Carlos Gomes, Founder of Forefront at ETH Denver · Social Tokens, Community & URL to IRL

0:00Booyah. Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of We Them Niggas. Today we’re out here at ETH Denver, 2024, the year of the Buffacorn or something like that. And we’re here with Carlos. Carlos, an OG DAO fanatic is the description he just gave to me. You want to introduce yourself, Carlos? Yeah, so my name is Carlos. I’m from Cape Verde Islands, currently based in New York. I’m a founder of a company called Forefront. I see ourselves as a product, on-chain product studio. So we do a lot of experimenting in media and social graph into like the world of on-chain world. Yeah. Very cool. And this is your first crypto conference, you said to me? Your first conference?

0:39Yeah, yeah. Ever. Ever. And how’s the conference been? How’s the vibe been? Yeah, so it’s very interesting because I’ve been in space for a while and one, it’s weird because like most of my friends are actually like online friends, like people that I work with every day, people that I’ve come across in my journey and I made a mission so like I make it to a crypto conference so I can meet most of those friends and just the bond that just meeting them in real life that we have is just for me is the best part of it. Yeah, and that’s like individual people, like person, people that I talk to every day, but also communities, right? So, yeah, it’s been amazing. Like, yeah.

1:21I’m happy to hear that. And when you look at, I know you were talking a little before the interview about how community is so important to you. How do you see like community and crypto being related? I feel like for a lot of people, they think of crypto or this technology. It’s like, oh, this is money stuff. Like, is that the Bitcoin or the Dogecoin? Like, I feel like they don’t really have like, they don’t see meaningful social relationships being formed around this technology. Yeah, so communities are keys to internet for a very long time. You look at Reddit, you look at Facebook, you look at all social medias. Being able to be part of a group that share the same vision as you has been always something very important people find dearly.

2:02And now we have Web3, right? That can sort of like create a better and a safer way for us to connect online, right? There is a world where like social and financially sort of like merging with crypto So people are not only there sort of like, you know, jamming and making friends and doing awesome things, you know, together They also can be part of like a potential upside, right? They can contribute sort of like, you know, collect things online as a group They can sort of like, you know, change the world like in a way that they see fit using like crypto rails in terms of like the financial rails as well

2:40And, you know, in a world where like attention is pretty much everything, right? Just building meaningful connection, it’s what matters at the end of the day, at least for me Obviously, this isn’t possible without having proper infrastructure for crypto to sort of flourish for adoption But I think culture and community are arguably one of the most important, it’s like what brings soul to everything we’re doing Yeah, I feel like, I would absolutely agree, I feel like my getting into the space was entirely like, I feel like it was way more fluid because I was in a Web3 community like whether my roommate got me in a shark down at one point and they just being in the discord middle to ask questions was helpful and then going to water and music which i shared with you earlier about i feel like being in space where people are already in the know and kind of happy to you i feel there’s a culture almost of teaching as you go in crypto yep and i think it’s like like finding communities where that culture can contribute to me and where i can contribute as well i think it’s really uh made a huge difference for me and getting to where i am even like being here doing this yeah shout out to fwb for people you know supporting the project and giving us money to be out here yeah shout out fwb like it’s an og

3:45Yeah, and I’m really curious to hear about what communities were core in your Web3 journey so far and what do you feel like you take from those communities into how you approach looking at what the future of the space should look like and can look like Yeah, I think crypto is very new and it’s a weird place, there’s a lot of buzzwords going around, but I think the core of it is just people that are truly excited about the innovation that this technology can bring And for me specifically, the early days of social tokens was like, you know, one of the most interesting, you know, part of my journey, right?

4:26So describe the early days of social tokens, like for people that don’t know what that is or like what that looks like, what is a social token? Yeah, right. So social tokens are like type of creator tokens or like, you know, some sort of like utility token that you can sort of like use to enable some sort of interaction with your friends or people that, you know, community you’re part of. So for me specifically, I’ve always been a creator. I build stuff that I want to see in the world. I do a lot of experiments. And I wanted to find a way that I could incentivize people to give me feedback and even use the product I was building.

5:01So I came across a platform called Roll. They had this idea of you could mint a creator token. I was immediately hooked. I wanted to have my own social tokens and just give it out to people that use the product. Like the most like I ship something and you use it you get rewarded for using the product That was just me sort of like diving into the space trying to understand uh and then I sort of like met other people that were doing the same thing right so like Brian Flynn from Rabbit Hole he had his own social tokens around writing he is sort of like articulating

5:34you know trends and predictions that he sees and he wanted to sort of like experiment that end as Alex Masmesh from Showtime, now Dracula had his own show token as well. So we came together to form a group called Seed Club to sort of like figure out like what’s the best standard and way to sort of like experiment with this new technology, this new sort of like idea, right? And that by far was one of the most interesting experiments because it was just very fun. It was very like, you know, going to the blind and see what works, what doesn’t work. And, you know, those people end up, you know,

6:09Everyone, one of us end up building their own vision of the future, which is the most exciting part. Yeah, that’s cool. And so like, like, so how involved are you now in SeedClub? And like, for people who don’t know even what SeedClub is, what is SeedClub? Yeah, well SeedClub came up with this idea of like, what’s the best way to sort of like, launch social token, to sort of like, build utility around it and figure out what’s the best way to do it. Standard. So it sort of emerged as an early incubator, right? So we see what we used to call like Web3Y Combinator, so it was an early incubator for experiments around that, which is now like social crypto, which is like consumer crypto, so I was early involved in that, then sort of like moved into other experiments as well, but yeah, so like I think if you are in consumer crypto, if you’re interested in Web3Social, you should definitely check like CityClub, they’re incubating a lot of interesting products,

7:08products. And then I went up funding the company called Forefront as well that we sort of like really if you go to our website, Forefront.Market, you can see like what I call like archive of like sort of like exploration, right? So you have articles written by like, you know, Cooper Tupper, for example, you know, early adopters of technology about like what the future would It looked like for social tokens. And this was back in 2019. So did my own experiment on that end as well. But yeah, yes, it’s been fun. And what’s top of mind right now for Forefront? Like what is like the 2024 look like for you? What’s your focus?

7:48Yeah, yeah, I think like, probably like, yeah, just being honest with where the space is today. I think how we evolved as a brand, how we sort of like explore it, literally the forefront of this new innovation. We always struggle with distribution I think that was one of the biggest problems with Forefront We wanted to ship products But we got as much feedback as possible They had some sort of loop into that as well And I’m excited to explore this idea of just building products on top of social And that social is, I’m extremely excited about Farcaster Because it provides a distribution platform that we’ve never had before to experiment with

8:32But, you know, probably the most interesting thing about Farcast is really social graph. How can you build on top of what’s happening there without sort of like, you know, building your own distribution channel, right? And then, you know, eventually sort of like making meaningful, you know, connection between internet friends and building clients and protocols and product that actually, you know, is useful. people are using them and it’s sort of like fixing some of the real-life problems I would say. How do you think about social impact in this space? How does it pertain to our politics, how does it pertain to the quality of life? I guess outside of consumer crypto,

9:11outside of our consumerism, what do you think is compelling about this space for you personally? Yeah, right. So we all know the issues with social media in terms of ownership of the value that you create. So I always believe in that future that you should be rewarded for, you know, for what you put in the world. The energy you put back in the world, it should come back to you eventually. So, I mean, a common issue is like, you know, on Instagram, on TikTok, you have people, you know, but for some reason for their own policy getting banned. They built, they built sort of like their distribution graph there. They built a community there and then like just

9:56You know, for some reason, Instagram, they have all the power to take that away, right? So I’m excited about like crypto providing new sets of tools, allows those creators to sort of like own their graph, incentivize their community, distribute ownership of the value the community creates for them. Yeah, I think that’s definitely a different, a better world where, yeah, we sort of like retain the value we create in the world. and I think crypto provides a tool to do that and we’re so early obviously, a lot to figure out, it’s not perfect, but yeah, that’s one part of just being in a journey is very fulfilling as well, just innovating at the forefront of what’s happening.

10:42Yeah, it’s the name, Forefront. Yeah, yeah, I keep going back. Yeah, well, yeah, that’s the goal for sure. Yeah, and I think it’s important, you know, because even as I look at this project, We Them Media, like I feel like something I recognize that in the US, I don’t really see like black owned media companies. Of course Focused on politics or just like quality of life and the concerns and interests and so I feel like when it comes to things like the presidential election you see like like people are talking to us but they’re not like talking to us like about our existing concerns and interests.

11:07And so I’m really interested in like using this platform as a way to like explore what those things are and how Web3 can pertain to them. And really not just that you know but really looking going back out of Web3 into like the social world work you know social social work world. You Know How Do Nonprofits Pertain To Us Even Looking At Like GetCoin Like This Whole Public Decentralized Conversation Yes I Think All That Stuff Super Exciting To Me And Ideally We’re Also On The Forefront So I’m Excited To Have Done This Interview With You And Look Forward To Having You Back To Time In The Future

11:35Yeah For Sure For Sure And I Appreciate Like The Time Obviously And It’s Amazing To Have Like You Know People With Conviction And Actually Doing The Work And Yeah Like I’m Very Bullish and what you’re doing, obviously, and if there is any way that I can help along the journey as well. Because in the end of the day, it’s just about the journey, right? Yeah, yeah. It’s learn as much as you can and figure out things together as a community. I think it’s extremely important. And I feel it very, very much because I come from a small nation, right? And we don’t have a crypto presence yet.

12:11So most of the time when I’m building something new, it feels very like I’m on my own, so to speak, right? But I’m happy to see like more people get involved and people like you know from nations are not you know you know developed that have access all to finance and things like that so yeah I appreciate the time obviously and we should bet best of luck with your adventure I appreciate that and I guess a question I wanted to ask was in this vein of you talking about Cape Verde like how do you see yourself getting back to Cape Verde or looking at like like trying to bring people into this space or increase awareness like what does that look like for you?

12:47Yeah, so I actually have a plan, a project that I’m working right now. It’s called ETH Cape Verde. I want to organize a conference of Ethereum conference in Cape Verde. Yeah, so that’s the idea. And I think the best way that... Alpha. Yeah, that’s Alpha right there. We do have a Twitter account, so you want to check it out. So I’m working with Cape Verde government, digital economy department to sort of like bring Ethereum there. And the way we’re thinking about it is just get exposure to, you know, the developer ecosystem, right? So we want more developers to play with this technology, to build solutions for us, that

13:23works for us, right? And the way to do it is just bring the conversation there. And I’m excited about Cape Verde because geographically we’re very well positioned. You know, it’s funny because like the reason why this is my first time in a crypto conference is because I used to live in China for a very long time. There Was Always An Issue With Getting The Visa To Go To Countries Where Conversations Were Happening About Crypto And I Feel Like It Is Time For Us To Decentralize That Access To Conversation And This Is The Goal Just Bring Conference And Open The Doors For More Community To Get Involved So That’s One Project I’m Excited About That Involves Directly With Crypto In Cape Verde Just Solutions Around That

14:09Oh, I got that. You’re saying you want to do a conference there. I think that’s brilliant. I agree. I went to Oasis on-chain last month in Nassau in January. I thought that was super dope to see local people. They were thinking about technology and I realized I’m part of their crypto journey now. I’m just kind of here on my own journey. I think it’s cool to see how things overlap. I’m just looking forward to your conference. I’ll definitely be there. Yeah, no, it’s interesting because so I was in Cape Verde for a while now, like after moving to China for four or five months or so. And most of my conversations actually are with high school students about crypto. And I think like, you know, the way crypto exposed me to other adjacent areas is something that I find fascinating, right?

14:58So I start thinking about privacy, about finance, about what is really money, and all this, you know, cryptology, all these sort of things that make crypto what it is today. So, yeah, trying to bring conversations to young people as well, I think is extremely important. And it’s a work as well that I’m excited to do back home, even though I don’t live there, you know, there is a platform that I can make sure it’s reaching to those communities. Yeah, and I think, you know, young people, they’re trying to figure out what their whole lives is going to look like, you know, you have to make money, you have to get a job, like, where do I want to work? And I think, like you were saying, community, I think, is such a core component in Web3, and I feel like in so many work environments, that’s not the case. Like, you know, how you actually feel is like, like, not the most significant thing. Yeah, yeah. I feel like, like, Web3 is more vibe-centric, and like, when I say that, I feel like it’s more like, there is a sentiment that like, the sentiments matter. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We had the saying in DAO for a very long time, where it’s like, 2021 was, was the year of a DAO, like, we all

15:55I always picture a feature where like everything is a DAO right and then we had a problem like people you say like you know DAOs are basically running on vibes right and it was such a negative thing to say it’s like but I think there’s a word now where we do have like technology to onboard the next you know set of users web3 right and I think I think vibes 50% of it right it’s like build something people want right it’s useful product that solves real life a specific set of problems, but also incorporate the culture, the community, the vibes, and without that it’s just technology sort of solution. Anyone can build that, right? So how do we think about, and diversity is extremely important when you try to see that future, right?

16:42Yeah, yeah, yeah, so we need everything that, you know, sort of like different perspective to make it a place that it’s feel more like welcome, but also it’s not biased towards specific things, right? So yeah, I’m excited. Definitely community, definitely culture, but also I think it’s important to build great products too. Yeah, I absolutely agree. Well, once again, I really appreciate you joining us, bringing your expertise to my team, bringing your stories to our community. And yeah, I hope you have a wonderful rest in Denver. If you have any final words, you want to shout out like soul swing, like that, you’re welcome to shout out anything you’d like to the audience.

17:18Yeah, yeah, so yeah, so I’m very active on Farcaster. I ship a lot of products there. If any of you that sort of like watching this, if you’re interested in sort of experimenting with some of the ideas that we’re sort of shipping, but if you sort of like, yeah, it’s okay, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, just hit me up on Farcaster at Carlos. Happy to chat there and just connect and yeah, build amazing things going forward. Yeah. Well, yeah, definitely reach out. I feel like having conversations with whatever you’re trying to do forward, so reach out to us, reach out to him, reach out to everybody who’s on your mind, and if people get back to you, then you have a conversation to be had. Thanks for tuning into this content. We’re here doing this project at ETH Denver, holly people of color, black people when we can. We’re just trying to bring people into the conversation, so thanks for tuning in, and hope to see you on the Discord or online soon.

18:11Yeah, shout out We Them Media. Shout out We Them Media. Peace. Awesome.