Last week I reviewed @BoredApeYC from the pov of sustainable value ( https://t.co/0RgWfuWGbu ) - as outlined in this thread ( https://t.co/4MUJJYCZ1Q )
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
Is there a fundamentally different way to give value than BAYC, a different pattern?
Yes. Let's look at @robotosNFT .
🧵/N
As w BAYC, this thread is based on my own research and insights, as well as on conversations with owners and would-be owners of @robotosNFT. Thanks to @DuckGangOg_ @jasonlopez__ @Gambit2387 @DamnRandyX @mvyeti @dylon_top_five @niklas_peterson @waldobroodryk & others.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
2/N
Also a disclaimer: I bought 3 Robotos at about 0.23 a couple of months back and flipped them for a profit. I don't regret that, though I do like the project, and I don't think it makes me biased about it. But it forms part of my experience.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
3/N
Back when I bought those Robotos, I did so for two reasons: one was that it was an @NFTLlama call at the time. And the second one was that when I joined the Discord and asked why I should buy, most people told me to bugger off.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
Wait what?
How was that a reason to buy?
4/N
People would not give me financial reasons to buy, or sell the project to me. A mod eventually took me aside and provided me with a few useful data points.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
5/N
But all that the people in the project wanted to talk about was how awesome the founder/artist, @pablostanley, was, and how he was working 24/7 on the project, and they all loved him, etc.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
I took that as a strong buy signal and bought 3. Wish I'd gotten more!
6/N
Fast forward to today... what is going on in that project?
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
BAYC members aren't in love with their founders. They like them, sure, but not like that. There's something more here. And love is the right word, I think.
Enter the concept of the NFT project as artist launchpad.
7/N
A recurrent theme through several of the interviews was that the Robotos community was not only really nice (though it sure was), but also a space where people could express their creativity, play, have fun, do something creative.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
8/N
I believe there's something fundamental to all art going on there. Artists are often people who are bold enough to break through the barriers that keep us small, and as Marianne Williamson puts it, their courage also liberates others.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
9/N pic.twitter.com/xCzGnPIWiU
A number of people I spoke to bought in for financial reasons initially.. but once they engaged with the project, primarily via the Discord, they found that it was a wonderful place to be, to relax, to be creative with others, and to cocreate something awesome.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
10/N
For such a thing to work, the "community" has to be solid. And every single person I spoke to, bought in or not, loved the vibe of the Discord.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
“Literally best discord I’ve been in. Nicest people.”
11/N
But if it was just the community, I don't think it would have been enough. It is also the fact that the artist in question, @pablostanley, did many deliberate things to really invite everyone to cocreate this experience with him.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
12/N
First of all, he was not anonymous. Instead, he has a youtube channel and has been an artist for a long time.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
"He’s a great entertainer on stream, a killer artist, and genuinely seems like he wants to teach people. He’s in for the right reasons, it’s not a cash grab."
13/N
I believe that one of the benefits of not being anonymous has been to enable that deeply personal relationship that many Robotos owners feel with him.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
"I have been passionately following Pablo’s work for many years, and I wanted to support him and own a piece of his art."
14/N
"Pablo is a true creative. It’s not about the sales or DAOs or metrics. I think he’s there to build the infrastructure of this world and community and then watch it and participate in it as it organically grows into something we all have a part of."
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
15/N
"I trust him and I like his art."
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
"I was following Pablo and knew him for several years. Then I found out about Robotos. I was mad that I wasn’t in already!"
It's hard to get people passionate about you personally when you hide behind a pseudonymous PFP.
16/N
More than that, though, the personal relationship that this transparency enables is a multiplier for the promise of an NFT project as an artist launchpad: the invitation into another universe. Which is what I think artist launchpads can be, how they can provide value.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
17/N
No matter how enlightened and at peace we might be with our day to day lives, we all long for escape into the wonderful worlds that artists create for us. That's why we love art: it invites us into someone else's universe. We get to see a world that they imagine. We escape.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
18/N
The NFT project as artist launchpad is a fantastic way for an artist (new or experienced) to invite people into their world, engage with them in both a creative and economic way, and both share what they feel inspired to share, and create that community of "1000 true fans".
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
19/N
(If you're not familiar with the "1'000 true fans" thing, check this link https://t.co/UH4HSBHsGb ).
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
20/N
But it's more than that. The artist launchpad, powered by Discord and the programmability of Ethereum, and a million other technologies, enables those early fans to participate in a way that historically has not really been possible.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
21/N
The simple, unexciting way to do a launchpad is to have one-directional interactions with those fans. You publish, they react, done.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
Pablo has wisely engaged with his community and invited them to cocreate this universe with him.
22/N
"I own part of this project, I’m part of it. Pablo and the whole team interact a lot and encourage organic growth and storytelling. He’s even created merch based on ideas we had!"
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
23/N
This is very different from some projects that might try to retain some strict controls over what is being done with the precious "brand" they're building.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
The invitation is explicit and acted upon. And it's inspiring and fun, creating a space where people can play.
24/N
"I’ve been inspired during my time in Robotos - learned new skills like figma and webflow."
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
"It’s like being 10 again and collecting Pokemon cards."
"It’s been a free space for me to do something of my own too."
25/N
There is active recognition that the community is part of the project. It's not separate. Of course Pablo is the originator of all this, but he deliberately and consistently invites people to step into the creator shoes, and help create the Robotos universe with him.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
26/N
There's permission and encouragement. One group formed around the Mulett trait and built a subculture.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
"Then punk jackets grouped together. Cyborgs have a country club."
Then Pablo reacted by giving each club their own Halloween costume.
A feedback loop of creativity.
27/N
So, to go back to the initial question, what value are people getting from this?
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
It's a similar value as we get from all art or entertainment. We get to step into an alternate universe.
Robotos (and other projects) are pioneering a new model for doing that.
28/N
JK Rowling was rejected by many publishers before anyone could really step into her Hogwarts magic school.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
Today, an artist launching such a universe doesn't have to wait for permission from the establishment.
29/N
They can start finding their superfans via the medium of an NFT project. Those fans get the love and joy of being invited into a wonderful new universe. And the pride of knowing they're one of the earliest supporters of a project they love.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
30/N
*AND* if done well they get to cocreate this new universe with the artist. Imagine how much it's worth, emotionally, if you could say that you were one of Walt Disney's earliest supporters and helped come up with the concept of Donald Duck.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
What a thrill!
That's value.
31/N
As usual, this pattern doesn't happen by accident. Like the BAYC founders, the Robotos team know, maybe not exactly, but at least reasonably clearly, what they're trying to build. I spoke to @waldobroodryk, who's part of the team. A couple of great quotes:
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
32/N
"Imagine if Walt Disney had started creating characters for Disney and we could have invested in the art as a way to support them as they were building their brand. That's what I see within Robotos, but as an ever growing brand and opportunity to create with the community."
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
33/N
"Projects going towards exclusivity are going in the opposite direction from decentralisation. Exclusivity benefits a centralised group yet again."
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
(this supports releasing new NFTs whenever the price grows out of a reasonable range)
34/N
If you're an artist and you're looking at this model, much love to you! Be deliberate. Be clear about what fits within the vision of inviting people into your creative universe, and what does not.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
Don't try to be a pump and dump and an artist launchpad at the same time.
35/N
Near the end of my search, I glanced into the #ideas channel on the Robotos discord and was glad to see an exchange where @pablostanley summarised this thread perfectly, expressing his clarity of vision about the project he's created.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
36/N
> What is the grand, long-term vision and aspiration of the project and how does it drive value to holders?
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
"Tell stories and build the Robotos world influenced by the community."
- @pablostanley
37/N
I sincerely hope to see many other artists discover this wonderful model of finding and engaging with their biggest fans.
— Daniel Tenner (swombat.eth) (@swombat) November 10, 2021
Let's bury the stereotype of the artist as alone and desperate until they "make it big" through the fiat of a traditional publisher.
gm and gl
38/38