The ONE Thing #6: Minting NFTs In Real Life, Network States, Building Better MVPs & More
The ONE Thing #6: Minting NFTs In Real Life, Network States, Building Better MVPs & More
The ONE Thing #6: Minting NFTs In Real Life, Network States, Building Better MVPs & More
Happy Sunday, everyone.
Today At A Glance:
🎨 NFT Art Berlin
👨🏻🎨 Minting NFTs In Real Life
🌍 Network States
🔮 How To Build Better MVPs
☀️ Perfect Days
What’s Interesting: Real Life NFT Minting
Last week I visited NFT Art Berlin at Kraftwerk, Berlin’s iconic former power plant. This was a great event for two reasons:
1/ NFT Art Berlin is an incredible exhibition.
2/ I minted a CryptoBerliner NFT, in-person. Yes, in person. Not on the internet. It was a fascinating experience to say the least.
The exhibition combines digital art with electronic music. Super cool. I had goose bumps when I first entered the exhibition. The crowd was a mix of crypto, tech, cyberpunks, and art people.
I did a short video to capture the vibe. If you have the chance, you should go.
What are CryptoBerliners: CryptoBerliners are part of the CryptoCitizen collection, which encapsulates 10 cities into one profile picture (PFP) collection. Earlier mints were held in New York or Venice Beach.
You can only mint a CryptoBerliner at the NFT Art Berlin. This is one of the first real-life NFT minting experiences.
There will only be 1,000 CryptoBerliners minted.
CryptoCitizens are created by a generative art smart contract. This means that the NFT is created by an algorithm that independently assembles various elements into a unique piece of digital art. You don't know what your NFT will look like until you see it for the first time.
Here's how I minted my CryptoBerliner:
Before the event, I had to trade my Golden Token Berlin (🙏 Fabian) for a minting pass, which I stored in my Metamask wallet.
After I explored the gallery for a while, I headed up the stairs to the minting area. The minting area was in a control room of an old power plant, full of strange displays and buttons.
To mint my CryptoBerliner NFT, I went to an iPad, scanned my code, and started the minting process. The minting process took about 30 seconds.
Then I had to go to a large open space for the unveiling. With electronic music playing in the background, I walked to the center of the room, where a small spotlight glittered on the floor (Da Vinci Code vibes).
As I stopped in the spotlight, my CryptoBerliner NFT was revealed on a large screen at the end of the room.
The NFT was immediately transferred to my wallet. The Brightmoments DAO generously paid the gas fees. You can see my and all other CryptoBerliner NFTs on OpenSea. The current floor is 0.9 ETH.
Why it matters: When you mint the NFT in-person, it creates a strong connection to the digital artwork. It feels like I created this NFT (when in reality I just pressed a button on an iPad).
The future of NFT minting: I’m sure we’ll see more real life minting experiences in the future, and it could fundamentally change the way many people think about digital art.
One Podcast
Balaji Srinivasan: The Network State — The Knowledge Project
This conversation is equal parts fascinating, confusing, and a little scary. Balaji Srinivasan, former CTO of Coinbase and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, is a deep thinker and probably one of the smartest people on the planet.
In this podcast, he talks about his views on the future of the nation-state and introduces his concept of the network state - a country you can create from your computer, a state that recruits like a startup, a nation that emerges from the Internet and is not interrupted by it.
It's not an easy listen, but it's worth your time if you want to broaden your view about the future of nation-states and technology.
One Tweet
Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a controversial word in the tech startup world because there are many definitions and meanings for it. It's also often confused with the tiniest version of a new product or feature that can be built and tested, misunderstanding the viable in MVP.
I found Greg Isenberg's approach to expanding the idea of an MVP very interesting. A product is more than just a collection of features. It's also part of your brand, how you talk about it, and how you distribute it.
Extending your view about MVP will not only lead to better products. It will also lead to better and more reliable results when testing your MVP.
One Bonus
On a recent episode of the My First Million podcast, co-host Shaan Puri shared his philosophy on work and life:
“I want to work in a way that I can live my perfect Tuesday every day. My perfect Tuesday includes that I have enough time to work out in my home gym, spend time with my little daughters and my wife, and that I have enough time to read. Consequently, I don’t want to work more than ~6 hours/ day. I want to do this knowing that I can afford whatever pops up in my mind. If I do a job which gives me all this, I am doing the right thing.”
I like how he envisions his perfect day and plans backwards. He can use the clarity as a filter for jobs and opportunities and make sure he lives his perfect Tuesday every day.
What does your perfect Tuesday look like? (h/t David Höhl)
That’s it for this issue of The One Thing. Subscribe to receive fresh ideas and curated content every other Friday.
Until next time, friends. Keep learning!