Chapter 1: Celebrating Our Success

Greetings! I’m thrilled to share that we have successfully sold all our "Eyes." This innovative collectible serves as an interactive on-chain media piece, designed to serialize curated fantasy narratives inspired by Loot. You can find a summary of our journey in issue 239.

To build on this momentum, I’m directing approximately $150,000 toward writers interested in crafting fantasy tales with a touch of web3. This initiative will foster a supportive and safe environment for collaborative worldbuilding, allowing participants to explore the intricacies of on-chain media. You can think of it as a grant program that merges a fellowship, think tank, and lab for both emerging and established writers. I will take on the roles of editor and producer. This approach is somewhat aligned with the strategy I’m developing for the NewCo I am in the process of creating. More on that later.

If you’re a writer, agent, potential creative collaborator, or simply passionate about genre worldbuilding and have great ideas—don’t hesitate to reach out. You can reply directly to this email or contact me at [email protected] (this is a placeholder name). I have some exciting plans in motion—while I can’t disclose all the details yet, I’m committed to making a positive impact and establishing new standards in this field. I’m looking forward to this adventure; it promises to be a blast!

I’m currently consulting with a few intellectual property lawyers to help pioneer a new media category. Recommendations are welcome! Our goal is to secure non-exclusive on-chain digital publishing rights indefinitely—this is crucial for sharing stories through The Eye, as dictated by how blockchain operates.

Web3 Worlding. I also mentioned a raffle giveaway earlier. I’m feeling quite generous, akin to Oprah! If you provided your wallet address in the last couple of weeks, I’ll be sending you an Eye. It’s important to recognize that these generous acts are commonplace in this space; all you need to do is engage. I learned this lesson the hard way.

I plan to make these transfers in the coming days after "the merge," as gas fees (think wire transfer costs) will be significantly reduced on the Ethereum blockchain. This change also addresses the environmental concerns associated with this technology. Interestingly, it seems I’ll be giving away more “money” than I’ve generated through this newsletter. That’s perfectly fine—it has always been a passion project done in my spare time.

With that said, significant changes are on the horizon for this newsletter. The extensive nature of my link digest is becoming overwhelming, especially with the current weekly schedule. My plate is full with numerous projects, and more are on the way.

I believe if I dedicated my time to crafting a well-thought-out op-ed or essay, I could contribute regularly to a legitimate publication (if you’re reading this, feel free to reach out). Be warned: my style tends to be a bit staccato. I had anticipated this journey would open up more opportunities, but it hasn’t played out that way. My goal is to reach the milestone of 250 issues as a five-year celebration. After that, I’ll focus on publishing with intention.

Curtain Call ~ Next, I intended to delve into the themes of style, spectacle, and substance concerning new creative systems (like AI and blockchain) and their influence on the creative process and outcomes. In summary, while changes are inevitable, they do not occur overnight. The flood of developments can feel overwhelming; it’s a continuous stream of significant transformations. Remember, these are merely tools. Evaluate everything from the perspective of media production and its commercial, creative, and critical potential. Ultimately, one aspect usually serves the others. After all, this is an industry.

I’ll strive to elaborate more on these trends in the next issue; this email is already quite lengthy and might get truncated by your email provider.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. Entertainment as an umbrella. See you next week!

Chapter 2: Recent Developments in Tech and Entertainment

In this video, we take a closer look at Issue 240 of Simply Cards and Papercraft, exploring its unique offerings and what makes it a standout in the world of interactive media.

Here, we delve into the Sonic the Hedgehog Comic Issue #240, discussing its significance in the franchise and the creative decisions behind it.