Have you tinkered with NFTs? If you're keen on exploring the fast-moving NFT space but still on the fence, there's something for you in today's Going Solo. ✨

In this Edition

• Austin Kleon on Storytelling
• Quick Q&A with Nameet Potnis on NFTs
• How Russian Influencers are Struggling to Maintain Followers
• What It Means to Be an Artist: Hayao Miyazaki

Austin Kleon on Storytelling

Perhaps one of the first craft-oriented books any creator picks is that of Austin Kleon's! While his Steal Like An Artist made him a New York Times Bestselling Author, his practical advice and writings don't just help us keep it real; they also help us go after what we love. After all, he was the one who also asked not to wait until you know who you are to get started.

We're quite stuck on his advice on storytelling. 👇

You can also sign up for his newsletter for all the latest scoop.

Quick Q&A with Nameet Potnis on NFTs

If you’ve been following us closely, you already know we’ve hosted our first Fireside Chat with Nameet Potnis, CEO of Drumworks, who is building Asset Money — a firm that manages NFT portfolios.

Naturally, our conversations revolved largely around NFTs and how global brands are introducing NFTs to build communities. If you missed it, here’s a quick peek into the tête-à-tête. ☕

Thousand Faces: What are some interesting examples of how brands are building communities using NFTs?

Nameet: NFTs aren’t limited to just creators — brands, restaurants, and musicians are already leveraging them for community. For instance, let’s take Ozzy Osbourne’s 9,666 collection which went beyond being digital commodities; if you possess their NFT, you could also mutate it with other NFT collections or gain backstage access to one of his concerts. Restaurants aren’t left behind! Flyfish Club is the world’s first NFT-based restaurant that lets you enjoy swanky meals and cocktails as a private dining experience.

Thousand Faces: That sounds interesting! But we’ve got a straightforward question: what constitutes as an NFT?

Nameet: Engineers in the house are surely familiar with the term pointers. Think of an NFT as something that you own that points to something. And what could that something be? It could be a piece of text, an image/GIF, a video, an audio, or an un-lockable experience. Some folks now mint blog posts too!

Thousand Faces: Many creators say they’re not confident enough to make a living out of their craft. Do you think NFTs can help creators monetise well enough?

Nameet: Think of NFTs as a medium which may not be the answer today — but something you’ll unlock as an additional platform. For instance, think of musicians who aren’t at AP Dhillon’s level, but they have people who believe in their music or support their new videos or audios. So musicians now mint about 500 NFTs and when people buy them at a certain price, allowing them to produce music videos, two things are happening: people who own the NFTs also get a certain share of the royalties when the video is sold to a certain brand/studio, and fans also experience exclusive music. Lil Nas has also done this! Some Indian musicians are doing it too, and creators can experiment with this format. Even if financial collectors come in, it’s important to find a way to harness a community, going beyond just making money. Your product should be a utility. The means to monetise exist for sure though!

Thousand Faces: Can you recommend the best way to get started with NFTs?

Nameet: I recommend ****going through Open Sea’s top 100 NFT projects. Most of these projects also offer rich Discord communities, so you can join one of them and learn stuff real time.

Watch the entire conversation here. 👇

Important Read: How Russian Influencers are Struggling to Maintain Followers

The war has ensued relentless difficult times even for the Russian folks — especially to those with a voice! Content creators have been facing an onslaught of challenges with the state ban on Facebook and Google’s services. Unable to use the prominent products, influencers and creators are seeking alternatives to sustain their livelihood.

And we already know the difficulties of starting from scratch and building followers on new platforms.

We’ve stumbled upon this piece by Rest of World that explores this dilemma well. If there’s one thing you should read today, let it be this.

Russian influencers desperately scramble to maintain their followers — and livelihoods

What It Means to Be an Artist: Hayao Miyazaki

Filmmaker, founder of Studio Ghibli, and screenwriter, Hayao Miyazaki has made great anime, and along the way, inspired thousands of animators and manga artists.

👇 video by Kinda Neet explores Miyazaki’s creative process, and it’s an excellent watch.

If you haven’t watched any Ghibli movies yet, you can watch them on Netflix. From understanding the power of storytelling to learning the attention-to-detail, Miyazaki and Ghibli’s work are pure visual delight. 🍿

That’s all for now.

We’ll be back with more stories next Friday!

Until then,

Keep creating. 🎨