Today, Douglas Eriksen joins us to discuss the world of blockchain, how businesses are using it, what to consider when deciding whether blockchain is right for your company, the challenges that come with the technology, and the digital divide.

Doug is an NFT strategist and blockchain expert. He is the NFT Marketplace Strategist at Ultra, immersed in the decentralized gaming industry through one of the most impeccable platforms available. Doug started ChainMosaic, which has partnerships worldwide and offers strategic services, content creation, Web3 marketing, blockchain development, and more.

In his Master of Law dissertation, he looked at how blockchain technology affects intellectual property law. He also studied blockchain strategy at Oxford University as a blockchain expert.

Anyone who wants to build in the Web 3 space needs to know what blockchain is and what role it plays in the industry. I've put all the relevant links in the show notes, but for now, enjoy this impactful and sharp conversation.

Conversation breakdown:

[04:20] How on earth will blockchain close the digital divide? Why aren’t we there yet?

[08:00] What is the digital divide?

[11:00] What are the superpowers of blockchain for businesses? How does blockchain drive socio-economic change for a business?

[17:40] What pain point have you seen or would you like to see solved through blockchain technology?

[23:15] In your experience, what are some good examples of companies that have added blockchain to their models, AND are doing really useful things with it too?

[29:00] What are the challenges in incorporating blockchain for businesses?

[39:50] How can businesses with blockchain models help close the digital divide?

[46:15 Specific resources you can recommend for blockchain, creator economy and digital divide?

Resources mentioned:

- The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking.

- Blockworks: Crypto’s fastest-growing media and information platform.

- Inevitable: Inevitable is the platform to upskill your devs and engineers for Blockchain and Web3 in a fast, straightforward, and practical way.

- Follow Douglas: LinkedIn

This is a special episode of our MetaMind3.0 events! This is part two of two, and the theme of the event was "Technology that enables the Metaverse." Our moderator was MC and host Tuesday Le Roux, and our panellists were Raed Mikail (Co-Founder & CEO for AVR Hub), Walid Abdelal (Machine learning and blockchain expert, and Rail Systems Engineering & IS Chief Engineer at RTA), and George Chivi (Associate Business Director at Publicis Group).

In part two, our panelists continue the deep dive into where the Metaverse is right now, and where it should be. They also unpack more about the blockchain: What is it? What are its limits? How does AI play into blockchain security?

Particularly, our panelists look at one of the more important pillars in the Metaverse for anyone who’s looking to enter the space: User behaviour. One of the things that came out of this episode, actually, was that user behaviour is the #1 reason why we're decades away from wide adoption of the Metaverse

Make sure to check out part one as well!

Conversation breakdown:

[02:30] What is the Metaverse right now, and what "should" it be?

[05:00] The limits of the blockchain right now

[05:58] Unpacking and understanding the blockchain

[09:56] Understanding AI's role in blockchain security

[10:45] What Miracle Trees are, and what they do for security

[11:38] Which blockchain do you trust, and why?

[13:24] The "top gun" companies creating Metaverses

[15:20] How long before the Metaverse is democratised?

[16:45] User behaviour is the #1 reason why we're decades away from wide adoption of the Metaverse

[19:10] Defining the role of platforms in the Metaverse

[20:45] Will blockchain become as accessible as the internet?

[22:48] Why is the Metaverse still so slow?

>>> Q&A

[24:36] What does quantum computing, StarLink and increased internet access do for the development of the Metaverse?

[30:50] In blockchain, where everything is transparent, how do I hide my data from big tech companies?

[34:54] What do you think about the ethics of the aim to remove censorship in the Metaverse?

MetaVerse platforms mentioned:

- Decentraland: Experiential view of the Metaverse (shopping, galleries, etc.)

- Sandbox: Gamified experience of the Metaverse

- Somnium Space: A virtual reality-enabled Metaverse world

- Mona: Individualistiic worlds and experiences created by various creators

- Pixel Links: DeadMau5's Metaverse

- Other Side: BoardApe's Metaverse

- Horizon: Facebook's Metaverse

This is a special episode of our MetaMind3.0 events! This is part one of two, and the theme of the event was "Technology that enables the MetaVerse." Our moderator was MC and host Tuesday Le Roux, and our panellists were Raed Mikail (Co-Founder & CEO for AVR Hub), Walid Abdelal (Machine learning and blockchain expert, and Rail Systems Engineering & IS Chief Engineer at RTA), and George Chivi (Associate Business Director at Publicis Group).

In part one, we take a look under the hood of 3D modelling and the mathematics behind the Metaverse, as well as talk a bit about governance and protocols in this new Web3 space. There’s also some discussion where we’re still lacking in the Metaverse at the moment — which is a great thing to pay attention to if you’re a business professional looking for a niche to improve, and a way to get your foot in the door.

Make sure to check out part 2 as well!

Conversation breakdown:

[02:40] Intros to panellists

[06:11] What is the Metaverse?

>>> Unpacking the pillars of the Metaverse...

[08:00] Extended reality: Augemented (AR) vs. virtual (VR)

[09:04] Role of computer vision and lidar in the Metaverse

[13:10] 3D modelling and Omniverse

[17:35] Metaverse's impact on workplaces

[19:20] Where are we still lacking in Metaverse development?

[24:40] An insight into the mathematics of the Metaverse

[26:48] Insight to artifical super intelligence

[28:58] Governance protocols and IP in the Metaverse

MetaVerse platforms mentioned:

- Decentraland: Experiential view of the Metaverse (shopping, galleries, etc.)

- Sandbox: Gamified experience of the Metaverse

- Somnium Space: A virtual reality-enabled Metaverse world

- Mona: Individualistiic worlds and experiences created by various creators

- Pixel Links: DeadMau5's Metaverse

- Other Side: BoardApe's Metaverse

- Horizon: Facebook's Metaverse

Anas Bhurtun (@AnanasBRB) joined us for an punchy discussion around ArtsDAO (@arts_dao), one of Dubai's largest DAOs. We covered everything from how he set it up successfully, what he learned about creating a DAO, and why a DAO is so powerful as a digital community in Web3 (as opposed to other digital communities out there). Anas also gave so valuable insights into the key things you should focus on if you want to start your own successful DAO.

Conversation breakdown:

[03:35] The challenges and "keys" to building digital communities

[10:15] Insight into some security challenges, and doing a successful NFT drop

[13:15] How to raise funds for an NFT drop, and how much you need

[16:35] Lessons about timing an NFT drop and building a DAO

[19:01] "Hard work should be effortless"

[20:39] Content creation is the #1 means of building a DAO right now

[25:35] Resources for how to get started with DAOs

Thought-leaders to follow:

- Seneca (@allseeingseneca), artist behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, and member of ArtsDAO too
- Loopify (@Loopifyyy), content creator around NFT related things and NFT analysis, runs newsletter called "The Loops News"

Lauren Haworth is a business professional who actively invests and works with NFT projects — but her experience is that most NFT projects out there don't have any real, tangible impact in the world (and many are scams or pyramid schemes).

We sat down with Lauren to unpack some of her hands-on experience with NFT investing, and to figure out why and how businesses should incorporate NFTs into their day-to-day operations. Lauren also shares her experience with Green Tokens, some practical insights into an NFT project she's currently involved in that's bringing education to underprivileged children, and how she makes sure she invests in credible, profitable NFT projects.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Investopedia (www.investopedia.com)