GRTiQ Podcast: 90 Paolo Diomede

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Paolo Diomede (00:20):

So… I mean, this is something that is really amaze me even if now I’m staying here for almost two years. But every day, I’m still surprised how exciting is this place to be.

Nick (01:01):

Welcome to the GRTiQ Podcast. Today I’m speaking with Paolo Diomede, a member of The Graphtronauts community, a Graph Advocate and member of Graph AdvocatesDAO. Paolo is a very active and familiar voice in the ecosystem and his work as an admin at Graphtronauts, a supportive community dedicated to motivating GRT holders and to inspire new delegations in The Graph along with his contributions in The Graph Advocates and Graph AdvocatesDAO has established Paolo as a community leader. As you may have seen, The Graphtronauts recently announced the launch of an Indexer. Paolo agreed to come onto the podcast to talk about that announcement, his path into crypto and how he found The Graph, his work as a Graphtronaut and his experience as a Graph Advocate and member of Graph AdvocatesDAO. As usual, we start the conversation by talking about Paolo’s educational background.

Paolo Diomede (01:57):

Yeah. Thank you. Yes, I started computer science in Italy. Actually in one of the oldest university from 1596. And what I really enjoyed was the quality of the education because classes were extremely small and also I recall in certain lesson we were approximately 10 people, so you could really build a close relationship with your teachers. In fact, I remember a lot of time spending my time going in the offices, talking to them, extending ideas, and also my final dissertation was actually about building a knowledge management system for a new paradigm that at that time was called web2. So that was really… I mean, at the beginning of the new technology shift.

Nick (02:42):

Paolo, you mentioned that you were studying computer science at a time when web2 was the major technology focus. How do you think that has changed over the years? Do you think that field has changed a lot since you studied it?

Paolo Diomede (02:54):

Yeah. I mean, I see also analogies because when I… I mean, web2 started to become more widespread, so it was similar in the terms so that there was an idea to change the world like we want to do now in web3. So at the beginning it was a lot of idealistic also people in web2 where everything needed to be free and probably because there were still not some killer application and they were not Google or Facebook someone that was taking all the power. So I see this analogy at the moment. I mean, with web3 and hopefully with web3 we are going to see, I mean, a different history.

Nick (03:30):

So after you graduate, you have a degree in computer science. What happens professionally for you?

Paolo Diomede (03:36):

Yeah. Professionally I started to actually to do what we call today, DevRel. At that time it was not called like this. So I was educating people on new technologies on web2 technologies and traveling across Italy and I was a freelance. And then after a couple of years I started to work for full-time job for a large organization. And so that is actually the company I still work now, full-time. I work for OpenText that is the largest Canadian software vendor. And now for example, my work is about working with global affair accounts. So in Europe and Middle East, working as a customer advocate. So the job is about solving critical escalation and it is a job in which you need to connect with people, you need to let people together to solution. So it’s a lot about understanding what the customer problems and also motivating people to work through a common solution.

Nick (04:33):

Are you noticing more discussion in your day job related to web3 and blockchain? Is this something that’s growing and you’re hearing more and more people talk about it?

Paolo Diomede (04:44):

No, not really because actually, I mean, I see total disconnection. So it’s like my job, we can see… I don’t know. [inaudible 00:04:52] related versus Twitter. So two different universe where there are people still tied with the old technology while now we see, for example, when I tried to post something on LinkedIn, I didn’t get a lot of attention and big audience while for example, Twitter is where everyone is staying and where all the people in web3 are gathering together. So the web2 world is still… I mean, quite traditional. So now there is completely disconnection. At least this is what I see in the business world.

Nick (05:24):

So I have to assume even though people aren’t talking about it, you as somebody involved in web3 and you’ve built this great knowledge and understanding of blockchain technology, are you identifying ways in which your current work or work environment would benefit from the adoption of some of these things?

Paolo Diomede (05:42):

Well, I think so at the moment. So the main problem is the incentives. So companies are having a different model, so they are still focusing on selling licenses or subscription. So I believe that probably… I mean, it’s still early for companies to fully embrace… I mean, the traditional company to fully embrace web3 because actually I think they need to change its management that also executive needs to change the perspective. Probably we need a fresh management at the executive level to understand the difference because it’s like no ones want to get rid of their powers. And with blockchain and web3 we are going in a unknown territory and you know exactly, I mean, where you want to go, otherwise I see a lot of people kind of scared to embrace this. I mean web3 in the traditional corporate world.

Nick (06:33):

Well Paolo, as you mentioned in your introduction, you’re joining me from Italy. I always like to ask guests that are joining me from different parts of the world, what the attitudes and opinions of the people where they live are towards crypto and web3. So what would you be able to share about? What’s going on in Italy?

Paolo Diomede (06:48):

Well, Italy is quite conservative country. So let’s say apart from some districts in the Northeast where we have a lot of entrepreneur. So the majority of the country is not ready to embrace any change. So we generally discover new trends when they are already mainstream. So we web3 is today is still a niche. So very few people know about web3. Of course they know about crypto, they know about Bitcoin. Most people they think is a scam or something to avoid because it’s kind of speculative investment. So the missing part in web3 is the people. They do not know that it’s a digital revolution. So web3 is about the technology built to be the next evolution of the internet. And so this is something that in Italy people are missing here.

(07:36):

And probably another problem is the lack of good content because in Italy we are not very good with English language and the majority of the content is must be translated. And since we do not have a lot of journalists or technical writers, so this is still an area where for example, initiative like The Graph Advocates program can help, for example to onboard more people into web3 by helping translating content. So we are quite behind at the moment.

Nick (08:03):

I’m sure a lot of listeners will agree with me that Italy’s on a bucket list of places that I would like to travel to. I’d be curious to hear some advice from you as someone who’s lived in Italy their whole life. What are the things that people need to see or do if they get the chance to go to Italy? And of course, I can’t also not ask the follow-up. What food do we need to try?

Paolo Diomede (08:24):

Well, okay, the cities to see. Of course it’s my city that is Rome, that is probably one of the ancient capital in the world. So it’s the place to go in Italy. And for example, for people traveling from far… So I mean, I suggest at least the stay 10 days and to visit Italy and the South, specifically the Amalfi Coast, that probably is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. So Amalfi Coast, Pompeii and to try… I think the local food really the local food and to… I mean, it’s very easy also to avoid the tourists traps because they are generally the ones where the waiters are outside waiting for you and pulling you in. If you avoid the tourist traps, all the food is, I mean, it’s good and it’s also very cheap. But yeah. I mean, because it’s a lot of tourists you need just to avoid certain places because you can eat very bad in Italy also because if you go on certain places.

Nick (09:17):

So let’s talk about your move into crypto and what started your interest in the space. So can you take us back in time to when you first became aware of crypto and what your first impressions were?

Paolo Diomede (09:28):

So it was actually 2017 when I discovered Bitcoin and started to do some investments. So also my first interest was about… I mean, knowing this as a speculative asset. So like I said before, I didn’t know about the technology. So for me it was a new investment and I started to buy basically Bitcoin cash because the name was cool, but I didn’t know anything about this. So for me it was totally an unknown stuff. Later on then I understood that it was Ethereum and I started to do some courses, some solidity courses, developed some code just for me to learn, but then I didn’t continue because I saw this, really premature, so I didn’t see the potential of this. So I literally stopped investigating because I was comparing to web2 and I was saying, “Okay, this is too much early.” But then I became interested again in 2020 because I was seeing that was growing so much.

(10:29):

And so I started to do again some courses I discovered about the distributed application and I saw that in 3 years, I mean, they did a massive advancement and the ecosystem was growing so much. I’m not the full-time developer, so I’m not coding in my day-to-day job, but because I did in the past, so I wanted to understand better what this technology was. So I started then to become again interested like 3 years later because I started to see really true potential because from before it was a speculative asset. And then I understood, “Okay, this is not just an investment, this is a totally new paradigm shift.” And I mean there is something more here.

Nick (12:39):

Paolo, you and I are talking today because you are a member of The Graphtronauts and anybody that knows about you or follows you on Twitter knows that you’re a very active voice within the community. You’re also a Graph Advocate and member of Graph AdvocatesDAO. So if we talk a little bit about your entry into crypto, you very well explained there that you first became aware of Bitcoin in 2017 and then you kind of caught the vision of the technology of Ethereum and what it could do for the world. How then did you make it to The Graph?

Paolo Diomede (13:09):

Basically it was late in 2020 December, I received an email from Coinbase about the listing of a new token named EFT. And in the mail they were talking about a new indexing and search protocol. And that for me was immediately like an epiphany because actually indexing and search is basically what I’m dealing all the time in my career, in my full-time job. As the product we sell, they are all about storing and finding documents and media files and retrieving information. So it was basically clear to me that The Graph was the next thing in the industry and also one of the missing place in this so-called web3 architecture.

Nick (13:52):

Let’s talk a little bit more about that. So Bitcoin, like a lot of people when they’re first introduced to it, they get the white paper, but they largely see it as a disruption to currency. They see it as a speculative investment. Ethereum, like you said, and it’s been echoed many times on the podcast, people understand and appreciate the technology but was specific to The Graph. I mean there’s a lot of projects Paolo, you could have probably attached your yourself to or become interested in, but it was something about The Graph’s mission, something about this indexing, a querying. What was it specifically that you thought this is the future?

Paolo Diomede (14:29):

Yeah. Because basically The Graph solves the most important problem in the software in the IT world. That is about reframing data. So I mean if you think for example, just… I don’t know. If I think about my iPhone for example, I have more than 2000 contacts in my address book. I have also more than 200 notes. So without the ability to search, I will get completely lost in my day-to-day life. And all the blockchain work relies on the fact that information is immutable, cannot be temper, cannot be deleted. And this led to an immense amount of information that is really hard to retrieve. And so basically The Graphs of exactly this problem and is the only decentralized solution that means there is no central power controlling the system and without The Graph, web3 won’t literally be able to take flight because we will be [inaudible 00:15:20] in this immense information, immense [inaudible 00:15:24] information.

Nick (15:25):

Once you become interested in The Graph, you find your way to The Graphtronauts. And for listeners that aren’t familiar with what The Graphtronauts is, can you take a minute and introduce listeners to The Graphtronauts and explain how you found that community?

Paolo Diomede (15:38):

Yeah. Basically when I started to become involved with The Graph and started to purchase my token and then I wanted to find more. And I discovered this Telegram group and I wanted to understand better about the ecosystem. And so I started to make also some questions also. I remember I recall my first question was about system requirements to run my Indexer note. My questions, so let’s say were really basic and I would say also a little naive because with hindsight after a month of two I went back in the Telegram channel and read again my first question. And actually I was so surprised by the reaction I received from the community because I really understood even if my question were really basic and some I think really naive probably at that time. I mean, I understood how supportive, how kind and patient were all the community members to me, despite the kind of question I asked, no sir, no one trusted my level of knowledge.

(16:35):

They were also keen to help and facilitate my onboarding meeting into web3 and their motto and now it’s also my motto at the time was we arise by lifting other. So this is really our spirit that is truly ingrained in our DNA. So we are here to help new people discover The Graph, start their journey to web3. And I think so I can say that Graphtronaut is one of the best thing that happen in my life because our admin group is really made of seven people each one of coming from the ground. But really we built a friendship for life, not only in our admin group but actually in the old community group.

Nick (17:14):

This is something that’s come up on the podcast before in different communities and even in The Graph itself. But Paolo, you said joining Graphtronauts really impacted and changed your life. It’s hard for listeners to sometimes believe or understand how these things are happening, but explain that a little bit more. What was it about getting involved in Graphtronauts that impacted your life?

Paolo Diomede (17:35):

Well actually for several reasons. First of all because I became more aware of web3 and I became also passionate because actually what I really like is the environment and the fact that people are really supportive. So we don’t know each other. I mean often we are anonymous, but the level of trust that we built in the community, I mean it’s second to no one because if you think it’s really weird that you can totally trust people without seeing their face, sometimes we even don’t know it there is… It’s a man behind or a woman. But what you see that there is this common passion for people to work extra hours beside their full-time job to dedicate their spare time to help other people to build an ecosystem like The Graph to grow. So I think this is something… It’s a gift I think to join a group like this. I mean, I really think that the group like Graphtronauts is a gift for everyone that joined our community.

Nick (18:34):

When I talk about Graphtronauts with others, I sometimes say, and I want to make it clear, Graphtronauts is not presently at DAO, but I always say it’s basically the first DAO of The Graph ecosystem because this was a community that came together, really solidified around a common mission and went right to work. I don’t know how you feel about that, but that’s how it feels to me.

Paolo Diomede (18:54):

Yeah. No, no, true. And also it is very… I mean, something that… I mean in which we are good. I don’t know if we were lucky or we are good, I don’t know what to say. But actually we have really different skills. So for example, we have an amazing content creation team that made amazing animation and videos that we have community moderator that are so patient and they are able to manage also critical conversation, avoid price speculation talks. A lot of skills. Of course we have also technical team that maybe we will talk also later on. So I mean we are really… I mean a group that we are really completing each other and I don’t know. Probably result some other of luck because I suppose so…

Nick (19:37):

Tell me about the structure of Graphtronauts. You mentioned that there’s seven members that kind of form the core team or maybe the leadership. I’m not sure I’ll have you explain that. But also how many members you have and for listeners who want to get more involved, how they can connect with The Graphtronauts community?

Paolo Diomede (19:52):

Well, basically Graphtronauts community at the moment, I mean is central around our Telegram channel. We are actually close to 3000 members. Our admin team is made of seven people where we have basically… We do a lot of job in Parallel, but there are people that are some specialized skill like I said. So we have two contact creators. We are trained doing community moderators, very active also in writing articles. We have also a technical team, a person that is building the app and also the Telegram bot. So we are actually just seven people, we are completing each other. And then we have also a Parallel group that is called mission control that are also other people helping moderating the main channel because there are 3000 members, so we need also to cover 24/7.

(20:44):

So we have a lot of help on different time zone basically everyone’s in here we had more people, some people cannot work anymore so they leave. But something really amazing is… I mean there is always new people, new fresh people that wants to contribute and they become part of also the mission control group that is helping us in moderating the channel.

Nick (21:08):

Well Paolo, selfishly I’ve always appreciated The Graphtronauts. They’ve been very supportive of the GRTiQ Podcast and I remember the very early days when The Graphtronauts was just starting and so was the podcast. There was a lot of collaboration and in addition to that I’m sure that many members of The Graph ecosystem who are contributing and participating made their way here because of the great things that Graphtronauts have done. I also want to mention that I’ve interviewed other members of The Graphtronauts community before on the podcast. Paolo, if you don’t mind, what are some of the things that The Graphtronauts have contributed to the ecosystem?

Paolo Diomede (21:43):

So basically I started also to collect recently some feedback. So because I mean some comment speaks really louder, but first of all, I mean we have people to start their journey as Delegator for The Graph and I truly believe that probably like 50% of The Graph Delegator come from Graphtronauts. And actually we were very happy because this was also recognized by both Eva Beylin and [inaudible 00:22:08] during… I mean, the last Graph Day when they recognized our work. And that was really a paramount time for us. So we really had people to start this journey for The Graph in generally web3, so this is probably one of our first achievement. But second one as you already mentioned is also the contribution about to see people joining The Graphtronauts and then became active participant in the ecosystem and later on, senior contributors for The Graph ecosystem.

(22:34):

And we have a lot of fellow Graphtronaut that today are extremely well known and play a fundamental part in the ecosystem. I mean they were also part of your podcast. So I don’t know, for example, just to put one for example, Derek Meyer from Data Nexus who share it to you is amazing journey. So he started a Delegator, Curator, sub Graph the developer, the Indexer. But I think we have many example this actually… I mean, it’s also my career here it would restarted from The Graphtronauts. But yeah. I mean, I see people growing like this and become senior members of the ecosystem. It’s really something that we are really proud.

Nick (23:16):

For listeners that may not be familiar, The Graphtronauts have created a Delegator dashboard that you can use to evaluate Indexers and different metrics within The Graph ecosystem. It’s an incredible app, it’s a wonderful tool and a great contribution from The Graphtronaut community. What can you share about that app and some of the backstory about what went into building a tool like that for the community?

Paolo Diomede (23:40):

Yeah. Thank you. Yes, so The Graphtronauts web app so is a natural evolution of our desktop Website. We wanted to provide access to the graphical system in the easiest and most intuitive way. And the app has been built actually around the… I mean, the main goal is to be mobile friendly because people, all of us use smartphone mainly and majority of consumers and users delegate or use the mobile phone. So we wanted to provide Delegators and also Curators, so the ability to track their investment and also possibility to get instant notification inside the app. Also, inside Telegram. So basically today every time a Delegator get rewards or a Curator see their share changes, so they receive a instant notification. But later on we also added several features like for example, reputation system like you mentioned. So we have Indexer now we have a rating on Indexer, we have also reviews left by Delegators and this is really an important tool for new buys when they enter, in the space and see it’s kind of Trustpilot or TripAdvisor for Indexers.

(24:48):

And later on we also added this sub Graph gallery and also tutorial section where we publish article. We also introduced a real time… And this is very cool, realtime reward calculator. So basically when you’re delegating, you can see already you can forecast already your reward. So in real time you can see even before an Indexer closes an allocation, how many rewards you are accruing and also very important that under the hood that this app uses all your official sub Graphs. So basically our technical team is basically [inaudible 00:25:23]. So it’s using the official sub Graphs from The Graph to receive the most updated information. So we use, like they say, we drink our own champagne.

Nick (25:34):

Well, Paolo, Graphtronauts have a unique overview and perspective of the Delegator community within The Graph as you mentioned there. My question is what would you share with web3 people, people not involved or engaged with The Graph ecosystem, what would you share with them about the Delegator community, the Delegator stakeholder within The Graph? What are they like? What’s going on there?

Paolo Diomede (25:58):

What I see… I mean, basically from when I start in one year that just delegate our community, it’s actually a community that is learning a lot because… We saw for example, we know that this is not an easy market to stay in, the crypto, so can be also very stressful but probably… What we do and what we see in our community that people are growing so people now they understand. So when they embrace web3, maybe they don’t know a lot. But when they realize the potential of web3 and actually what The Graph is solving, I mean it was amazing to see this community grow and see fearless now say they don’t care anymore about… We don’t have any price speculation in our chart. So they are not following really the price of getting scared or they are in fear when we have big crisis or downs.

(26:52):

So I think this is really the Delegator community within The Graphtronaut is really that the community for the long term. So they understand that this is still the early days and they are here for the next decade at least. So that is probably what we are really proud of our work.

Nick (27:10):

For listeners who want to learn more about The Graphtronauts and get more involved, what’s the best way to do it?

Paolo Diomede (27:16):

Yeah. Our entry point is basically Telegram because Telegram is an easy tool to use. So you can reach out to us with the handle Graphtronauts. And we use Telegram a lot and also we built an amazing bot so that provide a lot of statistics and information that also our committee member can use. And also our hub actually app is reachable app Graphtronauts.com that is basically hub for our community where it can reach also all of our social channel. And we are of course present also on Twitter and that always The Graphtronauts handle. We are also on Reddit.

(27:52):

And lastly, we added also our [inaudible 00:27:54] blog and we are very proud because we started this last spring and we are seeing actually the growth of 100% month per month and what we saw recently, also the latest articles are being also used in other blogs. So we are really happy with how the medium blog is growing and the fact that we are even quoted by other blogs. So that is really something that some kind unexpected, but it’s a good reward. It means that we are doing a good work for the community.

Nick (28:23):

Yes, congratulations about that and I’ve seen those articles myself and appreciate all the work that The Graphtronauts are doing. I’ll put links to all of these resources in the show notes. Encourage listeners that want to learn more to visit the show notes. Paolo, part of the reason we’re talking today is not only to shine a light on your story and your growth in the ecosystem, but also to shine a light on a recent announcement that The Graphtronaut community is made, they’ve launched an Indexer. I just want to ask you what the backstory is there. Why did The Graphtronauts decide to participate and launch as an Indexer?

Paolo Diomede (28:57):

Sure. So basically as Graphtronaut we establish a reputation to be a supportive community for Delegators and also some of us are also actually contributing to another channel that is curation station. So we can say that as Graphtronaut we cover mainly Delegators and curations. So it was a kind of next step for us to become part of The Graph Network and it was like the evolutionary path for us and something that is important and I want also to clarify this. That when we started to talk about this Indexer, we decided we will never use our channel, our Graphtronaut channel to promote our Indexer. So for us, our community is what matter the most. Also, if we think that, I mean web3 is really a great place to be because of the community. So we will never for example, use the, our channels to do aggressive marketing because our goal will be always to serve our community and probably one of our founder that probably everyone knows that it’s lot. It’s always remind us that we are here to set our community and actually it is always before me. This is what Graphtronaut means.

(30:10):

And this is what I wanted to clarify about how we will market our Indexer and when we had about MIPs. We wanted to jump on board because we wanted to create this Indexer, but we heard about MIPs and immediately we know that this was the right thing to do. But wow, I mean the last past weeks have been really the longest ever. So sometime I was working also 14 hours per day because really… I mean, at the moment we are structuring as a company because this is Indexer is for long term and I didn’t expect actually that there was so much to take into account. And because we really want to establish good rules, we want to start good from the beginning. So we decided then to enroll in this mix and we started from phase zero and actually we plan to launch our main net, so before the end of the year approximately around The Graph birthday. So we will be ready also with our main net Indexer.

Nick (31:09):

Paolo, what can you share about some of the decisions that went into this? And I’m talking about first and foremost the community of Graphtronauts deciding to launch an Indexer, but I’m also asking about how you structured it, who’s involved, how you determined your self stake amount and some of the other things that go into starting an Indexer.

Paolo Diomede (31:31):

Yeah. Basically so each admin, so we are the admin of Graphtronaut. So basically each of us, invest our own GRTs. So, and this give us a percentage of the share of the new company and basically we distribute the fixed cost split based on the share that everyone can afford at the moment. So while for example, variable cost, closing open allocation for example, this will be split equally. And for now, so we want to start small. Of course, we will use also the reward from the MIPs, but we decided the first six, nine months to start really small and then after all to look for investors. So to also increase our self stake. But before we want to make things done, to have everything all in order to be sure that this new company is working well, everything is in the right place and then probably we will start the next phase. So in less than a year we collecting more and more investor to increase our self stay.

Nick (32:34):

And how about joining at the point when MIPs launched? Now it’s not… I don’t think uncommon, it certainly wasn’t with mission control, the first incentivized testnet program that welcomed on first generation Indexers, but MIPs was recently launched a way to bring more chains onto The Graph Network. Why did this present a unique opportunity to The Graphtronauts to launch an Indexer?

Paolo Diomede (32:56):

Again, probably because the community matters in web3. And what I see is so exciting this mix because it’s like a learning experience. It’s like going into university back, you see people from different backgrounds. So we have mean the expert Indexer, I mean, they are there to mentor everyone, but then there are people like us for example, or other Indexer, new Indexer that are there to learn and is so supportive, the community. So it’s really, I mean a learning experience. And it’s good because I mean, we work very hard for this. For example, I mean sometimes I go to sleep two, 3:00 AM try to make things work. So because me, I’m helping [inaudible 00:33:37], together we are also taking care of some technical part. Together also, we must say that we have also some help from another technology partner that we’ve onboarded.

(33:47):

So it’s really exciting to see all these people gathering together, helping us support each other because after all, what is really exciting here and is really amazing is that it must be like a competition but actually it’s so supportive people to each other, all the participants. So I think this is speaks louder about this ecosystem, about The Graph ecosystem.

Nick (34:11):

Paolo, what does it say about web3 and potentially even just The Graph ecosystem that someone like yourself who’s got a career, got a busy day job, has a couple questions, finds a community eventually makes their way to Graphtronauts, starts publishing blogs and it forms a leadership role within The Graphtronauts, eventually becomes an advocate, a member of AdvocatesDAO and now is part of a team that is working on an Indexer. What does this say about web3 and about The Graph?

Paolo Diomede (34:42):

So what I learned about web3 is something that I knew already, but this reinforced my belief that people matters. Because what I understood here that when you bring together brilliant minds and passionate people with strong ethic, you can innovate for all the humankind. And I recall that I was in Graph Day in San Francisco and I met [inaudible 00:35:04] and I also had the pleasure and the honor to talk to him for five minutes. And what I said to him basically was that… It’s really impressive to see what they built in the last five years from a lack of proof of concept in 2017 [inaudible 00:35:19] by 3 friends. And if we think that today we have six core development teams, plus we have The Graph foundation and we have The Graph council, the Advoates program, and you mentioned also the AdvocatesDAO and all the communities like Graphtronaut and the local community. So if we start to count, I believe this is approximately, I don’t know, maybe a thousand people working at least… Even more. I don’t know. Working to make The Graph the most important piece of technology for the next generation.

(35:48):

So this is something that is really amazed me, even if now I’m staying here for almost two years, but every day I’m still surprised. How exciting is this place to be

Nick (36:36):

What was the experience like going from learning about web3, finding The Graph and then not only going to Graph Day, but you were one of The Graph Advocates that really powered and made The Graph hack such a success. What was the experience like traveling to San Francisco and being part of all of that?

Paolo Diomede (36:53):

Well, it was really life changing and it’s like exactly now being in this episode of GRTiQ because this is something really… Still I cannot believe because I drive a lot during the day and I travel often couple of hours and I always listening this podcast and now I’ve been here for example and it’s like, “Okay, but I’m the listener of GRTiQ. Oh. How I can be here are not talking.” And the same going San Francisco because when I was there and met so many people, I mean the people that I saw from Twitter, from YouTube, I said, “Wow.” But I know this guy mean, it was like… I don’t know. Sorry, I’m meeting people that I admire so much. And so sometimes I still do not believe because everything is going so fast and quickly.

(37:43):

And so this is probably the reason why I can work on this after hours when I finish my day-to-day job. And I think it’s the same probably feeling that everyone has in web3 that you are doing something really exceptional that you’re seeing really the birth of the new evolution of internet and it’s really the beginning of a new digital revolution. So this is the reason why, it’s so exciting and sometimes it seems unreal.

Nick (38:12):

I’d like to also ask you about your experience as a Graph Advocate and working in Graph AdvocatesDAO. What has the experience been like being an advocate and working in that DAO?

Paolo Diomede (38:22):

It is another exciting journey, my web3 career. And what I really like the most about this work is basically to onboard new advocates because this actually gave me the chance to talk to so many people with different countries and cultures because in my day-to-day job, I’m also quite lucky because I do a job in which I talk to a lot of people, but mainly let’s say in Europe you are in the place where I live. But talking to people from completely different countries that also from South America, I mean different continents or Pakistan, Syria also a lot of people, the community, the crypto community in Africa is very big, it’s quite big. So this gave me an opportunity to grow, to listen to this feedback thing, to listen to… To understand how web3 is changing lives of people and how web3 is really life changing because of the fact for censorship or giving financial freedom.

(39:21):

So the AdvocatesDAO gave me a view on the world that is really totally different from what I knew before. And sometimes I knew that I knew a lot, but actually thanks to this program I got to know so many people and was really an enriching experience for me. And it’s nice to see those people now coming into the case program and some of them also becoming DAO member. I think it’s like because we need to work for our community because if The Graph and web3 will be successful, and I know 100% will be, it’s because of people and I mean people here really matters and the community is what makes everything to succeed.

Nick (40:03):

Paolo, you’ve obviously got a career, you’ve built an impressive profession on your own and a way to provide for your family, but here you are, you’ve started kind of a side hustle, if you will, working within The Graph ecosystem as a member of The Graphtronauts, then you’re working in the AdvocatesDAO as an advocate and now an Indexer operation. What’s the endgame here? Where do you want to be in five years by virtue of everything you’re doing?

Paolo Diomede (40:29):

Yeah. Thank you for this question. So of course my goal is to be full-time web3. And actually the reason why, I want to do this because it’s really exciting. Because this is an opportunity that I do not want to miss. I’m not thinking about any monetary world, but basically be because what we are building here. Because as I saw also [inaudible 00:40:51] web2 and was really… Something exciting to build a new digital revolution and here we are seeing the same. And this is something that is not going to happen every year, something that is happening probably every 20, 30 years. And so my desire is to be really full-time web3 and to have our company, The Graphtronaut Indexer, to be the main source, for example, of income for my family and also to be my main job because actually, when I am in web3, I’m very happy and always I never get tired to help everyone to come on board in web3 to explain what is web3 is and to give also to others the opportunity to come and create a better life, a more interesting life for them.

Nick (41:40):

Paolo, when I get the chance to talk to somebody like you who’s dedicating a lot of personal time away from family time, away from hobbies and other things you may want to be doing, I have to ask about drive and why you continue to do it so relentlessly. What’s fueling all of this?

Paolo Diomede (41:57):

Probably, I mean, I got this feeling and decide to change things. So because I’m really idealistic person and I think I cannot stand, for example, injustice or people living over street and what I see that web3 can really, I mean change the people lives and they saw how already change the life of some friends in web3. And I see an opportunity for people to really improve their lives. And so this is what I really want and I want more people to participate. And actually I’m also driven by, I don’t know. The direct innovators and we are very lucky for example, in The Graph ecosystem to have a leader like Brandon Ramirez or for example Eva Beylin [inaudible 00:42:42]. So I think I’m also inspired by these people and I have a truly admiration for their work. And this is also a social driver for me to do more because you really need to admire probably the people that are shaping a new idea, a new ecosystem. So this is the reason why I’m so focused and so committed to do my best for this ecosystem to grow.

Nick (43:09):

What’s your advice to a listener who is you, but maybe 3 years ago hasn’t made the leap yet maybe lacks the confidence or doesn’t know the best path into web3? What’s your advice to them?

Paolo Diomede (43:21):

Yeah. I think it’s to join a community of web3. And I think so that what matters the most is that the community must be inclusive and supportive. In my experience, I’m also following other communities and I think this is something common in web3. So that actually people are really ready to help. And also at the beginning I was really. I don’t know. Maybe I was afraid because generally this is not like it’s working the traditional world, in the business world in web2. So people are really feeling sometime, attacked by… I don’t know. Their own ideas, their own belief. And they’re also the fact that probably are not knowledgeable at the beginning, but the fact that this is the most inclusive environment, supportive environment. So I think you don’t need to get scared.

(44:05):

You can be brave. You can totally be brave. And you will see that people, I mean is ready and keen to help you. So just don’t be afraid because people in web3 are really so loving people and really, supportive and you will make also friends for life. So this is something… It’s the gift that you will receive. You don’t know this, but in web3 you will make friends for life.

Nick (44:28):

Well, Paolo, I just have one final question for you before I ask you the GRTiQ 10. And that question is about your optimism. Are you optimistic about the future of web3 and why?

Paolo Diomede (44:40):

Yeah. Absolutely. But it will take some time, I think because I see that also people get annoyed when we say we are early, but actually this is the truth because innovation takes time and web3 is a huge shift. So not only from technology side, but also in terms of how organization and society will be shaped by web3, just to put DAOs for example. So while it’s true that technology can be fast, but mass adoption takes really time. But I’m optimistic because I talk to a lot of people and I see young people, for example, now studying college. They are the one that are already super familiar with web3, [inaudible 00:45:20], NFT, metaverse, [inaudible 00:45:23]. And in general all about the new web3 apps.

(45:26):

So I really think there is a tsunami coming in the next year. So a new generation of people that will work full-time in web3 and a new generation of consumers that once actually the control back of their lives. So this is also movement that already started some years ago. If we think of Fridays for future movement or other movement, it is a change that is in the air. So web3 is really unstoppable because actually it’s the world that is changing to a direction where all the young generation are less tolerant with central power. So web3, is the future. Definitely.

Nick (46:04):

Well, Paolo, now we’ve reached a point in the podcast where I’m going to ask you the GRTiQ 10. These are 10 questions I ask each guest of the podcast every week to help listeners learn something new, try something different or achieve more. So are you ready for the GRTiQ 10?

Paolo Diomede (46:18):

Yeah. I’m very happy about this because I can’t wait.

Nick (46:32):

What book or articles had the most impact on your life?

Paolo Diomede (46:35):

Yeah. This is also fun fact because also it’s the reason behind my ENS name. My ENS name is Hor Nelson. And so basically my favorite book is the biography of Horatio Nelson. He was the British Admiral that defeated the French and Spanish novice in the battle of Trafalgar and led to the defeat of Napoleon. So why I love this, because Nelson is widely regarded as one of the greatest inspirational leader of all time. His life is remarked by courage, bravery and service also to his nation, to the people, to the community. So this is the reason why I love so much this character.

Nick (47:14):

Is there a movie or a TV show that you would recommend everybody should watch?

Paolo Diomede (47:18):

Yeah. I mean, I love old movies. So probably, it’s not very cool. But the old movies, the focus is on acting and transmitting emotion. So I will say a movie from Sidney Poitier that is called Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? And I love it because it’s a strong manifest on changing the status quo.

Nick (47:37):

If you could only listen to one music album for the rest of your life, which one would you listen to?

Paolo Diomede (47:42):

Yeah. That was very hard to think so, but probably I will choose Guns N’ Roses. The album is Appetite for Destruction because I think if they will be a [inaudible 00:47:51] for guitar legends, I’m sure the Slash will be placed at the center.

Nick (47:55):

What’s the best advice someone’s ever given to you?

Paolo Diomede (47:58):

Well, I think you know this one. So I mean, once I discover a powerful tech talk that was life-changing for me, and this is a [inaudible 00:48:05] because sometimes you need to listen certain words in some precise moment of your life. In that time I was struggling a lot and as we know that we don’t get to choose our obstacles in our lives. So the advice is that if we see our challenges as temporary rather than permanent, if we perceive our problems like changeable rather than imitable, then we can overcome everything. So I think I’m very grateful for this tech talk.

Nick (48:32):

What’s one thing you’ve learned in your life that you don’t think other people know or have learned yet?

Paolo Diomede (48:37):

Well, I think so also because I mean, in my life I had to overtake some challenges like everyone else, but I think that there is always someone that wants to exchange its problems with your problems. So I think this is a lesson about seeing our problem from a different angle and perspective and see that I think we may be much more lucky that what we think.

Nick (49:00):

What’s the best life hack you’ve discovered for yourself?

Paolo Diomede (49:03):

This is really trivial and simple, but I really don’t know why I never started to apply. But recently I’m doing probably because my day are fully packed because I’m doing a lot of jobs in web3. So basically is to start your day with the task that needs more attention, more energy from your brain. It’s really a simple life hack, but it’s really changing, completing your productivity because I mean, starting the day with the most complex things that you need to achieve, specifically like intensive brain, brain intensive. So it’s really changing your productivity.

Nick (49:35):

Based on your own life experiences and observations, what’s the one habit or characteristic that you think best explains people finding success in life?

Paolo Diomede (49:43):

I think it’s the ability to build a relationship for the long term. And I’m thinking both… I mean, on business perspective when you need to start a venture, but also in your personal life and I mean in your family. So I mean, building a relationship for the long term is really… I mean, you will be successful in any aspect of your lives.

Nick (50:02):

And now, Paolo, the final 3 questions are complete the sentence type questions. The first one is complete the sentence, the thing that most excites me about web3 is?

Paolo Diomede (50:11):

Freedom from central powers.

Nick (50:14):

And how about this one? If you’re on Twitter, then you should be following…

Paolo Diomede (50:18):

Ah, yes, my dear friend [inaudible 00:50:21], that was also on this podcast because he’s also… I mean, probably one of the greatest ambassador for Graph and also his personal stories, yet another testimony of how web3 is changing peoples lives.

Nick (50:33):

And lastly, complete this sentence, Paolo. I’m happiest when…

Paolo Diomede (50:38):

Well, when my son Enrique is with me. I mean, even if he’s a teenager, I still kiss him and hug him all the time. But also must confess that he doesn’t like the [inaudible 00:50:48].

Nick (50:56):

Paolo Diomede, thank you so much for taking time and being so gracious. If people want to follow you or stay in touch with the things you’re working on, what’s the best way to do it?

Paolo Diomede (51:05):

Yeah. I mean, I’m mostly active on Twitter where… I mean, my handle is PDIOMEDE. I post basically 90% about The Graph. And actually sometime you see a lot of posts about the war in Ukraine because I’m deeply shocked by this because I have also some family members there. And I think this is something really… I mean, unbelievable that is happening still nowadays. I mean, in the center of Europe. But basically my tweets are about The Graph and supporting the ecosystem.