Refugees of late stage capitalism are finding their way to the world of blockchain— a frontier where you can basically choose your own adventure in the realms of monetization, ownership, autonomy and more. Some refugees hopped into this world many years ago, realizing that a better way was possible and creating networks that subvert the centralized extractive methodologies of late stage capitalism. Cypherpunks and counter culture nerds seeking a better way to exist in the shadows of capitalism.
Other refugees hopped into the world because the technology itself allows people to build financial and governance mechanisms that subvert the power from corrupt nation states or banking systems and allow them to BUILD the world as they believe it should be.
And other refugees are here because they’ve been creating content and businesses under the extraction frameworks of Fuckbook, Insta, Twitter and TikTok. Many of whom started their businesses BEFORE those networks turned them into the product and were stuck in a paradox for years. The devil causing so much damage to the world around them was also the mechanism by which they served people through their business and put food on their own table.
The cognitive dissonance for these creators is deafening in a such a way that eventually they wander into our little world of weird and try to carve their own path. A path grounded in ownership, autonomy and independence.
Some refugees simply surface during every bull cycle to play with the shit coins and memes dujour to make fast money and run with the casino. Others join to build the necessities their communities need in frontier markets around the globe who have suffered greatly at the hands of colonization and the patriarchy.
Some are here to redefine how we govern, exchange value with our peers, create nets of safety for free speech and regenerate systems that have wreaked havoc on all of our futures. Some are here to simply create more beautiful art using the mechanisms baked into blockchains that support the autonomy of the artist.
For whatever reasons, we’ve all converged at this point in time in these communities of refugees, to take a stand against the systems that we know are destroying everything we hold dear. The cognitive dissonance becomes deafening at some point and the person stuck in the systems of old hits a wall of despair, fear and hopelessness. I know, I've experienced this myself. I’m also having these conversations on an almost daily basis, with dear friends who have been trying to play the game of creation in a system designed to never allow one to truly do so.
Playing the game of creation in the web2 world requires using technological mechanisms that are run by some of the most sociopathic billionaires to ever walk this planet. To play this game of creation, one must tap into the extraction algorithms that are simply delivering “customers” who are the farthest thing possible from what the creators intentions were for starting their business in the first place.
Why? Because the networks themselves are gaming the algorithms to the point of only delivering paid content to people willing to consume it.
On Fuckbook, that’s most likely women of a certain age and of a certain personality type. Insert your own assumptions there. On Twitter, the algo is tapping into the hate and conflict miring all of our communities because the click-through rates are so valuable to those ad buyers. Insta is simply gaming the algo to celebrate those who are the most voyeuristic “influencers” one could possibly imagine. Building “audiences” who like or share their bloviating nonsense to sell more products to people who don’t need them.
These platforms started as a genuine place of community gathering and value exchange but quickly pivoted to extraction and monetization of the eyeballs occupying these digital town squares. That’s the drive of the corporation; reward the shareholders, no matter the price. We are all paying for the impacts of these externalities every day. And any web3 company or firm running ads on these platforms should be utterly ashamed of themselves. There’s simply no excuse for a web3 company or project to be paying these evil networks to deliver content to the Karens of the world. It’s just the ignorance of marketing departments who are too fucking lazy to understand how to reach the existing web3 community and cross the bridge to onboard web2 folks.
The cognitive dissonance of modern reality is deafening. And the screams have been growing for years.
We're at a crossroads in both society and our technology. People know our systems are broken and the brave ones are seeking alternatives. And for the first time since this technology first emerged, we're able to provide life rafts for people to begin rowing themselves to some sort of safety, however THEY define safe passage through our chaotic new normal.
The tech stack to onboard a new user is safer and easier than it ever has been thanks to Coinbase and the diligent work of the Base team. Decentralized social protocols and clients like Farcaster and Warpcast now allow me to onboard creators and not tell them to “suck it up and use the toxic hellscape that is crypto twitter”. I can immediately onboard them safely through a CB Wallet, invite them to Farcaster and send them to channels and user who are like them— writers, musicians, artists all seeking new definitions of their art, their commerce and their communities.
We're at a tipping point with our technology and I'm so grateful to be here for this renaissance. Transitioning to a decentralized world is messy, dangerous, beautiful...and necessary. I'm so grateful for the new creators and builders joining this movement now-- and for all the OGs who kept building during the darkest and most tumultuous times.
Here's some resources from this article in case you're new to the onchain world and wish to get started on a new adventure.
Coinbase: On & Off Ramps from Fiat (USD, etc) to Crypto
Coinbase Wallet for Self Custody of your Crypto (not your keys, not your coins).
CashApp for Bitcoin, Venmo and PayPal (fees are not cheap, but a great starting point to get your BTC feet wet)
Farcaster: Decentralized social protocol governed and run by a community.
Lens.xyz: A social protocol that allows you to take your identity to multiple onchain protocols and platforms.
ENS: Ethereum Naming Service, like a .com but for your wallet address.
Sacred Stacks Book by CU Boulder Media Lab
JournoDAO (founding member and biased-- but best fucking DAO out there)
More to come....
In @cstreet's latest blog, refugees of late-stage capitalism are migrating to the blockchain world for autonomy and ownership. This shift allows them to build financial mechanisms that subvert traditional powers. The process is challenging but necessary, leading to a more decentralized world.