People talk about how community is everything.
They say their favorite NFT project stands out because of the strength of its community. They say it will go to the moon because of its community. It will endure for decades because of its community.
In most cases, I suspect that won’t be the case. Give them a couple of years, and a significant proportion of today’s hot NFT communities will have faded to zero. Or close.
And then what? What will remain? What value will your NFT hold in the absence of community?
If you’re the last remaining cheerleader for a particular project, what is the value of what you own?
If this worries you at all, here’s a key question to ask yourself…
When the flippers and day-traders move on, how much of a community remains?
If I were to evaluate the risk of an NFT community shrinking and fading sooner rather than later, I’d first try to figure out what proportion of its members are in it primarily for the money.
The larger that number, the greater the danger.
Funnily enough, the people who are in it for the sole purpose of maximizing profits are likely the same group of people who keep pumping the hype about “community”.
They’ll also be pressuring the project team to take steps that will increase the floor price.
“Wen marketing?” “Wen token?” “Sweep the floor!”
The flippers and traders often feel entitled to profits.
That sense of entitlement can become toxic. People get angry when prices go down.
Meanwhile, the true fans of the project or artist hunker down, try to stay the course, and wait for the traders to move on and go somewhere else.
That’s what you really want for a project… true fans.
Don’t wish for a huge, noisy, hyped-up community.
Wish for a smaller group of true fans.
The NFT community I know best is the Art Blocks community. That’s where I hang out the most, and that’s where I collect most of my NFT art.
Art Blocks hasn’t been immune to the toxic impact of flippers and traders.
There were a few months back in 2021 when you could almost be guaranteed a huge and fast profit when you minted something from a Curated Collection. As a result, Art Blocks attracted literally tens of thousands of people who came primarily for the money.
When the market crashed, many of those people were left with losses instead of profits. So they directed their anger towards the Art Blocks founders.
A few of those angry people are still there. But we‘re getting closer to being a core group of true fans who are there for the art and the artists.
I can’t speak for Art Blocks, but it seems to me that while they still do their best to answer the complaints of the traders, their primary focus remains on education, supporting their artists, and on bringing NFT art into the mainstream artworld, globally.
Whatever NFT projects you’re into, ask yourself whether you’re a true fan.
I have nothing against making money in this space. I love it when I see my collection rise in value.
But as a collector of NFT art, I am absolutely a true fan. I’ve been in love with art for decades.
And when I look at my own collection, modest as it is, it gives me real pleasure. And that pleasure is the same, whether the value of the art is going up or down.
If I were looking to join other NFT communities, I’d be seeking out places that were light on traders and heavy on fans. Light on noise and drama, and heavy on true support for the project.
As always, just my take, my opinion.