The Great State of Texas, Flux and PoolTogether
PoolTogether Community Interview #26: AidenBlvd
This week’s PoolTogether community interview features a very friendly and valuable member of PoolTogether. He lives on a lake, he’s active in our #help channel, apply to be a part of the grant’s committee, and loves the outdoors! Meet: AidenBlvd.
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
My name's Aiden. I've always been a big fan of tech. It started with video games, figuring out how to set up a Minecraft server for some friends. Then when I started looking into more demanding games, I built a PC. Video games started my adventure into tech, but once I was in, I kept digging deeper and learning more and now I don't actually game much. I learned python from the online book "Automate the Boring Stuff With Python" and I'm not super good, but I can piece some cool stuff together. I have a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I barely know those, but I was able to make a cool, little personal website that I figured I could use on a resumé if I ever needed to (It was also a fun weekend project and a great learning experience). I enjoy long distance running and I’m trying to really improve this Summer, though the heat here in Texas makes that a little more difficult. I've been having to run in the early mornings or evenings. I live on a lake so I enjoy kayaking, hanging out on a boat, tubing, and water skiing. It provides a great way to cool off.
2. How did you get involved the crypto/Web3 world?
I got into crypto in August and originally saw it as kind of a “get rich” method. Which I've learned is not at all what crypto really is. It provides financial freedom and gives control of our finances back to us.
3. What lessons have you learned about it so far?
The biggest lessons I've learned is to not go jump into projects just trying to make money off them. Buy projects that you want to be a part of and believe can make a difference in the world. Also don't blindly follow influencers or people hyping projects up. Make sure you do your due diligence researching projects and really get into the details, then only commit if your confident in the underlying principals and technology (Luna/UST being a great example of being careful with what/whom you invest in!).
4. What was your best cryptocurrency/Web3 moment?
My biggest crypto moment would be when I found out about DeFi and realized there was more to crypto than just trying to make money off of a couple coins.
5. What was your biggest failure with it?
My biggest fail would be buying Shiba Inu coin. I was still fairly new to the crypto space and saw tons of people hyping it up and talking about how it was about to moon. I didn't lose a ton of money on it and cut my losses pretty soon. That's when I realized that there was a lot more to the crypto environment than just meme coins and making money.
6. How did you find out about PoolTogether?
I found out about crypto from the Bankless podcast and was amazed at the idea. I'd never heard of a prize savings account before and was almost shocked that you could have a chance of winning that much money without any risk. I'm saving up for my first car so every little bit I can earn off of my savings helps a lot. Before PoolTogether I had my money in Crypto.com earn. I've earned a lot more from PoolTogether, but I also found it to be much more exciting. It's also been nice having my money in my own wallet instead of trusting an exchange.
7. What made you stick around?
One of the biggest reasons I've stuck around has been the amazing community. I remember when I first joined and still had a lot of questions, Leighton replied on Discord with a very friendly, patient response and I was blown away that one of the founders of something so big would take the time to help me understand it better. I also really like what PoolTogether is doing and believe that it's going to be a big part of the future of finance.
8. How are you involved in the community?
I've tried to be helpful in the community. As I've learned more about crypto and PoolTogether I've been able to do this better. When I have time I answer other people’s questions in #help and welcome newcomers. My main goal being to try and recreate the atmosphere that amazed me when I first joined. I try and provide useful input on Discord to help further ideas. I recently submitted a bounty on how to grow the PoolTogether protocol and applied for the role of a grant’s reviewer. I think the position would give me a chance to contribute more to the protocol.
9. Would you recommend PoolTogether to others? How would you describe it to them?
I would totally recommend PoolTogether to others and have already. I think the best way to describe it is as a prize savings account. Simply telling them that every dollar they deposit gives them a chance of winning a prize from the drawing every day.
10. Are you involved in any other projects or communities? If yes, which ones?
I'm not involved in other projects as much as I am involved in PoolTogether, but I do believe in Flux. They are essentially a decentralized Amazon Web Services, something that I believe to be very important for a fully decentralized future.
11. Do you have any other thoughts and comments you would like to share?
I'm super grateful that I found out about PoolTogether. I feel very at home in the community and believe that we should strive to keep our friendly vibe.
We hope you enjoyed this interview and learned a different perspective on the journeys our community members take to find and get involved with PoolTogether. It always fascinates me to learn about the different paths taken to find this great community. Everyone has a truly unique way of finding our great community.
Please learn more about depositing at PoolTogether.com and join us in the PoolTogether Discord to become a part of our Community!