What a difference a year makes. The first anniversary is the paper anniversary. That is fitting since much of what has defined web3 is paper hands. Perhaps the most critical aspect of Web3 is community, which NRN has blossomed into.
Most days start with a GM, well, usually a series of GMs. These extend to most hours of the day, given our community’s wide variety of time zones. The NRN Discord has become a home base for our community, where most of us start and end our days.
The NRN community
NRN works because it has no agenda. We aren’t influencers trying to pump our bags. Just a group of like-minded people who come together to learn as a community. We have possibly the most diverse members in the industry, given we all come from different counties, different upbringings, and different blockchains. NRN has the degens, the gamblers, and the downright lunatic fringe. Through in it all, close friendships have developed. We have not succumbed to the “influencers” who peddle a mint or a pump-and-dump scheme upon their followers. Our wins and losses are in the open for everyone to see. We usually announce our intentions in advance so others can join in, for better or worse.
We’ve had some great predictions and some colossal fuck ups. We have been transparent all the way through. In this particular forum, the two of us share many thoughts in common but have our share of disagreements. Algorithm-induced echo chambers often run the digital world. It is becoming much more difficult to find a confluence of differing opinions expressed respectfully (often in a sarcastic manner). The challenge of ideas and a plethora of views make it great.
One Year and All Kinds of Fun
Crier: One of the reasons I began the journey of writing crypto articles was a piece of art done by Beeple. Everyone in this space knows and respects Beeple; he is an incredible artist, but the piece of art that resonated with me was after his first full year of drawing his Everyday Series. Over the past year, I have recorded over 130 podcast episodes, written close to 40 articles, and will continue to do this no matter the outcome.
This is about bettering myself and my community.
I am here to help educate people, and as long as I empower one more person to choose and contribute to their financial independence, I will continue.
Canuck: For me, writing and sharing my thoughts is as much about learning as it is about teaching. Many of the topics I’ve covered have begun as something I was curious about but didn’t know too much on the subject. I am forced to dive in and learn new things in creating content, while learning many of the topics in real time. My intentions is to share more of a mindset and strategy instead of a “thou shall” attitude.
Many of my best ideas come from listening to the podcasts from the NRN team or just bullshitting in general chat. The brainstorming that develops during these unstructured conversations is genuinely unique. Also, the sadistic part of me enjoys seeing some monumentally dumb moves certain members make after a few drinks, a blunt, and 2.7 seconds of “research.”
Regrets
Canuck: My biggest regret is not buying a Bored Ape early on. To say I like monkeys is an understatement. I actually took the family to Gibraltar to see the Apes there.
When I first learned of BAYC, the floor was 0.75 Eth, and I didn’t fully grasp NFTs yet. I owned a couple (Sandbox land), but I still didn’t know WTF an NFT was. I was going to buy an Ape for 0.75, then I did the thing I hate most, I dawdled.
When I finally put the Eth in my wallet, they were 2.5 Eth which was about $7,500 at the time. We all know what they did next…… Easy to say I regret not buying when the price did what it did. We all have the one that got away.
Crier: We all wish we got BAYC early, obviously, but my regret was more from the mindset aspect. Coming into NFTs from a full crypto background, I treated NFTs as Altcoins. I didn’t view them as much of a community-building tool right away. I picked quite a few projects that have shown resilience over the past year, but I wish I had done so with more conviction in helping the community. I didn’t realize this was the true meaning and function of NFTs until about 3 months into the space.
Key learnings
Crier: This is the second time I have experienced a bear market in crypto, and I will say it’s much better with friends. Misery does love company. I also think this time around, I will be able to make smarter decisions with the input of many.
As we wind down the hype and FOMO that has been ubiquitous in the space, it is a great time to find the true founders and companies that can maintain a viable business. The number of projects made vs. how many survive will be devastating. If there is one takeaway from a long-term crypto participant, only focus on the projects still delivering progress that is MEANINGFUL and serves a purpose.
Canuck: It is easy to say, “if only I had,” hindsight is 20/20, after all. Some rug pulls were actually profitable. I did make a quick 50% in a few hours on the Will Smith Inu coin after his infamous slap. Many in the NRN community also went on the wild ride known as Holy Grail ($Hly), which gave shitcoins a bad name. Pretty sure TheTruth still has nightmares about it. I did manage to double my initial investment and cash out before the shit hit the fan. Perhaps that means I can laugh more about it than most. If only I could say I put those profits to good use, let’s just say I learned some things.
Though I like to be responsible with my investments, I’ve learned it is important to feed the degen monster inside. Being able to carve out a small percentage of my portfolio for the moon shots makes things more fun. There is also something to be said about the camaraderie that comes along with being a part of the same NFT community. Mutants stick together, Doodles stick together, and those of us still recovering from the Cute Pig Club stick together. The financial return is not the only metric to use in this space. I missed out on a few in-person events this year but am looking forward to Miami in December. The sense of community is what has made those events fun for the entire NRN family.
Year 2
Canuck: I feel as though my Web3 journey is just beginning. I also like to think my contributions to Web3 are just getting started. Knowing the pace of change in this space, I am excited to continue to share with everyone as I learn myself. I am also excited about the networking opportunities with the great calendar of events in front of us. It is my plan to produce more content, continue to get to know the team, and probably lend my voice and opinion to a few of the podcasts. I am also excited to collaborate with more people in the space as the best ideas are born out of collaboration.
Crier: Well said Canuck. We are just beginning on this arduous path to the metaphorical moon, and my goal is to bring the content people need to be informed about in the crypto and NFT space. Continuing on our path of genuine desire to learn and grow as educators is of the utmost importance, and from the team, at Non-Refungible Network, we are excited for what we have in store for the future.