The $WHALE Community — Q&A
Who were you before you joined the $WHALE Community? I’m an artist, writer and photographer whose first foray into the world of NFTs earned enough to pay for the initial OpenSea “free” minting fee. Since I haven’t sold anything since then, I decided to learn all I can about the world of NFTs. I’m also a stay-at-home mom who is sick of working for peanuts when I know my skills command more of a salary, but the fact that I have small children limits my time availability and demands that I have flexibility in my schedule that even standard part-time jobs do not provide. I’m also sick of working for people and want to build something up that will help us be able to afford to buy an apartment.
How did you hear about us and why did you decide to join? I came across WhaleShark. Obviously, I wanted to know what he was doing and what he had to say because he is one of the most influential collectors in the space. I figured if I followed his advice, I’d be able to make it eventually. The fact that anyone in the Discord can speak to him on Thursdays at 4PM my time was a big deal. Having access to someone like that to ask as many questions as you want to is an invaluable asset. There are so many questions that sometimes yours gets skipped over, but there is always next week if the question is that integral.
How has joining $WHALE changed your view of the crypto space? I’m basically a Bitcoin HODLer and had no real intent to purchase anything else because my money is tight, but I was very impressed with several things regarding the $WHALE community. The responsible measures that WhaleShark and the $WHALE community took regarding the Roll hack about a month ago showed me that the community could pull together in a time of crisis in order to keep the financial viability of the token secure. This makes me more confident in becoming a service provider that accepts $WHALE as payment, and possible serious investment when my efforts in the Cryptospace pay off, G-d willing. The fact that the $WHALE community was able to bond together around the slogan In $WHALE We Trust means that the token is indicative of more than literal financial worth. People are buying the token because they believe in the community, or at least, in WhaleShark’s holdings and having a stake in them. But the whole experience is very positive — people are really trying to make an impact in this space where they help each other out and it’s not all about the money. I just hope that it continues to last. It’s easy to come here with a jaded eye but again, it does really seem like support and positivity are a real thing here.
Any interesting anecdotes from your time with the $WHALE Community? This is a bit lame, but I read that WhaleShark is going to be joining the upcoming CoinDesk panel as a speaker. For some reason I read it as Coinbase, and it freaked me out simply because decentralization to me is one of the key points of why I got into cryptocurrency. Between their market share and the fact that I’d really like to see NFTs having the ability to be hosted on cold wallets instead of only having them purchased as web pointers to sites where they are hosted (which means centralization) I was worried about what this would mean for the NFT space. But I read it wrong — he only said CoinDesk, and I’m silly.
How has your journey as a $WHALE been, whether you’ve been here through the last year or the last month? My investment at this point has been time and to invite others because I recognize the $WHALE community’s importance. I believe it’s paying off in that I have been able to forge a battle plan in order to become a successful NFT artist. I have thankfully received some drops, but because I don’t have the money to invest right now and am hoping to reinvest what I earn in the Cryptospace, I am hoping to provide any Rhino tutoring and writing services in order to earn $WHALE. To say that I’m an actual $WHALE, since my resources are limited, may not be technically accurate. But I’m enjoying slowly becoming part of this community and seeing what people are creating or trying to do. The digital wearables mixed with physical wearables aspect of WhaleShark’s new E1337 concept is pretty exciting, especially because I’m a 3D CAD designer looking for that one use case that will make me stand out more within the NFT community. I understand that he has his own specific team to create this line of wearables in both the physical world and the metaverse, but because of my background in creating 3D models that actually print, it’s given me a huge idea. Since I work with a professional animator and musician, I think we may have really stumbled onto something and you’re just gonna have to wait and see what it is. :)
What has been your favorite part of the $WHALE experience? Getting that precious feedback from WhaleShark about what collectors want to see in an artist. I’m really looking forward to more digital art technique classes, as well.
What would you still like to see from the $WHALE experience? As previously mentioned I would find it very useful to see more digital art technique classes, but I’d also love to see something like the Artist WIP channel have weekly discussions where people check out each other’s art, give helpful critique and help people discuss how and where they should be trying to sell and promote for optimal success as an artist. I think this would also grow the community immensely.
