Shibuya.xyz – GoDaddy customer – (United States)
Web3-focused developers are using .xyz domains to disrupt industries with innovative platforms that harness the power of blockchain technology. Crypto music publishing platform Sound.xyz aims to disrupt the music industry by helping recording artists gain more of their music’s value by turning songs into collectible NFTs. Forbes-featured artist Brandon Tory’s Formless.xyz leverages blockchain technology to change the way music and other digital content is valued and distributed. Venture fund CoopRecords.xyz strives to invest in artists and startup founders who are uniting web3 and music. In this week’s #BlockchainThursday, we’ll introduce you to a web3 video platform backed by Paris Hilton that aims to disrupt the Hollywood studio system of film distribution: Shibuya.xyz.
Shibuya.xyz is the online home of Shibuya, a blockchain-based film platform from notable NFT artist Emily Yang, more commonly known as Pplpleasr. The platform is designed to help creators crowdfund the production of long-form visual content, including short films, movies, and television series, by selling Producer Pass NFTs inspired by movie ticket stubs. Pplpleasr first gained mainstream notoriety after her NFT artwork helped Fortune magazine raise nearly $1.3 million in its first-ever NFT auction.1 On December 8, 2022, Shibuya.xyz shared in a tweet the news of a $6.9M fundraising round led by the a16z Crypto division of technology venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and celebrity investors such as Paris Hilton and NBA athlete Kevin Durant.2
The innovative platform’s first project is an anime short film titled “White Rabbit,” which Pplpleasr co-directed with fellow visual artist Maciej Kuciara, depicts the adventures of Mirai, a young heroine navigating a world set in a future where computing advances have compromised the blockchain. Mirai’s mission is to protect the blockchain. The film is being released in installments of three to five minutes. As of December 13 2022, Shibuya.xyz has shared the first 2 chapters of the film. Viewers who purchased Producer Pass NFTs were able to vote on one of two alternate endings to the first episode. The winning option determined the main character’s plot line in the following episode.3
Shibuya.xyz is designed to be a disruptive option for creators to avoid the necessity of relying on film industry power brokers. Films like “White Rabbit” are intended as a proof of concept. Shibuya.xyz hopes to eventually invite other filmmakers and other types of artists onto the platform to finance and distribute their projects with the support of fans rather than the Hollywood studio system. As Pplpleasr explained in the press, “If I was to go about this traditionally, I’d need to get Hollywood contacts. Now, I don’t need to wait for anyone to say yes.”4
The .xyz community is home to a growing number of developers interested in using blockchain technology to build disruptive innovations. We are excited to see the creative projects that develop from Shibuya.xyz. You can learn more by following the platform on Twitter @shibuyxyz, joining the Discord, and by visiting Shibuya.xyz.
1. https://fortune.com/2021/08/12/nft-pplpleasr-cover-raised-429-ether-million-opensea-sale-auction/
2. https://twitter.com/shibuyaxyz/status/1600865910231011329
3. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/01/nft-artist-pplpleasrs-new-project-shibuya-brings-long-form-animation-to-web-3/
4. https://fortune.com/crypto/2022/12/08/paris-hilton-and-a16z-back-nft-artist-pplpleasr-in-7m-fundrraising-round-for-web3-video-platform-Shibuya/
Evaluate.xyz – GoDaddy customer – (United States)
Innovative businesses have been embracing .xyz and upgrading to .xyz domain names that signal their growth. Investment firm Dragonfly upgraded to Dragonfly.xyz to signal a global presence and deep technical expertise. Collectible trading card platform Alt upgraded to Alt.xyz as they expanded their alternative assets platform to include options for buying, selling, storing, and borrowing. Financial technology company Party Round upgraded to Capital.xyz to emphasize their focus on expanded banking services. In this week’s #BlockchainThursday, we’ll introduce you to a newly rebranded NFT platform aimed at making NFT collecting safe, social, and enjoyable: Evaluate.xyz.
Evaluate.xyz is the online home of newly rebranded chat-based NFT platform (previously Evaluate.market). The web3 platform helps NFT collectors track their portfolio across multiple blockchains, and find the best deal across popular NFT marketplaces. Evaluate.xyz supports over 1,100 NFT collections across Flow and Ethereum blockchains. The platform counts over 1.4 million users since its incorporation in March 2021. Co-founder Christian Dittmeier announced in the press that their rebrand is aimed at reflecting the changes to the platform and transforming the user’s experience with a new trading feature. As he explained: “Today we’re thrilled to introduce live NFT swapping on Flow and Ethereum to Evaluate.xyz, a single experience that pairs collectors with similar users and allows them to negotiate and execute NFT swaps in a live, trustless manner. We’re excited to introduce this functionality and to continue our mission of making NFT collecting more safe, social, and enjoyable.”1
On November 16, 2022, Evaluate.xyz shared the news of their domain upgrade in a tweet which also proclaims they are the “first live, chat-based NFT platform on Flow and Eth.”2 Visitors can now instantly connect with similar NFT collectors on Evaluate.xyz and swap Flow-based NFTs and Ethereum-based NFTs live. NFT enthusiasts can utilize their own collections to gain access to new NFTs without having to spend more money or cryptocurrency. NFT collectors can connect their crypto wallet and join Evaluate.xyz to match with another collector. They can then sort through their collection and propose trades. Once both users have agreed on a trade, they are prompted to sign a transaction which will transfer the NFTs to one another. If a user doesn’t want to trade with the partner they have matched up with, they can opt to pass and match with a new collector. To give collectors a way to communicate with each other during the trading process, Evaluate.xyz has a built-in chat function that notifies users of changes made to the trade.
We are inspired by Christian and the innovative businesses like Evaluate.xyz joining the .xyz community. We look forward to seeing the platform’s continued growth and development. You can learn more by following along on Twitter @evaluatexyz and Discord, and by visiting Evaluate.xyz.
1. https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/601650317/evaluate-market-rebrands-to-evaluate-xyz-and-makes-nft-trading-on-flow-and-ethereum-simple-safe-and-social
2. https://twitter.com/evaluatexyz/status/1592939806631555072
JNDesign.xyz – Squarespace customer – (United States)
The .xyz community consists of many accomplished individuals using .xyz to highlight their creative work, passions, and career experiences. Political satirist Bassem Youssef uses BassemYoussef.xyz to share his media appearances, upcoming shows, and press clippings. Successful entrepreneur Matt Gray uses MattGray.xyz to promote his coaching and training services. Multidisciplinary artist Nina Fraser displays her creative work on NinaFraser.xyz. In this week’s #WebsiteWednesday, we’ll introduce you to an accomplished product designer who showcases his career experiences on his own personal website: JNDesign.xyz.
JNDesign.xyz is the personal website of Meta product designer Josh Nelson. The Seattle-based designer shares on his website that he has worked with a diverse team of engineers, user experience researchers, data scientists, and more to develop products that are used by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Josh considers himself a “technology futurist” and thrives in spaces that enable quick learning with opportunities to refine. With previous roles at tech companies such as digital solutions firm EvenVision and running his own wedding videography company, Josh uses JNDesign.xyz to share the many skills and talents he has developed over the course of his career.
Josh’s work is displayed in a well-organized manner for visitors to easily navigate. The homepage of JNDesign.xyz has a photograph of Josh alongside the words “Designer | Entrepreneur | Storyteller.” He shares his experience at Meta, focused on enterprise design solutions that accelerate Meta’s human resources. Josh also presents his experience at EvenVision, where he “wore every hat from Product Manager, Programmer, Client Manager, Product Designer to design leader.” He also shares detailed samples from his small business agency work from the years 2012-2019, which he states were instrumental in his development. One such example is Humboldt Pest Control, a company that desired a new website to replace their outdated one. The brand was so pleased with his work that they reached out nearly two years later for help in driving traffic to their website. Eventually Josh was managing the long-term client relationships and designing innovative solutions for their business.
Visitors can also visit Josh’s About page, where he shares his bio and some talents that he has developed including creative storytelling and problem-solving analysis. Below his bio, Josh provides a CTA to download his resume which provides a detailed view of Josh’s experiences and can help potential clients keep him at top of mind. Josh also shares testimonials from past clients and colleagues, which serves as social proof of his skills. A former colleague named Kim writes “Over the past few years, I have worked closely with Josh on numerous projects. Time and time again, he has proven to have great communication skills and an exceptional eye for UI/UX design.”
JNDesign.xyz features a Contact page, where Josh shares his social media handles and a means to send him an email. This is a great resource that makes it simple for potential collaborators or fans to reach out and make contact. You can learn more about the benefits of Contact pages in our latest Quarterly Report. You can learn more about Josh by following him on LinkedIn and by visiting JNDesign.xyz.
DoliaCats.xyz – eNom customer – (Israel)
The .xyz community is home to many innovative and notable NFT projects. NFT-driven membership community a0k1verse.xyz presents members with assorted perks like exclusive access to live concerts. Paramount Global uses HelloKittyFrens.xyz to promote Hello Kitty and Friends World, a globe-trotting NFT adventure featuring six Hello Kitty characters who can travel to eight different cities around the world. In this week’s #BlockchainThursday, we’ll introduce you to a new NFT collection from artist Daniil Dolia that helps holders enter the Meowverse: DoliaCats.xyz.
DoliaCats.xyz is the online home of artist and game developer Daniil Dolia’s second cat-focused NFT collection, Dolia Cats. Daniil’s first NFT collection, Dolia Cats Genesis, sold out in less than 24 hours in September 2022. Each Dolia Cats NFT from the new collection will grant its holder the ability to enter a community known as the Meowverse, an ecosystem that will incorporate games, a decentralized finance platform, and more.1
The collection includes 9,999 unique Dolia Cats NFTs that are stored on the Ethereum blockchain. Daniil formed the collection at random from a pool of more than 150 assets spread out over seven trait categories. A Dolia Cat can have up to seven traits, which means that there are thousands of potential combinations. If you’re not happy with your Dolia Cat NFT, you can play games in the Meowverse to earn the ecosystem’s MEELK cryptocurrency, and use it to upgrade your NFT with new features and traits. Profits from the mint and Meowverse are intended to be donated to cat-focused charities from across the world.
DoliaCats.xyz has an imaginative origin story. Many years ago on the MeoWorld, the Dolia Cats faced a cataclysmic event that threatened the future of their species. 9,999 Dolia Cats boarded a spaceship and fled the planet right before it exploded. The Dolia Cats traveled through space and eventually settled on Earth in the laps of humans, more specifically the human holders of Dolia Cat NFTs.
Daniil and his team upgraded the platform’s domain from DoliaCats.com to the web3-friendly DoliaCats.xyz. As they announce on the outdated website, “Hey! It’s nice to see you here, but we’ve moved to another domain with true web3 experience.“ We are proud to have NFT platforms like DoliaCats.xyz defining the .xyz community, and look forward to continued successful NFT launches. You can learn more by following Daniil on Twitter, by following the platform on Twitter and Discord, and by visiting DoliaCats.xyz.
1. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dolia-cats-nft-metaverse-set-160000155.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGd9A710cPM4iaI5_Xqd_TNLQXWoGgP_Tp0G6Z0T3oXPWx00rAKgaCe5PU1gXWHJMMZgGuG3S6SYwpWQDo_9pAjPgDqeeMpptfgiEyfaFW24GTjK2mhEgOPFLb1c_yi1BFc3ZBoctgMO10KHzAoXIuTMnTIlmb5YbsoGl08UuxQC
JacksonHoward.xyz – Squarespace customer – (United States)
The .xyz community is home to skilled creatives using .xyz domains to develop their portfolios and showcase their work. Contemporary artist Michael Ho uses MichaelHo.xyz to share his innovative artwork. San Francisco-based independent journalist Melissa Hung uses MelissaHung.xyz to highlight her writing portfolio. Artist Gossamer Rozen uses Grelysian.xyz to display their collections of cultural NFT art. In this week’s #WebsiteWednesday, we’ll introduce you to a writer and editor who shares his work using a “FirstNameLastName.xyz” domain: JacksonHoward.xyz.
JacksonHoward.xyz is the personal website of Brooklyn-based writer and editor Jackson Howard. Originally from Los Angeles, Jackson is an editor at publishing company Farrar, Straus and Giroux (a division of Macmillan Publishers). Jackson acquires and edits fiction and nonfiction titles, and has published work by writers including Judith Butler, Sarah Schulman, and Catherine Lacey. He has edited acclaimed books that have won or been nominated for awards such as National Book Award, the Kirkus Prize, and the Lambda Literary Award. Jackson’s writing has been featured in publications like The New York Times Magazine1 and Rolling Stone.2 In June 2022, Jackson was interviewed by Vogue Magazine for his insight about the world of Queer Literaure as a “young, queer editor representing an impressive roster of LGBTQ+ writers at the publishing house Farrar, Straus & Giroux.”3 In October 2022, Jackson was named a Star Watch Honoree by Publishers Weekly.4
Jackson’s compilation of edited books and selected writing samples are easy to explore with a simple and informative website design. Visitors can easily navigate to each page, which can help make Jackson’s work easy to find. On the books page, you can view a selection of some of the books Jackson has edited, as well as some acquisitions in the process of being edited. Jackson links each book image to the Macmillan website for more details about the title. For example, the image for the book “If I Survive You” links to a profile of its details and accolades, like being named one of The New York Times Book Review’s 100 Notable Books of 2022.5 On the writing page, visitors can review Jackson’s published articles and essays. His February 2022 album review of 2 Chainz, “Dope Don’t Sell Itself” explores the latest album from the Atlanta-based rapper.6 Jackson’s December 2018 article for W Magazine, “Ask 21: Rapper 21 Savage Is Your New Relationship Guru,” features a discussion on romance with 21 Savage after his split from model and television personality Amber Rose.7 Jackson’s inclusion of his writing samples and work accomplishments can help visitors gain a full understanding of Jackson’s talent and experience, which can help them make the choice to work with him.
Using a FirstNameLastName.xyz domain like JacksonHoward.xyz can help make it easier for Jackson and his writing to be discoverable online. Anyone who Googles “jackson howard” will see JacksonHoward.xyz at the top of the search results page (as of November 30, 2022). With a professional website using a domain name that matches your full name, it’s more likely that your website will show up in relevant results. We are happy to have Jackson and his artwork in the .xyz community of innovative creatives. You can learn more about Jackson and review more of his work by following him on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and by visiting JacksonHoward.xyz.
1. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/03/11/magazine/jorja-smith-burnout.html
2. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-empress-of-swerves-between-experimentation-and-pop-on-us-745612/
3. https://www.vogue.com/article/is-this-the-golden-era-of-queer-literature
4. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/people/article/90763-pw-star-watch-2022-honorees.html
5. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374605988/if-i-survive-you
6. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/2-chainz-dope-dont-sell-itself/
7. https://www.wmagazine.com/story/21-savage-relationships-amber-rose-versace
