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Collector since February 2, 2024

Favorite Podcasts

17: Alex Danco - Innovation Begins with Gifts

Alex Danco is a writer and Product Director at Shopify. Alex rose to prominence while writing his *Snippets* newsletter while at VC firm Social Capital in 2015. He wrote prolifically—about markets and financial systems, venture capital, startups, cities, culture, the technology-driven shift to a world of abundance, to name a few topics—through 2020, when he joined Shopify. Since then, he's had his hands full with Shopify and young kids, but recently published a flurry of new pieces on his blog while on paternity leave. This conversation starts with one of Alex's most insightful ideas: that a culture of gift-giving underpins technology, innovation, and creative work, and is the key to solving many of capitalism's coordination problems. We then talk about what businesses will look like in a world of abundance: AI agents, massive and accessible infrastructure, and where moats might actually lie. Alex shares why AI-enabled creativity may resemble musicians finding their sound and how and where we might find internet-native subcultures in 2025. Then he explains what "the medium is the message" actually means across different content formats and why audio continues to thrive. We wrap up with Alex's thoughts on the U.S and Canada as someone who identifies with both places and by taking a peek into some of the books that have most influenced his thinking. I've read Alex for years and I've always been impressed by how generative he is. That comes through in this conversation and I hope you are inspired to—like Alex—be more curious, creative, and most importantly, generous. Transcript and all links available at https://dialectic.fm/alex-danco Timestamps - (0:00): Intro to Alex - (1:28): Hampton - (3:23): Steely Dan Intro - (5:31): Coordination Problems and Silicon Valley - (21:55): Girard, Taboos, Priests and Kings, and Magical Enzymes for Creating New Things - (32:22): How Gifts Underpin New Things — Crossing Thresholds and Listening to Each Other - (44:09): Gifts vs. Performance, Gifts vs. Slop - (53:58): Overcoming “The Market for Lemons”: How Gifts and Market Mix and How Silicon Valley Resembles a Music Scene - (1:02:29): Bubbles and Generosity - (1:07:07): Patronage & Alignment - (1:11:37): Coordination in Companies, O-Ring Problems, Michael Scott, and AI - (1:25:51): Agency vs. Accountability - (1:31:54): Wide vs. pointy businesses and What Makes a Platform - (1:39:11): Moats, Leverage, and Figuring Out Your Sound: What Could Sam Altman Not Copy? - (1:50:06): AI, Originality, and Creativity - (1:55:15): Subcultures on the Internet and Frictionless Discovery - (2:00:25): What Does "The Medium is the Message" mean?: Hot & Cool Mediums - (2:11:57): Nixon-Kennedy Debates, Trump, Podcasts, Fox News, and the Decline of TV - (2:25:21): Alex's Podcast Diet - (2:28:52): U.S, Canada, and National Myths - (2:44:23): The Most Influential Books on Alex - (2:56:47): Learnings from Being in a Band - (2:59:05): Scammers - (3:02:55): Being a Dad - (3:05:24): The Best Gift Alex Has Received and the Gift He Hopes to Give

"Taming the Wild West" with Serpin Taxt, founder of Ethos | ZEROPOD S2 E14

Welcome back to another episode of ZEROPOD, this one featuring Serpin Taxt, the ambitious young founder of a new protocol called Ethos, which aims to help solve the age-old problem of who to trust (and who not to) in the onchain space. Host Toady Hawk talks about his childhood, his career in web 2, and his goals for Ethos, namely, to tame the wild, wild west of the crypto space… just a bit. So without further ado, let’s go learn about the mythos behind the Ethos. —- Timestamps: 00:00 - The $9B Problem: Scams, Trust, and the Wild West of Crypto 02:25 - Welcome to ZEROPOD: Meet Serpin Taxt, Founder of Ethos 05:00 - Inventor Dreams and Web2 Career 08:00 - Escaping B2B SaaS 11:00 - Discovering Ethereum: Interoperability and Smart Contracts 13:30 - When Crypto Finally Clicked 15:00 - Inspiration from Friend.Tech and the Birth of Ethos 17:00 - Reputation is Everything: Why Trust Signals Matter 19:10 - Realizing a Bigger Vision 21:00 - A Wild West Without Accountability 24:00 - Proof-of-Stake for People: Ethos’s Core Mechanism 26:30 - Avoiding Mob Rule: Risk, Reputation, and Social Slashing 29:00 - Open Moderation and Algorithmic Challenges 31:00 - Reviewing ETH Wallets, Twitter Accounts, and Beyond 33:30 - Identity, Anonymity, and the Risk of Sockpuppets 36:00 - Using Ethos in the Wild: Kaito, Bots, and Reputation vs. Attention 39:00 - Why It's Hard to Call Out Scammers (but Why We Must) 42:00 - The Power of Named Reviews vs. Anonymous Drama 44:00 - NFT Ethics, Gotcha Culture, and the Chaos Incentive 46:00 - Social Slashing 101: How It Works in Ethos 49:00 - Toward Financial Slashing: The Next Big Risk Layer 51:00 - Onboarding: Slow Growth 53:00 - Staying Power: What Keeps Users Coming Back Daily 56:00 - Finding People to Vouch For (and How to Ask for Vouches) 58:30 - Using the Chrome Extension for Discovery and Reviews 1:00:00 - Integrations 1:02:00 - Building Influence Onchain: Ratings for Businesses, Not Just People 1:04:00 - Alpha Drop? Business Leaderboards Are Coming 1:06:30 - Why Ethos Launched on Base 1:12:00 - The Token Question: Contributor XP, Incentives, and Future Possibilities 1:14:25 - Wrap-Up --- Podcast recorded by Toady Hawk, edited by Toady Hawk and Santhosh. Hosted by Toady Hawk. Music by Toady Hawk, SuperTightWoody & Suno AI. Produced by Zero Rights Media. This content is zero rights reserved (cc0), please remix and reuse it in any way you like!

"Take It To The BANKR" with TN100X & BANKR Founder 0xDeployer | ZEROPOD S2 E13

Welcome back, fearless Ethereum enjoyooors to another episode of ZEROPOD. And this episode is a special one because it is actually the very first podcast appearance by the elusive figure known only as 0xDeployer aka Big Daddy Ham, the creator of so many things but most recently the breakout success Bankr, an in-feed ai agent that can trade for you using natural language on X and Farcaster. Hosts Toady Hawk and JackWyldes dig in with Deployer to hear about his childhood, his crypto journey and the exhaustive lineage of all his projects leading up to Bankr, including The LP, TN100X, Hamchain and more. We learn that he taught himself to code from a book at Barnes & Noble, we hear about how he first bought Ethereum at $80 (and sold it at $90), and we get some exclusive alpha like the fact that he has a secret Bankr cofounder and fancies himself a glamper. All this and more, we hope you enjoy! If you do enjoy our content, please Like, Comment and Subscribe to help us reach more people on this app. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - The $DRB Story 2:16 - Welcome to ZEROPOD! – Special guest 0xDeployer joins the show 2:50 - First Podcast Appearance 4:06 - The Challenges of Anonymity 6:01 - Early Tech Influences – Super Nintendo, Zelda, and the 90s tech era 8:52 - Shifting Back to Quality Content – Decentralization vs. algorithmic extremes 11:42 - The Rise of AI & Misinformation – A scary but fascinating future 14:00 - Childhood Coding Journey – From Geocities to Onchain 19:18 - Learning to Code the Hard Way – A failed interview and a book from Barnes & Noble 21:16 - Falling Down the Crypto Rabbit Hole – CryptoKitties and digital ownership 24:57 - Decentralization Matters – Why blockchain beats traditional systems 31:12 - Discovering Farcaster – A decentralized social network for builders 36:04 - Onchain Tipping & Ham Token 42:02 - "The LP" Mechanic & Experimental Tokenomics 50:18 - The Ham Cult & Building a Loyal Community 53:35 - Banker’s Origin Story – The AI trading agent that took over 57:51 - How Banker Coin Was Born – A chaotic, unexpected launch 1:04:26 - The Evolution of Crypto Twitter – Real builders vs. max extraction 1:06:37 - Why Focus on X (Twitter)? – Scaling beyond Farcaster 1:08:54 - Debt Relief Bot 1:10:32 - How Bankr Became the First Clanker Deployment Method on X 1:12:45 - The Power of Viral Narratives 1:15:27 - Bankr’s Future Roadmap 1:18:14 - Introducing the Bankr Club 1:21:05 - Thoughts on AI’s Role in Ochain Space 1:24:40 - Outro --- Podcast recorded by Toady Hawk and JackWyldes, edited by Toady Hawk, JackWyldes and Santhosh. Hosted by Toady Hawk and JackWyldes. Music by Toady Hawk, SuperTightWoody & Suno AI. Ad spot by JackWyldes. Produced by Zero Rights Media. This content is zero rights reserved (cc0), please remix and reuse it in any way you like!

Will Grok be the first AI Millionaire? | MUST CLANK Ep. 5 with MLeeJr

MLeeJr is tha mfer you’ve been hearing about—whether it’s his grind from waiting tables to navigating TradFi and crypto, or his relentless bull posting for Clanker, Bankr, and Base. He’s been riding the $DRB wave, backing Grok’s first coin, and making the case for AI’s first millionaire. In this episode, we dive into his journey, his mindset, and why he’s someone you need to be following on Base. Don’t miss this one! 🎧 Available now on Pods.media, YouTube, & Spotify. #MustClank #Base #MLeeJr "Cool mustache, very based" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How you can support! Collecting these episodes onchain allow us to continue sharing the stories and people that make up the Clankerverse and Base JackWyldes' Fan Token on Base - Cool Mustache CA: 0x14daf26c2507acdd3b64e3302d8554611026cc40 Chapters ________________________________________________________ 00:00 - Intro 01:16 - MLeeJr's Crypto beginnings 03:03 - Crypto in TradFi 07:23 - Good Lore and $100 Tip 15:30 - Telling his story on Farcaster and Paragraph 19:20 - Fortune favors the bold - MLee is bold 27:30 - Service Talk and MLee has never seen The Bear!? 29:50 - The NFT Boom and becoming the Mfer 42:40 - Social spaces/Joining Farcaster/Mfer Channel 57:50 - Being a Based Mfer - What makes Base the place 1:09:20 - The Clanker Saga - BEST LAUNCHPAD 1:20:20 - Deployer, TN100X, and Ham becomes Bankr 1:24:00 - How MLee social engineered the Bankr Clanker 1:34:25 - Grok Clanks - The $DRB Saga 1:46:50 - THE $DRB Narrative is good for everyone on Base 1:51:30 - Passionate $DRB and Base BULL pitch 1:59:10 - Quick Hitters - Weird Questions 2:07:45 - Outro! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Links Read his story on Paragraph: https://paragraph.xyz/@nfa/waiting-tables-to-wall-street Follow MLeeJr on X and Warpcast and check out Base Szn spaces https://warpcast.com/mleejr https://x.com/MLeeJr Follow Us: JackWyldes: https://x.com/JackWyldes Proxy: https://x.com/_proxystudio Zero Rights Media: https://x.com/zerorightsmedia Clanker: https://x.com/clankeronbase

Episode 8: Building Lasting Local Communities & Better Bitcoin Wallets with Jerry Qian

In this episode of "Is This The New Internet," Marvyn Paul sits down with Jerry Qian, a key figure in Toronto's crypto scene and founder of Bitcoin Bay, the city's longest-running crypto meetup series. Jerry shares his journey from a biology graduate who discovered Bitcoin during the Mt. Gox era to becoming a community builder and crypto wallet developer. The conversation explores Jerry's vision for his OPTN wallet project that embraces both Bitcoin Cash and covenants as vital features, offering users unprecedented control over their crypto transactions. Jerry provides insight into the history of the Bitcoin/Bitcoin Cash split, the current limitations of wallet technology, and his philosophy of building tools that empower users rather than restricting them. Whether you're a crypto veteran or newcomer, this episode offers valuable perspective on community building, wallet development, and the practical utility of blockchain technology. Show Notes Introduction to Jerry Qian - Co-founder of Bitcoin Bay, Toronto's longest-running crypto meetup series with events downtown, Mississauga, and Richmond Hill Jerry's crypto origin story - Discovering Bitcoin in 2013 after graduation and his journey through the Mt. Gox collapse History of Bitcoin Bay - How Jerry and his team built the community from sometimes just one attendee to a thriving meetup series The Bitcoin/Bitcoin Cash debate - Jerry's perspective on the split and why he chose Bitcoin Cash Covenants and programmable money - How these features enable new transaction possibilities OPTN Wallet - Jerry's project bringing advanced features to Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash users Wallet development philosophy - Empowering users with tools rather than limiting functionality Current wallet limitations - Why today's crypto wallets restrict capabilities and how OPTN addresses this Nostr integration - How Bitcoin Bay is supporting decentralized social media development Future of crypto adoption - Jerry's view that real adoption will happen in developing nations Upcoming events - Bitcoin Bay's plans for Consensus and Toronto Blockchain Week Jerry's Links & Socials Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-qian-4ba2a79a/ Twitter - https://x.com/Lightswarm OPTN Labs Website - https://www.optnlabs.com/ Chapters 00:00 - Introduction to Jerry and Bitcoin covenants 04:00 - Marvyn's introduction and podcast supporters 06:00 - Jerry's background and first Bitcoin purchase 09:00 - The Cyprus banking crisis and early Bitcoin awareness 10:00 - Joining Toronto's early crypto meetups 13:00 - Starting Bitcoin Bay meetups 16:00 - Early Toronto crypto scene and businesses 19:00 - Bitcoin Bay's evolution and hosting philosophy 22:00 - Advice for starting your own crypto meetup 26:00 - Bitcoin Bay's vision and incremental adoption approach 30:00 - Bitcoin Bay coworking space 32:00 - Introduction to Nostr and decentralized social media 35:00 - Bitcoin network utility beyond store of value 39:00 - Bitcoin Cash vs Bitcoin Core development 43:00 - History of the Bitcoin block size debate 47:00 - Building applications on Bitcoin Cash 49:00 - Evolution of wallet functionality and limitations 53:00 - Adding DApp functionality to Bitcoin wallets 56:00 - UI/UX philosophy for crypto wallets 59:00 - Early user feedback on Opt-In wallet 01:02:00 - What real crypto adoption looks like 01:04:00 - Opt-In wallet development and resources 01:05:00 - Upcoming events and closing thoughts TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@newinternetpod Twitter - https://x.com/newinternetpod YT - https://www.youtube.com/@newinternetpodcast Bsky - https://bsky.app/profile/newinternetpod.bsky.social Rumble - https://rumble.com/user/NewInternetPod Music generated by Mubert https://mubert.com/render

Context S4: The Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Most Visited Museum in America Dives into NFTs

Blake speaks with The Metropolitan Museum of Art team who recently released Art Links, marking The Met’s first foray onto the blockchain. Art Links is a 12-week game that invites you to connect the dots between seeming disparate art works (whether centuries apart, completely different mediums, etc.) according to different themes, rewarding you in the form of NFT badges and IRL prizes. Blake has played religiously every week, and has learned a tonne! 3 of the project leads are here to talk about the game: Destinee Filmore, Assistant Curator in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Met, Brett Renfer, The Met's Senior Project Manager for Emerging Technologies and Audrey Ou, co-founder and CEO of TRLab. They dive deep into the project, from how long it took to plan and launch, to the intended audience, to why they chose Base, to the art they included. Blake also couldn’t resist asking Destinee about if (and when) the Met will collect their first crypto art works. If you want to get a read on the traditional art world and how they are engaging with NFTs…you can’t really get bigger than this. The Met is the most visited museum in America, and one of the most important cultural institutions in the world. Art Links: https://artlinks.metmuseum.org/about TRLab: https://x.com/trlab_ Blake Finucane: https://x.com/blakefinucane Boys Club Newsletter: https://tooonline.beehiiv.com/

Episode 7: Cardano Special - Governing Decentralized Networks with Professor Lawrence Ley

From Bitcoin Miner to Blockchain Professor: Lawrence Ley dives deep into Cardano's innovative governance, constitution, and decentralized future in this essential episode of "Is This the New Internet?" Discover how Toronto's vibrant crypto ecosystem shaped blockchain history, learn why Cardano's academic approach matters, and explore the intersection of blockchain technologies with real-world applications. Perfect for crypto enthusiasts, governance geeks, and anyone curious about how blockchain might transform our digital future. Show Notes - Professor Lawrence Ley shares his journey from IT consultant to Bitcoin miner to Cardano expert - The Toronto blockchain scene and its historical significance (including early Ethereum meetings) - Overview of Cardano's three founding entities: IOG (formerly IOHK), Cardano Foundation, and EMURGO - Cardano's development eras: Byron, Shelley, Goguen, Basho, and Voltaire - Deep dive into Cardano governance and the recent constitutional workshop - Discussion of DREPs (Delegated Representatives) and liquid democracy - Challenges with stable coins on Cardano and potential solutions - The potential for Cardano to enable Bitcoin DeFi through UTXO architecture compatibility - Potential impact of AI on blockchain technologies - Insights into blockchain education and career opportunities - The importance of community, meetups, and networking in the blockchain space Websites and Socials LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/lawrenceley/ YouTube - www.youtube.com/@lawrenceley8530 GitHub - github.com/lley154/ Ultimate Cardano Smart Contracts Book - https://a.co/d/2V8fzcc Cardano Meetups Toronto: https://www.meetup.com/cardano-blockchain-toronto/ George Brown University Blockchain Development Program - https://www.georgebrown.ca/programs/blockchain-development-program-postgraduate-t475 Chapter Markers 00:00:00 - Introduction to Professor Lawrence Ley 00:07:00 - Lawrence's background in technology and Bitcoin mining 00:09:00 - Toronto's unique blockchain ecosystem and Decentral meetups 00:14:00 - Organizing Cardano meetups in Toronto 00:19:00 - Overview of Cardano's structure and founding entities 00:24:00 - Cardano's development eras and governance evolution 00:35:00 - Cardano adoption and liquidity challenges 00:42:00 - Constitutional workshop and governance process 00:47:00 - DREPs, liquid democracy, and voting mechanisms 00:56:00 - Challenges with large entities and exchanges having outsized voting power 01:03:00 - Stable coin challenges on Cardano 01:12:00 - Bitcoin DeFi potential through Cardano integration 01:17:00 - AI implications for blockchain technologies 01:19:00 - Lawrence's book and academic contributions 01:27:00 - Teaching blockchain at George Brown College 01:30:00 - Industry demand and career paths in blockchain 01:37:00 - Closing thoughts and where to find Lawrence online

Can Crypto Cure Hair Loss? Andrew Bakst on Building HairDAO (Ep. 12)

Join us on this fascinating episode of Out of Office, where Kartik Sathappan and Jack Dwyer dive deep with Andrew Bakst, founder of HairDAO, a groundbreaking community-driven initiative on a mission to cure hair loss using decentralized science and crypto. Andrew shares how his personal experience—going from being called "Patches" to launching HairDAO—sparked a decentralized science (DeSci) revolution aimed at solving hair loss through community-driven research and blockchain technology. They unpack the unique ways HairDAO operates, how Discord became an essential tool for decentralized collaboration, and the groundbreaking development of innovative treatments like Anagen. 𝕏 Follow Andrew: https://x.com/andrew_bakst 🔗 Join HairDAO: https://discord.com/invite/sNAm9QbfAz 🛒 Buy Anagen Hair Treatment: https://anagen.xyz/ 🎧 Subscribe and listen to new episodes of Out of Office ASAP: X - https://x.com/outofofficepodx Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OutOfOfficePodcastX 𝕏 Follow Kartik: https://x.com/sathaxe 𝕏 Follow Jack: https://x.com/jackndwyer Sponsored by Noots — Enjoy 25% off your order!https://sendnoots.com/discount/OUTOFOFFICEPOD Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share to stay updated with future conversations! Chapters: 00:00 Intro to HairDAO and Its Mission 05:21 Crypto-Funded Innovative Research 10:12 Customer Concerns and Treatment Science 15:30 Personal Journey from Crypto to HairDAO 25:41 Building and Governing a DAO Community 34:25 Leadership and Decision-Making in DAOs 39:33 Regulatory Challenges and Medical Onboarding 42:27 The Era of Health Experimentation 47:36 Finding and Solving the Right Problem