an entry in the Nouns Kiwi writing contest
Willywonka and I sat at Dreamland, beside a wooden platform up on the hillside, like finding shade under a lifeguard tower at the beach. While watching professional skaters defy gravity, and self preservation reflexes, across a mega ramp, with a gap and peak at the midway point, we noticed how lucky we were to be there.
I’ve felt this before, pinching myself about the unlikely circumstances that have brought me to experiences that I couldn’t have predicted. Sitting at a patio table with Anastasia Angelova, in Istanbul during Devconnect, felt like I had hacked the systems that wanted us to stay in our corners, doing our prescribed duties.
NounsTown 2024 was held in Los Angeles on October 10-12, 2024. Day 1 began with a rooftop sunset, overlooking the pacific ocean, with NounishProf, fattybuthappy, Satori, Yon & Gusa, Alinaferry and Ted (not lasso), where we hugged, laughed, took group selfies, played kendama and sat on a sofa to catch up with internet friends.
Other side events included a photo walk in the Arts District, play & relaxation at a large park in downtown, an animation festival and a full day of skateboarding at Dreamland. NounsTown’s main event was an all day indoor and outdoor celebration of so much creativity that has come out of the Nouns ecosystem! Break dancing, live music, painting, board games, custom live toy fabrication and esports!
I didn’t go to MCON3, which was in Detroit earlier in the same month. Heard that they had a funeral for MetaCartel. The DAO never voted on whether it would die, but my guess is that it happened because there was too much disagreement between members, and the people with the most power didn’t want to give up any to those who disagreed with them. Now when I see MetaCartel branding out in the world, it looks undead to me, like a zombie or vampire. Nouns members who were against adding ragequit can probably relate. The fork gives some monster vibes.
Nouns DAO is growing. Share dilution is in the contracts. Nouns community is rich, because a growing treasury is providing opportunity for niche sub cultures. Dancers from the Olympics are at Nouns events because Andrea Lomelin has an extensive network of excellent dancers. Nouns holders watch professional skaters on a mega ramp at Dreamland, because Bob Burnquist has an extensive network of excellent skaters. Nounstown shirts have custom art, because Yon created it for them.
On the commuter train, leaving Los Angeles after NounsTown, I sat next to a man who was on his 45th year in Customer Service at General Electric. He had raised a family of 3 kids, all who went to college. It was like talking to the past. His role is not available any more. As soon as he retires, GE will probably replace him with cheaper labor or software. Maybe that’s okay. Let the robots handle boring work, while humans play and create, crowd funded by DAOs.
I hope the Nouns ecosystem continues to welcome newcomers! It’s fun when learn from and celebrate each other! MetaCartel used to do this; MCON2 was a vibe! But, even if all of today’s DAOs die, their offspring, like Nouns Breakers, Chones, Brood and Nounspace, keep us moving forward, hopefully together, as in human to human, friends & family.
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