On the DAO and Web3 conferences she’s attended this year…
MCON is always great because being part of a DAO, sometimes you wonder if everyone else has the same struggles. So for me, MCON was a real eye-opener,
This is the second MCON I've been to. But this one was much bigger. It was really cool to see how people are going through the same process, what they're learning, and how we can all kind of help and learn from each other. That was one of the main takeaways from that.
Devcon I actually attended and participated in my first-ever hackathon, so it was a great experience. Devcon was just so many incredible events everywhere. It was a blur. A lot of times, most of my friends are, you know, Discord buddies, and it's so nice to meet people in person.
On her pre-Web3 background…
I graduated way back in the day from a program at the University of Colorado called Technology, Arts, and Media when we were in the dungeon below the CU stadium and there was nothing. I was what I was actually one of the first people in that program. And that definitely, like set the path for wanting to continue to learn and a love of digital arts.
I've been a digital arts educator and worked in STEM programs in Hawaii teaching teens Digital Arts, which was the best job ever. I worked in numerous visual arts centers teaching. And so I'm used to being the black sheep of the art family because I've worked in so many visual art centers where a lot of digital art wasn't considered art.
The job that first led her to Web3, and her start in the space…
I’ve worked for numerous nonprofits including Love Serve Remember. I worked with that organization doing various projects, and they were like, hey, look into NFTs. That was almost three years ago. And after they told me that it was like the crypto rabbit hole just kept going down further and further.
I started out first in Rarible, I did stuff with Rarible Protocol DAO, and I got a grant through them. And I did a couple of creator contests through them. And from there, dove into Decentraland, started contributing to Monaverse and was part of their first build-a-thon. So those things have kind of been taking a lot of my, my creative energy lately.
On advice for DAO contributors writing grant proposals…
I was a Decentraland reporter for the last 10 months, and one of the things I would do is go to the grants and just read them and see what I thought was done well and kind of take from that. So study other people's grants and see which ones have succeeded. Read the comments of the community, see what they liked, what they don't like, and then take from that and make your own in a way that's like, using the best of the best, to present whatever idea you have.
It’s a long process and a lot of work. I think a lot of people don't realize how much work goes into grants because a lot of times you have to plan six months out to be a successful grant in many ways.
Even if you currently don't know how to contribute, that's where you meet the community and maybe you can team up with somebody who can show you and help you along the way. So I definitely encourage that.
On some key differences between Decentraland and Monaverse…
I love Decentraland. But it definitely has the limitations of poly count and mesh. Everything is limited. There's a beauty in that because then you're through that constriction, you have to get really creative. And in Mona, there are also restrictions but you have a much higher poly count. So you can have more flexibility in what you do.
On her role as part of Decentraland DAO…
I'm on the strategic comms side. So I started up there, they didn't have a Twitter before I was there. So imagine that. So I helped with the bi-monthly town halls. We have inworld meetups, we have monthly newsletters, we have weekly newsletters. I'm the chief storyteller for the DAO and I help share the story of the community and the DAO core crew. So there's a lot that each program does, but for me, it's a blast because I get to work with a lot of the amazing grantees and their projects. I'm usually the one interviewing or asking questions and that kind of stuff. So it's a lot of fun.
It's funny, one of the talks I did for Moana in Lisbon was called the builder's journey, kind of like the hero's myth. And part of what I said is like, Yeah, I'm willing to dive into the deep end, even though I don't know how to swim. I may be drowning, but at least, if I have a pinkie out I'll keep on trying. And that's kind of my approach. I usually have no idea what I'm doing, I just do it anyway. And then you just learn, you know. And if you're not failing, you're not doing it right.
On the differences working for Monaverse vs. Decentraland’s DAO structure…
In regards to how we work, it's very similar. I’m technically a contractor in Mona, but in the DAO, I'm proposal based.
That would be the main difference other than working with the teams, they're both really excellent teams, and I don't notice much difference in that regard.
Mona, you know, they're web3. So the way I approach my work is very proposal based I guess, and they're very open to ideas and suggestions so it's very similar, because that's how they have structured their working environment.
On the state of DAOs…
I think there's a lot of growing pains happening and [figuring out] how to best work together as a community in a way that's beneficial for the most amount of people - it's not an easy task. And I think that's the biggest thing and like, how to overcome challenges, in a positive way, again, it's really hard. You can't make everybody happy all the time. It's just a real juggling act.
I think the best way to describe is, it’s like herding cats. We're all really cool cats. Everyone's running around and yelling and sometimes you meow in unison. Most of the time you're just like, oh shit, we're going off the cliff. Okay, might as well enjoy the ride. Let's see what happens on the other side. It's a lot of wild west but a lot of amazing organization happens, it's a mixture of that. I always say the land in between order and chaos is where I hang out. And that's pretty much the DAO or the Web3 space in general. You try to find that sweet spot. Sometimes you're more in chaos than order but just depends on the day like we're riding waves.
It doesn't mean it's necessarily easy, right? I remember one of the best times at MCON. Somebody asked, “Does anyone know what governance hell means?” Everyone raises their hand and laughs. You know, just the realization that, okay, we're all learning together.
On parallels between mountain biking and Web3…
I remember I was about to do this race in Nevada and I was just freaked I wanted to hide in the closet. And my friends were like, you just gotta fucking go for it you know. I think I learned a lot from racing. You just have to get your head out of your ass and just give it a go.
On games like Sim City and Tycoon as proto-metaverses…
That's the beginning. I mean the Roblox generation, they're all Metaverse builders. They're throwing parties, events, making wearables, they're already doing what we do in the metaverse, except they've been doing it since like three years old or four years old. You know, they're real OGs once they enter the space.
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