…but can have pitfalls
On my continuing NFT journey of learning about the unknown, it is time to provide an update as to where I am. And Im seeing something very familiar.
Understanding Gas Fees, optimisation and how the eco system works (of which I will write some specific articles on – just mind blowing what one should and should not do, it will take a while, and some themes will to get the “insight” across in a consumable way), I wanted to give you all a really cool aspect toward what the current NFT ecosystem means.
We need to feel part of something
Having been the founder of a successful Web 2.0 community – aka, a website – I can associate with why this works. In order to create a buzz, you need to have an audience. The audience needs a reason. The reason is normally in the form of reward. The reward is being part of something.
Back in the early 2000’s, I started a community within Car Ownership. It went from zero to hero in the space of a few weeks. It addressed a need, a gap, in what these people wanted – a community where they could talk about their car. Who knew! Well, we all did, it just needed to be done. This site grew into the worlds largest enthusiast site for this car, and remains so today.
What made it work? Community, empowerment and trust. What threatened it….impersonators, competition and abuse. It’s how you balance it that breeds success. And I have seen this exact thing in the world of NFTs, Discord, Twitter and Instagram.
So what is it?
When starting out, I concentrated on OpenSea, YouTube and “luck” to end up buying the Java Jelly NFTs this month. I never realised that there is so much more behind some of the success that we see in projects like Bored Ape Club and the like. Shame that Java Jelly was the opposite – live and learn. BTW, they’re offering free mints at the moment – desperation or a gem, I have no idea!
What I didn’t realise was that there is a community behind many of these successes, which lives in the world of Discord, Twitter and Instagram – the website comes last, as a portal to “mint” (Ill explain this another time”.)
It all starts with what many refer to as a “project” – the plan to bring the NFTs to market, supported mostly by $$$ and some marketing, supplemented with incentives, competition and reward. These things are massive, and need funding, which starts give you indicators toward how serious the projects are…..or are not, in many cases.
You need to look at what the project invests in its community to gauge if they’re “in it to win it” or just to “rug” – which means to pull the rug from under your feet, or screw you.
Key indicators to a great community
When looking for a new project, start with their Discord. It is the core element in a project. Cannot find it, then go to their website, they will have all the links there, which are invite links. Once there you can start to understand many things about the project. How many NFTs, is there a White List, how big is that community, what is their road map?
I’ll start with my own experience. A great project called Feel Gang. Nice artwork, amazing community, investment in that community and ultimately a currently OK portfolio ($$ wise).
They provide transparency, fairness and inclusion in the project, current and future. They encourage the community to get engaged and contribute toward their path. They give rewards to both holders and non-holders by allowing all to participate in competitions and quizzes, even to the point that I won a prize for the first time since I was 9! I was blown away to get an NFT as mine.
Community is everything to getting people to spread the word, go viral – ok, a bit too “on topic” in todays world 😉 – to spread the word. And it works!
A success story…and fail
The other day I was recommended another project, FishyFam, which looked interesting. Massive community, that grew rapidly to 50k+, in the days leading up to their launch – or “mint” as it’s referred to. I managed to somehow get on the whitelist, which is like the “Guest List” when going to a club. It meant I could buy one of their first NFTs at a reduced rate……AWESOME!
This community was so alive it was impossible to even follow it in discord. Twitter was buzzing about the upcoming mint. It seemed that it was a home run….and it was. But not for me.
On mint day, the whole process was hijacked by people who exploited a mistake in the contracts that enable the process to happen. In this case, there was a loophole as to who and how many you could buy, and the entire 9,800 assets were bought up within the hour while eliminating ones who had a rightful place to at least 1, or maximum 3, of these Fish.
The project went through the roof, going from 0.03 ETH to over 1 ETH within that time period – it has settled as I write this to about 0.4 ETH, over 10x the mint price. Just. Bonkers.
But all driven through community and in part, hype.
Take aways
Look for a community, see how it clicks, what it gives back, what the project is doing, if anything at all. Above all, do your research! We cannot predict what happened with FishyFam, but you can at least be prepared for what could happen and what to look for in new and current projects.
If you want a great example of community, seriously, head over to Feel Gang, just resonated with my own successes in the Web 2.0 world.
It is relevant. 100%
