Down and Up the Rabbit Hole
This essay is 7 of 7 essays forย The Tech Progressive Writing Challenge. Join theย build_ Discordย to join the conversation.
My mind was blown two weeks ago by an episode of the Tim Ferriss Show with Chris Dixon and Naval Ravikant on the Wonders of Web3. I immediately opened up the show notes and started diving into the links. My wife walked in to me pouring over the pages of "Friends with Benefits" and asked if everything was okay. Each link branched into many others, and it didn't take long before a buffet of unreadable tabs lined my browser window.
At this point, the firehose turned on full blast as I struggled to drink. I typically go to bed at a reasonable time, sleeping for 7-8 hours. Recently, however, the rabbit hole calls me down deeper as the clock slides past midnight without my noticing. I wake up excited, and notice the floaty, high energy feeling in my gut as I practice my morning meditation. My discord servers are fresh with notifications and I feel a mixture of overwhelm and opportunity. Bankless podcast plays through my beach-bound car speakers on a sunny and warm California afternoon. My surfboard glides along the wave face above the sandy ocean floor as I kick out and think about how I relate Bored Apes with celebrity culture and Cryptopunks with OG Tech/Blockchain culture.
Welcome to my honeymoon phase with Web3. Through this writing challenge with build_ organized by Grant Nissly, I've been motivated to explore out loud with you the last few days.
I started writing about NFTs and artists. NFT's are fun to talk about. They can contain beautiful art, are sometimes associated with an allure of flipping for fortunes, and are transacted on the blockchain with smart contracts that may continue supporting artists as the artwork changes hands (IRL metaphor). But how do you secure your NFTs and other valuables in the Web3 space?
In my second essay, we explored the difference between storing your digital assets in hot and cold wallets.
Essay #3 took a hard left turn, as we explored the potential of Web3 in prisons, and how a thoughtful curriculum using technology can prepare incarcerated people to focus their energies in positive channels upon return to normal society.
My fourth essay explored DAOs and the governance tools they use to make decentralized decisions, using the ENS (Ethereum Network Service) DAO as a case study for my research.
#5 challenged me to further explore how DAOs govern, as we focused on governance proposal types and their life cycles.
The second to last essay was fueled by the drive to contribute, and we explored DAO-posted bounties and other ways to make a positive impact in Web3.
I've been down the rabbit hole to say the least in the past week, only coming up for air to eat, write, and surf. The rabbit hole is not just a hole, it's a network of holes. It's an entire metaverse linked together.
I intend to continue exploring Web3, contributing, and sharing my informed perspective in public. Thank you to the writers, builders, artists, leaders and everyone else making Web3 a positive place to learn and build community.