Ontology Harbinger Interview Series: Donny Clutterbuck a.k.a. NodeDiggity
This is an ongoing series featuring Ontology’s Harbingers. Harbingers are exceptional leaders that help Ontology grow its community and ecosystem, making it an ever-stronger blockchain, and decentralized identity and data leader.
For this interview in the series, Ontology speaks with Donny.
1. How did you hear about Ontology? What drew you to Ontology?
I began to gain an active interest in cryptocurrency and it’s potential impacts on human civilization in January of 2020 after passively reading about discussing blockchain tech for several years prior. One of the first investments I made was 1000 ONT due to the high staking rewards and sturdy business concept. Realizing that staking through an exchange I was receiving a lower APY, I began to do research on staking directly in the ONTO app, and eventually made the investment to start my own node in early 2022.
2. What made you become a supporter of Ontology and a champion of its brand?
My support for Ontology grew organically through researching the concept, execution, and applicability of decentralized identity solutions. I began to see that Ontology is not only solving problems we currently have as a society, but moreso looks to solve problems we are yet going to have on a much, much larger scale. The more I learn, and the more of the team I meet, the more my faith grows.
3. What do you see as the key role of a Harbinger? What is your favorite thing about being a Harbinger?
The key role of a Harbinger is to (generally speaking) be a proponent of the mission statement of the company. Each Harbinger does this is a different series of ways, but if I were to try to describe what my role includes, it would be using all of the products, trying to break them, providing a social bridge for newcomers and to other ecosystems, and writing and speaking both in person and digitally about Ontology and its bustling surrounding environment.
4. Why is being part of the Ontology community important to you?
I firmly believe that Ontology is working to make the world a better place for each of its inhabitants. I also firmly believe that human life is only possible and sustainable if each of its members strike a healthy balance between taking care of ones-self and behaving altruistically. I make it a point to partake in vaccine trials and do volunteer work, and I see my role as a Harbinger to be a confirmation of Ontology’s appreciation for my constant push to make a positive impact. This is one of the many affirming qualities Ontology possess as a company: appreciating and promoting the work of its individual community members unprompted.
5. How is Ontology’s community different from other blockchain communities? Is there anything that makes it stand out?
Ontology’s community feels like it’s fully built around problem-solving. There is no hype without backing, and the main point of the company is not just to create wealth or price-prop its tokens. The company exists to eloquently and thoroughly solve problems in the web3 space, and its community members are a direct reflection of this. Open, honest, & direct communication is everywhere you look, and without bravado or undue pride, each member is pushing to further the mission statement of the company.
6. What do you use as your key channels for engagement with the Ontology community and why? Would you like to see any others?
I mainly use Discord, but I try to pop into Reddit and Telegram as much as I can. I like that Discord is organizable into channels, easily sortable and searchable, and I love the bot and wallet integrations. I use Discord solely for my other web3 ventures, so I might be biased in some regard, but it seems the most powerful tool for community building. No others I can think of that would perform this set of tasks as well or better.
7. Can you share a memorable experience or something you’ve learned from being a Harbinger? What advice would you give to someone looking to become a Harbinger?
Hanging with Polaris and Humpty on the weekly Ontology Discord Community Calls, I’ve learned/reinforced that listening is an important part of contributing. In order to be as effective and helpful as one might want to be, it requires absorbing as much information as possible and interjecting when clarification is necessary for understanding or when one genuinely feels they can add to the conversation in a positive manner. I’m constantly humbled by the other Harbingers and team members and can only hope to contribute to a similar degree.
8. How would you describe the Ontology community in three words?
Diverse, effective, & humble.
9. How do you think Ontology could expand its community going forward? What would you like to see more or less of? What kinds of things do you see community members do that you think help our community grow?
I think ontology could expand its reach by integrating ONTO wallet more heavily into the NFT trade and secondary sales marketplaces. Even if it’s simply to be one of the main wallets used in NFT trading and holding, I think the exposure would bring thousands if not millions of new users to Ontology and increase the odds of gaining exponential traction. Whether we value the NFT trade or not, it’s undeniable that its the method of engagement for the masses in the web3 space at the moment.
10. What do you see as the key milestones for Ontology and how can the community help with achieving these?
Corporate clients using DID services. Integrating openly with Ledger across the board, secondary NFT marketplaces such as Opensea, MagicEden, and any other main marketplace on an ONTO mobile supported chain, and beginning to integrate more heavily the concept of the ONT score, incentivizing common users to undergo the process of adding their information and creating ONTO wallets. I think the community is already pushing for this by having conversations and participating at a very high level!
To learn more about Ontology’s Harbinger Program and how you can get involved, check out our updated GUIDE.
Tune in next week for the second interview in the Ontology Harbinger Interview Series.
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