NFTs as Community Machines
Originally a thread on X/Twitter:
I’ve been spending a lot of time interacting with “base of the pyramid” buyers of NFTs in Discord groups, Spaces sessions and 1:1 conversations.
Across people and projects I’m hearing a strikingly similar narrative.
Here’s why I believe the NFT phenomenon is what it is today.
I’ll start with the punchline:
The vast majority of younger people believe that the world has become unwelcoming and impersonal.
NFTs give them an excuse to join a community that’s been spun up around something cool that they all have in common (the NFT project).
Within this “spontaneous and organic” community, all members share the same purpose: The NFT project.
When the art is cool they discuss the traits they like and the collections they’ve built.
When the roadmap is cool they discuss the future potential of the project.
When the project is mooning they discuss how life changing finding and trading NFTs has become.
And the NFT project gives each member an important challenge that many members take seriously: Bring awareness to the project!
People with no followers start following other members and vice versa. In a week they have hundreds of followers and start to build real relationships with people they’ve just met.
Some only interact online. Others connect IRL.
They find ways to build real connections.
They might chill with another member in their city.
They might discuss other NFTs projects and life hustles.
They might open up doors for each other that would otherwise be shut.
And of course they seek ways of bringing exposure to the NFT project they have in common.
The observation that I’ve had is that NFT projects help like-minded individuals gather around art and a lot of them end up liking each other!
They form real connections with real people that wouldn’t have been possible without the project.
An example of a NFT project that’s building community and connections well is Quirkies (@quirkiesnft).
The project sold out in 5 minutes and took off like lighting in a bottle. The community spread the word and it worked: NFT collectors starting buying Quirkies.
The energy in Discord and Spaces are amazing. The positivity, the encouragement, the openness from the community and the love of the art. They’re all there.
@Finch_O_N_E is behind the project and his creations are now part of a NFT collection that people are rallying behind!
Someone in the community even wrote a Quirkies song and other people have been making short videos with their Quirkies. There’s a playfulness and a vibe that’s fun to be part of.
So as I interacted with the community, I found myself getting sucked in and wanting to help. I started to look at other people’s Quirkies and find traits that I really liked. I bought a few…and then a few more…and then a few more. And now I have a collection that I really like.
I’ve agreed to mentor a Quirkie IRL. I’ve spent time with Quirkies in Spaces talking about the power of community. I helped a Quirkie avoid a mistake that could have drained his/her wallet.
I was welcomed with open arms and now feel a strong connection to the Quirkies community.
There are plenty of other projects that I like (@CrashTestNFT, @CryptoApes, @FoxesNFT, @chain_runners, @alienfrens,@LongLostNFT), and they all seem to have the same thing in common: Strong communities.
Unfortunately, some projects exist solely as cash grabs from the Founding teams and as a result a lot of people have been burned in the NFT space.
When there’s a gold rush you better believe the fraudsters will come out to play!
And while some people think that NFTs aren’t “fine art”, these people are missing the point that all that matters is that people like it.
A NFT with a community has value over and above the “art” and a NFT without a community is merely a JPEG.