Things I'm Most Excited for in 2022
Web 3 Storytelling, interesting DAO projects, and more
My family’s Christmas travel plans had to be cancelled this year due to just about everyone I know coming down with Omicron, but as a father to small children, there is no deterring the excitement and joy of Christmas morning.
This year it was Legos galore, and baby dolls, both eliciting palpable excitement from their recipients (my son and daughter). For me, most of the excitement came from the overwhelming amount of pies and sweets laid that filled the kitchen.
And so while the main byproduct of my children’s Christmas season is a house full of half built legos and baby doll clothes, my main by product is a palpable belly.
But that’s the seasonality of life I suppose, and the New Year is for improving habits and attempting to reverse the effects of seasonal dietary vices.
But of course, the New Year is also a great time to look forward, and that’s what I’ll be doing today.
Last year was quite a pivotal year for me professionally. There is no way I could have predicted a year ago where I would be today, the conversations I would be in, and the people that I would be working with.
So I’m starting the year off very grateful, and humbled to have a unique front row seat to a number of exciting developments in the tech and creative worlds. This unique perspective mainly comes from being a part of a top crypto project like Polygon, a top DAO project like FWB, and a top gaming project like [name redacted].
Personally, this is the first time I’ve officially been an advisor to a company, which is what I’m doing for this top secret gaming project. But it’s also the first time I’ve been at a tech company (Polygon) that is experiencing astronomical growth and is keeping my calendar full of meetings with some of the top brands and builders in the world. It’s very interesting, to say the least.
So, I’ve found myself in this neat little vantage point, and that heavily influences the following list of things I’m most excited about in 2022.
What I’m Most Excited About in 2022
New Web 3 Storytelling Mediums
One of the things that most excited me about Web 3 last year was the realization that DAOs, NFTs, and tokens in general could be leveraged for new ways to produce and finance art. But in 2022, as people realize that NFTs are capable of being much, much more than just collectible profile pictures, I’m excited to see new, immersive, community-driven story telling happen.
I’m talking about things beyond just buying NFTs that end up in comic books or animated series. I think there is a really fascinating dance that can happen between community and storytellers that will blur the line of who is really “creating” these stories.
DAOs that Don’t Just Buy Things
Last year DAOs entered the tech scene in a big way. FWB rocketed into a fairly prominent role when A16Z invested in our little group chat, and various DAO projects made headlines with their audacious goals of coordinating people around a moonshot idea like buying a copy of the constitution, or buying a golf course, or buying a nostalgic brand, etc.
I have nothing against those projects, but to me the ultimate power of DAOs, in my opinion, is going to be most exciting when it’s harnessed for things that aren’t such binary capitalistic goals.
I get it though. The big, hairy, audacious goals that these DAO projects have or had are basically set up to be PR fodder, that leads to more people finding out about the DAO, joining, and investing.
But, if DAOs are to be a step forward in human communication or organization, I think they can be leveraged for more interesting things than just buying something.
A (Short) Crypto Correction
Follow me here.
I want to see my crypto bags moon as much as anyone, but the crazy bull market of 2021 isn’t really sustainable. I also feel like it’s attracting the wrong kinds of players into the space.
For me the technological shift that is Web 3/blockchain/crypto isn’t primarily about financial speculation and GAINZ.
So, I’m actually looking forward to a bit of a crypto winter in order to cool things down a bit.
Work From Anywhere Possibilities Maturing
I am writing this email from a small town called McKinney, TX that is about 30 miles north of Dallas. My family lives next door to my retired parents, and I actually office out of their house. That’s where I am now.
Not a super sexy office space. However…
Yesterday I was on a DAO formation meeting with some of the biggest leaders in the metaverse space, I talked to some VC funds that are wanting to work with Polygon to throw a big side event at SXSW, I brainstormed partnership ideas with the Miami Heat, and today I’m talking with the former President of Warner Brothers.
A few years ago, I would have never thought it would be possible to have this sort of career from McKinney, TX.
In fact, when I left Los Angeles about 10 years ago, I sort of assumed I was throwing in the towel on any sort of interesting media or tech related career.
Boy was I wrong.
I’m excited to see where this little desk in my parent’s house can take me this year, and to see more legitimacy and weight given to the talent and voices that don’t live in the big cities.
Here’s to 2022.
-Chad
p.s. Nikki and I back on the podcast train with an episode of Keep Up that you can listen to here.