simondlr #34 - The Rewiring of The Niche: Selling Out, Commons Databases, & NFTs.
Hi friends!
The NFT (and web3) discussions seem to be never-ending. A lot of new people loving and hating what we’ve been working on for more than a decade. In this new article, I take a more social lens to the technology. Technology has shaped our relationships and when new technology changes older technology, our relationships change in tow. In this case, blockchains are a rewiring of the database. Apprehension is normal when it rewires our relationships.
Enjoy!
https://blog.simondlr.com/posts/the-rewiring-of-the-niche
The Visions of Gridlock by Saga
For the audiobook of “Hope Runners of Gridlock”, I created various GAN imagery as if it was painted by the character, Saga. I plan to sell all 40 of the chapter images on Foundation. I was planning to do it soon, but I might delay it for various reasons. Regardless, somewhere, soon, I will put these up for auction!
NFT.NYC talk on Storytelling + NFTs
At NFT.NYC in November (which was a trip to experience), I gave a talk on NFTs & Storytelling. If you are curious what I’m thinking about day-to-day, this is it. I really enjoyed it. I missed being on stage, talking and sharing ideas.
Links!
Token Engineering Commons
The Token Engineering Commons is finally live. After years of research and development, they launched. What I found interesting about their approach is that it was 1) slow, methodical, analytical. 2) it’s a meta project that promotes itself. Using token engineering to support research and development in token engineering, and 3) it enshrines the principle that building in the commons doesn’t have to be at the expense of individual remuneration. More collective action can also come from appropriately rewarding individual contributions not through the traditional relationships of firms and labour. Disclaimer: I’m an investor and have supported the team in various ways over the years.
NFTs and Open Access: Power in the Age of Digital Individualism
In seeking out critique against NFTs, I enjoy critique that is willing to protect the new while giving necessary feedback and elucidation of blind spots. Matt Colquhoun wrote a great piece about platform capitalism and the age of the NFT. Despite what grabs headlines, there is still promise for building new forms of organization, support, and collective action.
Hyperstructures
Although I’ve been in crypto for a while, it’s been a while since I found truly new ideas: ideas that really make me go hmm. Ideas that seems counterintuitive at first, but upon further inspection, holds. Jacob Horne from Zora is a pro at this. Always expanding thinking in new and interesting ways. Hyperstructures are a way to design and frame crypto-protocols. The most interesting part for me is the idea of capturing value through the ‘threat’ of rent-seeking fees. It’s so mind-bending.
Bulldozer vs Vetocracy
Particularly enjoyed this political axis framing from Vitalik Buterin. Who gets to make things happen and who gets to stop things from happening. It particularly tickled my interest in the frame of zoning. Finding the right balance allows for a sense of diversity and vibrancy in public, city life. Japan for example holds its zoning policies at a national level and allows any use to exists if it’s not explicitly excluded: eg, building residential wherever you want. That’s great… BUT, it disenfranchises local communities (eg, communities being able to block certain development). Even though I’m generally YIMBY, I don’t know what the right answer is and this framing has been with me for a while. I keep thinking about it.
Defunctland
I once entertained the idea of becoming a Disney Imagineer. Theme parks are super fun. I also enjoyed abandoned buildings. So, combining theme parks and defunct/failed experiences in one channel!? Love this a lot. Excellent YouTube channel!
That’s all for this newsletter. I’m heading soon back to South Africa for holiday to see the sunsets I grew up with. Make sure you also see one. :)
Till next time.
Cheers!
Simon
