Engineers, founders, artists, and voices to help develop Web3 and the Dogepunks community.
This Volume is FIRE! One of our favorite things about NFTs and Web3 is the incredible diversity of people across all different backgrounds to join in on the fun. In this volume, we have world-renowned DJ and self-proclaimed ‘meat popisicle’, Dillon Francis, the founder of Ocean Protocol, Trent McConaghy, and NFT Creator/Designer, Justin Ouellette.
- Dillon — Twitter: @dillonfrancis / Instagram: @dillonfrancis
If a house party, jailbreak, and Fortnite a shared soundtrack, it would feature a record produced by Dillon Francis. We’ve been huge fans of Dillon since IDGAFOS released in 2011. Just one listen to any of his singles you’ll see why he’s been able to change the EDM game with every new track and remix. In addition to his chart-topping bangers and superstar collabs, Dillon’s TikTok and IG game is on GOAT status. Dillon dove headfirst into the metaverse by collaborating with Fortnite, NFT projects such as Non-Fungible Pepe (now known as Non-Fungible Universe), and will be DJing a live virtual concert with WaveXR on his quest to push music, technology, fan interaction to the next level. We’re pumped to connect with Dillon and to get the chance to remix Gerald.
i) What brought you into the world of Crypto/NFTs?
I got into the crypto world around 2017 where I started my shit coin journey and holding BTC and ETH. Then lately RAC was the one that really got me into DeFi which then exposed me to NFTs.
ii) What music or NFT projects are you working on now?
I’ve been working on a ton of stuff but because the pandemic was such a sad time I wanted to make music contrasting that so I made a super happy euphoric house EP which I’m going to start releasing songs from soon. Also I’ve been getting ready to finally finish “This Mixtape is Fire 2” 🙂
iii) Who has the best NFT game between you, 3LAU, and Deadmau5?
Me for sure I’m the first person to make fork NFTs I believe haha.
iv) Has DJ Hanzel officially retired?
I don’t think he’ll ever retire he’s somewhere waiting to come back and slap us all with deepness soon.
v) Where can people find you to learn more?
Check out my Discord, Instagram, or Twitter
2. Trent — Twitter: (@trentmc0)
Data as an asset class… Hard not to be intrigued, right? That’s the vision of Trent McConaghy, founder of Ocean, for the future of Web3. Trent has been a member of the crypto community since 2010 and launched Ocean in 2017. Since then, the Ocean community and dev team have created critical infrastructure and have an ambitious 2021 roadmap of scaling up. We caught up with Trent to learn more about his background in AI and what inspires him every day.
i) What brought you into the world of Crypto?
I bought my first BTC in 2010. In 2013 I got bit by the blockchain “bug”, and embarked upon building ascribe — the world’s first blockchain-based platform for digital artists & musicians. We built it on Bitcoin since Ethereum didn’t even exist yet. ascribe had decent traction but the tech was not ready yet, so we pivoted away from it after a few years.
ii) What do you do now?
I help to grow Ocean Protocol. My main focus is on the product side. The initial focus was to ensure that we “build something people want” (ht PG). We’ve crossed that bend and are now focused on growing traction.
iii) What inspired you to create Ocean?
Coming from the world of AI, I understood how AI can create value from data. Yet most AI people had difficulty getting data. It wasn’t a level playing field; only the huge Facebooks of the world had real access to it, and their means of acquiring that data were not above-board. Yet there were big opportunities to create value if you could merge all these data pools to create Oceans’ worth of data: merge hospital data for better cancer treatment; merge driving data for safer self-driving cars; and so on. So if you could level the playing field, for anyone to buy and sell data on their own terms, while preserving privacy, the implications would be enormous. Call it the Web3 Data Economy. That’s what gets me up in the morning.
iv) What has it been like growing the OCEAN community and protocol?
It’s thrilling! Like any ambitious project, there are ups and downs, but it’s wonderful to be able to create an open technology that has the potential to change the world for the better, and with every passing day gets closer to actually changing the world. And the community that has grown around Ocean is just awesome — everyone sees and gets the vision and is all working together to make it happen.
v) Do you have anything exciting coming up?
There’s exciting things all the time:) The @oceanprotocol feed is the best source for up-to-date info. Or, check out our 2021 roadmap, we’ve got many ambitious goals there that we are hitting one at a time.
vi) Where can people find you to learn more?
Personal: Twitter @trentmc0 / http://trent.st
Ocean: Twitter @Oceanprotocol / www.Oceanprotocol.com
3. Justin (Twitter: @jstn)
i) What brought you into the world of Crypto?
I’m a designer who’s played with 3D in the past but only got serious about it last year, right as it was becoming the ascendant genre for NFTs. Art is what has gotten me into crypto, and now I’m just as excited about collecting crypto art as I am about creating it.
ii) What do you do now?
I’m working on my next pieces for Foundation and forming an art investment DAO, which I hope will be able to support more emerging artists and build a curated collection that can stand the test of time. I believe this movement is here to stay.
iii) How does NFT art differ from the pre-NFT art world?
The community is electric. I’ve met more artists and experienced more art in the last few months than I have in the last ten years, and I’m sure it’s enriching me in ways I’m not even conscious of yet.
iv) Do you have a preferred medium?
I’ve grown to love working in 3D and expect it to remain my medium of choice for many years. I come from a photography background and the possibilities for playing with light feel endless.
v) Where can people find you to learn more?
Twitter @jstn or www.jstn.net
