Article by Johne Edited by Trewkat & Hiro Kennelly Cover Art by Trewkat

BanklessDAO runs a regular Writers Cohort — a four-week program for participants to increase their skills and stretch their comfort zone by writing a post every week and giving feedback to peers. This article combines two Cohort pieces into an enjoyable tour through two of the author’s favorite NFT projects. Each of these projects captures and records the current state of cryptocurrency and blockchain in a unique and good-humored way, providing timely content but also adding to the on-chain historical record.

A few months ago, I sat on a community call for Journo DAO. Journo DAO is a group of exceptional professionals looking to rethink journalism in web3. I was there to listen and personally ask if the DAO wanted to be listed on the List of DAOs, which is a project I run. I like to do things differently at List of DAOs; before adding a DAO to the list I like to talk to members and core contributors, attend meetings, and hopefully develop relationships. During the meeting, Journo DAO happened to be speaking about their NFT and mentioned an interesting project called Good Morning News.

Always watchful for DAO projects and unheard-of diamonds in the rough, I scribbled Good Morning News down in my black rocketbook and decided that I would follow up a few days later. It’s a simple process: I hear about a DAO and reach out to them. Sometimes teams will get back to me, and sometimes my email, DM, or message goes into the abyss. I forget how exactly it went down in this case, but Journo DAO was right. Good Morning News is an interesting project, which brings me to this article!

Good Morning News (GMN) can be described in six simple words as “the world’s first decentralized news organization.” I am a sucker for simplicity, and Good Morning News fits the bill. I would describe the DAO and its work as simplistic creativity with a whopping dollop of hard work and ingenuity!

This is a decentralized news organization; what does this mean? Well, as ‘pub’ (GMN’s publisher and founder) would say, let’s see how the sausage gets made.

Every day, the community (members who own a GMN NFT) submit and vote, via Snapshot, on potential topics for news articles. The story or topic with the most community votes is selected to be featured in Good Morning News. A step-by-step process then begins in Discord. The first step in that process is a request for a writer. If a writer is interested, they can “claim” the story and write about it. Stories are typically between 275–350 words. After a story is submitted, an editor cleans up the the writing. Next, a headline that correlates to the edited story is added. Lastly, a graphic to complement the article is completed.

With an edited story, headline, and image ready, the information is then published behind a token-gated website. Subscribers can mint a subscription for thirty days, and must renew that subscription upon expiration (yes, pub figured out how to beat Unlock at its game). This process happens daily, and the Good Morning team has been consistent for over 384 days and counting. 

Every good orchestra — in this case, an orchestra of news — needs a conductor. At Good Morning News, the conductor is pub. Most days, Pub expertly manages this process, keeping the team accountable and ensuring the news gets delivered on time. Remember though, this is a decentralized news organization, so the team has built in redundancy to cover for the fact that life throws curve balls. If pub can’t publish, another team member can step in, and that’s what has ensured continuity for GMN over the previous year.

Additionally, Good Morning News has its own profile pictures called Newsies. When the Newsies were released, Good Morning News gave 20% of mint proceeds back to BanklessDAO and the Writers Guild. I was happy when I received my Newsie, and it came with a coveted hairstyle. Some people on Twitter have described them as “afro”-esque. I have accepted this description and attribute it to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) or FROMO.

GMN-Newsie

Owners of the GMN Daily NFT get an updated story every day. It’s on Polygon, and at 5 MATIC per month, it is a minimal cost for a daily entertaining and informative update from the GMN team.

Furthermore, anyone can contribute to the publication. However, only NFT owners get to vote. Even better, contributors (writers, editors, designers, etc.) are paid in the native token, which is called PAPER.

I like the Good Morning News project because of the hard work and dedication of the team. This project is simplistic in that they are providing the news, yet also highly innovative in the way they are changing journalism and using dynamic NFT attributes to give value to holders. Additional benefits are that Good Morning News operates as “…an open-source framework within which anyone can create sustainable, immutable, censorship-resistant journalism.”

I have learned so much from Good Morning News, and full disclosure, I have contributed, own the NFTs, and enjoy their product. However, please don’t take my word for it. See how the sausage is made, and hopefully, like me, you will understand what a powerhouse this project is and has been for 384 days and counting.

DAOtown-By Perchy

The first NFT I purchased was called Chippi. I have to admit that before buying, I was uncertain about NFTs. “They are just jpegs that anyone else can copy and use,” or “they are scams” were some of the statements I heard from skeptics. That was until I saw a simple roadmap, a talented artist hand-drawing characters, and a community of light-hearted people who were highly supportive, passionate, and creative. It was the Chippi family.

When I told my wife I wanted to buy a Chippi for our website launch, she wasn’t sure I was of sound mind. So things were normal.

What are you buying?

A Chippi.

A what?

Two months later, she is now a Chippi convert and owns Harry, a famous Auror in Web3. Accio ETH!

Harry-By Perchy

So what are Chippi? What does it or they do? How did the project change my opinions about NFTs and win over my heart?

First, Chippi are “original, hand-drawn characters”, created by the artist, Perchy. At first glance, Chippi are simple, but ingrained within the strokes are a high level of attention to detail, thoughtfulness, uniqueness, and creativity. The drawings remind me of old-school newspaper comics and feature a rounded head that faces to the right.

Only one Chippi faces to the left, and that is Perchy’s Chippi. When asked why he was the only Chippi facing that way, Perchy noted that he created his PFP before the existence of the Chippi community and “…originally, all of the Chippi were going to be facing left like mine….” however, “…the very first person to commission a Chippi insisted that right-facing was best, bc when you post on Twitter, the PFP needs to look like it’s saying the words.” Noting this little detail, Perchy further stated that “…some people have mentioned that they like that little detail, and now it’s become a feature of the collection.”

Whether they face to the right or to the left, Chippi come in all shapes and sizes. Some Chippi are embodiments of their owners, some are personifications or “chippifications” of businesses, and others are themed after popular characters. Many more are made to tell stories and events within web3.

Who are Chippi for? The simple answer is everyone and anyone, but the original Chippi series is limited to 500! While 500 may not seem like a lot compared to other projects, Chippi are a small, tight-knit community. Chippi characters have been made for children and adults; some are stashed away for gifts or special occasions. Others have hidden messages or are part of collections. So if there are 500 Chippi, where do they all belong?

According to the Chippi roadmap, “Chippi are inhabitants of Bankless Nation.” Within that Bankless Nation are eight prominent “Bankless Locations’’ (with a ninth bonus location for committed collectors). Like Chippi, these locations are also hand-drawn NFTs. To date, six Bankless Locations have been released, including Goblin Town, DAOtown, Castle Ethereum, Mount Doge, The Citadel, and The Charts. Additionally, a macro-level view of the locations, called “The Bankless Nation”, has been released and acts as a general guide. One perk of owning a Chippi is that each Chippi is eventually showcased in one of the Bankless Locations!

The Bankless Nation by Perchy

The Bankless Locations resemble a Where’s Waldo page filled with activity and Chippi, but deeper investigation shows intricate storylines, historical contexts, hidden messages, and easter eggs. Rumor has it that in the first Bankless Location, Mount Doge, Perchy signed his name.

Mount Doge by Perchy

Castle Ethereum by Perchy

One of the best features about Chippi is the visual history and stories behind the art. For example, Castle Ethereum, a Bankless Location, provided visual interpretations of the much-awaited Ethereum Merge. The merge was a historical event in the crypto world whereby the Ethereum blockchain changed from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. In a more recent release called GoblinTown, Bankless Location #6, Perchy highlights the dreaded 2022 bear market happenings, noting that “I worked for 3 months to document the Luna crash and the ensuing chaos in the crypto world in this piece.”

Goblin Town-By Perchy

It’s not just the Bankless locations though. Let’s take Patsy for example. A nod toward the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s Patsy, Perchy took a character and put a web3 spin on it. Those with a keen eye can locate Patsy in Castle Ethereum following his noble lord, King Solidity. Clapping his coconuts, he is described to be carrying bags of worthless cryptocurrencies in search of the one Holy Grail that will send him to the moon.

Patsy-By Perchy-” Bravely carrying these bags through the Bear Market.”
Animation by @Cy00t

I got involved in Chippi because of the simplistic creativity. I love projects that are unique, simple to understand, and have the potential to help others learn about the web3 space — Chippi checks all of those boxes and then some.

During releases of Bankless Locations, potential owners can scoop up a Chippi character. Or people can request a custom Chippi made by Perchy. Additional benefits include access to an NFT-gated Chippi Discord. Here, verified owners of Chippi can see behind-the-scenes drawings, receive discounts on future releases, and participate in creative giveaways.

As of this writing, the Chippi community consists of more than 242 owners, and 367 Chippi have been made. One difference I see with Chippi and other projects is that there aren’t many for sale. On OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, only seven Chippi are listed for sale, with a floor price of around .3 ETH or approximately $350. Why do I love these numbers?

I love them because it shows value and love for the project! People aren’t buying these NFTs to flip them; they are buying them because they love them, and when something is led with love, there is almost nothing that can stop it.

While simple in design, the Chippi project is filled with layers: layers of love, layers of detail, and layers of passion. In a word, it is art, and those cherishing that art are not giving it up or selling it because they know what a true rarity the project and that feeling are.

To learn more about Good Morning News, head to the Discord and say GM, or visit the website to mint a subscription and check out the GMN Daily: https://www.goodmorningnews.club/.

To learn more about Chippi, look at the project’s Twitter @chippiNFT. The community is active within both the BanklessDAO and Chippi Discords.

Bios

Author

Johne is a co-founder of The Decentralist.com, a one-stop shop for decentralized resources. It includes resources such as the List of DAOs, List of NFTs, Web3 Book Club, and the Decentralized Diary. Visit our website at www.DecentraList.com or follow us on Twitter @decentra_list.

Editors

Trewkat is a writer and editor at BanklessDAO. She’s interested in learning as much as possible about crypto and NFTs, with a particular focus on how best to communicate this knowledge to others.

Hiro Kennelly is a writer, editor, and coordinator at BanklessDAO and the Editor-in-Chief at Good Morning News. He is also helping to build a grants-focused organization at DAOpunks.

Designer

Trewkat is a writer and editor at BanklessDAO. She’s interested in learning as much as possible about crypto and NFTs, with a particular focus on how best to communicate this knowledge to others.

BanklessDAO is an education and media engine dedicated to helping individuals achieve financial independence.

Bankless Publishing is always accepting submissions for publication. We’d love to read your work, so please submit your article here!

This post does not contain financial advice, only educational information. By reading this article, you agree and affirm the above, as well as that you are not being solicited to make a financial decision, and that you in no way are receiving any fiduciary projection, promise, or tacit inference of your ability to achieve financial gains.

More Like This

The 101 on NFTs, A Briefing by Lanz

A Beginner-Friendly Approach on How to Evaluate NFTs by Marc Bisbal Arias

Why #NFA #DYOR Doesn’t Cut It by lawpanda

Article by Johne Edited by Trewkat & Hiro Kennelly Cover Art by Trewkat

BanklessDAO runs a regular Writers Cohort — a four-week program for participants to increase their skills and stretch their comfort zone by writing a post every week and giving feedback to peers. This article combines two Cohort pieces into an enjoyable tour through two of the author’s favorite NFT projects. Each of these projects captures and records the current state of cryptocurrency and blockchain in a unique and good-humored way, providing timely content but also adding to the on-chain historical record.

A few months ago, I sat on a community call for Journo DAO. Journo DAO is a group of exceptional professionals looking to rethink journalism in web3. I was there to listen and personally ask if the DAO wanted to be listed on the List of DAOs, which is a project I run. I like to do things differently at List of DAOs; before adding a DAO to the list I like to talk to members and core contributors, attend meetings, and hopefully develop relationships. During the meeting, Journo DAO happened to be speaking about their NFT and mentioned an interesting project called Good Morning News.

Always watchful for DAO projects and unheard-of diamonds in the rough, I scribbled Good Morning News down in my black rocketbook and decided that I would follow up a few days later. It’s a simple process: I hear about a DAO and reach out to them. Sometimes teams will get back to me, and sometimes my email, DM, or message goes into the abyss. I forget how exactly it went down in this case, but Journo DAO was right. Good Morning News is an interesting project, which brings me to this article!

Good Morning News (GMN) can be described in six simple words as “the world’s first decentralized news organization.” I am a sucker for simplicity, and Good Morning News fits the bill. I would describe the DAO and its work as simplistic creativity with a whopping dollop of hard work and ingenuity!

This is a decentralized news organization; what does this mean? Well, as ‘pub’ (GMN’s publisher and founder) would say, let’s see how the sausage gets made.

Every day, the community (members who own a GMN NFT) submit and vote, via Snapshot, on potential topics for news articles. The story or topic with the most community votes is selected to be featured in Good Morning News. A step-by-step process then begins in Discord. The first step in that process is a request for a writer. If a writer is interested, they can “claim” the story and write about it. Stories are typically between 275–350 words. After a story is submitted, an editor cleans up the the writing. Next, a headline that correlates to the edited story is added. Lastly, a graphic to complement the article is completed.

With an edited story, headline, and image ready, the information is then published behind a token-gated website. Subscribers can mint a subscription for thirty days, and must renew that subscription upon expiration (yes, pub figured out how to beat Unlock at its game). This process happens daily, and the Good Morning team has been consistent for over 384 days and counting. 

Every good orchestra — in this case, an orchestra of news — needs a conductor. At Good Morning News, the conductor is pub. Most days, Pub expertly manages this process, keeping the team accountable and ensuring the news gets delivered on time. Remember though, this is a decentralized news organization, so the team has built in redundancy to cover for the fact that life throws curve balls. If pub can’t publish, another team member can step in, and that’s what has ensured continuity for GMN over the previous year.

Additionally, Good Morning News has its own profile pictures called Newsies. When the Newsies were released, Good Morning News gave 20% of mint proceeds back to BanklessDAO and the Writers Guild. I was happy when I received my Newsie, and it came with a coveted hairstyle. Some people on Twitter have described them as “afro”-esque. I have accepted this description and attribute it to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) or FROMO.

GMN-Newsie

Owners of the GMN Daily NFT get an updated story every day. It’s on Polygon, and at 5 MATIC per month, it is a minimal cost for a daily entertaining and informative update from the GMN team.

Furthermore, anyone can contribute to the publication. However, only NFT owners get to vote. Even better, contributors (writers, editors, designers, etc.) are paid in the native token, which is called PAPER.

I like the Good Morning News project because of the hard work and dedication of the team. This project is simplistic in that they are providing the news, yet also highly innovative in the way they are changing journalism and using dynamic NFT attributes to give value to holders. Additional benefits are that Good Morning News operates as “…an open-source framework within which anyone can create sustainable, immutable, censorship-resistant journalism.”

I have learned so much from Good Morning News, and full disclosure, I have contributed, own the NFTs, and enjoy their product. However, please don’t take my word for it. See how the sausage is made, and hopefully, like me, you will understand what a powerhouse this project is and has been for 384 days and counting.

DAOtown-By Perchy

The first NFT I purchased was called Chippi. I have to admit that before buying, I was uncertain about NFTs. “They are just jpegs that anyone else can copy and use,” or “they are scams” were some of the statements I heard from skeptics. That was until I saw a simple roadmap, a talented artist hand-drawing characters, and a community of light-hearted people who were highly supportive, passionate, and creative. It was the Chippi family.

When I told my wife I wanted to buy a Chippi for our website launch, she wasn’t sure I was of sound mind. So things were normal.

What are you buying?

A Chippi.

A what?

Two months later, she is now a Chippi convert and owns Harry, a famous Auror in Web3. Accio ETH!

Harry-By Perchy

So what are Chippi? What does it or they do? How did the project change my opinions about NFTs and win over my heart?

First, Chippi are “original, hand-drawn characters”, created by the artist, Perchy. At first glance, Chippi are simple, but ingrained within the strokes are a high level of attention to detail, thoughtfulness, uniqueness, and creativity. The drawings remind me of old-school newspaper comics and feature a rounded head that faces to the right.

Only one Chippi faces to the left, and that is Perchy’s Chippi. When asked why he was the only Chippi facing that way, Perchy noted that he created his PFP before the existence of the Chippi community and “…originally, all of the Chippi were going to be facing left like mine….” however, “…the very first person to commission a Chippi insisted that right-facing was best, bc when you post on Twitter, the PFP needs to look like it’s saying the words.” Noting this little detail, Perchy further stated that “…some people have mentioned that they like that little detail, and now it’s become a feature of the collection.”

Whether they face to the right or to the left, Chippi come in all shapes and sizes. Some Chippi are embodiments of their owners, some are personifications or “chippifications” of businesses, and others are themed after popular characters. Many more are made to tell stories and events within web3.

Who are Chippi for? The simple answer is everyone and anyone, but the original Chippi series is limited to 500! While 500 may not seem like a lot compared to other projects, Chippi are a small, tight-knit community. Chippi characters have been made for children and adults; some are stashed away for gifts or special occasions. Others have hidden messages or are part of collections. So if there are 500 Chippi, where do they all belong?

According to the Chippi roadmap, “Chippi are inhabitants of Bankless Nation.” Within that Bankless Nation are eight prominent “Bankless Locations’’ (with a ninth bonus location for committed collectors). Like Chippi, these locations are also hand-drawn NFTs. To date, six Bankless Locations have been released, including Goblin Town, DAOtown, Castle Ethereum, Mount Doge, The Citadel, and The Charts. Additionally, a macro-level view of the locations, called “The Bankless Nation”, has been released and acts as a general guide. One perk of owning a Chippi is that each Chippi is eventually showcased in one of the Bankless Locations!

The Bankless Nation by Perchy

The Bankless Locations resemble a Where’s Waldo page filled with activity and Chippi, but deeper investigation shows intricate storylines, historical contexts, hidden messages, and easter eggs. Rumor has it that in the first Bankless Location, Mount Doge, Perchy signed his name.

Mount Doge by Perchy

Castle Ethereum by Perchy

One of the best features about Chippi is the visual history and stories behind the art. For example, Castle Ethereum, a Bankless Location, provided visual interpretations of the much-awaited Ethereum Merge. The merge was a historical event in the crypto world whereby the Ethereum blockchain changed from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. In a more recent release called GoblinTown, Bankless Location #6, Perchy highlights the dreaded 2022 bear market happenings, noting that “I worked for 3 months to document the Luna crash and the ensuing chaos in the crypto world in this piece.”

Goblin Town-By Perchy

It’s not just the Bankless locations though. Let’s take Patsy for example. A nod toward the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s Patsy, Perchy took a character and put a web3 spin on it. Those with a keen eye can locate Patsy in Castle Ethereum following his noble lord, King Solidity. Clapping his coconuts, he is described to be carrying bags of worthless cryptocurrencies in search of the one Holy Grail that will send him to the moon.

Patsy-By Perchy-” Bravely carrying these bags through the Bear Market.”
Animation by @Cy00t

I got involved in Chippi because of the simplistic creativity. I love projects that are unique, simple to understand, and have the potential to help others learn about the web3 space — Chippi checks all of those boxes and then some.

During releases of Bankless Locations, potential owners can scoop up a Chippi character. Or people can request a custom Chippi made by Perchy. Additional benefits include access to an NFT-gated Chippi Discord. Here, verified owners of Chippi can see behind-the-scenes drawings, receive discounts on future releases, and participate in creative giveaways.

As of this writing, the Chippi community consists of more than 242 owners, and 367 Chippi have been made. One difference I see with Chippi and other projects is that there aren’t many for sale. On OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, only seven Chippi are listed for sale, with a floor price of around .3 ETH or approximately $350. Why do I love these numbers?

I love them because it shows value and love for the project! People aren’t buying these NFTs to flip them; they are buying them because they love them, and when something is led with love, there is almost nothing that can stop it.

While simple in design, the Chippi project is filled with layers: layers of love, layers of detail, and layers of passion. In a word, it is art, and those cherishing that art are not giving it up or selling it because they know what a true rarity the project and that feeling are.

To learn more about Good Morning News, head to the Discord and say GM, or visit the website to mint a subscription and check out the GMN Daily: https://www.goodmorningnews.club/.

To learn more about Chippi, look at the project’s Twitter @chippiNFT. The community is active within both the BanklessDAO and Chippi Discords.

Bios

Author

Johne is a co-founder of The Decentralist.com, a one-stop shop for decentralized resources. It includes resources such as the List of DAOs, List of NFTs, Web3 Book Club, and the Decentralized Diary. Visit our website at www.DecentraList.com or follow us on Twitter @decentra_list.

Editors

Trewkat is a writer and editor at BanklessDAO. She’s interested in learning as much as possible about crypto and NFTs, with a particular focus on how best to communicate this knowledge to others.

Hiro Kennelly is a writer, editor, and coordinator at BanklessDAO and the Editor-in-Chief at Good Morning News. He is also helping to build a grants-focused organization at DAOpunks.

Designer

Trewkat is a writer and editor at BanklessDAO. She’s interested in learning as much as possible about crypto and NFTs, with a particular focus on how best to communicate this knowledge to others.

BanklessDAO is an education and media engine dedicated to helping individuals achieve financial independence.

Bankless Publishing is always accepting submissions for publication. We’d love to read your work, so please submit your article here!

This post does not contain financial advice, only educational information. By reading this article, you agree and affirm the above, as well as that you are not being solicited to make a financial decision, and that you in no way are receiving any fiduciary projection, promise, or tacit inference of your ability to achieve financial gains.

More Like This

The 101 on NFTs, A Briefing by Lanz

A Beginner-Friendly Approach on How to Evaluate NFTs by Marc Bisbal Arias

Why #NFA #DYOR Doesn’t Cut It by lawpanda