There are plenty exciting uses of blockchain technology, one example being what World Mobile is doing to connect the unconnected in Africa and beyond. These provide a tantalizing glimpse of how communication, financial and other services will become more broadly accessible in the years to come. However, there is always more than the simple story of technology, potential and realization. The people involved each step of the way provide an insight both towards motivations and to the dynamics that foster success. We are going to look at two of these people and how they are playing their small part in building the future.
If you are not familiar with World Mobile and the World Mobile Token (WMT), you can read a comprehensive and accessible overview of the subject that I previously wrote. In short, it is a telecommunications company bridging the digital divide in Africa that pioneered an innovative way to outsource and reward data-processing and physical aspects of infrastructure using blockchain technology.
As with all such things, the technical side sets up the potential and the human side executes it. In the case of World Mobile specifically, the system is designed to have people hosting virtual nodes that validate transactions around the world and other people hosting physical cell infrastructure on the ground make things real. They have published a great case study that expands on the physical side of deployment, and with the recent phase one distribution of WMT, it is the perfect time to take a look at who is engaging on the virtual side.
First up, meet Don Joe. He has been around the Cardano ecosystem since early 2018, with one particularly strong motive being his resonance with the Africa mission underpinning a significant amount of activity. The primary challenge he perceived was about how to deliver value from advanced blockchain technology when a large part of the target demographic don’t have the infrastructure to access and leverage it.
It was an online streaming event in early 2021 entitled the ‘Africa Special’ by IOHK, a key organization behind Cardano, that provided the missing piece. As he observed, “I found ‘IT’ - The Missing Link.” They introduced World Mobile and its mission, and while the stream was still running Don began his research. He joined community communication channels, asked a ton of questions, and liked what he saw.
Don observed that his intense engagement then and now with the World Mobile community has earned him a community reputation as “The Don Joe who never sleeps.” He has found a personal space for investment of time and resources, and he is committed to sharing his knowledge to help people understand the project, the mission, and the economy it will build.
Don, like many others, plans to be part of the early infrastructure of the expanding World Mobile arena. He sees an Earth Node (the termed used by World Mobile for the virtual transaction processing nodes) as a way to invest in and support what is happening. This type of engagement and enthusiasm is a hallmark of mission-orientated people, and nothing provides as compelling a mission as a way to help yourself and others in a productive, positive manner.
“I'm completely into it,” he notes. What is compelling is that he has done his diligence, he has applied his capital, and he knows precisely why he likes this opportunity to invest.
Don is far from alone in walking this path. Rick Middleton is our second subject of the day. Unlike Don, Rick is a relatively new entrant to the crypto space. He was involved in some pre-Bitcoin digital assets in 2005, but that was a different world and a different time. The easy optimism of the 2000s has little resemblance to the chaotic speculation of the 2013~2017 period, or the gradually maturing blockchain space of 2018 to today.
As a musician and IT manager, Rick splits his attention and skills across a broad sweep of human endeavor. This lead him to Cardano as he considered where the productive side of blockchains lay in 2021. The thoroughness and academic rigor of the technology resonated on one side, and the explicit mission to contribute positively to social development – starting in Africa – resonated on the other.
Like Don, the Africa Special hosted by IOHK served as an introduction to World Mobile, and he immediately understood how it provided a tangible way to realize potential. As he said, “I love the way the sharing economy and WMT rewards allows the community to take part and benefit from the project - as well as helping people in Africa by improving their lives with access to all the things the internet brings.”
Rick noted that since he began active engagement he has enjoyed being part of the community, a sentiment frequently expressed by people involved. Of course, Rick went above and beyond, noting his surprise and appreciation when he “was selected as one of the top five community members in May.” Around that time Cedric, a community manager, suggested that Rick use his musical skills to write a song about World Mobile. He did, and the rest – as they say – is history.
Rick, Don and others are the backbone of a warm, knowledgeable and welcoming space for people who want to invest in the emerging crypto space and to make a difference at the same time. This is neither altruism or greed, but a reflection of the growing movement of people making measured decisions designed to reward without instilling a negative cost on others.
Some narratives frame this as “Millennial” or “Gen Z” investing. However, both framings do an injustice to what is happening. Thanks to the intersection of technology, the removal of traditional geographic borders, and a change in attitude from seeing markets as a space of “winner takes all” conflict, people are empowered to make new decisions. The WMT space, as with other spaces of similar investment, represents diverse ages, ethnicity and cultures. This is one reason that it is so exciting, and why it has so much potential.
Disclaimer: I am helping to advise World Mobile on issues related to strategy, supply chains and security. I like the mission and think it can make a real difference.
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