1. Abstract
TYSM is The Gratitude Layer of the Internet: universal infrastructure that makes appreciation as seamless as Stripe payments, as integrated as Twilio communications, and as powerful as money.
We've built the world's first gratitude-native infrastructure—not a payment app with emojis, but universal platform infrastructure that transforms how humans express appreciation across the entire internet.
Part 1: HTTP URLs (tysm.to/@you) that work everywhere. Part 2: Native tysm: URI scheme for instant app communication. Part 3: API-first platform for third-party integrations with cryptographic integrity.
This paper documents our technical architecture, economic model, network effects, and path to becoming infrastructure-grade software used by billions.
2. The Problem
2.1 Likes Are Empty
Social media has commoditized gratitude into meaningless metrics. A heart emoji on Instagram carries the same weight whether it comes from your closest friend or a complete stranger.
The Data: Average Instagram user receives ~150 likes/week, yet studies show no correlation between likes and reported happiness. The engagement is hollow—optimized for algorithmic distribution, not human connection.
2.2 Payments Are Cold
Venmo, PayPal, and traditional payment systems treat money as mere data transfer. The human story behind every transaction—the gratitude, the relationship, the context—gets lost in sterile interfaces designed for efficiency over connection. We've optimized the mechanics of value transfer while ignoring the emotional and social dimensions that make payments meaningful.
2.3 Gratitude Is Invisible
Despite being fundamental to human relationships and social cohesion, appreciation has no permanent record in our digital lives. There's no way for gratitude to compound over time, no network effects that amplify appreciation, and no infrastructure that treats thankfulness as a first-class digital primitive.
The Cost of Invisible Gratitude
- Relationships lack persistent records of mutual appreciation
- Acts of kindness go unrecognized in our digital histories
- Communities can't build on foundations of visible gratitude
- The positive feedback loops that strengthen human bonds are broken
3. The Solution: Gratitude Rails
TYSM introduces "gratitude rails"—infrastructure that makes appreciation a first-class citizen of the internet. Just as financial rails enable the movement of money, gratitude rails enable the movement of meaningful appreciation between humans.
3.1 Core Properties
Every TYSM transaction embodies four essential properties:
💎 Meaningful
Backed by real value, not just sentiment. Every thank you carries weight because it represents a conscious decision to transfer value.
🏛️ Persistent Record
Recorded on a gratitude graph that grows over time, creating a lasting record of human appreciation and connection.
📤 Shareable
Beautiful receipts that tell the story behind every thanks, designed to be shared and celebrated across platforms.
🔒 Privacy by Default
You control what's visible to the world. Privacy is the foundation, not an afterthought.
3.2 The Gratitude Graph
At the heart of TYSM lies the gratitude graph—a network representation of appreciation flows between individuals. Unlike social graphs based on following or friendship, the gratitude graph is built on actual expressions of thanks, creating a more authentic and meaningful representation of human relationships.
Graph Properties
- Weighted: Edges carry cumulative gratitude value
- Temporal: Connections evolve with recent activity
- Contextual: Preserves stories behind gratitude
- Consensual: Both parties control visibility
4. Core Principles
4.1 Gratitude First
Every interaction starts with appreciation, not payment. The financial transaction is secondary to the expression of gratitude. This inversion of priorities fundamentally changes the nature of digital value exchange from transactional to relational.
Design Implication: UI flows always begin with gratitude expression, with payment amount and method as supporting details.
4.2 Human-Centric Technology
Technology serves human connection, not the other way around. Every technical decision is evaluated through the lens of whether it strengthens or weakens human relationships. Efficiency is important, but never at the expense of meaningful connection.
4.3 Privacy by Default
Public gratitude is opt-in, never forced. The default state is private, with granular controls over what aspects of gratitude relationships are visible to whom. This creates a foundation of trust necessary for authentic expression.
4.4 API-First Architecture
While individual gratitude has privacy by default, our developer infrastructure is API-first. Our APIs, SDKs, and tools are designed to be accessible to developers, creators, and organizations who want to integrate gratitude into their own platforms.
5. Platform Capabilities
Built on the TYSM Protocol Suite (view full spec), our platform delivers complete gratitude infrastructure—campaigns, analytics, developer tools, and universal distribution.
5.1 Campaign Infrastructure
Gratitude campaigns transform individual appreciation into community movements. Users can create campaigns for recognition, support, or celebration—combining crowdfunding mechanics with gratitude expression to build lasting community connections around shared causes.
Campaign Architecture
- • Unified campaign creation and management
- • Real-time progress tracking and analytics
- • Community messaging and engagement
- • Viral sharing and growth mechanisms
Community Features
- • Supporter recognition and contributor badges
- • Message threads with reaction systems
- • Campaign-specific discussion communities
- • Creator-supporter relationship building
5.2 Analytics & Intelligence Engine
Comprehensive analytics transform gratitude data into actionable insights. Users access personal impact metrics, relationship intelligence, and network growth analytics through a multi-section dashboard that makes gratitude patterns visible and measurable.
Personal Intelligence
- • Impact score and community ranking systems
- • Gratitude flow analysis and relationship mapping
- • Network growth tracking and connection insights
- • Achievement systems with rarity mechanics
Platform Analytics
- • Real-time embed widget performance tracking
- • QR code scan analytics and conversion metrics
- • API usage monitoring and developer insights
- • Viral sharing analysis and growth attribution
5.3 Developer Ecosystem
Complete API suite enables gratitude integration into any platform. From simple widgets to enterprise systems, developers access comprehensive tools for building gratitude-powered experiences with real-time webhooks, SDKs, and performance monitoring.
API Architecture
- • RESTful endpoints for all platform features
- • Real-time webhooks for event notifications
- • JavaScript SDK for seamless web integration
- • React components for rapid development
Developer Experience
- • API key management with usage monitoring
- • Comprehensive documentation and examples
- • Developer dashboard with performance insights
- • Community support and integration assistance
5.4 Universal Distribution
Gratitude works everywhere through embed widgets, QR codes, and universal @handles. Physical and digital worlds connect seamlessly, making appreciation accessible in any context where human value exchange occurs.
Digital Embedding
- • Widget generator for buttons, cards, banners
- • Cross-platform handle recognition
- • Social media and email integration
- • Website and app embedding tools
Physical Integration
- • QR codes for service and retail environments
- • Business card and networking integration
- • Event and conference appreciation systems
- • Offline-to-online gratitude bridges
6. The Network Effect
As participation grows, value scales ~quadratically—and unlike typical networks, gratitude networks are uniquely positive-sum: every thank-you benefits giver and receiver.
5.1 Personal Network Effects
Your individual gratitude graph becomes richer and more meaningful as more of your relationships are represented. The cumulative record of appreciation creates a unique digital artifact of your human connections.
5.2 Social Network Effects
Discovery of new connections through mutual gratitude relationships. The graph reveals communities of appreciation and introduces you to people who share similar values.
5.3 Cultural Network Effects
As gratitude becomes more visible and normalized, it shifts broader cultural patterns toward appreciation and away from criticism. The network effect extends beyond individual users.
Metcalfe's Law Applied to Gratitude
The value of the gratitude network increases quadratically with the number of participants. But unlike traditional networks, gratitude networks have the unique property of creating positive-sum interactions—every expression of gratitude benefits both giver and receiver.
7. Technical Architecture: The Protocol Suite
TYSM Protocol Suite (full specification) is Enterprise-grade infrastructure with three parts: HTTP URLs (Part 1), native URI scheme (Part 2), and API platform (Part 3). Built on three technical layers:
Protocol Suite Overview
Part 1: HTTP URLs
Production (100% traffic)
tysm.to/@youWorks everywhere: QR codes, social media, email, SMS
Part 2: URI Scheme
Alpha (gated rollout)
tysm:@youInstant app opening, mandatory HTTPS fallback
Part 3: API Platform
Developer APIs (production)
api.tysm.to/v1/*RESTful APIs, Ed25519 signed, authenticated access
6.1 Identity Layer
Universal gratitude handles (@you) that serve as persistent identities across the entire gratitude network. Globally unique, portable, cryptographically secured, and resolvable.
6.2 Transaction Layer
Secure, instant payments with rich contextual metadata. Every transaction includes gratitude message, cryptographic receipt, privacy controls, and payment integration.
6.3 Graph Layer
Relationship mapping through appreciation, creating a living network of human connection with real-time updates, privacy-preserving queries, and API access.
Scalability Considerations
The architecture is designed to scale to billions of users and transactions while maintaining sub-second response times and strong consistency guarantees. Key strategies include graph partitioning, eventual consistency for non-critical operations, and edge caching for frequently accessed gratitude relationships.
8. Business Model & Sustainability
TYSM's business model aligns platform success with user value creation. Our multi-tiered revenue architecture ensures sustainable growth while maintaining gratitude-first principles and user trust.
7.1 Platform Revenue Architecture
Transaction fees scale with platform usage, creating aligned incentives between TYSM growth and user value. As gratitude volume increases, platform sustainability increases proportionally.
Core Revenue Streams
- • Transaction fees (2.5% + $0.25 platform fee)
- • Professional tier ($29/month)
- • Enterprise solutions (starting at $99/month)
- • Developer API usage tiers
Value Alignment
- • Revenue grows with user gratitude volume
- • Premium features enhance gratitude impact
- • Enterprise tools scale organizational appreciation
- • Developer success drives platform adoption
7.2 Creator Economy Integration
Revenue sharing with creators, campaign organizers, and community builders creates sustainable value creation loops. Success is shared, ensuring long-term platform health and creator satisfaction.
Creator Revenue Sharing
- • Campaign creators receive 95% of contributions
- • Embed widget creators earn from conversions
- • API developers receive usage-based rewards
- • Community moderators earn appreciation tokens
7.3 Enterprise Value Proposition
Organizations use TYSM for employee recognition, customer appreciation, and community building. Enterprise features provide measurable culture transformation with ROI tracking and analytics.
Enterprise Features
- • White-label gratitude experiences
- • Advanced analytics and reporting
- • Custom integrations and workflows
- • Dedicated support and onboarding
Measurable Impact
- • Employee satisfaction and retention metrics
- • Customer loyalty and engagement tracking
- • Culture transformation measurement
- • ROI analysis and optimization insights
9. Competitive Moats & Defensibility
Why can't Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App copy this? Three compounding moats make TYSM increasingly defensible over time:
9.1 Technical Moat: Protocol-Level Infrastructure
We're not a payment app—we're proprietary infrastructure with Enterprise-grade specifications. Copying the UI is easy. Replicating three-layer platform infrastructure with ABNF grammar, Ed25519 cryptography, and API integrations takes years.
Proof: Stripe took 7 years to build enterprise-grade payment infrastructure. We've built comparable gratitude infrastructure in production with 3,520+ lines of formal specifications.
9.2 Network Moat: The Gratitude Graph
Every thank you creates persistent relationship data. As the graph grows, switching costs increase quadratically. Your gratitude history, relationship map, and impact score are locked in—not to the platform, but to the protocol.
Proof: LinkedIn has 900M users but no competitor can replicate your professional graph. Similarly, your gratitude graph becomes irreplaceable as it grows.
9.3 Cultural Moat: Gratitude-First Identity
We own the gratitude primitive. Just as Stripe owns "payments infrastructure" and Twilio owns "communications infrastructure," TYSM owns "gratitude infrastructure." This is brand-level defensibility that competitors can't replicate.
Proof: When people think "universal gratitude," they think TYSM. When developers need gratitude APIs, they use tysm.to/@you. When QR codes say "thank you," they point to us.
The Compounding Effect
These moats compound: Protocol adoption drives network growth, which strengthens cultural identity, which drives more protocol adoption. After 2-3 years, replication becomes economically irrational—the switching costs are too high, the technical debt too deep, and the brand too entrenched.
10. The Future & Roadmap
TYSM isn't just another payment platform—it's the foundation for a more grateful internet. We envision a future where gratitude is woven into the fabric of digital interaction:
7.1 Gratitude-Native Social Networks
Social platforms where appreciation drives discovery and connection, not engagement metrics or algorithmic manipulation.
7.2 Workplace Recognition Systems
Tools that recognize and reward meaningful contributions in organizations, creating cultures of appreciation rather than competition.
7.3 Creator Appreciation Economies
Direct fan-to-creator gratitude relationships that bypass traditional platform intermediaries and their extractive business models.
7.4 Community Gratitude Platforms
Local and interest-based communities where gratitude strengthens bonds and creates positive feedback loops for mutual support.
Concrete Roadmap: 2025-2026
Part 2: URI Scheme GA
- • 99.8% SLO achieved
- • 10+ pilot partners validated
- •
tysm:scheme production-ready - • App Store approvals secured
Part 3: API Platform v2
- • Enterprise API tier
- • Ed25519 signing audited
- • Webhook infrastructure
- • Advanced integrations
IANA Registration
- • Formal URI scheme registration
- • RFC publication
- • Protocol Suite v2.0
- • Infrastructure-grade certification
The North Star: Gratitude as Infrastructure
By 2026, tysm.to/@you should be as ubiquitous as email addresses. Gratitude infrastructure as essential as Stripe for payments—a platform layer used by billions.
The Protocol Suite Achievement
Today: Part 1 in production. Tomorrow: Universal protocol suite. Every digital interaction capable of carrying the weight of human appreciation.
Universal HTTP infrastructure: tysm.to/@username • Complete Human APIs • Universal Widgets
TYSM Universal URL Standard - practical patterns that work everywhere immediately
11. Conclusion
The internet was built for connection, but somewhere along the way, we optimized for engagement over empathy, metrics over meaning, and transactions over relationships. TYSM represents a return to the internet's original promise—a tool that amplifies the best of human nature rather than exploiting its weaknesses.
We haven't just built another payment platform. We've created the gratitude layer of the internet— infrastructure that makes appreciation as fundamental as email, as universal as the web itself. Every thank you becomes part of your lasting record. Every connection compounds. Every moment of appreciation helps build a more grateful world.
Gratitude, Made Visible
This is our invitation to join the gratitude layer of the internet we've built. Every thank you matters. Every connection compounds. Every moment of appreciation becomes part of something larger than ourselves.
Begin.