As the year 2022 draws to a close, I can't help but feel a sense of nostalgia for all that has happened in the past 12 months. From big changes to small victories, this year has been a journey full of ups and downs. And I want to take a moment to review the best highlights of my year. But before we go,
TLDR myself, if you don’t know me already, I go by the name Saimano. I am 26. I am from Southern India. I always had a passion for computers since my childhood & it got me here as a web3 developer writing code for DAOs & other web3 projects as a fulltime freelancer, exploring new technologies & whatever related.*
TLDR my career*, After completing my higher education in 2018, I was drawn to the exciting possibilities and opportunities that this field offered, and I've been working in web3 ever since. It's been an amazing journey, full of challenges and accomplishments, and I'm grateful for the opportunities that I've had to learn, grow, and make an impact in this field. I work primarily for RaidGuild, a decentralized group of web3 mercenaries (devs, designers, etc) slaying moloch. Yeah, we have such fancy terms at raidguild, haha.
There's a lot I could say about my work with RaidGuild and my journey into web3, but for now, I want to focus on my overall 2022 life timeline. If you're interested in learning more about my career in web3 and how I got started in this field, I encourage you to check out the two articles I mentioned below. These articles provide more in-depth information about my experiences and the path that led me to where I am today.
My 2022: A Recap
I'll be taking you through my Twitter feed from the beginning of 2022, highlighting some of the most noteworthy moments from the past year. These moments could be personal, professional, emotional, or anything else that's worth sharing from my life. If you're interested in following along with me on this journey and have the patience to read through this walkthrough, I invite you to continue reading. Here we go!
My Web3 Life
This is literally how I feel being a web3 developer here in India, lol. An odd man out! A nice meme to start with, hehe.
As a web3 freelancer, I'm fortunate to have the freedom to work whenever, wherever, and however I want. However, one challenge that I, and many other web3 freelancers face, is the lack of understanding and support from those around us. In my community, web3 culture and lifestyle is not yet mainstream, so it can be difficult for people to understand how I work, learn, and earn. While this can be isolating at times, I know that it's a small price to pay for the amazing work-life balance that I have been given. I hope that in 2023, I'll be able to visit some of my web3 friends and colleagues abroad and feel less lonely.
Tax troubles
One of other challenges that many people who earn income in crypto face is tax troubles, and I am no exception. In India, the government imposes a 30% tax on all crypto offramps, which can be a significant burden for those of us working in the crypto industry, especially developers who earn our income in crypto. While I understand that the government is trying to restrict illegal use of crypto by imposing heavy taxes, I hope they also consider the legitimate use of crypto by developers and other non-traders. I'm not sure how this will all play out in 2023, but I'm hopeful that things will improve for those of us working in this field.
Rejections
Due to the heavy taxes on crypto offramps in India, I've been searching for full-time jobs that pay in USD on a regular basis throughout 2022. Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck in my search. I'm not sure if it's because I don't know how to write a good resume or market myself effectively, but I'm determined to keep looking and hoping for the best. Maybe 2023 will bring better luck in my job search.
Regardless, let’s keep moving.
My Career Life
One of the highlights of my 2022 was the opportunity to learn, build, volunteer, network, and make a positive impact in the world. The beginning of the year was especially memorable, as I was moved by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the desire to help in any way I could. When I saw the news of the air strikes on Ukraine, I was heartbroken and determined to do something to make a difference. It's sad to think that the war is still ongoing as 2022 comes to a close, but I'm grateful for the chance to do what I can to support the people of Ukraine.
In response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, I quickly connected with people I knew from my work and assembled a team of volunteers to raise funds for Ukraine through web3. With the help of team members Inna, Kyle, Dan, Maryna, Dahveed, Kyle, and a few other volunteers, we launched an NFT platform called Poignart that allows artists to donate their artwork in support of Ukraine. These artworks can be minted by anyone for a price set by the artist, with all donations going to Unchain. This was an incredibly rewarding project for me to be a part of, and I learned so much while building it out. It was truly one of the finest projects I have volunteered for.
RaidGuild & Me
Throughout 2022, I worked on a variety of projects for RaidGuild, including internal improvements and tooling that were not intended for public release.
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One of the more notable projects I worked on was the development of Sentry discord bots, which are essential for managing and safeguarding the guild's infrastructure and security. If you ever find yourself in RaidGuild's discord, you'll likely come across these bots.
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Another project I took on was the build of Chakravyuha, an internal token-gated dapp for guild members to manage data. While the project was challenging and ultimately didn't gain much traction, I learned a lot in the process.
- I was also happy to have the opportunity to contribute to the onboarding of new guild members in the most recent cohort batch.
Ukraine glory continues - Kyiv Tech Summit
My involvement in supporting Ukraine didn't end with the NFT platform for artists. A few months later, I had the opportunity to volunteer as a full-stack web3 developer for the Kyiv Tech Summit, an offline and online web3 hackathon event that took place in a bomb shelter in Kyiv. The event was a massive success, with many notable speakers, sponsors, and even a special guest appearance by Vitalik and Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation.
The event garnered a lot of media attention and is considered one of the best events to have taken place in Ukraine to date. I am extremely proud to have worked as a developer in constructing the website & managing the technical infrastructure along with the core team - Inna, Rev, CJ, Nadia, Alona & Tyler.
This project will always hold a special place in my heart, as it had such a positive impact on the welfare and future of Ukraine.
Pillheads NFT
In the world of web3, there are many amazing NFT projects, but one that really stood out for me was Pillheads NFT by CFW. I love this community-driven project and the talent and engagement of its founder. As a result, I volunteered to build a few tools for the Pillheads community.
One of these tools was a profiler that allows holders to view and share all their Pillheads in one place.
I also built a discord bot on request from CFW that creates mobile wallpapers from your Pillheads NFTs. If you're interested in checking out these tools, join the Pillheads discord and give them a try! They're really cool and a lot of fun to use.
Bufficorn Buidl Brigade
The Bufficorn Buidl Brigade was one of the most exciting, challenging, and unique projects I've had the opportunity to work on. This is for the upcoming EthDenver 2023. Along with Josh, Ben, Christina & myself at RaidGuild, we built a product that allows holders of Bufficorn NFTs to swap traits peer-to-peer with one another, all gas-free. It was a lot of fun to work on this project and I learned so many new skills along the way.
We recently beta launched the product and the response has been overwhelmingly positive so far. I can't wait to see what the alpha version brings and continue to be a part of this amazing project.
NFT Certificates
Based on the concept of soul bound tokens, I had the privilege to work on a project with my friend Anna Gandrabura, founder & instructor of an online e-learning platform (English For IT) who initially brought up this idea of issuing certificates to her students using a blockchain based solution such that they can be publicly verified by anyone & at the same time, remain true to who it has been issued to.
Thus, we made use of soul bound NFTs & launched certificate.english4it.online for both certificate issuers & students of English For IT.
Hobby Projects
In my spare time, I like to work on hobby projects that allow me to learn new things and have fun. Here are a few examples of the projects I've tackled:
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A peer-to-peer ERC20 token trading platform
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A 3D animated haunted room on the web, which I built while learning ThreeJs from Bruno Simon
These projects are just for fun and allow me to explore new technologies and techniques in a more relaxed and informal setting. They're a great way for me to continue learning and growing as a developer.
Recently, I've become interested in technologies like Midjourney AI and ChatGPT, and have been learning about prompt engineering as I generate cool artworks and images. It's been a lot of fun and I'm excited to see what else I can create with these tools. Maybe I'll even launch my own Midjourney album next year! It's always good to have new challenges and goals to work towards, and this seems like a fun and exciting project to pursue.
My NFT Life
NFTs! Everyone in web3 will have a different NFT story of their own from becoming a NFTs have become a big part of the web3 world, and everyone has their own story to tell about their experiences with them. Some people have become overnight millionaires, while others have lost all their fortune due to scams. My own experience with NFTs falls somewhere in between. I love NFTs for their use cases, for the artists and artworks they represent, and not just for flipping money. Here are some of my best NFT moments:
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Winning an auction: This was my first-ever participation in an NFT auction, and it was for one of the 16 Pillhead: Originals collections, an art collaboration between CFW and other web3 artists. I really wanted to win the auction, which was a collaboration between my two favorite artists, CFW and Waxbones. It was an hour of back-and-forth offers from many collectors, and I finally won the auction for a price of 0.69 WETH, which is the highest I've ever spent on an NFT.
- Remember CryptoLexicon?? I guess this was the predecessor to all the AI image generation tools we are using now. It was fun & exciting to see an artwork generate out of the keywords I provided. Maybe it’s vintage now with all the stable diffusion tools out there.
- A cute warrior prince NFT: This is the NFT I use as my profile picture almost everywhere. I love the little warrior prince, and I'm not sure if I look like him, but this is how I imagine myself, haha. This NFT also has an interesting mechanics attached to it, with some ETH staking behind the scenes which you can learn more here.
- A collaboration art from Waxbones: I have this NFT printed from DegenPrints and framed in my working room, and it's always on display above my desk.
- In addition to the other NFTs I've collected, I also have a few more that I really love. One of them is an Abomination NFT from Waxbones, built by Props. What's interesting about this NFT is that you can choose the traits you want your Abomination to have by spending some time in the splicer.
- I also have to give a special shoutout to the Pillheads collection from CFW. The quality of these artworks is outstanding, and I own around 15 of them, which is the most NFTs I've collected from a single collection.
There are many more NFTs that I love, which you can check out on my Opensea profile. Overall, I'm very proud of my NFT collection and believe it is the best out there.
Personal Life
Last but not the least, health and personal lifestyle is as much important as anything In addition to my work and professional life, I also prioritize my personal health and lifestyle. Exercise has always been a hobby of mine, and it helps to keep me motivated and energized, especially since I work from home and don't have as many opportunities to socialize. In the beginning of 2022, I made a resolution to be consistent with my workouts, and I'm happy to say that I've kept that promise. I believe that health is wealth, and taking care of myself is just as important as anything else in my life.
Doxed
This year, I made an effort to share more pictures of myself, especially with my overseas friends who I haven't had the chance to meet in person yet. While I'm not necessarily the most photogenic, I figured it would be nice to be a little less mysterious to those friends. Do you think I'm photogenic enough? Just kidding, it's not really a big deal either way. But I do hope to meet my overseas friends in person one day.
Netflix & Crush
Like many people, I enjoy watching movies and TV shows in my free time. And my most favorite web series of this year are,
I know it may sound a little crazy, but I have a bit of a crush on the CGI version of She-Hulk. I think she's just so cool, powerful & pretty, lol.
My Dear Friends
This year, I was fortunate enough to make a number of wonderful friendships that have had a huge impact on my life. I particularly connected with a group of people from Ukraine while volunteering on various projects. These people, including Inna Kosianets, Maryna & Anna Gandrabura , have become some of my closest friends and I treasure our bond. I actually admire almost all the people of Ukraine. They are the finest I have ever seen & especially all the women in Ukraine deserve a massive respect.
I also met Christina, who has been a standout friend for me in 2022. She did something truly special for me when I couldn't make it to MCON - she made a paper version of me and brought it with her to the event, as if I were there with her. It was a thoughtful and kind gesture that I will always remember.
In addition to these friends, I also developed close relationships with Bau, Jaqi, Peth, Ben, and Gaia, and have had the pleasure of getting to know CFW, the founder and artist behind Pillheads, as a good friend as well. I am grateful to have such supportive and caring people in my life.
Ukraine on my B’day!
My birthday this year was made extra special and meaningful by spending my savings on supporting Ukraine, a country that holds a special place in my heart and has been a constant presence in my thoughts and actions throughout the year. I have no idea why I feel such a strong connection to Ukraine, but I am grateful to have had the opportunity to give back and make a difference in a place that feels like home to me. The most I have donated in 2022 is also to Ukraine (my time, skills & funds). #SlavaUkraini (Glory to Ukraine)
And last but not the least, I love web3 merch & what a great drop from RagsNFT to finish off my year end purchases. Looking forward to receive my shipment in 2023!
As I reflect on my journey in web3 throughout 2022, I am filled with gratitude for the experiences and connections I have made. From working as a freelancer for RaidGuild to volunteering on projects that support Ukraine, I have learned so much and made some truly special friendships.
In my personal life, I have prioritized my health and well-being and have been fortunate to connect with some incredible individuals. And, of course, I can't forget my love for NFTs and web3 merchandise. As the year comes to a close, I am excited for what 2023 has in store and am grateful for all the lessons and memories from this past year.
Happy, Healthy & Peaceful 2023 everyone!