At The Grid, we use as a conceptual framework to organize data that's relevant to different user needs. Think of lenses as different perspectives or filters through which you can view Web3 data, similar to how a camera lens focuses on specific subjects.
The Grid currently organizes data through twelve primary lenses:
- The profile lens encompasses top-level identities in The Grid. Each profile carries descriptive metadata, sector and type classifications, operational status, and can be tagged for additional categorization.
- The product lens encompasses specific offerings, services, and platforms operated by blockchain profiles. Each product record captures its name, type classification, lifecycle status, launch date, and relationships to other products it supports.
- The asset lens encompasses individual digital assets tracked across the Web3 ecosystem. Each asset record captures its official name, trading ticker, classification type, lifecycle status, and a concise description, and links to its on-chain deployments across chains.
- The product-asset relationship lens encompasses links between products and the assets they interact with, classified by the nature of the relationship.
- The media lens encompasses visual assets associated with profiles, products, and assets. Each media record links an image URL to a specific entity via polymorphic table/row references.
- The entity lens covers legal structures and registered organizations behind blockchain profiles. Captures corporate identity, jurisdiction, registration details, and tax identifiers for the companies, foundations, DAOs, and other legal bodies operating in the ecosystem.
- The social lens encompasses social media presences linked to profiles, products, and assets. Tracks platform accounts with their handles, operational status, and parent entity references.
- The URL lens encompasses web links associated with profiles, products, assets, and entities. Each URL is classified by type and constrained by which types are valid for which parent table.
- The smart contract deployment lens encompasses on-chain deployment records linking products and assets to their smart contracts across blockchains. Tracks which chain a contract is deployed on, what token standard it implements, its deployment purpose, and the individual contract addresses.
- The attribute lens is a flexible key-value metadata system for tagging profiles and entities with structured properties that don't fit into fixed schema fields. Attribute types define the categories, constraint rules govern which types are valid for which entity classes, and attribute records store the actual values.
- The internal helper lens encompasses system-level reference tables and infrastructure that support the Grid's data model. Includes schema metadata, ranking scores, inter-profile relationships, and root-level profile records.
- The geography lens covers geographic coverage tables.
Jerry is researching a blockchain project. Each lens gives him a different view of the same project, here's what he finds with each one:
This lens shows him:
- What is the name of the profile?
- What is the profile type and sector?
- What does the profile do?
You need a quick overview of what a blockchain project is, what it does, and how it's categorised.
This lens reveals:
- What each product does
- How it describes itself
- What it works with
- Launch date and status
You need details about specific tools or services.
Products are what the project builds, protocols, apps, tools. Assets are tokens or currencies the project issues or supports.
This lens shows:
- Which currencies are supported
- Whether they issued their own token
- Network compatibility
- Token type and technical details
You're researching what tokens a project issues or supports.
Assets are tokens and currencies, not the tools built around them.
This lens shows:
- Which assets a product supports or uses
- The type of relationship between the product and asset
- How the asset is used (native token, accepted payment, collateral, etc.)
You need to understand which tokens are linked to a specific product and the nature of that relationship.
This lens describes the relationship between a product and an asset, not the asset itself. Use this lens to understand which products a asset is linked to and why.
This lens shows:
- Logos and icons
- Header images and banners
- Media types and formats
You need visual assets or want to understand how a project represents itself visually.
This lens reveals:
- Legal registration details
- Corporate structure
- Licenses and compliance
- Geographic presence
You need to verify legitimacy or conduct due diligence.
This lens provides:
- Official social accounts
- Account status
- Social types
You want to find official channels or assess community presence.
This lens shows:
- Primary websites
- Documentation and white papers
- Web applications
- Blogs and support pages
You need direct links to the project's website, documentation, or web app.
This lens provides:
- Contract addresses
- Deployment networks
- Token standards
- Deployment history
You need technical blockchain information.
Smart Contracts are the on-chain deployment details — address, network, token standard. Assets describe the token itself — name, type, what it represents.
This lens captures:
- Custom characteristics
- Special designations
- Project-specific metadata
You need to attach metadata that doesn't fit into other lenses, such as custom identifiers, or project-specific properties.
This lens shows:
- Root IDs that link all lenses of a profile
- Parent-child relationships between profiles
- System-level metadata used to join data across lenses
You're building on top of Grid data and need to understand how records link together across lenses.
This lens shows:
- Where the project or entity is based
- Regional presence and operations
- Geographic restrictions or focus areas
You need to understand where a project operates or is legally registered.