Ark Community Digest Ep.12 — Nico ‘Tk0n’
Welcome back everyone to the series, where each week we interview a community member, that’s right it is the Ark Community Digest! This week we have Nico ‘Tk0n’ who is part of the delegate duo that make up thefoundry. We’ve known Nico for a long time and wanted to let all of you know a bit more about him also!
What Made You Join The Ark Community?
Pieface’s XMAS Sweepstake in 2017. No just kidding, really I knew Pieface because he and myself were posting regularly in the cryptocurrency thread on some gaming forum. Sone day in August he mentioned that he was running the sweepstake and I wanted to win some ARK. One of the requirements was to join the ark slack and so I did. There was so much going on back then. I hope we can get the spirit of those days back not too far in the future!
What Got You Into Cryptocurrencies In The First Place?
I was looking for something to invest in. Balanced funds and housing savings where kinda boring and i searched for something I could manage by myself easier, trade a bit. So I bought some different cryptocurrencies but learned pretty fast that I am no good at trading. That’s why I started looking into longer holds and by reading up on the different currencies finally managed to “find” ARK.
It’s not that I didn’t know about cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, I just didn’t invest too much time or thought into crypto. I’m not a big fan of mining because I see it as a big waste of resources and that was always a bit of a showstopper for me.
What’s Your Background & What Are Your Hobbies?
I was always interested in computer stuff and design, so, when the internet started to be “a thing”, of course I started to work in web design. That was a long time ago and over the years I shifted more and more into working in the streaming business for many years and into broader system administration.
My spare time, I spend mostly with my kids or, if I find the time, do some artsy stuff like painting, sculpting, photography or building stuff. I also like to read and play video games, but the backlog of unread books and unplayed games is growing constantly.
Oh, and music 🤘
What’s your Ambition For The Future
It would be nice to have a bit more time to do the stuff that I love. My dream would be to have a little workshop but not be constrained by due dates or customer wishes. Just build what I like and if somebody else likes it too, good and if not… :shrugs:
If You Could Think Of One Thing You’d Like To See For Ark, What Would It Be?
I’d like to see a successful bridge chain because up to now I think most Ark forks are a bit disappointing. Some forks tackle interesting problems but the market doesn’t really seem to like them. It doesn’t help that the market is like it is at the moment.
Who Is The Person You Look Up To The Most?
That would probably be “Stephen Jay Gould”, he was an evolutionary biologist. Reading his essays really changed my way of thinking about a lot of stuff, not only about how nature works but also about how to see trends in statistics or the history of many scientific fields. He was quite a thinker who know a lot of stuff from a lot of different fields and a big inspiration for me.
Who Is Your Favourite Ark Community Member & Why?
I pretty much like everybody in the community who doesn’t take himself too seriously. It would fill up the digest to name everyone. If I would have to pick a single one, it would probably (again) be Pieface. He is just such a friendly guy to interact with.
Where Do You See The Price Of Ark This Time Next Year?
Im going to cheat here and recycle my xmas sweepstake prediction from 2017. That would be $20.50.
What Movie Quote Do You Think Could Be Used To Describe Crypto?
“It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.”
Fight Club
Segment: Getting to know Nico
In this segment we try to deep dive into asking some questions that have been on our minds at TGH after reading the answers above. Make sure to get in touch with Nico and let him know what you think of the article!
Have you been to any Crypto Meetups before?
Yeah, I’ve been to crypto meetups before. For instance the GUTS community meetup last year in Amsterdam, where I also had the chance to meet and talk to a few deluded Arkies.
Im still sad I couldn’t make it to the first dutchdelegate/thefoundry meetup last year but we are going to do another one pretty soon and hope to get a few more delegates on board this time to give voters a chance to meet us and them face to face.
What was the inspiration behind your username ‘Tk0n’?
Uhm, now that you asked, I feel a bit ashamed… That username is a very old and nerdy Star Trek TNG reference. I have used it for a long time and it just seemed natural to also use it when I joined the ARK slack.
What has it been like setting up a delegate and working with someone else in doing so?
I thought about running as a delegate in ARK but didn’t really think that i would have a shot at making it to the top 51. I met Yokoama while he was doing his ACF campaign and we decided to give it a try and launched thefoundry. It has been a really nice experience working with Yoko. He’s a cool, down to earth, guy and we often think in the same direction without having to talk too much about everything. I’d really helps to do this stuff as a team, where each member can concentrate on his strengths, and yoko is a far better talker and marketeer than I am.
I also enjoy talking to other delegates. The community might not necessary know or see this, but there is a strong support between the delegates and always a warm welcome when a new delegate joins the ranks, even if that means that someone else has to drop out.
And of course, there are also our voters, which are the biggest support we have, and i talk to some of them on a daily basis.
Any interesting things coming up with thefoundry?
We have some stuff planned yes, namely the next community meet up. We have to solidify the last details before we do a big announcement but I can tell you that its going to be soon and its going to be in the Netherlands. We are also thinking about some other things to increase awareness about ARK but I don’t want to spill too much at this stage. You’ll have to wait a little longer for that.
Conclusion
That marks the end of this article with Nico! Thanks for reading and let us know what you think and who you’d like to see next. As always stay tuned for next Monday’s edition! Make sure to keep your eyes peeled on our Twitter and check out our new auction if you haven’t!
