*side note, this article is written with the assumption that the reader has some understanding of what Decentraland is, if you don’t I’d recommend you also take a look at my other article too, which should also enhance your understanding*

Decentraland

I have some awesome news to share with you all. Keep reading, and I’ll show you how deep the rabbit hole goes... 

Disclaimer: I don’t pretend to be a crypto god. Nor do I pretend to be an omnipotent, all-knowing re-creation of Warren Buffet, Jordan Belfort or the Winklevoss twins. But if I could offer anybody one tip for either a sound crypto investment, or penis-erecting excitement; to get involved in Decentraland would, be, it. Decentraland... Where to begin with Decentraland? Perhaps it’s best to start from the beginning with this one.

The Beginning

I’ll try to cut a long story short. I first found out about ‘Bitcoin’ when I stumbled (probably hung over) into my messy and grimy shared accommodation at university. A lad I lived with was sat on his laptop with command prompt open. It looked like he was up to some funky shit... 

'What are you doing?’ I asked him. 

‘Mining Bitcoin’ he replied. 

The rest of the conversation doesn’t need to be relayed, but like most other people who first heard of a ‘cyber currency’, as I understood it back then, I dismissed it immediately as ‘a waste of time’ and ‘valueless’. He just nodded his nod and I went into the bathroom to take a dump. 

Fast forward ten years and I couldn’t be more invested. I entered the crypto ‘maze’ just before the big boom this year, investing in a couple of projects I liked the look of.  

But it wasn’t until I stumbled across Decentraland (having very recently read the immersive and phenomenal Ready Player One) that I truly became addicted. Not just to crypto, but more so this project.

Looking at Your Future Self

Decentraland, the real life response to a reality I only foresaw occurring when I was a grandfather, promises a decentralised virtual reality metaverse which is happening now. I watched their video, claiming I could ‘buy virtual real estate’ and ‘earn real money’ whilst ‘making genuine connections’ with other metaverse-goers.

‘Bullshit’ I spat into my coffee; one random, cold and wet, December Sunday morning.

You can check out the video here:

But it wasn’t bullshit. And it isn’t bullshit.

As I delved deeper into the project created by Mr. Esteban Ordano and Mr. Ari Meilich, the more I realised that they weren’t playing games. I don’t know if they actually play games, to create something this epic I’m sure they have and do! 

Anyway, unfortunately for myself, I was slightly late to the first ever ‘Terra-Auction’, which occurred in December, which allowed people/entrepreneurs/organisations and so on, to ‘buy land’ in exchange for Decentraland’s crypto-currency ‘Mana’. 

I was devastated. I still am to a certain extent. Shit, I’d be sat on so much land right now. 

Nevertheless, with unconditional thanks to a few cool community members (you know who you are), I was able to get involved in a few of the districts, picking myself up two ‘land parcels’ in Decentraland University and two in Vegas (the land parcels are non-fungible ERC-721 Tokens). Damn I was stoked. And I still am. 

Beyond the four parcels in the two districts aforementioned, I am the proud owner of one road-side land I paid through the nose to pick up from another community member. At the time it cost me 15K MANA (1500$ at the time of purchase). I have now managed to pick up another couple through the awesome news I'm going to reveal in the article, for a ridiculously cheap 8200 Mana. 

Despite the ridiculous bear-market we are all suffering right now (which I don’t buy for one second); these are several purchases I do not regret. And I never will. 

It’s not much, but no matter what, I own a few pieces of this beautiful, magnificent, limitless metaverse which is being created.

Imagination is limitless

Why am I so super-hyped about Decentraland? Because what I can create with my land has no limits. Absolutely none.  

If I want to build a 100FT tall statue to celebrate my lack of life achievements then I can build a 100FT tall statue to celebrate my lack of life achievements. 

If I want to build an art gallery; if I want to build a flower shop; if I want to build a go-karting track; if I want to build absolutely nothing; I CAN. I own that land. 

Now, my real ambition would be to build a ‘jet-pack’ obstacle/race course for people to come and enjoy. As I don’t really have the space for this (boo hoo) I might have to settle for an immersive miniature cinema; my ambition would be to build a multi-floor ‘VR interactive cinema’ which would allow people to be immersed into films.

I have to admit some of my ambitions are looking slightly unlikely, but regardless, I have built relationships with awesome community members who I have personal deals with. Community is at the heart of Decentraland.

As VR technology continues to build its place into our lives, the practicalities and aspirations for how this would work and develop would progress alongside the technological possibilities. 

But hell, regardless of what works and what doesn't, I am totally excited to be there at the start of this amazing journey.

Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole

Sorry if you found any of the above lacking in entertainment or information, this section is designed to inform you about a really exciting development which has been recently made available by the Decentraland Team: ‘The Land Marketplace’. 

Essentially Decentraland’s Land Marketplace, which was made available on the 19/03, acts as a hub where people will be able to ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ land (which until this point has been done through trusted community members acting as escrows based on ‘random’ prices). However, rather than read a drawn-out response which lacks in technical aptitude from myself, check out Decentraland’s very own outline: 

So why is this so awesome? People like me and dudes and dudettes like you can now get in on the action. If you missed out on the first Terra-Auction like me, you now have a genuine; Decentraland signed, sealed and delivered way to get your foot in the metaverse. 

The two founders tell us:

“We’re excited to deliver the Marketplace as the first stop for content creators to get their piece of LAND and start building out the metaverse.” - Ari Meilich

“We decided to build our marketplace in a completely decentralized way -- no escrow or deposits to trusted parties. Our decentralized Marketplace contract can be used by any ERC721 DAR.” - Esteban Ordano

Like I said before, if I could give anyone one piece of advice it would be to get in NOW. Because I suspect the exposure from the Ready Player One film will make not only rocket the price of mana, or merely hype up a little community involvement, but fly the whole project straight out of this universe and straight into the fucking metaverse. 

If you would like to find out any further information on Decentraland or the release of the land manager, you can check out the following information:

Website: https://decentraland.org/
Rocket Chat: https://chat.decentraland.org/channel/general
Twitter: https://twitter.com/decentraland
Market Place: https://market.decentraland.org/marketplace

Cheers for reading and I hope to speak with you on Rocket Chat soon!

Robbie