Financial Performance - The author earned approximately $38 thousand in DOT tokens over 5 months from a Polkadot campaign [2] - The author anticipates a final allocation in the $5-9 thousand range, potentially reaching $50 thousand across 6 months [2] - This equates to an annualized income of $100 thousand from a single campaign [2] Marketing & Brand Strategy - The author advocates for long-term projects aligned with personal interests and/or usage, using Polkadot as a case study [1] - The author contrasts this approach with chasing short-term incentives, which can dilute brand value and alienate audiences [2] - The author suggests focusing on creating content around projects one actually uses yields better results than pursuing numerous short-term rewards [2] - The author posits that mindshare monetization, when done correctly, can be lucrative without negatively impacting network connections [3] Competitive Analysis - The author challenges others to demonstrate better results from short-term reward chasing compared to their long-term, focused approach [2] - The author believes a long-term strategy ("tortoise") outperforms a short-term, scattered approach ("schizo hare") [3]