CIP-Draft: Bridging the Governance Information Gap between CoW DAO and Social Media Platforms

CoW Grants Program
1

CIP: <to be assigned when moved to phase 2>

title: CowCheck: Bridging the Governance Information Gap

author: @Aadarsh_PYOR

status: Draft

created: <2025-04-15>

Simple Summary

CowCheck is a biweekly content series designed to bridge the information gap between CoW DAO governance forum activities and social media platforms where most community members are active. The initiative transforms governance discussions into accessible, engaging content including main videos, short-form clips, monthly research reports, and accompanying social posts that inform COW token holders about governance activities they would otherwise miss.

Motivation

Currently, there exists a significant information vacuum between governance activities happening within the Cow DAO forums and social media platforms like X where most community members spend their time. Many token holders remain unaware of key governance proposals and discussions simply because they don’t regularly check governance forums or attend community calls.

This proposal addresses this critical information gap by bringing governance content directly to the platforms where community members are already active. By transforming complex governance information into accessible, engaging formats, CowCheck ensures that important DAO activities aren’t confined to governance forums that many users never visit.

The consequences of this information vacuum are clear: community members who are active on social media but not in governance forums remain uninformed about important protocol developments and decisions. The CoW DAO deserves consistent, high-quality content that brings governance information to the platforms where the community actually spends its time.

Specification

CowCheck will deliver biweekly content over a 3-month period, with the following content mix:

Biweekly Content Package (twice per month):

  1. Main Video (1 per package):
  • 5-7 minute in-depth governance explainer video
  • Alternating between three key categories:
    • Governance Updates: Summaries of recent activities, decisions, and developments
    • Delegate Spotlight: Profiles of COW token delegates and their governance approaches
    • CoW Protocol How-To: Educational content on governance participation
  1. Short-form Videos (4 per month):
  • 30-60 second clips optimized for social media
  • Key takeaways from the main video
  • Standalone governance insights and call-to-actions
  • Quick explainers on upcoming proposals or voting deadlines
  1. Monthly Research Report (1 per month):
  • Comprehensive analysis of ongoing proposals
  • Summary of governance activities from the past month
  • Key metrics and insights about governance participation
  • Future outlook and important upcoming votes
  1. Accompanying Tweets (4 per month):
  • Supplementary social posts to amplify the research report
  • Designed for engagement and sharing
  • Strategic posting schedule to maximize visibility

Implementation Timeline:

  • Week 1-2 (Preparation): Research existing governance structures, establish content templates, set up production workflows, gather initial governance materials
  • Week 3-4 (Launch): Produce first content package, create social media assets, establish publishing calendar, conduct outreach to key community members
  • Months 2-3 (Regular Production): Deliver biweekly content packages, monthly research reports, and maintain consistent publishing schedule
  • End of Month 3: Community feedback call to evaluate the initiative’s impact and discuss potential extension

Budget:

We propose a monthly budget of $3,000 for the 3-month engagement period.

Category Monthly Allocation Details 3-Month Total
Research Writer $1,200 $40/hr Ă— ~30 hrs/month $3,600
Content Editor $800 $40/hr Ă— ~20 hrs/month $2,400
Video Production $800 $50/hr Ă— ~16 hrs/month $2,400
Equipment & Software $200 Camera rental, editing software licenses $600
Total $3,000 per month $9,000

Rationale

The design of CowCheck addresses the central problem: the information vacuum between governance forums and social media. Our multi-format approach ensures governance information reaches community members on the platforms they actually use, with content designed specifically for social consumption. By focusing on consistent, engaging content rather than simply reposting forum links, we create a sustainable bridge between governance activities and the broader community.

About PYOR

PYOR is an analytics and research firm focusing on governance, established in 2022. We bring specialized expertise in governance communication and community engagement.

Proof of Work:

  1. Compound v3 Deep Dive: This comprehensive explainer breaks down Compound v3’s evolution, architecture, and significance to DeFi lending. The video demonstrates our ability to translate complex protocol mechanics into accessible content for both technical and non-technical audiences.

  2. Arbitrum Governance Guide: This governance-focused video explores the Arbitrum DAO structure, operations, and participation methods. It showcases our expertise in breaking down governance systems into understandable components with clear guidance for community members.

  3. Osmosis Fundamental Analysis: This in-depth research report analyzes the Osmosis app-chain from operational, user, financial, and market perspectives. It demonstrates our data-driven approach to blockchain analytics and ability to create thorough, insightful content about complex protocols.

  4. Linea Rollup Analysis: This analysis examines Ethereum’s fastest-growing zkRollup, highlighting our capacity to track emerging technologies and explain their technical differentiators and market positioning in accessible terms.

Unlike general content creators, we specialize in governance education and bring deep expertise in both the technical aspects of DAOs and effective social media communication. We’re ready to deliver immediate value to the Cow DAO ecosystem by bridging this critical information gap.

2 Likes
2

It’s been a few days since we posted our initial proposal, just wanted to follow up to check in with the community.We’re eager to refine our pitch based on community input so we can better align with the DAO’s goals and needs. Even brief thoughts or questions would be incredibly valuable at this stage and would help us understand if:

  1. There are aspects of our proposal that need clarification
  2. The idea aligns with current community priorities
  3. There are specific modifications that would make the proposal more valuable to the community

We’re committed to contributing positively to this ecosystem and believe our proposal offers genuine value, but we want to ensure it meets the actual needs of the community.

3

I work as a member of the core team on growth and am involved in shaping CoW DAO’s social strategy and go-to-market efforts. We survey users regularly and, although this seems like a nice idea in theory, in practice we have little research that leads us to believe that community members would appreciate a service like this – or that it would change user behavior in any way. CoW DAO already does post links to forum discussions and CIPs semi-regularly, both on X and on Discord, and these are amongst our lowest-performing pieces of social content.

The growth focus for CoW DAO at the moment is on volume growth and (starting shortly) on user growth for CoW DAO products like CoW Swap, CoW Protocol, CoW AMM, and MEV Blocker. If you have any proposals that would assist toward achieving those ends, I believe they would be better-received. However, for the time being, I would signal to the grants committee that I am not in favor of this specific proposal.

4

@marshy
Thank you for sharing your feedback on CoW DAO’s priorities.
I’d like to understand your specific goals for CoW Swap, Protocol, AMM, and MEV Blocker to see how our expertise in research and data might support these focus areas. We would like to schedule a brief call for the same.
[Calendly]

5

Thanks @Aadarsh_PYOR for your proposal.
I think this fits in the CoW Grants Program section, so I’ll move the post there.

Generally I think @Aadarsh_PYOR has correctly identified governance participation as something that could fit into CoW Grants program.
Having said that, I’m somewhat skeptical about the ability of this proposal to achieve this goal.
If we were to define KPIs and provide funding based on the actual results of achieving them, it’ll reflect the proposer’s conviction in the ability to achieve the defined KPIs.

6

Thank @middleway.eth for your feedback. I agree that defining clear KPIs is essential for measuring success. We’d be happy to structure this as a 3-month pilot program with specific metrics for governance participation improvement, extending based on results achieved.

7

Thanks @Aadarsh_PYOR for the proposal.

I believe the concept of “institutional communication” is worth exploring in order to reinforce the legitimacy of CoW DAO’s decentralised governance structure.

In addition, outsourcing this type of communication to the DAO itself (through a third party service provider, PYOR) rather than to the Core Team would also show strong signal to the importance given to governance.

I also agree with @middleway.eth that this is more of a Grants DAO matter than a general governance proposal and that a KPI model would be more relevant.

These KPIs should in my opinion be focusing on forum engagement and participation in governance rather than solely based on social engagement through X or other channels.

Finally I’d add that since CoW is not comparable to Arbitrum or Compound, maybe @Aadarsh_PYOR could make a commercial effort to lower the fee initially requested

8

@middleway.eth @middleway.eth

Thank you both for your feedback on our proposal. We’d like to discuss potential opportunities aimed at user growth in CoW DAO and refine our approach based on your valuable input.

I’d appreciate if we could set up a call to discuss specific KPIs focused on forum engagement and governance participation, rather than just social metrics. We can also address the fee structure to better align with CoW’s specific needs.

Would you both be available for a brief call to explore these ideas further? You can schedule a time that works for you here:

Looking forward to the conversation to get your input directly.

9

While their performance may be low, I’d advocate for continually broadcasting governance items. Governance doesn’t happen because it is popular, usually quite the opposite :wink: . Having said this, I do agree that bridging social media with governance lacks clear tangible benefits.