Back to the audio version of this podcast here https://mitchjackson.com/2022/04/08/genz-web3/
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Mitch Jackson
Tonight’s show is titled, “How GenZ is Leveraging the Power of Web3 and the Metaverse to Build Businesses and Brands.”
We’re going to talk about what is the Web3? What do you need to know about blockchains and decentralization? What’s a DAO or decentralized autonomous organization? And are you using DeFi and token-based economics? Are using smart contracts? Are you embracing digital wallets? Are you expanding your business into the Metaverse? Are you doing all things Web3 like these three Gen Z and Web3 entrepreneurs are already doing to build your business and to move forward with marketing your brand?
That’s what this evening’s Twitter space is all about. First up this evening, we’ve got Nick Webb, who is a student at the University of Southern California. Nick please unmute and spend a minute or two introducing yourself to our live and recorded audience, please.
Nick
Yes, of course. Thank you so much for having me. I’m, very excited for this conversation today. As Mitch said, I, know Garrett and Jack from our time at USC, University of Southern California. I completed my degree in public policy this past December, but I will be walking with both of these fine gentlemen in the May commencement ceremony.
I’ve been involved in NFT Spaces and Web3 Spaces since November, thanks to Jack Butler, who showed me there are ways to get involved, even though a lot of stuff in Web3 has a high barrier to entry. And so since then, I’ve just been playing around, doing what I can and educating myself as much as possible. Garrett, Jack, and a few other our friends at USC, we meet every Sunday, and we set our goals for the week. We all are going into different industries, and we all have our own interests in Web3, and we set our goals. We go over what we learned this past week, and we really all believe that you learn by doing and you learn by collaborating with others and communicating. And so we all go out into our own industries. We learn, and then we come back and tell each other so we can learn as much as possible, learn by doing and tell each other about it.
Garrett
Nick, I know you’ve been very involved in the NFT space, and so I was hoping you could share with us which platforms you selected to explore, what risk you saw, and your overall assessment of that. That’s the route you wanted to go.
Nick
Right? So, like I said, I got involved in the Web Three space in November. I was actually taking a class at USC Annenberg School of Communication. My professor is Christopher Smith. Great guy, fantastic professor. And he was showing us. It was a class called Media, Money, and Society. And it was really just showing how technology will affect the future in almost every industry and how new industries are going to pop up from the advancement of this new technology. And so I was looking for different ways to get in. And I saw Axe Infinity. I saw Trading NFT on Open Sea. And as a broke College student, to be Frank, um, I was looking for something that I could invest in long term and had a low barrier to entry. And that’s when Jack Butler introduced me to an app called VV. And they have premium digital collectibles. And what attracted me was the licensing that they had. So when I joined, they had Marvel, Disney, DC, Ghostbusters, and a lot of really cool IP, like that cartoon, uh, network as well. And I thought, well, I see a lot of these random to, um, me time. It was just JPEGs that everyone always says, Why can’t I just screenshot it? Um, but I saw these IPS and I was like, well, if someone’s going to do well in this space long term, I assume it would be one of these things. And they have a system of things. These NFPs, these premium digital collectibles through, um, a drop system. They introduce comics, which I love. Uh, I love Marvel and comics since growing up. And the drops are as low as $7. And if you get that drop, you might even get a secret rare worth thousand dollars. So I thought that that was, um, a low risk opportunity. I put in money that I didn’t need, of course. Um, and I was like, hey, in 510, 15 years, this might be really worth something. We don’t know, uh, what the technology is going to look like, but we have an idea about it. Some of the risks that I took, of course, uh, all things web, three all things NFT. You, um, really don’t know if it could go to zero tomorrow. Um, but that was a risk I was willing to take with these IPS. Another risk is that VV right now does not have cash out. Um, but like I said, I saw this as a five, uh, to ten year investment. And so that was not necessarily something I was too worried about. I was more focused on, hey, if I could have a Baby Ruth, uh, card that’s Mint conditioned forever, why would I not? And that’s why I really saw that there was long term, I guess, potential, uh, that Project Vivi. And it was something that I could get into. Something that I really loved where even if it did go to zero, I love the comics. I love opening them in augmented reality and being able to read them. And a lot of the, uh, comics I can’t really have access to these days, like the first edition of the Fantastic Four comic, first appearance, uh, of Daredevil, Deadpool, some favorite, uh, characters. And Jack, uh, is really into the Disney collectibles. And I think, uh, that that is also a great niche to get into. And, um, I really like the premium digital. And Jack, uh, also explain to me, um, collectibles is a market where it does well in a recession, and it does well year round because people with income to own these collectibles, they’re going to own it no matter what. They won’t really, uh, be, um, affected during a recession because it’s not like an asset. It’s not a super liquid asset that they’ll take out right away. It’s something that they’ll hold for a long time.
Garrett
Where would you be looking at going in the future with NFTs? Is it down the line with more VB? Are you looking to expand into other markets and what would appeal you about those other markets?
Nick
I would definitely be interested in getting into other markets. I’d like to increase, uh, uh, the amount of ease in my wallet in my MetaMask so that I can start trading different, uh, NFT projects on Open Sea. I’ve, um, never really been much of a flipper, but I think that’s definitely something that I can learn. And I’ll, um, most definitely make mistakes along the way. But I think that that’s just part of the tuition that, uh, you pay to learn. And I think that it’ll be really cool to get into a project that I love the team working on it. I love the idea behind it. I love the utility and the roadmap, uh, for it. And I just really believe in the project. And so I’m hoping to really get into something like that on Open Sea, not only to diversify my portfolio, but also to just learn as much as possible. Right now, I’m in the digital collectible side of Web three, but I’d love to get into other industries as well.
Mitch
Nick, I’ll bet you have learned a lot about what entrepreneurs, business owners and startups need to look at to make safe, reasonable due diligence decisions in doing what you’re doing. Whether it’s comic books, whether it’s artwork, whether it’s unlockable NFTs that are, uh, correlated towards business ventures. I’m sure there are some things you’ve picked up since, uh, you’ve gotten involved in this industry that you could recommend to other people. Do your homework, research, uh, who’s behind the company, things like that. Maybe you could share with us in the next 30 or 60 seconds. Some of the tips you have were just everyone, regardless of what kind of business they’re doing. And then, Garrett, with your permission, I’d love to roll over and incorporate Jack into the conversation and have him introduce himself also. So get ready. Jack, you’re on deck. But, Nick, what have you learned from all this? What advice can you give all of us, especially your fellow Gen Zers, moving forward in the NFC spaces?
Nick
I would say two things for similar reasons. Uh, don’t, uh, count your chickens before they hatch, or don’t count your eggs before they hatch and collect, uh, what you love? Because, like I said, I have a lot, uh, of faith in the long term potential of this app DV. But I know, uh, someday it might not work out. In January, I had put about $800 into that. And for example, one of my collectibles is a Boat Willy collectible. The, um, first ever appearance of Mickey Mouse, not in, uh, Joel NFT format, but in the physical world is the first time we ever saw Mickey Mouse Steamboat Willie. I got it on a drop for $60. And by mid, uh, January, it was worth about 1500. However, um, if I check my collection right now, I’ll see the floor price is $240. So it really is volatile. And you can never, like I said, never, uh, act like you have those unrealized gains because they are unrealized. But as long as you’re collecting what you love, you, um, won’t be so upset about the outcome. But you’ll rather be proud of yourself and happy with yourself and your own actions because you can’t control the outcome. But you can always control your actions.
Mitch
Jack, why don’t you jump in? Jack Butler’s joining us. He’s also a fellow Trojan. And tell us a little bit about who you are and what your, uh, interest and goals are with the Web 3.0 and NFT communities.
Jack
Definitely. Well, thank you so much, Mitch, for hosting the space. Um, Garrett and Nick, so, uh, great to see you. Everybody listening. I appreciate you more than you know. So my name is Jack Butler. I grew up in Los Angeles. And, um, you were passionate about the city at large, right? This passion kind of led me to real estate. I’m finishing my degree at USC in real estate development in May, so just over a month. And I am as excited, uh, as I, uh, am nervous. But definitely the excitement takes over. And, um. Yeah, so I’m Super passionate about the idea of building physically and digitally for that reason. I love real estate. I’ve been investing in the stock market mutual funds since I was 18. Recently got, um, into NFT last year crypto the year before. Just kind of always trying to stay on top of it. Super passionate about just, um, all things personal finance, making sure that I’m going to be where I need myself to be in the future. And that is obviously, um, financially free. Um, I’m, uh, excited to take on the professional world. Upon graduation. I’m going to be hopefully, um, an asset management, uh, analyst at a real estate private equity firm. And then hopefully, um, learn the ins and outs of the industry and what can be improved upon with Web three in such an old money, institutional kind of industry. That definitely is in need of some efficiency reform.
Garrett
Jack, I know, obviously we’ve talked every Sunday. We know where we’re going with our plans. We all are going in different directions, as Nick talked about. So you’re very interested in real estate. And I think we’ve had some good discussions about problems you’ve seen in real estate and how to solve them using Web3. Do you want to share a little about that?
Jack
Definitely. And the first thing that I need to hook you with, uh, is that real estate is going to change forever. And this transition that we are experiencing is the beginning of something larger than any of us realize. Okay. So right now, what I’m going to focus on is a type of investment in real estate called syndication. Um, and what that means, to put it simply, for those of you who aren’t aware, Garrett, you give me $100,000, Nick, you give me $100,000, I take $100,000. My own money. We put it in the property. Right. That money is locked in an LLC. And so it is an intrinsically ill liquid investment. But Web Three and tokenization totally transformed that investment vehicle. What you can do is I can tokenize your share, your $100,000 interest in the LLC. Right now, we have to wrap it up into an LLC because of Securitization laws. But when we do that, you can now get out of that investment and trade and sell that token to somebody else and creating that liquidity within this traditionally illiquid investment. So that’s kind of the macro of what I am going to be seeing in the next 2030 years. There’s going to be no more syndication. Traditionally, there’s no reason that once good operators start doing this, that it would not continue and just snowball from there. And so that’s on the investment in the development side, for the brokerage side, we’re already seeing we’re already seeing houses, uh, being sold as NFCs. And so it’s a crazy concept where instead of a two week, two month process of transacting real estate with various forms and back and forth between listing agents, Realtors brokers, all of these people that are involved in the process, you’re now going to be able to click that button on your phone and buy it just as you would in NFT. Right. And so when these titles are tokenized in a nonfungible or fungible way, that is going to create kind of this cloud over the industry, that’s just, in my opinion, going to just consume the entire thing. So those are just some high level things in brokerage investment and development where I think that there’s no turning back once it gets started. And I’m just excited to feel this strongly about it at this point in time.
Mitch
So, Jack, let me jump in real quick because I’m so excited to have Gen Z entrepreneurs here on the show tonight and sharing your thoughts, because what you’re doing is you are the future of business, you’re the future of technology. Uh, and it’s so interesting to hear your take and your excitement on these technologies. Talk to us a little bit about you mentioned NFC, but I think you’re also referring to smart contract technology behind the NFT’s. That’s instantly using AI and other real time decentralized, uh, services, assisting with these transactions not only in a fast fashion, but in a more accurate and real time fashion. You’re comfortable with that as a Gen Z, is that correct? Why are you okay with that? And why do you think we should wrap our arms around that type of technology moving forward?
Jack
Yeah, definitely. What’s beautiful about blockchain, right? And everybody uses this kind of keyword of decentralization, uh, and that is so important when you’re talking about the future of business, the future of real estate. So I am so confident putting my trust in the blockchain because it is decentralized. Right. So if I am using a smart contract, and the easiest way that I can wrap my head around smart contracts is you have a sell in Excel, and it’s an if function. Right. You have a value of true. You have a value of false. Right. And so, for example, where you’re transaction real estate with an NST, if you wrap it in a smart contract and a certain wallet. Right. A certain wallet address receives a certain amount of money in cryptocurrency, then an action, um, will take place. And that action can be receiving in that wallet that sent the money to this other wallet, the actual, well, now digital deed to this property. And the question to circle back on why I’m so bullish and comfortable trusting that process is because it’s on the blockchain, Mitch, you, me, my broker, anybody can come and look at that transaction, and there is no question about what happened. It is right there on the screen, and nobody can question that right now. There’s a lot of people in, um, law. There’s obviously so much room for discrepancies to arise, for conflicts to happen because of a miscommunication or whatever. But with the blockchain, we are now able to have the most accurate kind of, um, spitting out, uh, our transactions. And I’m much more confident in that than a contract that maybe somebody didn’t understand initially. And now they’re arguing that in court, and it just becomes messy. So I think it’s going to clean up the whole thing. And like you said, it happens instantly. Right. And so all of these transactions that were taking so long now take seconds. And so I think that’s another beautiful aspect of it.
Mitch
It’s an exciting time. We’re watching change happen in real time, unlike ever before. And like you mentioned, with the law, there are a lot of great area disputes, uh, that keep me as a trial lawyer in business. And I’m all for smart contracts and the technology Jack that you’re talking about. And Nick, that you referenced and Garrett, we’re going to roll over to you. I’m okay with this technology eliminating the Gray area and helping all of us move forward in a more efficient and fair fashion to allow us closing deals in an equitable fashion at arm’s length. I mean, I can’t wait. There are a lot of other things I’d rather be doing with my time than dealing with Gray area misunderstandings, whether they’re unintentional or even negligence. I love this technology because it’s going to help us move forward, be more efficient, save our clients money, and help us do transactions better and faster. Uh, this is an exciting time. I do want to offer anyone that has a question for Garrett, Nick, or Jack to simply raise your hand or unmute and jump in. You’re more than welcome to participate in the conversation. Don’t be shy. And for those of you listening to the recorded version of tonight’s show, I’ve got three young men here from the University of Southern California. The title of tonight’s show is how Gen Z is leveraging the power of Web three and the Metaverse. They have their fingers on the pulse of what Gen Z is looking for is interested in and how they will be using Web Three. And that’s why we’re doing tonight’s Twitter spaces. So, gentlemen, it’s really a pleasure to have you joining me here on stage and everyone in the live audience, I appreciate each and every one of you sharing this out and eventually jumping up on stage, uh, and asking questions. But before you do, I want to roll over to Garrett Jackson. Garrett, I think you also are extremely keen on everything that Jack and Nick has said about Web Three. In fact, so much more that I understand you co founded a, uh, new company that you’re rolling out, uh, along the same lines in the same time frame that you’re graduating. Tell us a little bit about who you are, what you’re studying at USC, and this, uh, new company that you just put together.
Garrett
First, thank you, everyone, again, for coming to the live space today. We’re so happy to be here and share our knowledge about Web3. A little background about my experience with the Metaverse and Web3. I first began putting time and effort into learning about virtual reality and all the different functions and how they applied to different industries during my junior year of College. I’m now a senior, second semester and graduating next month. A little over a year ago I had the idea to introduce virtual reality into therapeutic practices for a class project. I thought this could expand the use of exposure therapy, something that they weren’t utilizing, but is very efficient. And it felt like an unusual pairing. But ultimately, it was just very well received by my professor and classmates. And I started to understand how all these emerging technologies are going to change, how we look at different businesses, industries, and how they function. So we fast forward a few months, and I noticed Mr. Jackson starting to use his Oculus Quest twitch how he works at his law firm. At that moment this technology can really be applied anywhere. It’s just that most people and companies haven’t thought about how to capitalize on this seemingly inevitable changes that will be made to their industries. So this led to the birth of my company ManeuVR, our consulting firm. Essentially we want to educate and direct clients so they don’t miss the equivalent of the dot com boom that we’ve already seen because we truly believe it’s happening again right now. And whether it’s NFT’s, virtual workspaces or the Metaverse, all companies can be utilizing this emergence of Web3 and the related technologies. One thing we talk about is the tokenization of everything. And what that means is that no matter what industry you’re in, tokenization is going to be a part of it. Nick and Jack went to a very cool event you were telling me about called the Stay DAO event. I’d love you to tell us a little bit about the event and what you experienced.
Nick
I actually have a tweet from right before this started showing the property. Um, but so basically, we went to a stay Dow event that was part of Nftla, uh, and Stay Dow. It’s a Dow. And their market, uh, is a new market. They are targeting digital, uh, Nomads. And I think that we’re going to see more of these digital, um, Nomads, as Web three technology is improved and as people, um, adopt it, because the whole point of it, uh, is you can make money on your phone from anywhere in the world and you can stay at these. They’re pretty much like American hostels. And so the day Dow, uh, that it was a white list party where if you own their NST, you can get their tokens for discounted rate. And one token is a stay at their different properties. Right now they have one property in, uh, Venice, and they’re expanding always. And it was a really cool, uh, event and just really showed how, um, this technology can just be used in any industry. And like you were saying, Garrett, tokenization of everything, right? They have their own economic system using these state out tokens and giving incentives, um, to own the NFT to be part of it. Dows are so cool because, uh, in this case, anyone can, um, stay at these hostels. But if you own the NFT, you are part of the Dow. You can make decisions on how that Dow is going to change or move forward, which is just unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. It’s like having Spotify premium, but also being able to vote what music gets added on to Spotify. I’m curious, Jack, what you’d like to add to it from your experience? Uh, there.
24:37.436 –> 24:48.730
I know I had a great time not open bar collaboration with Space Beans, uh, which is like an MFG coffee company. Just some great minds.
24:48.790 –> 24:48.981
Awesome.
24:48.981 –> 25:13.482
Um, to be able to everybody was young like us. They shared similar passions and came from every walk of life. So it was just great to have these conversations and just build our network within the space. And so that was kind of the most valuable thing that I got out of it. It was really cool to see the space. Right. And so there’s this idea of hostels everywhere around the globe except the US.
25:13.556 –> 25:13.758
Right.
25:13.784 –> 26:11.030
And there’s this cultural gap, but they are currently analyzing the market to find out what is going to bridge that gap. And so the way they’ve done it is they have these pods, which I think Nick touched on it. They have these pods and they have very, very spacious. They’re comfy. You have your own little private space, even though you’re sharing the greater building with everybody else. And so I think it’s a great way to, um, kind of explore, uh, this new market and kind of bring it to the US. The team is um, from the um, guys who are behind it have a uh, lot of experience in traditional real estate. Similar to me, they are noticing a lot, um, of inefficiencies, in the way that things are traditionally ran. And so they’re taking their ideas and making them more efficient, um, through Web three. I just thought it was a great time to build our network and I’m excited for the next one whenever that, uh, happens.
26:11.030 –> 27:35.442
With respect to Dows, the centralized autonomous organizations, as lawyers, as a friend of mine, Irathkin, that’s really uh, connected with all the big players you see every day on your phones. One of the concerns we have, um, is that the state courts and federal courts haven’t recognized Dows as legal entities. We’re not sure through, uh, case law or legislative regulations how they’re going, uh, to hold up in a court of law what the rules and regulations are between employers, employees, between taxes, retirement plans and everything else in between. It’s a new animal. Right? And my question to you is and to everybody on the panel with all of the benefits of decentralized XYZ, uh, whatever it may be, do any of you have concerns with the inability to control who’s part of the voting membership or the inability to control who will be adding money into the project or the inability to control somebody coming in that may not have a, uh, good brand or might be a felon, might be somebody that’s been on the news and somebody else brings them into a decentralized autonomous organization which potentially could destroy a brand and bring down a company? Just from a Gen Z perspective, how are each of you balancing the pros and cons of Dows when talking about doing business like we are. What are your thoughts on that? I’m really curious. Yeah.
27:35.516 –> 29:10.870
So I was just going to say, the issue that you presented of getting these people, uh, who might not align with our ideas. Right. That kind of just jump into our Dow because they have the money or the means to that is, it sounds to me right now, my initial thought was that is an inherent risk of that type, um, of running an organization. Right. So, um, the idea of decentralization is that hopefully if there are more people, you won’t be the only one that thinks that about somebody. Hopefully, ideally, if this were to happen, if somebody were to come in that didn’t align with the mission, that there would be more people that recognize that than the people that unfortunately fall into that category. And so I think that it’s more of a natural solution. And I’m not worried about that, because that, um, was a question how we feel about that, if that’s something that concerns us. I don’t, because I think that just, like, markets figure themselves out. I think that Dows, especially if they’re big enough, I think that they would figure that out with people who are more involved in more money, and there’s obviously more money, naturally, with people that are into the vision and to align with the organization’s goals. And so I, uh, think that naturally, this is a very optimistic, opportunistic, um, view on it, but I’m not worried because I think it would naturally, most of the time, and hopefully figure itself out.
29:10.870 –> 29:15.590
Um, uh, how about you, Garrett, or Nick? What are your thoughts? Do you feel the same way?
29:15.590 –> 29:41.570
Yeah, I mean, I agree with that entirely. I am hesitant on Dows currently. Like, um, you talked about there’s basically not a lot of legal backing, really, and I don’t think anyone wants to be the test dummy when something goes wrong. I kind of treat them in the same aspect of entities, um, where there’s still a lot of doubt in them, and there’s a lot that needs to be worked out. But I think in the future they could be extremely viable. How about you, Nick?
29:41.570 –> 32:17.540
So I think that this may be a hot take, but I really think that Dows, we kind of see them like their companies right now, but I really think in the future, we might even see them as countries, because right now we are extremely limited by our locations. Right. I’m extremely grateful that I met you guys. Um, but we met because, um, we all went to the same school, and we all were in the same area. And I think that someday I’m going to go to my desk, I’m going to put on my VR glasses, and I’m going to go to work with people who have similar values to me from all around the world, people who like me and are unlike me in good ways. Um, and so I feel like there’s not a natural incentive to join a doubt that you wouldn’t be happy in. I think that there’s going to be so many different areas that you can go into so many different industries where you can really pursue your passion. And because jobs are going to get automated and everyone’s going to be. Everyone’s going to become a brand, everyone’s going to become a business owner, a producer creator. And so I thought you would want to improve yourself as much as possible by being with people who have similar interests and are working toward the same goals. And so I wouldn’t necessarily see, um, a natural incentive to go and join and be a bad actor in a Dow that doesn’t interest you, because why not just go to a Dow that does interest you? And in the meantime, there are some solutions right now. One that I can think of off the top of my head is Aragon. Uh, they create, um, smart, uh, contracts and so, um, they have the different types of governance, uh, just like the US government does a checks and balance system. Um, and I think that like how Jack was saying, with smart contracts, you can see exactly what’s happening and you can do things much faster and it’s a lot more clear and people are going to be able to be, um, held a lot more accountable for their actions. Of course, there is the side of anonymity, but smart contracts and solutions like Aragon, I think are going to be a big, um, player in that, I guess not restrictive, but protective role.
32:17.540 –> 33:02.270
Uh, love it. Yeah, it’s interesting. I really appreciate your perspective on this particular issue, and it’s something that I’m a glass half full kind of guy. I think this is amazing technology. And like Jack was mentioning earlier, I think the market will work this out. It will get worked out. I just don’t want one of my clients being a test case and spending two years in litigation and hundreds of thousands of dollars of money being that case that’s working it all out. So it’s going to be an interesting journey for all of us moving forward. Speaking of interesting journeys, Michael’s joined us with a question or, uh, a comment. He’s been in our rooms, uh, before. Michael, unmute and jump in. It’s good to see you, my friend.
33:02.270 –> 33:12.486
Either, Mitch, uh, Garrett, Jack, Nick, uh, and everybody here in the panel, I’m just, uh, enjoying the, uh, whole conversation they’ll be having.
33:12.548 –> 33:14.210
You.
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What do you think would be like the next AR projects to be developed? Uh, because nowadays we see fashion, uh, and music, uh, and a couple of things that have been turned into, like, AR, some curious, like with Jack, with, like when you mentioned with real estate and having real estate, like, NFT that’s AR stuff, uh, like that. So, yeah, thank you very much, definitely.
33:47.672 –> 35:26.894
So I think that my biggest thing is going to be advertisements. I think that you are going to be able to advertise not only your product, but your NFT projects, uh, through geo, locking these NFTs. Right. So in Viv, you can put them wherever you want in your showroom. And that happens. You can walk around with your phone. However, what, uh, I think is going to happen in the future is if you are able to lock that in a specific place where anybody in the world can log on to the app or put on the glasses or whatever the case may be and can see. Oh, wow, that is a giant poster in Times Square. And maybe it’s a Ford ape. Or maybe it’s one of my Walt Disney partner statues, which is considered the grail of, um, grails on the BB app. So I think in that way, real estate advertisements and, um, listings will also be implemented, uh, in AR. And again, that could be something that you, um, click on if you’re walking by the property and that’s also geoloced. Or maybe you are able to walk, um, through a listing in AR. Maybe you’re able to boot up that space, boot up the exterior of the property, pop it down outside on a big lawn. Right. And just walk through it with your glasses as if you were really there. And so if that happens, there’s really no need to visit a property physically other than market research and seeing the overall area. So I think those two are my biggest ones. Advertisements and actual walkability when it comes to real estate listings.
35:26.894 –> 36:43.890
Um, you know what’s interesting is Michael is joining us from Cape Town, South Africa. And if you have a listing out of Malibu, Jack Michael would be able to, using this type of technology like, uh, you described, actually participate and walk through and experience the potential purchase of this property, this listing, almost as though he was there experiencing it in real life. And that’s an exciting to me, that’s really exciting, powerful technology. And it’s happening right now. We’re already seeing it. I, uh, think that’s what’s really cool apps like this are bringing us together around the world. Like Nick mentioned, any type of app, whether it’s decentralized, uh, or not, that, uh, allows us to come together and build relationships and build businesses together. To me, that’s super exciting. And that’s what this is all about. Take that technology into a Metaverse environment where you can customize the experience based upon the client you’re meeting or the event that you’re hosting. And that’s magical. It’s just going to be so exciting. Michael, I’m glad you joined us. We also had mish riff. Join us, I believe, all the way from the other side of the world. Also, if, uh, I’m not mistaken, uh, please on Mute and join us.
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Hey, thanks, Niche. Yeah, happy to be here.
36:46.728 –> 36:53.474
It’s good to have you here. What’s going on? Are you all in on Web three or do you have any comments or questions? Uh, for the gentleman?
36:53.642 –> 37:32.010
Yeah, I have questions for the gentleman about Gen Z. I’m really curious about some of the psychographics. Uh, I guess, um, when we think about the Gen Z mentality, um, do we expect them to behave in a, um, similar way as, like, let’s say, previous generations did in that regard? Or do we feel like there’s, um, a sense of deeper, um, nostalgia or like, reviving things that have, um, kind of been, like I mentioned, dormant? And I’m happy, um, to clarify what I mean, but I feel like I kind of made my point. Uh, there, um.
37:32.010 –> 37:45.434
You did. No, that’s an amazing question. Look, you’ve got three hands up from three Gen Z entrepreneur business people. So you hit a soft spot with all three gentlemen.
37:45.482 –> 37:45.541
Definitely.
37:45.541 –> 37:53.130
Uh, uh, unmute. I’m going to let you decide who goes first. And I’m as curious as he is with the answer to this question.
37:53.130 –> 39:04.890
So my first take about this is you talked about need for instant gratification. I think that is, um, such a driving point behind crypto blockchain, smart contracts, and the whole future of the technology. And I mean, I think that’s just the way it’s going to progress and continue to progress. I think you talked about the differences of the different generations. And I think something that’s important to focus on is that so much technology is generational. And what I mean by that is the ones who grew up with it are the ones who are going to be most inclined to use it. And I think right now our generation and Gen Z are the ones who are most active and most commonly being introduced to Web three meta verse and virtual reality. And so, although so many industries are functioning at a high level today, our purpose is that this new way of technology and life is going to solve all these problems that companies don’t know they have yet. And so they’ll continue to operate in those ways. But it’s going to take the generation of the people using this new technology to actually incorporate it into these industries. So, Jack or Nick, anyone else?
39:04.890 –> 39:05.398
Yeah.
39:05.484 –> 40:22.290
Thank you, Gary. I think that you raised excellent, uh, points. And I agree with you, uh, about the instant gratification. Right now, kids, um, are growing up on 15 2nd tick tox where you might post one video and it goes viral. You get millions of views, millions of followers. You start a trend, you’re now someone, you’re now very well. And you have your own brand. And I think that this will continue as technology, um, always makes it so that we can do things faster. Um, right. We take all these processes and we turn it into, click this button once and you do all. And I think that we can do that faster. We will continue to be able to multitask. And I think that, however, um, I think regardless of that, you will need customers if you have a brand or a business, and you will need effort, preparation, persistence, and luck. But I think that what might change, uh, is because you might post once and then blow up and now you have a career. Consistency might change, or at least the need for consistency, which could be a good thing, but it also could be a very dangerous thing.
40:22.290 –> 42:52.630
Definitely. So, yeah, thanks, guys, for your take and thank you so much, Ms. For the question. So I, uh, kind of wanted to touch on the macro of what you’re asking. And so you were saying, do we think that something could go from appearing to be dormant to them gaining that traction that it once had, if I’m understanding correctly? And so I think that, um, first off, I want to say that this is way too similar to the.com bubble to at least potentially have the same effects. And so what we saw then, I was one year old. But what we saw in 2000. Right. 90% 99% of the values, uh, of these companies in the likes of Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, some of them survive. Pets.com is famous for not surviving. Right. All of these companies, even though they would later be revived, like you were mentioning, they would later. Boom. They did take that hit. And so I think that it is dependent on a few things. Right. So there’s definitely going to be room for that in this space. I think the biggest thing that it’s relying on is the team. I think that if the same thing happens with the Internet, if this happens to NFT, then NFCs are, quote, unquote, dead for a period of time. It won’t last forever. I’ll put all my money on that. It won’t last forever. But if that’s happening, there’s going to be a certain subset of Dows, a certain subset of NFT projects or organizations, uh, that are not letting that phase their production, not letting that phase any part of their business model. If these teams keep pushing through and persisting through the FUD and all of this stuff that we’ve seen in the past to kind of tie it all together. Yes, I think we are going to act as the same generation. I think that the trends that we saw in history with previous generation will definitely apply to what we’re seeing right now. But then there’s also a little bit of luck, right. So the team might be, uh, so great on one project and not so great on the other, but one famous person, Elon Musk, tweets about it, for example, Doge Coin. Right. Something could kind of revive this project in an intrinsically valuable way, but maybe just something that is kind of lucky and convenient. And so, yeah, I definitely think that sorry for the long, um, winded answer, but I definitely think that there’s, uh, potential for us to kind of act like generations before us.
42:52.740 –> 44:39.622
What was an, um, answer with all three hands? All three of you raised your hands because it hit a nerve. And I think that the best individuals I’ve seen build community, especially using digital, are Gen Z. You know, uh, how to build communities on the different platforms, whether you’re on Snap, whether you’re on Instagram, whatever it might be, whether you’ve got communities and your tech systems where you’re taking those same talents and, um, you’re migrating them over into Web three environments, and you’re continuing to build these communities in a business setting, as you’ve been talking about for the last 52 minutes. And I think that’s a new business skill that a lot of people don’t have. And each of you on stage do have this skill. And I think it’s going to be instrumental to each of your successes moving forward with building communities to help support whatever that Web three business effort is being made. And so the point is, everything’s happening at the speed of light, and there’s a balance, uh, between FOMO and due diligence and between putting all of your money and effort and technology into product A, when, in fact, everyone’s really looking at product B, whether they realize it or not. So this is an exciting time to have these conversations, to share the different opportunities out there. Also, Bez has joined us, and, oh, you’re on stage as a speaker. Bez, why don’t you wrap things up this evening for us? Because I want to respect everyone’s time. We had an hour set aside, and we’re almost at the top of the hour. But Bez, please unmute and say Hi and jump in.
44:39.756 –> 44:40.378
Hey.
44:40.524 –> 44:40.978
Thank you.
44:41.004 –> 45:21.959
Mitch, I just want to add to what you said about, uh, Gen Z being good at developing communities. Uh, I as a head Hunter recruiter, one of the things that people are asking for is community managers to manage these online digital communities. And, um, both, I believe Gen Y and Gen Z have been doing it, especially from the gaming days. Right. And so I, uh, just want to kudos to the younger generation that we’re learning a lot from. So thank you.
45:21.959 –> 45:22.730
Um, Mitch.
45:22.910 –> 45:56.970
Oh, you’re welcome. It’s always good to see you and to have you here. Bez joining us. Let’s do this, everyone. I would like Jack and Nick and Garrett to give us your final thoughts about what we should be paying attention to moving forward between now and the end of the year. So the next seven or eight, uh, months, what should we be paying attention to in the Web three technologies? How can people reach out and stay in contact with each one of you if they have follow up questions, business proposals or anything else in between? Jack, let’s start with you.
45:56.970 –> 47:07.010
Yeah, definitely. So, yeah, thanks, everybody, for listening. I think that also before I get into it. Connect with me. Click my profile, hit follow DM Me. I’m always open. Let’s get coffee. Let’s meet on Zoom. Whatever it may be always down to learn and talk to everybody. So please, let’s do that at Jack the Butler on Twitter and Instagram if, uh, that is your cup of tea. But I don’t assume it is in Twitter spaces. I think that you have to be looking at the macro trends. Right. We’re so early in the space that if you start dwelling on the very specific aspects of the technology, I think for me, at least, who’s not a developer, gets definitely overwhelmed by that. So for, uh, me, it’s real estate. For you, it could be anything. There is 100% ways to make your industry or your passions more efficient through this technology. So I would just make sure that you understand the macros of what’s happening. I would research smart contracts tokenization in general. What makes a fungible token different from a nonfungible token? Once you have the fundamentals, uh, then go ahead and apply that to what you’re passionate about and how that’s going to make you successful and stay ahead of the curve.
47:07.190 –> 47:16.350
Love it. Thank you very much, Jack, for joining us this evening. Really appreciate it. I’m glad I passed across Nick final thoughts moving forward between now and the end of the year.
47:16.350 –> 48:06.450
Absolutely. Well, also, like Jack said, please DM me on Twitter. Follow reach out there. I’m more than happy to talk about anything. Web Three is so fantastic. I love, uh, talking about it and I love learning about, uh, it. And I guess just for the rest of the year, I’d say look for themes in life that are consistent also have room for change. Right. So, Gavin, you were saying making art and selling it is going to be a thing of the past, but I think we’re going to be able to do in 1 hour what it used to take 100 hours to do. However, people are still going to put in 100 hours into a project and they’re just going to make something absolutely fantastic. Look out for people doing that and look out for people solving problems and making things easier and quicker using Web Three technology.
48:06.450 –> 48:14.250
Great tips. I love that. Nick Garrett wrapping up the show. What are you looking forward to and paying attention to between now and the end of the year?
48:14.250 –> 48:53.850
So just like the other guys, I am super excited to see how these different industries expand, how businesses are going to utilize this technology. And I think my colleagues here have made a great point. I love Jack’s focus on macro trends with the technology rather than focusing on intricacies. Maybe. Although you should definitely have sufficient knowledge on how to use the tech responsibly and successfully. I’d say focus on how to be creative with the technologies, find an Avenue, whether it’s Dows NFPs or virtual workspaces, and see how you can utilize it to help your practice. I think that’s a great goal to have that’s very attainable, even on a daily, weekly, monthly basis that we could all be doing.
48:53.850 –> 50:36.874
Garrett, I love that. Great tips. Not that anyone asks me, but what I’m looking forward to, everyone is further integration between platforms, probably through our digital wallets where we’re able to invest in assets and digital assets and then move them from platform A to platform B. I noticed that Apple Pay is integrating with MetaMask wallets and so I’m looking forward to seeing more apps and more services integrate into our digital wallets, probably on our phones so that we can do all of the things that we’ve been speaking about this evening from wherever we are, uh, with a 5G connection. I think being mobile, being down on a property as Jack was talking about earlier, whether it’s in Malibu on the other side of the world, the Dow that Nick was talking about, all of these things we’ll, uh, be able to participate in and prosper with as, uh, they start to become more compatible. It’s more smart with each other and for me, that’s what I’m paying attention to and it’s going to be fun. This was how GMZ is leveraging the power of web three and the Metaverse. It was a great conversation. We will be dropping the recorded show early next week. I’ll share it on Twitter and I’ll also share it with my guest. So look for the link on each of our respective Twitter threads. My name is Mitch Jackson, Jack, Garrett and Nick, thank you for joining us tonight and for all of you in the audience and who joined us on stage, we really appreciate your participation and your support. And whether you’re in real life or in the digital spaces, never stop enjoying the journey and always make each day your masterpiece? Take care, everybody.
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