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Why I Joined Block

Why I Joined Block

I’m known in tech for Java development, software testing, and public speaking. So you may be wondering what brings me to Block‘s decentralized finance division as Vice President of Developer Relations. Oooh, I’m so glad you asked! Let me share some fun, little known facts about my journey in tech thus far and why I’m super excited about this next adventure.

 

 

Since the early 2000s, I’ve run an online fashion game, Diva Chix. It’s an everyday occurrence for players to buy digital clothing for hundreds of US dollars. These clothes are simply a collection of png files. But within the context of the game, these files are extremely valuable. Enough so, that it isn’t uncommon for a player to spend thousands of dollars a month on these files. As many are scratching their heads about NFTs, I’m thinking of my customers – none of whom are misguided by the new NFT hype. In fact, they were purchasing these digital artifacts long before any of us ever heard of the term NFT.

 

Diva Chix outfit sold for $225 USD

Diva Chix outfit sold for $225 USD

 

For decades, people have spent money on collectibles such as baseball cards, stamps, dolls, etc. We’re living in the era of digital transformation, so it’s not a far leap for people to now have interests in digital collectibles.

I remember the popularity of Second Life, a metaverse that is essentially a virtual world. In there, we customized our avatars, purchased land and property, and teleported to any place in the metaverse via a simple mouse click. This place had it all! Conferences, entertainment, e-commerce…you name it. I watched real life businesses flock to Second Life and set up virtual store fronts. I witnessed companies throw events and conferences in Second Life to reach a broader audience. I saw individuals become quite successful with the in-world currency, Linden Dollars, and I saw currency exchange businesses form to enable users to convert their Linden Dollars to their local real world currency. What I saw most was opportunity. As an inventor, this new world was flooded with problems that needed solutions. So, I began to invent them. In fact, I even invented time travel…in the metaverse.

Here are 20 of my metaverse inventions:

See more

 

This is why I’m very intrigued by the prevalence of blockchain technologies and how decentralization, cryptocurrency, NFTs, and metaverses all tie together to create new possibilities. I don’t own any cryptocurrency or NFTs, so this move is not motivated by protecting or advancing any personal investments. These are concepts I’ve been thinking about for well over a decade (although not by their current names or tech stack). While some may feel that these are nothing more than hype, I have to disagree. With mega tech companies, such as Facebook, rebranding and changing their strategy, and major financial institutions, such as Visa, building products and services for cryptocurrency, this is a clear signal. It’s inevitable. In fact, it’s already here.

Because this space is new for many, useful practical applications may not be apparent. As folks are learning, they are stumbling and making what appears to be catastrophic mistakes. From a technological perspective, there are lots and lots of holes.

To be honest, the crypto world is kind of the Wild Wild West right now and it’s terrifying. The hype is preceding the knowledge and that’s a problem. I believe this lack of knowledge along with misinformation, bad actors, and the sheer pace of change is intimidating to many and alarming to even more. I hear you, and your concerns are valid.

As an innovator, I choose not to sit by on the sidelines and watch this new era unfold as I complain about the problems and potential for disaster. Instead, I’m rolling up my sleeves and joining Block to solve some of the major challenges with decentralization, specifically as it pertains to finance.

In my role as VP, I plan to dive deep into the challenges of decentralized finance, share my learnings with the community (as I’ve done in this Crypto 101 primer), and work with the community to help shape this evolution into a space where anyone can participate and benefit from blockchain innovation in an informed, and therefore, safer and responsible way should they choose to.

We’re building an open source protocol to provide a framework for secure and inclusive decentralized exchange (which will include decentralized identity, verifiable credentials, and social trust). There are lots of problems to solve… which is both challenging and also very exciting. I invite you to join the ride!

Angie Jones
17 Comments
  • Aditya Baraskar

    Best Luck Angie!!

    December 20, 2021 at 9:43 am Reply
  • Dikatso

    Great read! Congrats Angie!

    December 20, 2021 at 1:24 pm Reply
  • Chris Kenst

    Good luck and best wishes Angie. I can’t wait to see how you deal with that knowledge gap.

    December 20, 2021 at 1:41 pm Reply
  • Stacey Graham

    I just started learning more about crypto, NFTs, and blockchain and I’m excited for you and can’t wait to hear more about what you are working on! Congrats!

    December 20, 2021 at 2:06 pm Reply
  • Carolyn K Jones

    CONGRATULATIONS ANGIE! I Read Your Article and Understood Almost Every Word. Your Process Continues To Make Room for The Intrigued Learner. Thank You. GOD BLESS and Continue Your Astronomical ‘✈’ Soaring.

    December 20, 2021 at 5:58 pm Reply
  • Durgesh

    All the best Angie.

    December 20, 2021 at 6:27 pm Reply
  • Martyn Smart

    All the best Angie!

    Your article was amazing & well explain!!! I’m new to all this, so will be looking to learn more and your articles are a great place for me to start!

    I look forward to the things you’ll bring in the future!

    December 20, 2021 at 6:56 pm Reply
  • Akanksha S

    Congratulations Angie!!!!

    December 20, 2021 at 7:27 pm Reply
  • Genesis thomas

    All the best Angie!

    December 20, 2021 at 8:19 pm Reply
  • Romain Jourdan

    Sounds exciting, a brave new world! All the best in this adventure Angie! I will follow your adventures.

    December 21, 2021 at 8:53 pm Reply
  • MICHAEL A ROBARDS

    Congratulations!

    December 22, 2021 at 3:50 am Reply
  • Sabrina Koumoin

    Congratulations Angie, this is super exciting! Looking forward to reading your next articles

    December 27, 2021 at 4:24 pm Reply
  • Rick Pack

    Thank you for typing an easily read blogpost that helped me better understand crypto and NFTs, inclusive of a timeline that goes further back than other material I have read. Congratulations for your leadership role at Block and thank you for working towards a more pleasant future inclusive of cryptocurrencies.

    December 28, 2021 at 7:07 am Reply
  • Dan Sellers

    Great read. I am looking to get into the crypto industry myself when my current project is up. I am excited about the potential it holds and hope to become an automation tester for one of the bigger exchanges! Thanks for all you do.

    January 12, 2022 at 7:17 pm Reply
  • Theresa Secore

    Blockchain technology is an exciting field for sure! I’m currently studying up on it. NFT technology is also super interesting as well. I’m also super stoked on VR innovations, felt like it’s been stymied for a long time. I’m super excited for you! I’m sure you’ll be kicking-arse in this field – perhaps one day I’ll get to work with you.

    January 13, 2022 at 1:57 pm Reply
  • Matt Kerr

    The irony of decentralized platforms is that it takes centralization to popularize them. Web 2 would not have been a thing without social media platforms, rich email and document editing, and a variety of management tools for cloud products. We are already seeing (poorly made) attempts at this with OpenSea, etc.

    Unity3D is also looking into this space, but it’s far too early to have any real applications towards games in a way that users are asking for.

    January 24, 2022 at 6:59 am Reply
  • Aanyaa Sharma

    Hello, I loved your content and I like to read your blogs. I used to find them very useful. It use to contain very informational knowledge. Thank you for sharing with us. I am glad that I came to read this.

    July 20, 2022 at 10:36 am Reply

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