, we have our first grant recipient who successfully secured the first funds from our EXP.Grants program. His name is Denis Yurash and he hails from the Ukraine. Denis applied for the grants program for a platform, a mobile Android app, he wants to launch on the Expanse blockchain. It is called the Expanse Faucet.
Denis and his team envisage their app, Expanse Faucet, as the binding link between all the community members of Expanse. In his opinion, and we tend to agree with it, with this app, more and more users will be attracted to Expanse. Every new user needs to have an Expanse address to get paid, so as more users use the app, more new wallets will be created and more transactions will be done through it.
The app will also facilitate transactions occurring over the Expanse platform, especially the distribution of EXP tokens for various activities. For example, for viewing one ad, admins get $0.01, and the user gets $0.009 (in EXP tokens). All payouts will be on Expanse, so we need to convert fiat to Expanse. Then a bot buys the right amount of coins on the exchange to pay everyone using the Poloniex or Bittrex API, accordingly, and sends this back to the user’s Expanse address.
The main function of Expanse Faucet is to view ads, and the second function is to complete tasks. Admins can add new tasks or change old one as they proceed. Later, a Twitter widget can be added for likes\retweet tasks, reddit upvotes, exchange votes, etc. And, depending on the future need, new tasks can be added. For example, Scotti, our Community Manager, wants to publish the latest Newsletter with some interesting info, he can simply add a new Task – «Like and Retweet Newsletter» with the link to it and send notifications to all users. This will increase the reach of the newsletter amongst the audience. Once the app is ready, Denis and his team will promote it to help bring more users into the Expanse community.
Denis was thrilled to accept the very first EXP.Grant that will enable he and his team, ecorp, to create the app they have envisioned.
“I have been a community member, supporter and frequent contributor to Expanse for some time now. Now, with this grant, I am being given the opportunity to actually work on an Expanse blockchain project. For that I am truly grateful. Thank you, Expanse,” said Denis.
We, at Expanse, congratulate Denis and his team for securing the funds through a successful Grants application, and we wish them all the very best as they embark on the journey of creating a platform that will help make Expanse more accessible to an even broader user base.
New Tokenlab Website Launches
Check out the new Tokenlab website that went live today, www.tokenlab.io. This is the first iteration of the website that will host the new Tokenlab self-service ICO platform currently in development.
Click through the site to learn about all of the solutions we are creating to make running your own ICO your way possible. We understand the ICO process and its challenges and have created use cases for all of the necessary functions. Our developers are well down the coding path, and we will begin to release the individual components soon.
We will be adding content to the website along the way, including FAQs, information about licensing our software, and more. Watch for more announcements to follow, including the announcement of our new Tokenlab newsletter coming soon. Join our Discord channel to stay up to date on our progress.
Expanse Islamabad Team Expands; Secures New Office Space
Our development team in Islamabad, Pakistan has recently moved into new office space, having outgrown the former facility. This office is the home base of our Architect and Senior Developer, Asim Ashfaq, who, along with his amazing team, creates magic for Expanse and its various platforms.
The office is situated in the business district of Islamabad and comes loaded with all the important amenities designed to maximize productivity. There is a large open workspace with workstations and a separate meeting room where Asim brainstorms ideas with his team.
The team is comprised of handpicked experts, including:
- A team lead
- A Solidity developer
- Five Golang developers
- Three frontend guys
- Three JS developers
- Two project managers
- One UX designer
- One Human Resource and Administrative aid
- One devops expert
- One Researcher
When Asim started working with Expanse almost 18 months ago, they were a team of four. Today, the team is 19-strong, all eager to learn new technologies and working as a well-oiled machine to accomplish common goals. To keep the team motivated and hungry to achieve more, incentives such as the Employee of the Month award is given to one outstanding team member. The office also has a recreation area that has a Playstation to play games and will soon have table tennis and snooker tables so that team members can chill out and take a much-needed break from work to recharge and refresh themselves.
Asim also believes that a well-appointed office will play a crucial role in attracting outstanding talent. This will help the team to grow exponentially. A presentable office space also creates a good first impression.
Currently, the team is focussed on creating the following:
- Gander
- Tokenlab Self-Service Platform
- Mist Wallet
- Mobile Wallet
- Online Wallet
- Exchange
Asim is particularly fond of Gander, as he believes that it, being an explorer, is the backbone of the Expanse cryptocurrency, the EXP tokens. Asim sees a great future for Expanse. As someone who has been as deeply involved in the development of Expanse as Asim is, he is excited and confident of the limitless possibilities that Expanse, as a platform to create awe-inspiring enterprises, affords the crypto community.
Asim says that he and his team are privileged to be working with stalwarts like Christopher Franko and thanks him for this opportunity to be associated with Expanse where everyday is a learning experience. He thanks Christopher for making him part of his grand vision, which he and his team live by everyday.
Expanse – Behind the Tech
Hey guys! Welcome to the next article in our Behind the Tech series. This time we are featuring the story of our Chief Administrative Officer, Marcia Lewis (Danzeisen). Hope you all enjoy it and maybe take some inspiration from it.
Marcia has a B.A. in Communications with a minor in Business Spanish. She also has certifications in Blockchain Technology and Strategic Planning. After college, she started out as a technical writer writing software documentation and also wrote for various technology magazines like Byte and ComputerWorld. She also had a monthly column on technology in the workplace for PC Magazine. Later, she evolved into running large corporate communications and marketing organizations, mostly in banking and Fintech environments, a typical career progression often seen in case of talented, intelligent and ambitious people. But this is where Marcia’s story takes a turn for the better; a classic case of “reverse integration.”
Marcia has been with Expanse from the very beginning. She met Expanse Founder Christopher Franko in 2013 while working as Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer for a blockchain technology start-up. She immediately formed a genuine rapport with him and describes him as an inspiration to her. Later after Expanse was born, she helped out when Christopher needed press releases, help with the newsletter or any other type of communications.
A year ago, Marcia accepted the position of Chief Communications Officer at one of the largest banks in the U.S. She let Christopher know that it was going to be too demanding for her to help him out any more. But soon after she started that position, Christopher called and made her an offer she could not refuse. Marcia left her job at the bank that day and has been with Expanse full-time ever since.
An award winning marketer, Marcia’s background is in more traditional marketing, with large teams and huge multi-million dollar budgets, for large, conservative corporations. For her, transitioning first to crypto and then to a smaller organization like Expanse, was like a foray into the wild, wild west. Everything is digital now, budgets are minimal and staff resources are much leaner. She has had to transition from being a leader to being a leader and a doer. She found out that her hands-on skills were rusty. “Fortunately, I am surrounded by technology experts who have been very patient with me and willing to take on tasks that are simply not a part of my repertoire. I am very self-actualized, and when I know I need help, I ask for it,” she says.
As Chief Administrative Officer, Marcia is responsible for public relations and communications oversight. She acts as the liaison to the organization’s corporate attorneys and is responsible for patents and trademarks. She onboards new staff and prepares contracts for partnerships. Recently, she has become more involved in product development and relationship management for exchanges. She works directly with prospective clients and partners to help build enduring relationships.
When asked what excites her about her work at Expanse, Marcia has the following to say, “Expanse is a well-established brand now, after three years of consistent, secure operations. It’s an organization I am proud to be part of. What excites me is the constant stream of new ideas that come out of our corporate office in Washington, NC.”
She regards leading the team responsible for renaming and rebranding a $9B Fortune 500 company across 90 countries and 55,000 employees as her greatest achievement to date, where she literally travelled around the world to accomplish the goal. However, she is quick to state her future greatest accomplishment goal is to get LAB onto major exchanges and launch the new Tokenlab™ platform with great success.
Christopher Franko, CEO of Expanse, has no doubts about Marcia achieving the goals she has set for Expanse. “I’ve known Marcia for many years and I’ve always known her as a go-getter. She has this uncanny knack of knowing how to get things done. I admire her work ethic tremendously, and Expanse is incredibly lucky to have her on board because she brings a range of skills and experience this team really benefits from,” says Christopher.
Marcia is extremely enthusiastic and positive about the future of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in particular. She agrees with the experts’ predictions that by 2030, 15 to 20% of all global financial transactions will use Bitcoin or or other cryptocurrencies. “In my opinion, anyone who still thinks Bitcoin is an interesting anomaly is dead wrong. I still believe that cryptocurrencies are the one investment class where a relatively small purchase could literally make you a millionaire,” she says.
Outside of work, Marcia loves the time she spends with her daughters – Jana, 17 and Chloe, 15. Her hobbies include decorating, gardening and reading. “I always have two or three books going.” When asked about her thoughts on Expanse, she says, “I believe in what Christopher has to say about Expanse – ‘If you can dream it, Expanse can help you do it.’ I firmly believe that through Expanse, the world will be a better place.”
Airdrop Update
As you know, we are in the process of developing the software for airdrops to our Expanse and LAB token holders. The first token to airdrop will EXPEX (PEX). Christopher Franko, Expanse Founder and Chief Developer, created PEX, which is a fork of the decentralized exchange standard (DEX), Ox. The contracts for PEX have been launched and the Expanse decentralized exchange is in development.
The new exchange will launch on the Expanse blockchain. We are looking for Ox developers. To that end, we have added 500M PEX to the EXP.Grant fund that we will use to reward the Ox developers who come on board to work on relays. Send a private message to Christopher Franko on Discord is you are interested in participating. Watch for more information about airdrops in upcoming newsletters.
Compelling Quotes from our Discord Community
From the last newsletter, we started this section where we feature a few quotes we pick from our Discord Community. Here is a collection of compelling quotes posted over the last two weeks:
The first one is from a member of the Spanish Discord Community, which you might have gathered is a passionate bunch of people. He says, “Que bueno la Quiniela me ha quitado el stress del bajón de las cryptos.” which means that the good thing about ExpWorldCup is that it reduces the stress of this crypto dump.
Here are two fun quotes from our General channel. One community member had this to say, “I came here thinking this was a discord for the TV series The Expanse.” Well, all we can say that this Expanse is grander than the one on TV!
Another member says, “PM me if ur into Christian Sidehugs.” No responses to this one that we know of.
Finally, here’s a joke that was posted last week:
Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources Officer asked a young Engineer fresh out of MIT, “And what starting salary were you looking for?”
The Engineer replies, “In the region of $125,000 a year, depending on the benefits package.”
The interviewer inquires, “Well, what would you say to a package of 5-weeks vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50% of salary, and a company car leased every 2 years say, a red Corvette?”
The Engineer sits up straight and says, “Wow! Are you kidding?”
And the interviewer replies, “Yeah, but you started it.”
Join our Discord
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Expanse Discord is live and kicking! Discord is a great communication platform, better than Slack. Join our growing community on Discord and you can also speak directly with the Expanse team or others in the Expanse community. Sign up for Discord today!. Thank you.
https://Discord.me/expanse |
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The Expanse Ambassador Program is designed to provide support and guidance for those of you who would like to help us spread the word about Expanse by hosting local meet-ups—wherever you are in the world.
Getting involved is easy. Simply download and complete the Ambassador Program application at this link: https://expanse.tech/join-the-ambassador-program/ Then email it to Scott Williams, [email protected]
Scott and his team are available to answer your questions and will also assist you by:
- Providing Expanse-branded apparel for the meet-up host (the ambassador).
- Guiding you through the process of selecting a location.
- Supplying Expanse giveaways for drawings or contests.
- Assisting with presentation materials.
- Providing a small allowance for food and libations for your meet-up guests.
Expanse is thrilled to have you in the Expanse Army. Be sure to join Discord if you are not already part of it at this link: https://Discord.me/expanse – and grateful to all who would like to join the Ambassador Program! |
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