Paper 27: The Importance of IRL Connections in Web3
Contents
The Importance of IRL Connections in Web3
This Week in NFT World
New Interview
Thought of the Week
Meme of the Week
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1. The Importance of IRL Connections in Web3
This week I’ve been thinking a lot on the importance of IRL connections.
The problem: in an industry which operates mostly on the internet and behind screens, how can you make meaningful relationships - such that you can build and sustain a business?
It is of course possible to be on Twitter, Discord, LinkedIn etc and like, comment, and DM your way into people’s consciousness - but there is something about an IRL bond which cannot be replicated on the internet.
Off air with Hunter Orrell, who I interviewed for this week’s BCheque Chat, I asked him about a picture of him at a dinner table in LA from last year. It included a number of big names in the space, some of whom he went into business with. Would everything that has happened in the past 12 months been possible without these types of IRL interactions?
He answered openly: no.
That doesn’t mean we need to board planes to LA or NY. Or that we can down tools and not keep producing organic content on the internet.
It does mean this imo:
If you want to increase your opportunities you need to increase the number of people with whom you are willing to meet. And if you want to solidify relationships, IRL is the step to take.
How am I thinking about actioning this?
I like to arrange meetings with people IRL and online - face to face conversations.
I like to find out what people are up to and figure out if we can help each other, either immediately or at some point in the future.
I don’t really have an expectation out of these conversations - it’s just nice to talk face to face.
I would say, however, the difficult thing can be when I do not charge for my “time", but then people on top of that think I am obligated to buy their project. Should I be charging for my time? Should I be giving more for free - taking into account I write this each week for free?
I have yet to find the right balance.
But I do know I am happier and most productive when I mix my solo work with IRL connections.
With that in mind, shoutout Mila who has been fostering one of the finest communities in London at NFTUK where I always seem to find someone interesting to speak with very easily.
2. This Week in NFT World
Minecraft bans NFT integrations - The owners of Minecraft decided to ban all integrations of blockchain technology and NFTs in their game. This created a huge crash in the price of NFT Worlds NFTs. Interestingly, Epic Games have decided NOT to copy the ban.
Franklin lost 100ETH - a really crazy story where a prominent investor in the space lost 100ETH (approx. $150k) because he bid that much from one wallet ‘as a joke’ on an NFT which he himself owned in another wallet. The problem was he sold the NFT to someone else before he cancelled his own bid - so the buyer then sold it right back to him for the full $150k. Check your sense of humour before you make large bids!
Moonbirds Oddities Reveal - The Oddities revealed to a mixed reception. It had been communicated as a sort of “fun side project” away from the main Moonbirds line of NFTs. There were a number of aspects of the drop which the team has listened to feedback and reflected on. Legendary and I dove into this in Clip 3 of this week’s podcast thread below.
We spoke about all of this and more in this week’s episode #12 of NFT World.
3. New Interview
Hunter Orrell (@hunterorrell) is a prominent investor, advisor and collector in the Web 3 space. He is involved with WAGMI United (@wagmiunited), LooksRare (@looksrarenft), Ready Player Dao (@readyplayerdao) and Futureproof (@futureproofxyz), amongst other things.
In this chat we discuss
- the journey from web3 degen (and corporate career) to prominent investor and advisor
- the importance of content creation and putting your face out there
- how to attract funding and meet the right people
- the WAGMI United story and future plans (pretty sure there is some unreleased info here)
4. Thought of the Week
Something which I am thinking about a lot is the significance of the Merge for Ethereum.
My understanding is that one consequence of the Merge is that there will be no newly issued ETH hitting the market for 6-12 months after the merge (in comparison with 13,500 ETH hitting the market today).
This means there will be a significant decrease in the “inflow” of ETH.
DYOR on all of this type of stuff obviously - it is a very complicated topic. This is not financial advice. I am learning more myself here. Thanks @danielson_eth for sharing.
5. Meme of the Week
Without irony it is my intention to become a meme master. Let me know what your favourite memes were from the week!
Have a great week,
B
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Disclaimer: The content covered in this newsletter is not to be considered as investment advice. It is for informational and educational purposes only.
I hold some of the NFTs mentioned in these newsletters.