Exclusive: The Role of a Facebook Group in Delivering News About NFTs

In the Quad Cities—a metropolitan area spanning the Iowa-Illinois border—local residents typically receive news from various sources such as the Quad Cities Times, The Dispatch Argus, and local ABC, NBC, and NPR affiliates. Interestingly, while the Quad-City Times has 76,000 followers on Facebook, the "What’s Going On Quad Cities" Facebook group, created by Harold DeFrieze, boasts an impressive 106,000 members. This indicates that many community members are more engaged with the news through this Facebook group rather than traditional media outlets.

Key Takeaways

The Facebook group "What’s Going On Quad Cities" has more followers than local news outlets, indicating a shift in how people engage with news.
Dig-a-Hash focuses on utilizing NFTs for web development and incorporates AI for various functionalities.
Every article in the What’s Going On QC website is an NFT on the Polygon network.
The integration of NFTs raises questions about their purpose, especially since they are not currently used for fundraising.
Segura argues that using NFTs for storing articles is a cost-effective alternative to traditional web services.

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NFT News

The Evolution of What’s Going On QC

DeFrieze, alongside Dig-A-Hash co-founder Ryan Segura, has established a new website for What’s Going On QC, which developed from their Facebook group.

Dig-a-Hash proudly describes itself as a "Decentralized Application (Dapp)" that specializes in Dynamic NFT Meta-Data. They also offer freelance web development services and affordable web hosting from their design studio.

Ryan Segura, noted for his experience in the crypto industry, is the technical director of What’s Going On QC. Previously, he held a position as a senior backend web 3 developer at Blockchains, Inc., a company focused on creating a blockchain smart city in Nevada.

In contrast, Joshua DeDecker, another executive at Dig-a-Hash, is less experienced in the cryptocurrency sector; his background is primarily in real estate. He states that Dig-a-Hash is dedicated to addressing challenges in real estate operations and property management by utilizing emerging technologies.

Exploring NFT Use and AI Integration

Despite DeDecker's focus, Segura emphasized that Dig-a-Hash’s technology has applications across various industries. Currently, their primary focus is on leveraging NFTs in web development rather than the real estate sector.

What’s Going On QC incorporates Artificial Intelligence (AI) alongside Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as key components of its framework. Segura explained that AI is utilized throughout the website for functions such as grammar and spelling correction, generating cover images, and verifying claims through in-depth web searches.

Moreover, AI plays a crucial role in smart contract development, and Segura remarked on the technology's proficiency in Solidity, the primary programming language used for Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible chains.

While the website does not mention the use of AI explicitly, these details were shared during an earlier interview with the Quad City Times.

It is also noteworthy that every article featured on the website is tokenized as an NFT on the Polygon layer-2 network. Under the Customer Case Studies section on Dig-a-Hash’s website, it reveals that What’s Going On Quad Cities was created using NFTs, and DeFrieze’s venture, The Dog Plex, is involved in “tokenizing dogs in NFT format.”

The Intriguing Question of "Why NFTs?"

Upon reviewing What’s Going On QC, a significant question arises: “Why utilize NFTs?” Currently, these tokens are not employed for fundraising and are not actively highlighted on the website. Additionally, Dig-a-Hash clarifies that its offerings enable the updating of NFT metadata, indicating these projects do not rely heavily on the blockchain's immutability but rather as a timestamp of creation.

Segura conveyed that there is no immediate intent to use NFTs for fundraising and expressed uncertainty about why anyone would want to purchase these NFTs.

He believes that storing these objects on Polygon is more economical than maintaining individual Amazon Web Service (AWS) databases, helping to minimize hosting costs. Segura explained that the advantage of having these articles as NFTs on Polygon allows him to “create hundreds of records for 25 cents that will be there… until the blockchain dies.” This presents a compelling case for the web hosting services they provide—despite some limitations of Polygon, such as its slower transaction speeds.

It’s important to note that the metadata for these NFTs is stored off-chain, specifically in S3, as alternatives like Arweave are considerably more expensive.

Whether the affordable costs of storing NFTs on Polygon will persist depends on market demand for Polygon. Segura acknowledges that "adoption" is among the most significant challenges the cryptocurrency sector faces and believes that many blockchains, including Ethereum, are currently overpriced.