Ohnahji U Syllabus for February 4th, 2023 (Happy Black History Month & Hola Metaverso Recap)
🎼 "Lift ev'ry voice and sing / Till earth and Heaven ring / Ring with the harmonies of libertyyyyy" 🎵
Black History Month is not Black History Month without our Negro National Anthem, so yeah, gone and get ready to learn all these verses! 😄 After a season of celebration, Ohnahji U Saturdays are back with the info you've come to expect from the 1st HBCU in Web3! Join Jamal, ONJU Tech Major, and myself to get caught up on our most recent Twitter space showering the fam with information on the newest tech you need to learn to further your Web3 education!
This space took place live on 2/4/23 @ 1 pm PST and was hosted by Ohnahji University Founder & "Baby Dev" Ohnahji B and co-hosted by Dean of Communications & "Baby Journalist" BOSS2.0. In this space, we showcased how Ohnahji U is celebrating Black History Month. In addition, B gave us a thorough recap on the Hola Metaverso "Foundations of Crypto Use" workshop from the previous weekend.
After opening the space, we were launched right into the Hola Metaverso recap as B shared that he had been planning to host an Ohnahji U space live during lunch but was so enthralled with the workshop and connecting with the attendees that he decided to cancel the space and bring us the scoop the following Saturday.
Black History Month at The U
For February, ONJU highlights artists in the Ohnahji fam by showcasing their art on our @Ohnahji Twitter banner. Last week, our featured artist was Kgkh Art, and her piece celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King. Swing by the Twitter page to check out this month's artist! If you are interested in having your work showcased, tap in with Ohnahji B by DM or in any of our virtual campuses, and he'll get you squared away!
Our BHM promotion is still going strong! We have a Mint One, Get One promo currently running, and for every new melanated Ohnahji you minted, you receive an additional one! Now, our mint count is over 4700 tokens and counting! So if you need help minting, you know where to find us!
The Black Wings, a developer group teaching coding and developer skills, recently held their 3rd annual virtual hackathon this past weekend, and Ohnahji B was a judge for the festivities. We look forward to hearing more about that experience in an Ohnahji U soon.
HOLA METAVERSO RECAP
Hola Metaverso's live workshop on the Fundamentals of Crypto Use took place the previous weekend and from the attendees' testimonials, was a resounding success! Led by Billyjitsu and covering best practices in the space, the 9–5 workshop was packed with great information. Chancellor Ohnahji B & ONJU Dean Jonez attended, and B was excited to talk about all that he experienced during the day!
Testnet Before Mainnet
One main concept B found an appreciation for during the workshops is the use of testnets. For those unfamiliar, a testnet is one version of a blockchain intended to be used for testing and experimentation without endangering real money or the main chain. A big misconception is that testnets are for developers to use, but they're great opportunities to learn how the blockchain works and to get hands-on experience with the functionalities within them.
As a founder of a project with education at the forefront, B found that the emphasis placed on what we need to know and how to keep ourselves safe is of the utmost importance. During the workshop, multiple processes were demonstrated, including:
- Setting up a new Metamask test wallet on a fresh browser and preparing it to access the testnet
- Accessing tokens on a faucet, which is a site that will deposit coins into your wallet for you to transact with
- Setting up an ENS domain on the testnet to execute peer-to-peer transactions
One demonstration Ohnahji B found most valuable was how to set up a multi-signature wallet and vault and how to transact with them on the blockchain. Learning concepts like these are perfect for teams or businesses where multiple people need access to a wallet that requires signers to transact.
The way Billyjitsu and his team presented the concepts was that testnets should be used in onboarding people into the blockchain tech space before jumping onto the mainnet. With the testnet, users can learn and make mistakes at a relatively low risk before exploring mainnet blockchains, often leaving users needing more knowledge open to significant vulnerabilities with real currency.
The Mission Behind Hola Metaverso
Oszie, the founder of Hola Metaverso, grabbed the mic to share that the idea behind the Fundamentals of Crypto workshops came about from wanting an opportunity for learners to work hands-on with the tech and see how it all works visually. For the organization, two of its biggest pillars are community and education. Though this event was a trial run, they hope to incorporate more learning styles in the future. Hola Metaverso is looking for sponsors and funding to bring more of these events to the community. Workshops for kids and NFT project founders are currently in the idea stages. They would like to expand their offerings to include even more specialized events on crypto wallet basics, W3B security, and smart contract creation through tools like Thirdweb.
Introducing Billyjitsu
Developer and workshop presenter Billyjitsu joined the conversation with the input that he loves that people are in the space spreading actual knowledge. He was tired of attending conferences with lectures that spoke of using technology in tangible ways but leaving with nothing but ideas. His mission soon became empowering people so that they don't need others to be responsible for their safety in the crypto space.
Cosigning that, Ohnahji B has made it a point to attend many conferences and conventions and found that many presenters need a better grasp of the information they share in the space. After experiencing Billy at the Hola Metaverso workshop, he appreciates educators who use varied teaching methods to impart knowledge to those learning.
Billyjitsu has been in the space since the 2017 boom of ICOs (initial coin offerings, which at the time were used as a source of crowdfunding) and the DeFi summer. Fast forward to 2020/2021, he saw the market move into NFTs and decided to start coding as he was getting impatient waiting for a new platform to drop and just decided to build one himself. Much of what he learned was by jumping into a project and assisting the team with coding or building a website. Though he says he learned most of his skill "through the school of hard knocks," he attests that it made him a better developer overall by understanding how each piece of code incorporates into the whole program.
Speaking on the current market, Billyjitsu sees that people are stuck on NFT technology and need to be more involved in learning what's coming next in the space, which will ultimately lead them to depend on others to be introduced to new tools. Exploring other tools and concepts can put you ahead of the game and place you at the forefront of the space. In his own words, "If you're not exploring, you're losing in the space."
Doubling down on Billy's statement, Ohnahji B maintains that if you run into somebody who says they know everything in the space, you need to run the other way! Everyone needs to try new things and experiment, for that is what will be rewarded in the future. Also: TEACH YOUR KIDS THIS TECH!!! If they are involved in mainstream gaming platforms like Minecraft, Fortnite, or Roblox, they already understand transacting in ways present in W3B. Combined with using testnets and coins, they can learn the ins and outs of the blockchain with relative safety.
NOTE: Testnets can still be limited in functionality and blockchain access, so continue to work on other chains like Gnosis and Celestia that allow users to transact cheaply. For example, certain decentralized apps are only present on different testnets like Goerli and Mumbai.
Wrapping Up
As we wrapped up our conversation recapping the Hola Metaverso workshop, Oszie was asked how he feels about taking steps into the virtual space. Like ONJU, Hola Metaverso believes these places are all ways to connect to one another and is looking into exploring the Metaverse. Given that we've moved from typing words to communicate to connecting via audio, the Metaverse gives us a new opportunity to progress into using these technologies in music and art.
Always a great space meeting our Hola Metaverso family and beginning our celebration of Black History Month! Ohnahji U is W3B's first HBCU — culture and education made for us by those who look like us! Tap in on our campus and on the timeline! You can also find us in Spaces, on Reddit, on our Discord campus, and our Metaverse campus!
