Real name Tamara, but Upland name Shaktilyn, often shortened to Shak, is an author, photographer and stay at home mum who recently became a granny. She has her son-in-law to thank for not only her first grandchild, but also her foray into Upland.
“Back in January 2022, he sent me a link to Upland and suggested I check it out. He explained that Upland was a virtual property game but it was a lot cheaper and more democratic than Decentraland or Sandbox. I didn’t think much more about it, but I bought a property and that is how it all started.”
Watching her journey in the metaverse is like watching a movie. Now Shaktilyn is one of the most powerful people in Upland and a role model not only for other women entering this space, but all players. This journey is an inspiration showing how people on the margins of society can use the metaverse to achieve greatness. It’s not that being a stay at home mum is not important, it very much is, but Shaktilyn has demonstrated how people can combine one aspect of their lives where their sphere of influence is limited with another role in the metaverse where their dominion is king, or should that be queen.
Back at the beginning of her journey, Shaktilyn was faced with many confusing aspects of game play like any newbie. She had spawned her block explorer in San Francisco where properties were very expensive.
“I was floating around on a map of blue and green squares and was really lost, so my son-in-law suggested I go to Oakland and find some cheaper properties. Now I had to figure out the travel mechanics, but initially I couldn’t even find the train station.”
It was at that point Shaktilyn came to Discord where she met the Upland community, eager to help and answer newbie questions.
Shaktilyn soon learnt that Upland caters for new entrants with a concept called FSA or Fair Start Act which reserves low-cost properties for new people. As Shaktilyn was still learning, she bought some FSA properties on the secondary marketplace from fellow players.
“They were only about $30 but I didn’t realise the income attached to them reflected the mint price not the secondary price so they were not as good value as I originally thought – these things take time and I learnt a lot just hanging out in Discord.”
Shaktilyn advises newcomers to lean into the community. “Learn from people who have already made mistakes – it’s really helpful before you start making important financial decisions in the platform.”
Shaktilyn now has a presence in all new cities and ensures she purchases a collection in each to boost her earnings. She also connects with the whole community and takes part in ongoing node projects.
“That means buying property in people’s nodes and joining their servers on discord, so that I can get to know their members and show my support for the projects they care about. Of course, I also have my own projects near and dear to my heart. For example, I am one of the leaders of Creedmoor Hub in Bellerose, Queens, which is known for its crooked houses built around an infamous insane asylum. Often referred to as ‘The Halloween Hub”, this node is famous for its annual charity race “The Creedmoor Halloween Race Spooktacular,” an event which showcases the power of cross-community collaboration, and demonstrates how the metaverse can be used to do good in the real world. In 2022 the Spooktacular raised over $5,000 USD for The Child Mind Institute. I am also one of the leaders of IDA Monero in Rio de Janeiro, a really amazing node project started by some of my first friends in Upland.”
As soon as the UK opened with London and Birmingham, Shaktilyn helped start a very collaborative node in the neighborhood of Knightsbridge Belgravia whose membership roster includes over 70 different nodes, Youtubers and project leaders from across the entire Upland community.
“In the UK, our goal with Knightsbridge was to build a bridge uniting the broader Upland community together.”
Shaktilyn is also very involved with the web3 layer-2 gaming platform UPX World whose CEO is an Upland player known as ThankMeLater. This gaming platform will launch on Steam and be layered on top of the Upland metaverse using Upland’s open architecture and open-APIs. Shaktilyn is a moderator of the UPX World server and can be found there every day welcoming new members, answering questions, and chatting with the large community of enthusiastic supporters.
One of the things Shaktilyn is most excited about is her business partnership with another Upland player named TossHed. TossHed is CEO of the London-based fashion company Corset Story, which often provides Shaktilyn’s wardrobe for her media appearances and presentations. Their business relationship began over a year ago when they worked together on the first artisan vehicle to ever enter the Upland metaverse. This beautiful work of art is called “The Imagination Van” which won Shaktilyn first place in the Upland Genesis Design Challenge 2022. Following that amazing victory, Shaktilyn and TossHed officially partnered to form The Toss-Shak Design Studio. Shaktilyn looks forward to seeing their 3D designs displayed on the Upland map in the very near future.
During the most recent Genesis Week 2023 celebration, Shaktilyn once again enjoyed great success. She was named as one of the finalists for Upland Player of the Year and as a finalist in the Upland Hackathon 2023 competition presented by FIFA®.
“I was freaked out – then really delighted to win 2nd place in the hackathon, but even more important- to be voted by the community as the Upland Player of the Year 2023.”
Becoming part of the Upland community, getting involved in the different projects, and winning these accolades has really changed Shak’s life.
“It’s turned me into a real community minded person and entrepreneur. I was already quite socially minded before I entered Upland, but now I am deeply inspired by all of the ways I believe the Upland metaverse can be used to make the world a better place for everyone.”
Shaktilyn sees the lack of boundaries in the metaverse as a huge feature.
“In the metaverse, we are not constrained by the concepts of space and time as we are in the real world. The metaverse is everywhere, and the metaverse is always open. Anyone with a smart phone and access to the internet can enter Upland no matter where they are from or what their life story is. They can come together in one space and get to know one another and to understand each other’s different cultures and values.
“I believe that even if we don’t agree with everyone, if we spend some time in the same space as others, talking human to human, we can bridge worlds. We all want happiness; we all want understanding. In this space we can understand each other and respect each other in a way that might not be possible if we didn’t have this virtual space.”
According to Shaktilyn, it’s even more than that. She envisions a future where everyone from all over the world can come into the Upland metaverse to socialize, to play games, to open businesses or find work with existing businesses. She also sees it as a place full of opportunities for women, citing her own experience as a prime example: “I am a stay-at-home mum turned web3 entrepreneur because of the opportunities present in this metaverse space.”
“In Upland we are laying the groundwork for being able to achieve so much together. We are looking to build a better future for businesses and create opportunities for everyone. So, someone from say Roma
nia who might find themselves limited in their own country, might be able to work in the Upland metaverse using their digital skills and be very successful. I actually know players from other countries who already enjoy earning what for them is a substantial income from playing Upland.