Welcome to the self-reflection of my past six months.. Capturing the Scenic Backdrops of Digital Nomad Life. This blog was translated with the help of AI. 😎

Table of Contents

1. To live as a nomad

2. Introduction to content platforms

3. How to write well

4. Four things I felt as a nomad

5. Conclusion

Intro

Spring came faster than expected. It seems that winter is generally short for digital nomads. I went to Thailand because winter in Korea is cold, but summer in Thailand came faster than expected, so this time I came to Japan because it's too hot in Thailand. I didn't have a determined mindset to become a digital nomad since I was young, but if there was one keyword that I pursued, it would probably be freedom. The freedom to work in an environment where I can work freely and be creative, and to find jobs that people in the world say don't pay well, I became a digital nomad without realizing it for over six months. What did I feel while living as a digital nomad?

To live as a nomad

For nomads, I think it's essential to be able to express their experiences in a way that they can communicate with people. Why do we go out and experience and learn when everyone else is working in an office? My answer, which I have been contemplating for six months, is that it expands our values in life. I think it's important to communicate with the world about these values (through visible and audible outputs or any sensory organ) and in my case, I chose writing as the most important format.

In short, to live as a nomad, you must be able to write. And as a creator who uses writing as their means, you inevitably have to be interested in the methodology of how your writing is delivered and how you communicate with your readers. Especially with the growing interest in creator economies through Web3, I also became interested in exploring Web3 tools that allow me to share my thoughts. I personally believe that people who can tell their stories interestingly through Web3 will receive a lot of attention in the future. As the generation with strong personalities and preferences gradually starts to use the internet, I cautiously predict that the need for platforms where individuals can tell their own stories and hear unique stories of others will increase.

Then the question arises, where do you post your writing? Personally, this time I want to recommend two platforms. First, Substack and second, Paragraph. I heard about Substack through TwinFin, who I have been exchanging stories with through FoW, and I heard about Paragraph through passionDAO of FoW.

Personally, both in terms of functionality and content quality, Medium's era is over, and competition is expected between Substack and Paragraph. Paragraph shows a progressive look towards Web3, while Substack looks far superior in terms of overall popular functionality and UX.

Both platforms are showing progressive action based on one belief, which is

If writers work on what they believe is most important and have a direct relationship with their readers, they can earn more money than creating content that can be owned and distributed by others through outsourcing.

onally, because I am interested in collaboration and teamwork with others, the multi-author function was the main criterion for checking the user experience provided by the platform. As of April 25, 2023, both Substack and Paragraph offer this feature, but the details are different. In the case of Substack, the article published in one channel is also visible in the channel of an account set as multi-author, but in Paragraph, it cannot be seen in the channel of an account set as multi-author. Also, Substack has much more detailed UX, such as giving notifications such as "Insert a subscribe button in the content before the final publication" when publishing a newsletter. However, Paragraph already has functions such as token gate or subscription, which makes the article open only when you subscribe, but it has not yet been implemented in button form, so the writer must press the / button directly. As various content platforms are born and changing, I hope readers will select a platform that suits their taste and steadily accumulate content.

In addition to these tools, there are ways for writers to use services such as writing memos and Notion AI. It is best to write regularly. For modern people struggling with their daily lives like me, I recommend selecting a few keywords and jotting down thoughts in everyday life, and then setting aside an hour on a regular basis to complete the writing. For those who have not tried it, I recommend using Notion AI to write. The AI scrapes statistics well, so I search for AI when I need evidence for my words. And I can use the remaining time to write sentimental pieces.

Reflections as a Digital Nomad

Over the past six months, I have experienced Jeju Island, Chiang Mai in Thailand, and rural villages in Japan (Takahashi). I summarized what I felt in four sentences, each of which was different.

1. Happiness is relative.

2. The earth is not just for humans.

3. City life restricts human imagination.

4. I like having dinner with the neighbors on weekends.

Although I moved around in various places away from the city, I always chose a place close to nature as my accommodation. While continuing my rural life, I encountered more animals, insects, and plants than people. So many plants and animals coexist with us! I felt like a frog in a well before I met them, but now I have become friends with the frogs living in my front yard. When I see that the frogs in the yard are as small as my fingernails, I find myself feeling affection for these creatures. They are even smaller than dandelions.

Amidst the diverse wildlife in rural Japan, I found myself marveling at the intricate balance of ecosystems and realizing that our beautiful Earth is home to more than just humans.

There are many lizards in this neighborhood, and when people appear, they suddenly stop or hide in the nearest corner. Cute and small lizards catch small insects. Most of the animals I met in this rural area in Japan seemed to be insects. According to a book I recently read called "The Warm Days of My Soul," animals hunt the smallest and most fragile creatures in each food chain to maintain the balance and laws of each ecosystem. This maintains the survival of the predator group and the ecosystem of the prey group.

Rural frogs are surprisingly friendly to humans. (If you touch them three or more times, they jump away as if they're annoyed.) Until I started living as a rural mouse in a Japanese village, I liked ReFi, but I had no specific feelings about why. When I meet these creatures, I feel more specific. What I need to protect and what I need to cherish, and why I need to do it. The planet earth is not just a planet for humans. To truly sympathize and support ReFi, it is essential to go beyond the city and experience the diversity of life on earth.

Thanks to this opportunity, I found a DAO and newsletter related to public goods that I wanted to share with you. I attached a link to introduce them. The shared land of Web3 may end in tragedy or comedy, but I think we can cooperate to make it a comedy by making efforts in our own ways.

💭 Suddenly, I thought of various services that I wanted to share.

💛 Article recommendation: How Web 3 Is Helping Combat Climate Change

💛 DAO sharing: I recently learned about OFP and TEM DAO, which I've been interested in for a long time. However, the reviews on CoinMarketCap are really bad. The agenda of this DAO is as follows:

🌍 Collective Preservation - TemDAO  is supporting the preservation, expansion, and development  of the world's cultural and heritage resources through transparent democracy. Recent TemDAO  donations have gone to Ukraine, Turkey, and Kyoto’s Ninna-ji temple.

What will happen to this DAO in six months?

💛 Newsletter sharing: For those interested in cooperation and solutions for public goods, I recommend this newsletter! Web3ForGoods

(Back to the main point) Modern cities are closely connected to human life, but there is a tendency for uncertainty and competition to increase. In such an environment, creativity can be reduced, so I think it is important for people living in cities to receive new stimuli with nature in their daily lives. Especially, I have never been stimulated as much as I have been by various life forms in nature. The colors and movements of these creatures are even more diverse, colorful, and vivid than the colors and motions created in Photoshop, Figma, Illustrator, and After Effects.

I like having dinner with the neighbors on weekends. I carefully looked up Airbnb reviews and chose this accommodation this time because the host family was comfortable and warm. The host family we actually met welcomed us with such warm and comfortable attitude. The host family has five babies. We went to the fortress with three babies this weekend and had a lunch box.

This is today's fortress picnic sketch (this picture will be published as an NFT after being colored!)

During our nomadic journey, we found inspiration in capturing the essence of each destination through its unique windows. These framed views serve as a symbol of the diverse cultures and landscapes we've encountered, offering glimpses into the lives of those who call these places home. As digital nomads, we cherish these windows to wanderlust, not only for the picturesque scenes they present but also for how they remind us that our ever-changing surroundings continually shape our perspectives and enrich our experiences.

We took pictures of windows and left drawings in every city we visited. I think about leaving my footprints in the world one by one like this. I'm curious about what your window is showing. We are creatures that are influenced by our surroundings more than we think. What your window shows may show a lot about you.