I hear you, I agree that the intention is to pick up the pace. The concern that was brought by applicants and volunteers (and didn’t seemed to be settled in private) was what are we waiting on, and how long should volunteers be allowed to interview/exercise. It felt like the answers before were summed up as “as many as we feel like”, and “as long as it takes”. The feeling was that some were sitting on the process and performing it in private. The communication wasn’t happening. This is what allows cliques, division, and animosity.
I appreciate everyones increased transparency, it helps a lot. This is the way forward.
I think that PoH really needs a PM, but I don’t think that the process should be rushed if there are other candidates in the pipeline.
At Kleros, we have some communications and product management positions that are still not filled after several months because we weren’t able to find the right candidate.
This is similar to recruiting a founder for an (already funded) startup. The process has been open for about 4 months which is not that long by this standard, I think.
As the first PM in PoH, I think recruiting the right candidate (even if it takes longer) will be critical for the success of the project.
On the 30th of July, I will make a 7-day approval-voting poll with all the candidates that have applied by the 23rd. When the poll concludes, I will ask the top candidate to create a HIP for hiring them.
I will include the “No, no - more time” option, and with approval voting the objectors to this process can both vote for their preferred candidates and vote to discourage a selection at that time.
Nothing is formally decided before the binding vote on the HIP created by the candidate.
Me and Sofia have decided to pull back our application. We feel misaligned with some of the decisions being taken, although we will continue to support poh and its community in multiple ways
Moving forward we will conduct the UBI issuance rate workshop on Tuesday and the first implementation of pol.is on Proof of Humanity, soon. Working with this community is the honor of a lifetime, so our sincere gratitude goes to everyone we have met and collaborated with throughout the past few months.
I have had a chat with Vichal @VB_95
Vishal has experience in managing blockchain products commercially. He has the idea that PoH should focus on finding one commercial partner that really needs our solution for secure login. Making such a partnership would allow for early revenues and perhaps cross-over growth with our future partner’s current user base. He also advocates going hard for finding revenue to fund development - a rely only on other forms of funding if money runs out too soon.
Vishal has interesting ideas. I think, however, that his focus is too much that of a narrowly technical PM, whereas I think we need someone with a broader outlook. On his technical merits, I would not be the right to judge.
This should be seen as a serious crisis that our project and processes are so broken that we can’t retain people who have been working hard at this for years.
I withdrew my application, Paula and Sofia have withdrawn their application…
It’s a pity to see you leave this race again Paula, but of course it’s a decision we should all respect. Personally I’d like to thank you for the many contributions you brought to this project the past months… just to name a few:
Doing a workshop to think about UBI issuance and bringing folks like Albert Wenger to it and collaborating with Gitcoin and RxC
Connecting with every relevant emergent voice in our community and taking the time to meet with them (Spooky, @Justin, @RoboTeddy, @ludovico and many more)
Reaching out to many potential developers to check out the DAOs job offering and get a good dev to help Matt and others actively building the PoH dapp.
… in a certain way, you already were a virtual PM of sorts, directly working with the PoH teams of Kleros and Dempcracy Earth, and even dared to always speak your mind in a civilized way when we had heated debates… even when your opinions could risk your chances for the job.
Alignment to a community is tricky. Personally if I felt everyone in this community was aligned with my views, I’d be concerned because that would mean I could be either a centralizing force in the ecosystem… or from another angle, a demagogue.
We all bring in different views to this project and the role of a PM should be of someone able to coordinate these without expecting to push any specific agenda… I’d be seriously concerned if PoH one day became a monoculture pretty much like what happened to Bitcoin.
I hope you still keep contributing to this project Paula and maybe in the future the DAO could find a more suitable role for your skills. Everyone who knows you is aware of your research capacity and you are leading the conversation around Proof of Personhood protocols.
I’ve been talking to members of other DAOs out there and many are going through similar challenges of discovering what it means to hire someone by a DAO. Even though we all wished this process went faster, these first hires are critical to get right.
I can see a number of strong applications already in the works, but would like to put myself forward for the product manager role, bringing in a dynamic range of skills, qualifications, professional work history, personal experiences and a strong desire to see this project succeed at a global level.
I have worked in an extremely wide range of industries, from management, to corporate research, pastoral care & mediation, Japanese translation & language acquisition, freelance illustration, as well as customer service, garnering a dynamic skillset that I could bring together into one passion and focus: Progressing Proof of Humanity and making a positive impact on not only our communities, but the world at large.
Supporting evidence:
My Curriculum Vitae (which I am happy to reformat into resume style, if preferred)
My cover letter for the Product Manager role, illustrating my educational, professional, and personal experiences on a deeper level.
A preliminary document for expanding Proof of Humanity, outlining my initial ideas regarding use-cases, product development, potential industries to break into, key figures to approach, solutions to problems, outlines of advantages & disadvantages, and so on.
Should I be successful, I absolutely intend to commit myself fully.
I should note, I do have a diagnosed physical disability for which I am currently receiving specialist rehabilitative care. My condition is improving, but for the next 3 - 6 months, I may need occasional flexibility in my working hours / working times in order to fully recover.
Compensation sought:
$3,200 per month - Split equally between UBI & ETH or UBI & USD.
With opportunities for a rising salary through performance reviews, capped at $100,000 as indicated in the job description.
I look forward to a response, and I am happy to answer questions or add any additional responses to my application.
I have had a chat with @Lazarus and these are my thoughts:
Lazarus is a communicator, and his first order of business would be “stock-taking” - ensuring that all the diverse efforts in different directions are recorded, condensed, and communicated back to stakeholders. He advocates finding one or two “key industries” that should be pursued first. The choice should only be made after a thourough analysis. PoH should identify these industries and then communicate over the years that this is the focus. The core team should support this focus, though not get in the way of work in other directions. Lazarus finds it unlikely that we can have significant income from products before the money runs out, and believe that grants and philanthropic funds should be pursued to bridge this gap. Again a communication challenge to reach out to individuals and institutions aligned with the mission.
Lazarus also advocates extensive use of infographics in condensed information for communication both internally in the community and externally. Relying less on text would make it easier to get information to other languages/cultural groups and well less strong readers.
Lazarus also has a strong knowledge of Asian, and specifically Japanese, culture, and can help the project expand in this sphere.
He also suggests having “sushi nights” and encouraging in-person meetings (however hard) for the participants in the project.
Lazerus’ candidature is hampered by his lack of direct technical skills. Nevertheless I consider him a rounded PM with a realistic plan forwards. The reason for this is, that I actually consider communication and mediation what is most critically needed for the project right now.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It was great getting to chat with you and get more information about the inner workings and potential scale of the project.
If anyone has any questions regarding my application, my objectives, or expansion ideas, then please feel free to get in contact with me through here or via the Telegram group.
Regardless of the outcome of this hiring phase, I look forward to getting to know more of you, contributing to the community, and any social food extravaganza we might embark on at the next EthCC or crypto meet up!
this is the best point yet