(Spoiler: one of the 3 is a DFINITY VIP)
Right when Financial Times goes out with a piece on how the Islands of Gods has become the Islands of “Blocks,” three not-so-random DFINITY blockchain bros find themself together on a Tuesday morning NFT meetup in Bali.
Meet Joey (Twitter @thecubetopia). Soon after starting his Computer Science course at University, he began working in a Web2 company as a developer acquiring incredible knowledge while feeling like something important was missing in his professional life.
The pandemic presented a unique opportunity; suddenly, employers were forced to accept the reality that their companies could work without forcing people into an office. During his unexpected “digital nomad” life/working adventure, he heard tales of a “legendary” place.
An island in the Indian Ocean, where great minds congregate, the sun always shines, and the food is excellent. So when Bali opened its borders, he felt he had to go. “So far, it has been an incredible experience. I have met so many valuable contacts - both superstars of the IC ecosystem and those outside it who have challenged my thoughts and inspired new ideas for my projects.”
Joey is currently working on a web3 game called Cubetopia. He is close to releasing a demo version, which was made possible because his talent met the criteria for obtaining a developer grant from the Dfinity Foundation.
“The IC offers two unique advantages for developing this game - the first is that it can serve the game to our end users, and the second is its ability to host data on-chain.”
Our second DFINITY guy is Rick. He is the founder of DSCVR (@DscvrO), the most awarded and successful dapp on the IC blockchain. A Losangelino with an extensive and successful career in tech that as well left web2 to create something meaningful for him and others.
Rick wanted to give birth to a truly decentralized social media app on-chain. Something like Reddit, but with extensive NFTs features and full ownership by users. As the very first app funded by DFINITY, DSCVR steadily grew and delivered according to milestones and expectations, and everything points to a bright future ahead.
Truth be told, Rick came to Bali on vacation. But as passionate as he is about advocating for blockchain, ICP, and DSCVR, he couldn’t resist the temptation of accepting an invitation to be a VIP speaker at a well-known Tuesday NFT meetup.
When he took the stage and started going through all the different and unique potentiality of the IC blockchain, through the story of DSCVR, and through his vision for the future of decentralized social media, the room was enchanted. Both blockchain professionals and NFTs enthusiasts would not let him leave, and Q&A was “intense,” to say the least. A few people from the crowd immediately jumped on their laptops, opened an Internet identity on ICP, and created a profile on DSCVR. Great energy; it was a success.
Rick was quite surprised by the general “blockchain craze” going on in Bali: “You go for a coffee, and you hear people speaking about NFT, then you turn around, and you hear somebody else talking about blockchain.”
And then there’s me—Emilio (Twitter: @canessaemilio). I live in Bali, this beautiful and blessed place resurrecting from the ashes of its worst crisis ever (2 years closed due to the covid pandemic). I work for DFINITY in the Special projects Dept. You’ll probably see me again around here, on DC official.
My story is quite different from the ones of Rick and Joey since my background is in marketing, branding, and project management. As intense as it gets, being here working on web three at current times gives me the impression of really being in the right place and doing the right thing at the right time. Nevertheless, when DFINITY presented me with the opportunity to jump onboard the web 3 train, I felt the same “call,” and I accepted without thinking twice.
My job in web 3 was supposed to be remote, but with everything going on here, it’s become a kind of “phygital,” to use a popular term nowadays. The blockchain community is big in Bali, it’s becoming a worldwide hub for web3, and the thing itself seems to be the real engine of the recovery. Everybody, directly or indirectly, is somehow involved in the space or enthusiast about it. Communities on Discord and Telegram grow daily, with the plus of in-person interaction that makes the relationship unique.
I am the guy that organized the meetup. Rick kindly accepted the invitation, and Joey, as usual, was there to help with the organization. That headline I pitched to FT -Silicon Bali probably came from that day when 3 DFINITY bros not-so-randomly met 8 degrees below the equator.
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*Published at the request of Emilio
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