Anecthropology (n):

A soft science that examines human experience and culture through the systematic collection, analysis, and contextualization of anecdotes, recognizing subjectivity as a critical lens in the internet age. It posits that data emerges from countless individual stories, and when nuanced effectively, these anecdotes reveal meta-patterns about collective behavior, beliefs, and societal trends.

Ironically enough, much of the regurgitated data on the internet already follows this theoretical term. “Did you see the study that showed ?” Or sayings like “well data supports .” Just as similar as “I read an article that said___” when you both know they only read the headline.

Anecthropological Research Notes

Originally this research paper was going to solely comprise of an personal inquisition into Milady Maker, and more specifically, the ineffable cognitive shift that I can notice when dawning my pseudonymous persona with one.

The first time I experimented with a Milady pfp I made Higher Network. This second time I can feel my expression less restrained in some of my post-human curiosities.

This paper is null and void to the would-be reader that disagrees with digital identity theory. Better put, if you do not believe the digital aesthetic you embody pulls different parts of your personality forward this research paper is not for you.

Question 1

Why do so many crypto-natives pine for CryptoPunks?

There is an acceptable range of answers, but for this paper, we will acknowledge that it is due to matters of signal, external credibility, internal esteem, and industry values.

To own a CryptoPunk is a differentiator. To be engaged with on the social substrate as a CryptoPunk is a multiplier of some variable in the social equation.

Your threads are more likely to be read. Your opinions more likely to be engaged with, positively or negatively. And if it is clear that you do not own the Punk you wear, then you are disregarded generally speaking.

Question 2

Why are Milady assets so abundant in memetic proliferation relative to their contemporary market assets?

Consider CryptoPunks, Nouns, Pudgy Penguins, Doodles, and BAYC. The penguins are the closest in viral spread, and even there we can find meaningful nuance.

The main difference between the most proliferate (Milady) and second most proliferate (Penguins) is in the content type:

• Head vs full-body

• Y2k neo-chibi vs cartoon illustration

• Polar counterpart (Remilio Babies) vs child counterpart (Lil Pudgys)

• Avant-garde vs Pop culture

The Milady Maker project is a juggernaut in virality. With obvious anecdotes being the Elon Musk post and Vitalik adornment. These being less proof of superiority in market value, and more an illustration of memetic variance.

These notes are not a theorization on X asset > Y asset. There a millions of metric points proving that other assets (Pudgys) are capable of memetic variance successfully. Higher Network itself holds no mascot yet proliferates to this day.

Instead we return to the origin of this paper. Digital aesthetic and identity expression share causal connections in some undefined quantity. Therefore, question 3 arises -- How has Milady Maker crafted such a media collection that unlocks exploratory arms related to frontier inquisitions?

As someone who has spent 20K hours inquiring into these ecospheres, I have garnered, experimented with, and recored, some insights. It would be exaggeration to claim that I feel to have comprehensively grasped the pareto-level answers however.

Tangentially;

• Why do I feel directionally prideful adorning my CryptoPunk, yet limited in edge pursuing expression and curiosity?

• Why do I feel an exhaustive sensory cap regarding independent aesthetic adornments?

• Why do I feel unrestrained and creatively potent when adorning my Milady?

  • What is the anecthropological insight from creating Higher Network with the stated, and now experiencing a second renaissance of fringe expression?

• How does the digital asset industry naturally fork the soft science of MM and Pudgys to create bottom-up cultural containers of memetic variance?

• Are we dealing with a mascot anomaly due to the medium of memetics?

• Is there an obvious paradox at play here?

• Where do the personality archetypes come into play with digital identity assets?

• What is the TAM for digital identity theory?