📣ASK
Send me any good talks, videos or articles about any aspect of community building that you come across. I'm curating the best of the best. Contributors get access to the full list.
Do you know of any channels that are a good place for discussing crypto tools and use cases which reflect collectivist / mutualist values? If yes, go on and answer rathermercurial.eth
On memecoins
Memecoins tap into the narrative of 'dumb money' which stands in contrast to the hyper-intellectualization of other parts of crypto. We all know that crypto is just a huge giant casino disguised as an event industry disguised as the solution to capitalistic greed disguised as technological innovation. Memecoins hurt because they don't lie.
But that doesn't mean that every memecoin is going to be a success. It takes skills to read the room and create a narrative that is culturally aligned with the crowd. MustStopMurad said in his Token20249 talk: memecoins succeed because of the community behind it. And this brings me to spirituality.
Spirituality and religion aren't the same thing. Each exists perfectly on it's own, no matter what lie the catholic church is trying to sell you (ps: If you collect this post, I will release you and three generations of your offspring from purgatory)
According to sacha, memecoins fill a 'spiritual void' people are experiencing. This isn't a higher calling, but a need for guiding principles. Even atheists need community.
you won't get it unless you understand both poles
13
Just take higher. An easy to understand message of aiming for something that you don't yet have.
On personal expression online
"I'm not gonna have an open house" my dad expressed with conviction in early 2000s. Five years later he became a more prolific Facebook user than I. Jared talks about this, the Facebook pages, as our home on the internet. It offered a way for self-expression. You had your bedroom you could decorate, but the internet enabled this at scale. And scale was the issue. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie and more and more opportunities for expressing yourself populated your bookmark bar. I'm dating myself, who still bookmarks?
What happens when the options for self-expression are endless? Fragmentation of the space according to your preferences. Instagram is for presenting your non-existing perfect life. Facebook is for local communities (because meetups has a stupid business model). Reddit has weird, niche groups you can get lost in, and with Pintarest you can dream up your perfect wedding, collect Tattoo ideas, and memes (yes, memes. As heard on Hype). Jared describes this as the unboundling of our homes. Split attention. A home for every tiny fractal of your digital self. I'm not sure this is bad. Do we really need to see a bundling of it?
Thrown in the mix of the home on the internet mental model, is tinyrainboot's refusal to play the rules of the game and die of exposure.
Yes, your number of followers count.
Yes, with a larger following you can get better deals.
But you can't survive on a following. The race to the bottom, the idea that all mints should be free no matter on which app you mint it, chips away at a creator's self-worth. You worked on it, so why should you not get paid for it? Putting up a price shifts the variables: I am doing more than just supporting the artist. Does paying for NFTs make me an art collector? 🤮 Now I got a weird picture in my head of a stock-up rich guy approving and signing transactions. And that doesn't sit well with me. But that's my problem. My mental model of what an art collector is, is stuck in the past. I'm gonna blame The Razor's Edge for it. btw, great book. Read it.
On upskilling myself
Do you know the comedian Bill Hicks? He has this sketch where he says that marketing is the tool of the devil. I was doing my undergrads when I head it. That time when you are super open to any possible shit thrown at you. Anyway, never got into marketing. Blaming Bill Hicks for it. Too design-y and fluffy for me. 15 years later, I'm banging my head thrying to forget all that dry, academic speak and talking like a normal person so that I can sell my product. If you can help, dm me.
In the meantime, I'm subscribing to anything marketing and growth related as if my life depends on it (it does). This week I've added h1gallery (thanks zinger) and growthstories to my stack.
Reset Sunday plz
Still on my todo list:
