Platform

A unified architecture connecting my systems research across sectors — ideas → protocols → platform.

Humanity-First Platforms

Humanity-First Platforms is the architecture that ties together the whitepapers, briefs, RFCs, and the emerging USG Registry. It describes how systems behave when rights, incentives, and access are represented with clarity—and how better structures produce better human outcomes.

The Three Design Patterns

Across sectors, the same structural grammar appears. These three design patterns define the foundation of the Platform model.

  • Spin-Off Architecture
    Separate operations from governance to stabilize or modernize institutions while preserving mission-aligned control. Spin-offs turn complexity into clarity.
  • Silent Incentive Rewiring
    Shift system behavior by adjusting underlying economics rather than mandates. This pattern appears across streaming, mobility, sports, and media formats.
  • Public-Private Leverage
    Use market tooling—protocols, platforms, capital—to deliver outcomes that resemble public infrastructure while aligning private incentives with public benefit.

Canon → Platform Map

The canon serves as a structured research archive. Each artifact contributes a pattern, mechanism, or sector insight. Together, they form the Platform thesis: rights as data, incentives as architecture, and systems as interfaces.

The Briefs Layer

Briefs translate research into decision-maker language. They sit between whitepapers and RFCs, turning structural logic into operator-ready guidance.

  • What briefs do
    Distill complex structural models into deployable clarity for executives, funders, and operators.
  • How they're used
    Strategy framing, grant submissions, internal alignment, investment pitches, and pilot scoping.
  • Why they matter
    They reinforce the research workflow: whitepaper → brief → RFC → platform.

The Protocol Layer

RFC-style documents formalize research into standards-oriented models. RFC 0001 defines the Universal Sports Graph (USG) architecture, while RFC 0002 introduces the USG Entitlement Token Profile—the first enforceable contract surface of the stack.

The Registry Layer

The USG Registry (v0.1.0) defines the authoritative namespace for sports-rights data. It establishes versioned objects, validation rules, identifier semantics, and lifecycle models—turning the RFCs into a functional, reference-grade infrastructure surface.

How the System Works

The workflow forms a reinforcing loop: • Whitepapers open a sector • Briefs translate insights • RFCs harden the structure • The Registry operationalizes it • Platform integrates everything into a coherent systems thesis

Roadmap

Current work focuses on strengthening the protocol and registry layers while consolidating the research canon.

  • Protocol Expansion
    Advance RFC 0003 and future specifications for governance, settlement, event formats, and portability.
  • Registry Development
    Extend USG Registry v0.1.0 with additional object types, identifier norms, and conformance rules.
  • Corpus Organization
    Finalize DOI-backed artifacts, unify metadata, and improve cross-references across the canon.

Want to discuss the architecture or collaborate?

Contact →

The Approach

Scott Jellen is an independent researcher working at the intersection of protocol design, rights modeling, and interoperability. He is the creator of the Universal Sports Graph (USG), a standards-grade framework for sports rights and access, spanning RFC-style specifications and a versioned registry. His ongoing work includes whitepapers, briefs, and standards-oriented models that clarify incentives and modernize institutional systems.

© 2025 Scott Jellen. All rights reserved.