1) My childhood on the Atlantic Coast

In the 1960s the Atlantic coast of the province of Buenos Aires in Argentina was the promised land. Many adventurers started businesses in the area with very good profits. Two of them were my grandfather and my father. I was not yet 10 years old and I delighted in going to work with them every day building houses and developing new neighborhoods.

In fact, the house I live in today was built by them 40 years ago, located in a virgin forest in those days. Today the city has about 1,500 stable inhabitants. Being a vacation spot, during the summer months the beaches explode and the energy of the place changes a lot. Even so, this is an unbeatable paradise, full of exotic fauna and flora, with sea, dunes, and sand an unbeatable microclimate.

There are several places of this type, all of them were discovered by these European immigrants of the early 20th century, mainly Italians and Germans, who saw that these lands would bring high prosperity.

The construction industry is fascinating. It is the one that changes the appearance of natural environments, and, well managed and designed with respect for the environment, it can generate idyllic spaces. And that is what was done in these places full of energy, obtained from a severe Atlantic ocean, sometimes unfriendly, complicated during storms, and generous in maintaining the temperature and the stability of the ecosystem.

My childhood was spent traveling through virgin and inhospitable lands and spaces with my father and my grandfather, they trying to imagine new developments, and I wish to become a builder like them and be recognized as a great real estate entrepreneur.

In fact, I bought my first piece of land at the age of 14, with money that I received for a whole year working as a DJ at youth parties. I still have that land which, unfortunately, was not well chosen, since the area did not prosper, for the moment. I did not want my "elders" to advise me on that purchase, but I "cut myself." That taught me to believe squarely in the famous phrase of the real estate industry:

Before making a real estate investment, you have to evaluate three variables: location, location and location.

If Bob the Builder had existed in those days, it would have been my favorite cartoon. I was only able to enjoy it many years later with my children. Actually, I developed my professional career on the marketing side and not the construction side. However, being the third generation of immigrant builders, I have in my DNA the "bug of the bricks”, as they say in these places. In fact, I have some properties in my portfolio, since real estate is always a good investment and should not be missing in any portfolio that ensures financial relaxation.

Remember, real estate is always a good investment.

 

 

2) Blockchain, NFTs, UPLAND and hyper-reality

In 2011 I met Bitcoin and my life, my company and my future changed dramatically. But I never imagined that all of this was going to evolve in such an unpredictable way.

Bitcoin paved the highway. Ethereum showed us that with the same technology, a huge computer could be built that would allow developers to program applications for anything, and not just to transfer monetary value like its father, Bitcoin. Then the stablecoins programmed on that gigantic computer appeared, and this allowed the emergence of an ecosystem born from the womb of the strictest computing, the DeFi environment, an anarchic, sometimes chaotic environment, where there is nothing like a regulatory authority. DeFi today is similar to Earth in the génesis period, with volcanic outbursts, purple poisonous gases, whirling hurricane winds, high tides, earthquakes, geysers, quite a disaster. We could say that DeFi is in that state today, but that the result could be the appearance of a blue planet, with paradisiacal forests and turquoise seas full of enchanting fauna and flora.

However, I think that the most interesting and still little unexplored 'living being' that was born in the cryptosphere is the so-called NFT, with all its variants.

An NFT is a unique, unrepeatable object that can be minted in the blockchain and on which someone can claim ownership of it without any doubt since when it is recorded on the blockchain, it is recorded forever. There is no doubt that this concept has to be very attractive to the real estate industry. A piece of land, a property, a private neighborhood, everything can be indelibly minted on the blockchain, without intermediaries, without anyone who has to certify anything, without collection agencies that impose confiscatory taxes, or governments that can expropriate. It is really attractive.

That's what UPLAND is all about. Disguised as a game, I think it is an excellent simulator of what could be the hyper-realistic world of NFTs that appears as an alternative to the current system that we live as “reality” every day. The feeling of creating for yourself a virtual portfolio of real estate NFTs is unique and the promise that that portfolio can grow dramatically as UPLAND adds new features to the game is a fascinating business bet.

Usually, hyper-reality appears as a pejorative concept. And it can be, depending on who it is that analyzes it, and whatever the environment in which it is analyzed.

Hyper-reality is a concept of semiotics. It is used to designate the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy, especially in technologically advanced postmodern cultures.

It is a means of describing how consciousness defines what is considered "real" in a world where the media can radically shape and filter the way we perceive an event or experience. Hyper-reality is the product of the culture that sees symbols and signs as the "only reality."

Baudrillard, who is considered one of the greatest fathers of hyper-reality, tells us that in postmodern media we experience something called "the death of the real." In the society of simulation, identities are constructed through the appropriation of images. Codes and models determine how individuals perceive themselves and relate to other people. The economy, politics, social life, and culture are governed by simulation, that is, codes and models determine how goods are consumed and used, politics is developed, culture is produced and consumed, and life is lived.

What does all this mean?

Check out this short video.

I particularly don't think hyper-reality is a negative concept in itself. Rather, I believe that it is part of the evolution of humanity. It's like saying that electricity is bad because it can electrocute people. Hyper-reality is the platform on which the NFTs that represent real objects are based, as is the case with UPLAND.

I did not know UPLAND until Igor wrote the post calling for the contest on Publish0x (although for more than two years I am collecting NFTs as a business, not as a hobby). As soon as I saw the explorer walking the streets of Fresno, CA, the images of my childhood came back to me, exploring new lands with my father and my grandfather, trying to imagine a new landscape built by the hand of a man. Since that day, I became a fan of UPLAND, and every day I play to build my real estate hipper-real portfolio. It is as if the Bob the Builder that still lives within me in latent form has been reborn.

With a game like UPLAND, it's now easier to achieve my goal of holding multiple properties, trading and building on them, and making money from all this “hyper-real” job.

UPLAND describes itself as a parallel world in which players operate businesses, buying, selling, and trading virtual properties that are mapped to real-world addresses. Blockchain technology ensures ownership of UPLAND's digital assets. The native currency is the UPX that is used to pay for the transactions that are carried out in the ecosystem. UPX is an in-game currency only and it is not traded.

The UPLAND platform runs on the EOS blockchain. Each property on the platform is a unique digital asset, no two are alike and none can be owned by multiple people. This is an NFT, Non-Fungible Token. The property registry of an NFT is minted in the blockchain, which acts as a decentralized ledger, which means that only one person, and nothing more than one, is the owner of that NFT.

UPLAND's alliance with Tilia Inc. allows you to sell properties for US dollars. Shortly, UPLAND will make available to Uplanders the possibility of selling other virtual items such as art NFTs, cars, and the like for US dollars.

Tilia Pay enables publishers of video games and virtual worlds to create in-world economies and monetize user interaction. Built from the ground up to be robust, flexible, and secure, Tilia Pay powers virtual economies of leading and cutting edge publishers with hundreds of millions of dollars in circulation. Tilia Pay is the trusted solution for leading and innovative gaming, VR & virtual world platforms such as Second Life, Sansar and Upland

Upland allows the exchange of NFT virtual properties for cash.

Now with the introduction of Tilia Pay players can start earning real money by flipping properties and in the future by selling all sorts of NFTs via operating their own virtual businesses (e.g. art galleries, nurseries, car dealerships, etc.) in Upland. 

 

In this video, it is explained in detail how to monetize the properties that are owned in UPLAND with fiat.

Uplandme, Inc., the company that owns UPLAND is a globally distributed organization. Its headquarters are in Silicon Valley where it was founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneurs Dirk Lueth, Mani Honigstein, and Idan Zuckerman. The R&D center is located in Ukraine and there are further team members across Europe and the US.

The Lead investor in Uplandme, Inc. is the FinLab EOS VC Fund, a joint venture between FinLab AG and EOSIO blockchain developer Block. one, two global experts in blockchain technology. Additional investors include individuals from the financial services, real estate, gaming, and blockchain industry.

The UPLAND White Paper can be consulted at this link.

 

 

3) How to play UPLAND and build a property portfolio

There is a very good tutorial at this link.

This Is The Official Trailer Of The Game

Everything is very well explained in those links, so my intention is just to give some tips that I learned in the last two weeks, playing with the perspective of building a portfolio of properties with the least possible investment. I think there is going to be a whole library of strategies to play UPLAND shortly.

Of course, building my portfolio will take several months, since I decided not to invest my own money and only play with the money received and the profits that the properties that I buy in UPLAND bring me. Also, I plan to discover some treasures. If you want to speed up the process, you can buy UPX in the UPLAND store. But I'm in no rush.

I do not lose hope that the promised issue of construction in UPLAND properties will start one day, so I can become the Bob the Builder I always dreamed of, in this case, virtual version. I think it is worth it for every entrepreneur to develop the real estate developer's "killer instinct" to build his/her portfolio. It is a fascinating adventure.

I must also highlight the professionalism, speed, and accuracy of each response I received from the UPLAND Discord channel. Thanks to them I was able to advance in the game and explain things that were not clear. Congratulations to that community that is bursting with energy. Also, according to your participation in the Discord exchange, you level up. I don't know what leveling up is for, but we keep collecting.

Well, here we go with the tips. One interesting thing is that I couldn't figure out why UPLAND's pet is a “Llama”. I asked on Discord and the answers were witty, funny, and ironic. But I don't have a clear answer. Anyway, the pet is very nice and I love it.

Once the account is created and your “avatar explorer” is chosen, you can start to explore the map of Fresno and Clovis. In San Francisco and New York, the properties are more expensive and as a newbie, it will not be easy for you to buy anything.

Every day when you connect for the first time, you receive a 100 UPX bonus, so don't miss a day without visiting UPLAND.

Until you buy properties for 10,000 UPX or more, you are going to be a VISITOR. When you exceed that number, you will be an UPLANDER, and your properties will be registered forever on the EOS blockchain. This is done so that, if you don't have patience and quit the game quickly, the blockchain won't fill up with titles that don't belong to anyone. When you buy properties for more than 10,000 UPX it is assumed that you are interested in continuing to play and then you upgrade. As UPLANDER you will be able to trade your properties. Not before.

Also, while you are a VISITOR, you will have to renew your visa once a week to continue playing. The game reminds you by default.

You have three categories of properties:

• 1- Properties that have an owner and are not for sale
• 2- Properties that have an owner and that are for sale
• 3- FSA, properties that have no owner and are for sale

Being a newbie and/or a VISITOR, you can only buy the latter. When you are an UPLANDER, you will be able to buy those in the second category.

To buy, all you have to do is click on the property you want to buy (FSA quadrilateral), according to the amount of UPX you have in your wallet. Once the property is purchased, your title will appear.

You can see a street view of the property you bought, although some are not registered by Google.

From your purchase, you will begin to receive a monthly rent for your property in UPX that you can charge every three hours in the icon that I show you on this screen.

Your equity is the sum of the value of your properties and the UPX that you are collecting, which will be used to buy new properties.

Now, this avatar explorer of yours is a crafty bug. It is always in motion and you cannot control it with the mouse or modify its route. Notably, it goes to unattractive places, deserts, lakes, rivers, where there are no properties to buy. Why? Because you have to "take" it to the property you want to buy, paying a "ticket", normally 5 UPX. This is what most reminds me of my childhood, having to pay to visit properties, it was part of the business and the investment. How do you take your avatar to the property you want/can buy?

In this link, you can explore which properties are available.

Once you've chosen one, copy the address.

Now you go to your explorer. You can see my "space comet" explorer sailing aimlessly, poor man. To locate your explorer, you have to click on the icon that is in the lower-left corner of the screen, similar to a chess pawn.

 

Click on your explorer and a window like this appears:

 

 

There click on the icon "sent" (arrow) and in the next window put the previous address. Every time you send your browser to an address you will have to pay a fee in UPX. The normal is 5 UPX, although it may vary. In fact, when someone sends their explorer to your address, you will receive 5 UPX or whatever you have set as a visiting fee. In Discord, they recommended that I do not put a visit fee higher than 5 UPX.

Then, I recommend that you upload your properties to a "collection".

I have my two properties in THE FRESNO, I received a bonus of 350 UPX and my rent increases 1.2x.

Something important: every so often, dedicate yourself to looking for treasures.

In the main menu (three dots at the bottom of the page), chose the option "treasures".

 

There are three categories of treasures: standard, limited and exclusive.

 

 

To find a treasure, click on the vicinity of your explorer and make sure the "Treasure" button is active in the explorer menu. You should see arrow tracks pointing in the direction of the treasure.

 

 

Zoom in by jumping through the properties. As you get closer, the arrows change color and size. When it is within the range of your explorer, a red dot will appear on a property. You have to bring the explorer close enough until a window opens that allows you to take the treasure. You have to be very fast because hunting for treasure is very competitive.

You have the possibility to practice with a menu option. In all cases, keep in mind that you are going to have to pay UPX, and it is logical, in short, what you are doing is proof of work and someone has to validate it, which costs tokens.

 

I think you need to play for a long time to find the right strategies. The team promises new features and everything seems to indicate that an impressive hyper-real ecosystem can be formed, from which commercial and industrial facilities can be built and exploited in UPLAND. My feeling is that it is worth being here. It's a kind of internal "instinct" of the Bob the Builder that I still carry inside.

Conclusion. UPLAND presents us with a novel method of mining NFTs. In fact, playing UPLAND is a type of PoW, that is, one does a proof of work by looking for real estate opportunities and is paid with UPXs that serve to buy new properties. Mining in the cryptosphere has various forms and many new forms will come as new projects shortly. If we can find which projects are worth making the mining effort, we will grow our assets accordingly. It's all a matter of perspective. Hyper-reality is a quantum leap in human evolution. The new level of the course of things requires a new level of intelligence to integrate into a world that that is nothing like the one we lived in the last century. It is up to each one to know how to interpret what is "reality" and what is "hyper-reality" and thus live a new life. Nothing will be like before. Not even one of the oldest businesses in the world such as real estate. We are a new state of consciousness, and games like UPLAND prove it while teaching us to collect NFTs. This is the next step of this technology called the blockchain.

 

As usual, none of the things written in this post are financial advice and are not intended to replace personal research.

 

Thank you for reading!

 

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them down below

 

You can also contact me at [email protected]

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