There are two parts to The Obvious Series:Simple explanations for newer entrantsAbstract wtf are we doing here reflectionsNon-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)A non-replicable digital item existing on the blockchain ledger.The SimpleAn NFT is an ownership token. Its existence is verifiable on the blockchain and undeniably proves the holder’s ownership of whatever asset it ‘contains’. Some assets that leverage this technology include:art (generative, visual, ai, etc)musicpodcastsvideosblogsebooksgame ass...

There are two parts to The Obvious Series:Simple explanations for newer entrantsAbstract wtf are we doing here reflectionsNon-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)A non-replicable digital item existing on the blockchain ledger.The SimpleAn NFT is an ownership token. Its existence is verifiable on the blockchain and undeniably proves the holder’s ownership of whatever asset it ‘contains’. Some assets that leverage this technology include:art (generative, visual, ai, etc)musicpodcastsvideosblogsebooksgame ass...

A couple years ago I was struck with an epiphany that onchain portfolios would be a thing. It wasn’t until I saw @0xdesigner’s product portfolio that the pieces connected.Syncing Talent with InfrastructureAs many have covered quite extensively, the internet’s economy steals from, leverages, and replicates certain aspects of its offline counterpart. It is fundamentally different however. And onchain is an even greater divergence. The talent-to-infrastructure funnel is incredibly messy. Whether...

A couple years ago I was struck with an epiphany that onchain portfolios would be a thing. It wasn’t until I saw @0xdesigner’s product portfolio that the pieces connected.Syncing Talent with InfrastructureAs many have covered quite extensively, the internet’s economy steals from, leverages, and replicates certain aspects of its offline counterpart. It is fundamentally different however. And onchain is an even greater divergence. The talent-to-infrastructure funnel is incredibly messy. Whether...

In a world of data obfuscation, onchain life is on pace to not only mimic, but further complicate things. Think of FTX. Think of Luna. Think of 3AC. These are clear examples of what Chase Chapman called information asymmetry. Here’s an article she wrote on the need for interfaces that bring clarity to the nuances of onchain activity: https://www.metropolis.space/research/accountability-in-an-onchain-world It led me into thinking about the obfuscation of cultural activity. The same way that la...

In a world of data obfuscation, onchain life is on pace to not only mimic, but further complicate things. Think of FTX. Think of Luna. Think of 3AC. These are clear examples of what Chase Chapman called information asymmetry. Here’s an article she wrote on the need for interfaces that bring clarity to the nuances of onchain activity: https://www.metropolis.space/research/accountability-in-an-onchain-world It led me into thinking about the obfuscation of cultural activity. The same way that la...

Memetic.(adj.) has the qualities of or is related to a memeIcons.(n.) a person or thing regarded as a representative symbolAs culture hyperfies, we see increasing value in the representative symbols used to scale and manifest density around interests/morals onchain. Not only are we lending more credence to things like ‘brand’, or ‘design’, UI/UX, and ‘aesthetics’, we are trying to distill their wisdom for a globally coordinated reinterpretation, on blockchains.Trying AgainOur first go at cont...

Memetic.(adj.) has the qualities of or is related to a memeIcons.(n.) a person or thing regarded as a representative symbolAs culture hyperfies, we see increasing value in the representative symbols used to scale and manifest density around interests/morals onchain. Not only are we lending more credence to things like ‘brand’, or ‘design’, UI/UX, and ‘aesthetics’, we are trying to distill their wisdom for a globally coordinated reinterpretation, on blockchains.Trying AgainOur first go at cont...

There are two parts to The Obvious Series:Simple explanations for newer entrantsAbstract wtf are we doing here reflectionsShitcoins (aka Memecoins)A crypto currency open to market speculation.The SimpleSometimes referred to as memecoins, shitcoins can be conceptualized as:knockoff coins compared to name brand coins like BTC and ETHmarket-cap-roulette tokenscommunity/protocol stockAt the introductory level, shitcoins are high risk, high speculation ‘assets’. Anyone can create one and make it a...

There are two parts to The Obvious Series:Simple explanations for newer entrantsAbstract wtf are we doing here reflectionsShitcoins (aka Memecoins)A crypto currency open to market speculation.The SimpleSometimes referred to as memecoins, shitcoins can be conceptualized as:knockoff coins compared to name brand coins like BTC and ETHmarket-cap-roulette tokenscommunity/protocol stockAt the introductory level, shitcoins are high risk, high speculation ‘assets’. Anyone can create one and make it a...

We begin a new series of inquisition around what Optimism has called The Superchain. The fundamental questions are:What is it?What are the value props?Who is part of it?Why/will more join?Our more nuanced curiosities are about Base, Zora Network, and Optimism itself. Some questions I’m interested in are:What do the individual collectives offer?How do they comprise the superchain?Where/what are the opportunities for those of us here?Getting StartedIf you’d like to read the essay for yourself: ...

We begin a new series of inquisition around what Optimism has called The Superchain. The fundamental questions are:What is it?What are the value props?Who is part of it?Why/will more join?Our more nuanced curiosities are about Base, Zora Network, and Optimism itself. Some questions I’m interested in are:What do the individual collectives offer?How do they comprise the superchain?Where/what are the opportunities for those of us here?Getting StartedIf you’d like to read the essay for yourself: ...

Zora has changed the game. By sharing mint fees, they have created a flywheel for positive sum effects throughout Z Net, Base, Optimism, and Mainnet. The offchain equivalent would be AMEX sharing part of their merchant fee with store owners…MintsFrom my perspective, mints are everything - at least at this stage of the game. The more mints you can amass, the more your work can proliferate. The more your network can expand. The more you can develop onchain. Some have claimed that the auction am...

Zora has changed the game. By sharing mint fees, they have created a flywheel for positive sum effects throughout Z Net, Base, Optimism, and Mainnet. The offchain equivalent would be AMEX sharing part of their merchant fee with store owners…MintsFrom my perspective, mints are everything - at least at this stage of the game. The more mints you can amass, the more your work can proliferate. The more your network can expand. The more you can develop onchain. Some have claimed that the auction am...

Productize Yourself. “Productize” and “yourself.” “Yourself” has uniqueness. “Productize” has leverage. “Yourself” has accountability. “Productize” has specific knowledge. “Yourself” also has specific knowledge in there. So all of these pieces, you combine them into these two words. - Naval RavikantIncreasingly diverse interests, preferences, and range of nuanced derivations within those preferences; the consumer-sullied term NFT could really be simplified as an upgrade on creator economics. ...

Productize Yourself. “Productize” and “yourself.” “Yourself” has uniqueness. “Productize” has leverage. “Yourself” has accountability. “Productize” has specific knowledge. “Yourself” also has specific knowledge in there. So all of these pieces, you combine them into these two words. - Naval RavikantIncreasingly diverse interests, preferences, and range of nuanced derivations within those preferences; the consumer-sullied term NFT could really be simplified as an upgrade on creator economics. ...

There are two parts to The Obvious Series:Simple explanations for newer entrantsAbstract wtf are we doing here reflectionsDecentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)An attempt at innovating the company model.The SimpleThe standard public company model is as follows:Fortune 500sShareholders are legally at the top of the pyramid, yet functionally impotent. The real utility, and access to capital, begins at the Board of Directors and quickly lessens the further down the org chart one is positi...

There are two parts to The Obvious Series:Simple explanations for newer entrantsAbstract wtf are we doing here reflectionsDecentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)An attempt at innovating the company model.The SimpleThe standard public company model is as follows:Fortune 500sShareholders are legally at the top of the pyramid, yet functionally impotent. The real utility, and access to capital, begins at the Board of Directors and quickly lessens the further down the org chart one is positi...

There are two parts to The Obvious Series:Simple explanations for newer entrantsAbstract wtf are we doing here reflectionsLayer 2 (L2)A more affordable, faster, and interest-specific layer built on top of Ethereum Mainnet.The SimpleUntil quite recently, all pertinent activity was handled on Ethereum Mainnet (Layer 1). People from past bull markets can tell you of unbelievable gas prices ( the cost of submitting a transaction). It wasn’t uncommon to pay thousands of dollars when trying to make...

There are two parts to The Obvious Series:Simple explanations for newer entrantsAbstract wtf are we doing here reflectionsLayer 2 (L2)A more affordable, faster, and interest-specific layer built on top of Ethereum Mainnet.The SimpleUntil quite recently, all pertinent activity was handled on Ethereum Mainnet (Layer 1). People from past bull markets can tell you of unbelievable gas prices ( the cost of submitting a transaction). It wasn’t uncommon to pay thousands of dollars when trying to make...

An [industry’s] gotta have principlesFor onchain to grow into its next phase it seems a reprioritization of values is needed. Ordinance principles have been top of mind. Currently I’m favoring:is it fun?does it facilitate value convergence?Mix in recent conversations around minting, dao plateauing, etc, and it feels like the serendipity machine is at work yet again. Enter Basepaint.BasepaintTLDR:daily theme for creating pixel artbuy a brush NFT and you have 100 pixels to usecollaborate with o...

An [industry’s] gotta have principlesFor onchain to grow into its next phase it seems a reprioritization of values is needed. Ordinance principles have been top of mind. Currently I’m favoring:is it fun?does it facilitate value convergence?Mix in recent conversations around minting, dao plateauing, etc, and it feels like the serendipity machine is at work yet again. Enter Basepaint.BasepaintTLDR:daily theme for creating pixel artbuy a brush NFT and you have 100 pixels to usecollaborate with o...

A free mint for the subscribers: subscriber-edition://0xC5d1400ACb585726DD8a0Dc674CADD1C77173783?tokenId=0&size=medium After a recent podcast appearance, and a few more discussions on Hypercultures, it feels time to revisit memetic icons.Analysis of AbstractionsVersion one of our conceptualization summates to:each hyperculture is centered around onetheir aesthetic manifestations include skeuomorphic, abstract, and referential models (noggles, zorbs, & opepen silouhette)We also came away with ...

A free mint for the subscribers: subscriber-edition://0xC5d1400ACb585726DD8a0Dc674CADD1C77173783?tokenId=0&size=medium After a recent podcast appearance, and a few more discussions on Hypercultures, it feels time to revisit memetic icons.Analysis of AbstractionsVersion one of our conceptualization summates to:each hyperculture is centered around onetheir aesthetic manifestations include skeuomorphic, abstract, and referential models (noggles, zorbs, & opepen silouhette)We also came away with ...