NFT Memberships Will Beat pfps

The Real Use-Case for NFTs

Thanks Pexels!

Why Do We Want Things?

All action is driven by desire. But what makes us desire something? Well, it comes down to one of two things.

• Utility 

• Status

We buy a car for its utility. But we buy a Rolex to signal status.

On its surface, status signaling seems stupid. After all, do we really need to flex about how much money we have or how many hours we grind at the gym?

But it’s not as crazy as you might think. In fact, status signaling is built into our DNA.

Humans evolved in tribes. And status is a product of evolution. It helps coordinate the tribe.

Who has value and who gets left behind?

Once upon a time, your status was a direct result of your actions. But in our materialist world, status is increasingly determined by what you own.

I shop, therefore I am.

Do you own the new iPhone or some crappy android? Do you have designer clothes or some trash from the Goodwill store? Do you drive a Tesla or a clunker?

There’s a million and one ways we convert consumer goods to status.

But thanks to crypto, there’s a new, weird source of status online.

NFT pfps

NFTs can represent ANYTHING digital. But how are they most often used? Twitter profile pictures. It’s such a trend that Twitter added a feature to verify NFT ownership.

So, why are people buying these NFTs?

• Status - flexing how wealthy/cool you are 

• Speculation - turning money into more money

Let’s be honest here. At the moment, there’s no real utility to NFTs. You’re either flexing or trying to get rich. That’s it.

The problem is that status signaling doesn’t scale. If everyone had a Bored Ape, it wouldn’t be cool to have one anymore, would it?

The only way NFTs will go mainstream is if there’s practical utility.

Think about cars. At first, only rich people owned cars. Status signaling. Today, you can’t function in most of America without a car. Utility.

So, what will be the utility of NFTs?

NFT Memberships

The best NFTs to own aren’t the ones with silly animals. It’s the ones that get you access to a community. 

NFTs create gated digital communities in a way that wasn’t possible before.

In Web2, most communities relied on recurring monthly fees. And all that value goes to the community creator. But with NFTs, every member shares in the upside.

These communities address a lot of the biggest problems in the modern world.

Access to Network

The Internet connected everyone. But in theory only. We congregate into small cliques online. Just like we do in real life.

This makes it difficult to break into a new industry if you’re new and don’t know anyone - Don’t even ask me how long it took to get a Web3 job.

NFT communities provide the opportunity for upstarts to break into a new field. You can easily grow your network & connect with people.

And the best part? These communities select for passion. The desire to own a token is to join the community. Not speculate on getting rich.

Company + Club

These communities are mission-driven. There’s work to do. But it’s also completely voluntary.

This makes NFT communities a cross between a company and a club. Combining the best parts of both.

NFT memberships don’t have the flashy get rich quick vibe of the pfps. They have something more than that.

Utility.

You can get real value out of one of these. How do I know? Because I did.

I’m a member of the Developer DAO. And that token has been infinitely more valuable to me than a goofy animal picture ever could. Here are just a few things D_D helped me with:

• landing my dream job

• Making dozens of friends

• Building out my Web3 experience 

• Belonging to a positive movement 

And here’s the best part. We’re still early into NFTs. There’s no predicting every way they’ll be used in the future.

But there’s one thing we can say for sure. NFT communities provide utility. It goes far beyond just speculating or flexing. And these NFT communities will likely be part of the future.

Final Thoughts

NFT pfps have been all the rage. Hell, celebrities & companies are even buying them. But status signaling only goes so far.

NFT communities are the future of NFTs. It’s a powerful way to coordinate and connect people. A combination of companies and clubs. But the best of both.

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