Wild User Interviews Podcast (Wuipod)

Wide ranging conversation with Ben Kurrek.

Ben is a Software engineer @ Pagoda (prev. NEAR Inc), ex DevRel Engineer @ Pagoda, co-founder @ Keypom, student at University of Waterloo Engineering.

On this wild conversation we cover A LOT including:

• Ben's journey into blockchain and NEAR protocol as a total beginner.
• Reflections on branding, marketing, and memetics. 
• How Keypom is different to Satori
• Thoughts on Pagoda, BOD, and the role of Dev Tel
• Strategies for attracting top tier devs and builders
• Unpacking Keypom: what, how, why this is revolutionary?
• Secret sauce behind Keypom: unpacking NEAR account model.
• Rapid fire: use cases and how they can be built using Keypom 
• and more!

Resources
Keypom Website - https://keypom.xyz/
Keypom Documentation - https://docs.keypom.xyz/
ETH Denver 2023, Keypom Presentation - https://youtu.be/oHj-GjFi6g4

NEAR Developer DAO - https://near.social/#/mob.near/widget/MyPage?accountId=devgovgigs.near

Follow on Socials
Ben Kurrek - https://twitter.com/ben_kurrek
Matt Lockyer - https://twitter.com/mattdlockyer
AVB - https://twitter.com/AvbNear

Keypom - https://twitter.com/keypomxyz
Pagoda - https://twitter.com/PagodaPlatform 

Wide ranging conversation with Alex Sims, is an Associate Professor at the Business School at Auckland University , has a PhD in DAOs, and is part of the Executive council of Blockchain New Zealand.

Some of the topics we cover:

* Being an 'unconventional academic' - shifting entire area of research after 20 years. Journey from Copyright to Crypto.
* Insights into the Regulatory landscape.
* Requirements for innovation. Scope for competition between jurisdictions?
* Response to Reserve Bank of New Zealand enquiry into CBDC
* Importance of User Experience
* Introduce Alex to NEAR tech stack
* Everything DAOs - what is decentralisation? The human challenge. NEAR Digital Collective.
* And a lot more!

Resources

Alex's Profile - University of Auckland: https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/a-sims
PhD on DAOs - Decentralised Autonomous Organisations: Governance, Dispute Resolution and Regulation) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3971228

Blockchain New Zealand - https://blockchain.org.nz
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) recently published an issues paper – The Future of Money: Private Innovation.
Recording Webinar 'The Future of Money' (Response to Reserve Bank of NZ issue paper) - https://blockchain.org.nz/event/webinar-the-future-of-money/

Parable of Blind Men and an Elephant - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant

UK Law Commission on Digital Assets - https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/digital-assets/

Callaghan Innovation - New Zealand Innovation Agency https://www.callaghaninnovation.govt.nz
Edmund Hillary Fellowship - https://www.ehf.org
Global Impact Visa (New Zealand) - https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/options/start-a-business-or-invest/i-want-to-invest-or-do-business-in-nz/the-global-impact-visa

E.O Wilson - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-O-Wilson

American Kingpin (Book) Story of Ross Ulbricht, founder of The Silk Road - https://www.amazon.com/American-Kingpin-Criminal-Mastermind-Behind/dp/1591848148

Follow on Socials

AVB - https://twitter.com/AlejandroVBeta1 
Alex Sims - https://twitter.com/alexsims101

In this episode, I had a fantastic conversation with Antonio Gone Multichain, exploring his journey from Spain to Malaysia and his involvement with Near Malaysia, Near Starter, and the Near Digital Collective.

We discussed the importance of gold and cryptocurrencies as diverse stores of value, the impact of travel on our lives, and empowering regional communities through blockchain technology. We also touched on decentralized governance, the potential of on-chain data, and the future of the Near ecosystem. Join us as we dive into these fascinating topics and more, uncovering insights into the world of blockchain and the power of community engagement.

Resources

https://mynear.org
https://nearstarter.fi
https://near.org/blog/near-digital-collective-legal-framework/
From Third to First - the Singapore Story by Lee Kwan Yew

Follow on Social

https://twitter.com/GoneMultichain
https://twitter.com/neardc
https://twitter.com/near_malaysia 

In this captivating conversation with Sheldon Dearr, we dive deep into the world of crypto, exploring his journey from discovering the Bitcoin white paper in 2008 to navigating the complex ICO market and the current NFT landscape.

Sheldon is a technologist, humanist, thinker, and cheeseball (self-proclaimed).

Throughout our discussion, we touch on topics such as Ethereum's impact on the crypto space and the emergence of dynamic sharding in projects like NEAR Protocol. We also delve into the unique features of the Octopus Network, the concept of app chains, and the importance of fostering diversity and innovation in the blockchain space.

As we explore the intricacies of interchain security and interoperability, we discuss the challenges of managing network risk and the importance of creating a culture of accountability, transparency, and genuine progress in the ever-evolving world of blockchain technology.

This thought-provoking conversation will provide listeners with valuable insights into the complexities and challenges faced in the crypto industry, as well as the importance of maintaining high standards and providing constructive criticism for projects within the blockchain ecosystem. Don't miss this eye-opening episode!

Resources

Octopus Network https://oct.network
Octopus Community Call, March 2023: https://medium.com/oct-network/octopus-dao-march-2023-ff18798b7828
Interchain Gamba: https://interchain.io
Composable Finance - https://www.composable.finance
EigenLayer - https://www.eigenlayer.xyz

Follow on Socials

https://twitter.com/oct_network
https://twitter.com/ArtimusLeton 

Shownotes created by https://podium.page

Alex Shevchenko is the CEO of Aurora, a next-generation Ethereum compatible blockchain and ecosystem that runs on the NEAR Protocol, and powers the innovations behind Aurora Cloud—the fastest path for Web2 businesses to capture the value of Web3.

On this wide ranging conversation with Alex we cover a range of topics including:

* The importance of staying humble. Lessons from two world class scientists that mentored Alex during is PhD.
* Transition from calculation on clusters to blockchain and early creation of Exonum Platform.
* Why Blockchain? Experiences with corruption and financial hardship that lead to the pursuit of tools to remove entities and increase trust.
* Beyond a rebellion. Why crypto needs to start focusing on User Experience and building products that users want.
* Unpacking Aurora Cloud: 
* Aurora Cloud I, Silos: deploy your own custom Aurora (EVM)
* How are Aurora Silos different (better). Hint: they are not siloed.
* Challenges of scaling EVM. Synd and async environment. Evolution into NEAR VM and sharding.
* Aurora SDK for Cross-contract calls between Aurora and NEAR
* Aurora Cloud II, Aurora Pass: revolutionary wallet that removes concept of gas or fees.
* Aurora Cloud III, Borealis Business: dApps cover the cost of transactions on behalf of users (LIVE NOW)
* Centralised or Decentralised? On having strong technical teams own areas of development.
* [ALPHA] New 'External Business Development (BD)' initiative: anyone will be able to refer projects to Aurora and earn success fee.
* Thoughts on the longevity of the EVM. 
* ... and more!

Resources:
Aurora - https://aurora.dev
Aurora Cloud - https://auroracloud.dev 

https://twitter.com/AlexAuroraDev
https://twitter.com/auroraisnear 

https://medium.com/@auroraisnear
https://github.com/aurora-is-near
https://discord.gg/dEFJBz8HQV 
https://forum.aurora.dev/

Wide ranging conversation with Elena Obukhova, co-founder of Supermoon. 

Elena is, allegedly, not a spy. Having lived in 9 different countries including Russia, China and Argentina give Elena a unique perspective as to the problem that Web3 is trying to tackle. Some of the topics we cover are:

* Unique challenges of organising IRL events (Road to ETH Denver)
* Unique challenges of attending IRL events: shallow connections, overwhelmed by number of side events, etc.
* Getting to know Supermoon: Camps, Station and more!
* Economics lessons from living in Russia, China and Argentina.
* Privacy: should you sue your friend over Alexa? 
* Core values: why crypto? 
* A lot more...!

Learn More
https://www.supermooncamp.com

https://twitter.com/e_obukhova
https://twitter.com/Supermooncamp

Wide ranging conversation with Ben, co-founder of DecentLand, a multi chain social and online identity protocol.

Some of the topics we cover are:

• Ben's journey and evolution into the Arweave ecosystem
• Decent.land origins at a Hackathon and on-going iterations based on community feedback
• Importance of a welcoming, nurturing community for a nascent ecosystem
• The role of Reputation (hint: reputation is EVERYTHING)
• Challenges, incentives and disincentives when it comes to reputation and multi-chain expansion
• Comparative tech stacks - Ben's team has had a glimpse of many ecosystems, why they've doubled down on NEAR
• Philosophical musings around Web3 social including then tension between privacy and censorship resistance.

Follow on Social
https://twitter.com/decentdotland
https://www.decent.land

On this episode we get to sit down with Addie Geise, who's recently joined Banyan Collective as Head of Community in December 2022.

On this wide ranging conversation we cover a lot of topics including:

* Addie's journey into crypto - disappointment with healthcare industry and
* Evolution within Crypto - from online casino to a real opportunity for impact
* Human Behavioural Design
* Building a DAO from the ground up - WGMI DAO
* Lessons, frameworks and insights from Communities on Ethereum
* Common problems - anon, trolls, and beyond
* NEAR ecosystem - why?
* Growing the NEAR ecosystem
* and more...!

Resources -

Addie's Personal Webtie - https://dapper-acrylic-e70.notion.site/Adelaide-Giese-b76c1b5bb157405f9ae96d349658c1c2

Settler's Build Web3 Builders Community in NYC - https://www.settlers.build 

https://twitter.com/settlers_build 

WGMI DAO Playbook (RECOMMENDED) - https://docs.wgmi.community/docs/adding-to-wgmi/ 

Metacartel Community Manifesto https://github.com/metacartel/mission/blob/master/community-first-manifesto.md 

Community first manifesto -https://556xdscimlkl5drthreeoc3uhwnbyo32dc56uih75kpy5lpx4r5q.arweave.net/731xyEhi1L6OMzxIRwt0PZocO3oYu-og_-qfjq335Hs 

Slaying Moloch, the god of coordination failure. https://owocki.com/slaying-moloch-god-coordination-failuire/ 

Coordinape ​​https://coordinape.com/ 

NEAR Hacks - https://www.nearhacks.com/banyan 

Follow on Social 

Addie Twitter - https://twitter.com/addigator71

Banyan Collective Twitter - https://twitter.com/BanyanUS 

Wide ranging conversation with Michael Kelly, also known in the NEAR Ecosystem as Ozymandius, co-founder of Open Forest Protocol (OFP).

Open Forest Protocol is building a system to measure, report, verify, and fund reforestation & afforestation projects only possible with crypto, unlocking projects that are too small for traditional registries. 

Some of the topics we cover:

• Humans (toxic) relationship with Nature
• Challenges and problems with existing approaches to Carbon Credits
• Dissect Michael's Thesis 'On Carbon and A New Conversation on Value'
• Why blockchain is needed?
• Why NEAR Protocol?
• ...more

Resources
Carbon Thesis - https://ozymandiusnear.substack.com/p/macro-thoughts-on-carbon-and-a-new

OFP Linktree - https://linktr.ee/openforestprotocol

Follow on Social
https://twitter.com/ozymandius_
https://twitter.com/OpenForest_

On this wide ranging conversation with Petr we cover:

* 'Easter European Mode' - winning every NEAR Hacker House in the US
* HERE Wallet approach to UX/UI
* Building Web3 financial tooling - like Venom or Zelle but better and accessible to everyone worldwide
* The Problem I: US market monopoly, lacks competitiveness
* The Problem II: most of the developing world lacks access to financial services, experience high inflation, etc,
* Onboarding Users Seamlessly: send crypto to anyone with just their phone number. [ALPHA ALERT]
* Tackling Next Big Barrier: On-ramp/Off-ramp. [SPICY ALPHA ALERT]
* Contributing to Public Goods I: ZMQ Indexer (Better than Pagoda)
* Contributing to Public Goods II: PyNEAR
* Criticism about Pagoda [SPICE ALERT]
* ....more [ALPHA ALERT]

Resources:
[Announcement] NEAR ZMQ Indexer
[Github] NEAR ZMQ Indexer

[Announcement] - PyNEAR
[Github] PyNEAR

[Announcement] Big Brain Holdings invests in HERE Wallet

[Blog] HERE Wallet Receives $50,000 from NEAR Foundation Grant
[Blog] HERE at App Store and Early User NFT Launch
[Blog] Web2 > Web3: Transfers via phone number

Follow on Social
https://herewallet.app
https://twitter.com/here_wallet

https://twitter.com/p_volnov