What Makes a Community?: Issue #17 of web3🤝education
Hello educator and web3 frens,
Community is a word that gets thrown around a lot in the web3 space. What does community really mean? This question came up in a podcast I recently participated in with 'ukulele teacher and musician James Hill.
During our discussion, he posited an interesting question: "Why do some things look like community, but don't feel like community? And why do some things feel like community, but don't look like community?". The answer to this question has increased in important in web3. As the overall market of crypto value goes down, the emphasis has shifted to community and building.
The insights I can offer to define community come to me from the host culture of the land that raised me–Hawaiʻi. The word for community in Hawaiian is kaiāulu. There is an important root in that word, -ulu, to grow. This is the imagery that comes to mind when I think of community.
Here are some questions I ask myself when I consider my community. How are our actions as part of this community helping to grow the community? How can future members of the community look back at my actions as it relates to the growth of the community?
Without growth, any community you are currently a part of will not exist at a future point in time. If you are interested you can learn more about the concept of ulu from this interview with Kumu Keala Ching.
As you read this week's resources I would like you to reflect on the communities that you are a part of, whether they are in web3 or not. How are you contributing to their growth? What actions are you taking that will help those that are joining you perpetuate your mission? My hope is that those of us in the early stages of web3 and the metaverse are making positive contributions to the growth of our communities.
Here is a summary of the resources for this week:
🎸 Podcast interview with James Hill on his 'ukulele project that invites NFT holders to record with him on his album
📚 The best books on the metaverse for your summer reading
🤖 Reflections on using AI to write an essay
🧒 A web3 social network for kids secures additional funding
What is a Community and a ʻUkulele NFT? — www.buzzsprout.com
I am very fortunate to know some pretty accomplished players in the ʻukulele space. These relationships were fostered during my time as a full-time musician and my current work as a part-time recording artist and performer. I have enjoyed how my work as an educator continues to overlap with my love for music.
This interview with ʻukulele artist, educator, and NFT founder James Hill was particularly exciting because it brought all three of my passions together–music, education, and NFTs. Much gratitude to my friend and musical partner Brad Bordessa who invited me along to help with the web3 part of this discussion with James about his recent project Ukeheads.
In this wide-ranging conversation we cover arranging music for a ʻukulele orchestra, what is web 2.5, and why music is like beer. There are not too many NFT projects around that have approached the challenge of onboarding non-crypto natives as thoughtfully as this one, I think you'll find it interesting.
Summer Reading About the Metaverse — www.forbes.com
Whether you're just kicking off your summer or already getting your classrooms prepped for the next school year (🙋), there's always time for a good book! Forbes recently provided this list of the best of the best on the metaverse.
This isn't just any list though, this is curated by the godmother of the metaverse herself Cathy Hackl. I already have my copy of The Metaverse by Matthew Ball on order. My plan is to work my way through a couple of others during the year, specifically, Step into the Metaverse by Dr. Mark Van Rijmenam and Navigating The Metaverse: A Guide to Limitless Possibilities in a Web 3.0 World by Cathy Hackl, Dirk Lueth, and Tommaso Di Bartolo.
As this article demonstrates there is a lot to choose from. So fire up that Amazon account and get to reading!
Artificial Intelligence Wrote an Essay — leonfurze.com
I have spoken with a few different teachers in the creative writing and English language Arts space who have told me that they are feeling left out of all the talk around NFTs, crypto, and the metaverse. Here's an article about using AI to write an essay that may be of interest.
The analysis of the quality of the writing from a teacher's perspective was interesting. The free app that was used might be useful for discussions on plagiarism, creativity, language use, and other topics that can add a web3 spin to your English classroom.
$17M for Kids NFT Brand Zigazoo to Build In Web3 — finance.yahoo.com
“The future of Web3 will be shaped by the children of today, as their creativity expands the range of what is possible.” - Liberty City Ventures founding partner Emil Woods
I love this quote from a recent Yahoo Finance article announcing $17 million in a Series A funding round for Zigazoo led by Liberty City Ventures. It has three words that I think sum up the web3 space: future, children, and creativity. I first shared about this project in a previous newsletter when it was announced that Serna Williams was part of its initial funding. The service appears to have continued its rise with this announcement of this next series of backing.
Web3 and kids media is interesting because the proposition is that young people can have ownership of what they create. Instead of entering into an exploitative relationship with brands, blockchain can allow kids to earn through their engagement and exploration. I will be keeping a close eye on this project.
Thank you for stopping by for another issue of my web3🤝education newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here or if you’re on LinkedIn go check out a version of this newsletter on my LinkedIn page and give me a follow.
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