The “101” NFT journey of a cheap thriller.

From 2014 to 2018, I have recovered from big data and AI hype and realised that it is all about solving the business problem at the end of the day. With data migration & business intelligence consulting work keeping me busy, I have never scratched the surface of blockchain or bitcoin until 2018. As a tech consultant, I attend to various business + tech problems, and sometimes encounter ideas for StartUp. In mid 2019, my roads crossed with a rabbit-hole idea on the blockchain, which needed validation from the feasibility, viability and desirability lenses. This rabbit-hole idea and XRP excitement among the acquaintance intrigue me to climb the steep learning curve to enhance my knowledge scope with web3 as a tech consultant.

2022 is for CheapThrills 101

I am writing this blog as a creator of the “CheapThrills 101” to express the authenticity of my endeavour. I understand that as a one-person army from the most southern part of the world, Medium and Twitter are my best friends to promote my story and efforts. In the 2022 resolution, I cherished the experience of 2019–2021 with knowledge gathered on the web3 stack of technologies. I decided to conclude my research with full-stack web3 development skills, with a live web3 project in 90 days. With this spirit, I started my “101” journey to build a virtual world (referred to as metaverse these days), namely “CheapThrills 101” with a “Flying Ferries” token for in-game economics. To push myself and remain on strict deadlines, I joined a remote startup accelerator to make things happen.

I am glad to mention that my first web3 project is live at https://cheapthrill101.club/ with a few NFTs available for minting when I am writing this. You can also find the first glimpse in the video uploaded here. The first alpha drop of 20 NFTs are for the original cheap thrillers who believed in the concept in the first place. 11 NFTs were reserved for the my team of advisors and developers. It was a baby step to test our systems and processes. The information in this blog will shed some light on the technology stack and the next steps in the roadmap. A complete information package will be part of the forthcoming white paper. (paper draft is ready)

The “Aha” moment

Centralised systems have governed us for centuries, and value exchange is subconsciously a centralised process in many heads. Many may have adopted web3 actively, but equal or more are still taboo about web3/crypto or utterly unaware of it. I was such a newbie in 2019, and It took me over two months to understand the basics of blockchain by thoroughly studying hyperledger fundamentals, case studies and its documentation.

However, in the initial days, I felt that I am building information silos in my head with a few contextual and conceptual linkages missing. However, more reading and executing “getting started guides” (to create test networks in the cloud) gave some confidence to my consultant hat. In my quest, after six odd months, I realised that plenty of networks and wallets exist, and so do other genuine use-cases of blockchain technology beyond cryptos and NFTs.

My “Aha!” moment was the realisation of what is value and why the exchange of value takes place in the first place. I understood that crypto is a holder of value, but I also realised that crypto could also be seen as the manifestation of value. Consider the ongoing global NFT buzz as an example of the manifestation of value; A PNG is valuable only after it is minted and available for immutable transfer of ownership as an NFT.

I found my Aha moment of understanding value and its decentralised exchange after finding the vision document of (My Own Internet)MOI protocol, where the relationship between the exchange of value and personal happiness in explained well. Jumping into the technical paper of MOI from the vision statement, I found and learned many things, including the MOI protocol and Total Digital Utility (TDU).

What’s happening now?

With the game story, in-game economics overview and the white-paper draft ready for review, I extended my team with advisors and experts. I am getting consultation from proficients of in-game tokenomincs and consensus protocol creators. I am convincing them to co-author the white paper with me. Things are moving in the desired direction slow but steady. I am taking this on as pet project and keeping a close eye on what’s going around in the web 3.0 world. I aspire to build further to with key deliverables identified for the next phase — 1.complete the white paper, 2. conclude the artwork and 3. execution of the 3,333 NFTs of Flying Ferries.
Current NFT holders can see white-paper draft if they connect their wallet on cheapthrills101.club.

Watch this space !