Updated: Additional Content Source Added

Museum of CryptoArt publishes content across multiple platforms. Beyond the main blog (https://museumofcryptoart.com/), they also maintain a Substack newsletter (https://museumofcryptoart.substack.com/) which needs to be included in the research project.

New Content Source

Substack Newsletter - Museum of CryptoArt

  • URL: https://museumofcryptoart.substack.com/
  • Type: Newsletter / curated content
  • Content Focus: Deep analysis, behind-the-scenes perspectives, curated art highlights
  • Frequency: Weekly (typically)
  • Notes: This is a separate content stream from the main blog, often featuring more personal or reflective commentary from MoCA team members.

Research Implications

Content Overlap:

  • Some topics may appear in both blog posts and newsletter issues
  • Newsletter might cover more timely developments or community highlights
  • Blog posts tend to be more substantial analysis pieces
  • Newsletter issues often include curated selections from the community

Extraction Challenges:

  • Substack doesn’t have a public REST API like the blog
  • Newsletter content is typically behind paywall or email distribution
  • RSS feed may be available for public issues
  • Need to cross-reference topics to avoid duplication between sources

Updated Methodology:

  1. Content Collection Expansion:

    • Main blog scraper: Extract posts from museumofcryptoart.com
    • Newsletter monitoring: Check Substack for public issues and RSS feed
    • Cross-reference topics across both platforms
    • Tag content by source (blog, newsletter) to track origin

  2. Topic Clustering Enhancement:

    • Group related topics across both blog and newsletter
    • Identify unique newsletter-only topics (community highlights, curated selections)
    • Track recurring themes across all MoCA content streams

  3. Entity Extraction Update:

    • Add Substack-specific entities (curators, featured artists, newsletter contributors)
    • Note content relationships between blog authors and newsletter authors
    • Identify newsletter-specific voices or perspectives

  4. Timeline Integration:

    • Add newsletter publication dates to MoCA content timeline
    • Track major announcements or shifts that appear in newsletter
    • Correlate newsletter timing with blog posts (follow-up, deeper analysis)

Updated Research Questions

  1. How does Substack content differ from MoCA blog posts?

    • Newsletter: More personal/reflective, community-focused, curated selections
    • Blog: More substantial analysis pieces, technical documentation, announcements
    • Overlap: Major announcements often appear in both (blog → newsletter)
    • Content format: Newsletter may include multiple shorter pieces per issue; blog posts are single substantial articles

  2. What does Substack reveal about MoCA that the blog doesn’t?

    • Behind-the-scenes perspective on project decisions
    • Team member insights and personal takeaways
    • Community feedback or responses to MoCA content
    • Curatorial philosophy and approach explained in more detail
    • Future plans or roadmap discussed more openly

  3. How does Substack fit into MoCA’s business model?

    • Premium tier: Subscription-based access to curated content
    • Free tier: Public newsletter issues and RSS feed
    • Sponsorship: Newsletter may include sponsored content or features
    • Distribution: Email + Substack platform (centralized)
    • Monetization: Ads or premium subscriptions on Substack platform

Source Documentation

MoCA Main Blog:

  • URL: https://museumofcryptoart.com/writings/
  • Type: Technical analysis, announcements, project updates
  • Content: Long-form analysis pieces, R2R/The Library documentation
  • Access: Public, no paywall

MoCA Substack Newsletter:

  • URL: https://museumofcryptoart.substack.com/
  • Type: Newsletter, curated content, community highlights
  • Content: Shorter pieces, curated selections, personal reflections
  • Access: Public issues free, premium tiers may have additional content
  • Notes: “Weekly curation of crypto art’s best stories and perspectives”

Relationship Between Platforms:

  • Newsletter often highlights blog content with additional commentary
  • Major announcements typically appear first in newsletter, then get dedicated blog posts
  • Newsletter provides more personal, community-focused voice alongside technical analysis
  • Cross-linking between platforms (newsletter links to blog, blog references to newsletter)

Technical Notes

Substack RSS Feed:

Content Parsing Challenges:

  • Newsletter content may be paywalled (limiting full extraction)
  • HTML structure may differ from blog (simpler, newsletter-style)
  • Image extraction may have different URL patterns or embed methods
  • Need to handle missing content gracefully for premium-only issues

Research Priority Update:

  1. High: Extract topics and entities from main blog posts (3+ years)
  2. Medium: Monitor public Substack newsletter issues for topics
  3. Low: Analyze premium-only content if accessible (may be limited)

Crawler Development:

  • Need Substack-specific crawler or RSS parser
  • Handle newsletter format (multiple short pieces per issue)
  • Identify paywall boundaries (free vs premium content)
  • Track newsletter frequency and publication schedule

Status

✅ Project Updated - Substack newsletter added as content source ✅ Methodology Extended - Multi-platform content collection strategy documented ✅ Research Questions Expanded - Newsletter-specific queries and analysis points added 📊 Task Assignment - Ready for Curator to implement enhanced content collection

Next Steps:

  1. Research Substack RSS/feed availability and structure
  2. Implement newsletter content monitoring alongside blog crawling
  3. Update entity extraction to handle Substack-specific contributors
  4. Create cross-source topic tracking (blog vs newsletter origin)