What is Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP)?

Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP) is a kind of business offering to incentivize attendees of events. But it’s great for users, too. It allows them to share and profit from their memorabilia from the event. Read on to learn more about it.

What is the Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP)?

When the organizers of an event want to reward participants, they use POAP to issue Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to them. This is a kind of digital proof of and reward for their attendance. POAP is thus a business offering. The protocol works by creating unique badges or tokens through blockchain technology. For this, it uses ERC-721 on the Ethereum blockchain.

POAPs create camaraderie between participants and serve as an incentive. They provide access to exclusive content or discounts on future events. And the memorabilia can be shared or traded later.

How does a Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP) work?

Event managers create a smart contract on Ethereum using the ERC-721 standard. They generate a list of attendees, and the attendees furnish details of their Ethereum wallet addresses. The smart contract then distributes the POAP NFTs to the addresses.

What are the benefits of POAP?

The POAP way of doing business has several advantages. To name a few:

1. POAP serves as an incentive to participate in the events.
2. It facilitates networking and connects like-minded people.
3. The protocol creates a verifiable record of attendees for the reference of the organizers. Organizers usually need such data for reporting, which helps them eliminate bogus attendance claims.
4. POAP requires no special software; attendees can store the NFTs in digital wallets.
5. The badges can be customized, enhancing their collectability.

In addition to these five obvious benefits, four warrant more attention. So let’s look at them closely in the sections below.

More privacy

To claim their POAPs, attendees can decide whether to divulge their names and email addresses. If they wish to remain anonymous, they need only share the QR code the event organizer gave them.

POAP tokens are not visible to the public

Event organizers have only permission access to the attendance records. Attendees can choose to revoke this permission at any time.

No more cumbersome mailing lists

Since event organizers distribute badges digitally, mailing lists are not needed. After claiming their badges, attendees can access them from their digital wallets.

Ownership of limited-edition assets

NFTs are stored on the Ethereum blockchain and can easily be transferred between Ethereum wallet addresses. This makes ownership easily verifiable.

How can you claim a POAP and show it off?

Now that you know what a POAP is, let’s explain how it works in more detail.

Batch delivery of badges

The POAP platform creates a unique token ID using badge metadata and generates one token ID for each badge. Event organizers distribute these badges to the attendees. Attendees claim their badges by keying in their Ethereum wallet addresses on the POAP website. The platform ensures that the eligibility criteria are met before transferring the badge.

Manual sending

Some attendees may not have received their badges automatically. In such cases, the event organizers will need to:

1. Log in to their POAP admin dashboard and click the “Events” tab. Select the particular event.
2. Next, click the “Attendees” tab and the “Send Badge” button next to the attendee’s name.
3. Enter the attendee’s wallet address in the pop-up window; now hit “Send Badge.”
4. Confirm the transaction on the wallet provider’s website.

Self-service claim

1. Visit the POAP website at https://poap.xyz/. Click on the “Claim” button at the top-right corner.
2. Enter your Ethereum address. If the address is eligible for the POAP token, a list of events for which you can claim tokens will appear.
3. Select your chosen event and click the “Claim” button.
4. Confirm the transaction using your Ethereum wallet.
5. When the confirmation is complete, your wallet will show the POAP token as received. If this does not happen, please contact the event organizer or the POAP support team.

How to collect POAPs

Here are a few simple steps to collect POAP NFTs:

1. Look for events offering POAPs and attend the event. Complete all formalities.
2. Link your Ethereum wallet to the POAP platform.
3. Claim your NFT.
4. Store your NFT in a safe, secure place like a wallet with a strong password.

How to view your POAPs

To view your POAPs, do the following:

1. Visit the POAP website and click “My POAPs” at the top-right corner.
2. Link your wallet to the website.
3. Your POAPs will be displayed on the screen.

How to share your POAP tokens

If you’ve attended an event or a concert, it’s natural that you would want to show off a little. If you’re feeling the urge to do that, or if you want to see your memorabilia from the event, here’s how you could do it with POAPs:

• Go to your Ethereum wallet and look for the POAP section.
• Use the widget option to share on social media or share the link to your NFT on the website.

The future of POAPs

With blockchain technology’s continued evolution, POAPs could integrate with other protocols. And integration with other technologies like augmented and virtual reality will allow attendees to enjoy better immersive experiences.
When this happens, more organizations are likely to adopt POAPs. POAPs have the potential to become more popular in education, sports, and conferences.

Conclusion

POAPs are a convenient and secure way to reward event attendees. They ensure that exclusive benefits remain exclusive by creating verifiable records of attendees.

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