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Dark StarThe Consumer Crypto Paradox
Saw this tweet the other day laying out how Zuck thinks about launching products at Meta. He simplifies it in a way that makes sense: Step 1: Spark Step 2: Retention Step 3: Growth and Scale the Community And then, only then, comes Step 4: Monetization The last part hammered a feeling I’ve had about consumer crypto products for some time: by measuring an applications success by volume, fees or revenue from the get, a product is choking its ability to capture a larger customer base. Basically,...
Dark StarBuild for Humans, Not Hashrates
Optimizing for users — not bots, vanity metrics, or protocol worship — is the only way this works. Behavioral economists often state that markets are made of people, not rational agents. Human factors like emotion, biases, and social influences impact our investment choices, which breed irregularities and inefficiencies. We experience this daily, even outside of markets. It creates perfect imperfections and keeps the world interesting. Crypto markets are no different, in that Housecoin can pu...
Dark StarAmerica Onchain: "You've Got Scale?"
press “play” before you begin… It’s not very helpful to make direct comparisons between the evolution of technologies. Other than broad similarities in the way new inventions evolve and are adopted, the unique way a technology interacts with a culture at a particular moment in history is so specific that such comparisons likely miss more than they predict. But there is something resonant in analogies between the dissemination of the ‘original’ Internet (in, say, the 1990s), the social compone...
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Dark StarThe Consumer Crypto Paradox
Saw this tweet the other day laying out how Zuck thinks about launching products at Meta. He simplifies it in a way that makes sense: Step 1: Spark Step 2: Retention Step 3: Growth and Scale the Community And then, only then, comes Step 4: Monetization The last part hammered a feeling I’ve had about consumer crypto products for some time: by measuring an applications success by volume, fees or revenue from the get, a product is choking its ability to capture a larger customer base. Basically,...
Dark StarBuild for Humans, Not Hashrates
Optimizing for users — not bots, vanity metrics, or protocol worship — is the only way this works. Behavioral economists often state that markets are made of people, not rational agents. Human factors like emotion, biases, and social influences impact our investment choices, which breed irregularities and inefficiencies. We experience this daily, even outside of markets. It creates perfect imperfections and keeps the world interesting. Crypto markets are no different, in that Housecoin can pu...
Dark StarAmerica Onchain: "You've Got Scale?"
press “play” before you begin… It’s not very helpful to make direct comparisons between the evolution of technologies. Other than broad similarities in the way new inventions evolve and are adopted, the unique way a technology interacts with a culture at a particular moment in history is so specific that such comparisons likely miss more than they predict. But there is something resonant in analogies between the dissemination of the ‘original’ Internet (in, say, the 1990s), the social compone...
Share Dialog
Share Dialog
Recently I’ve been excited about the opportunity for NFTs to unlock direct-to-consumer *everything* in ways that can bridge a tighter relationship between two parties. Where I’ve landed is that the value doesn’t rest solely on paid NFTs (“I pay to be a part of this”) but through free NFTs as well (“I am welcomed and asked to join this”). Time will tell but my hypothesis is the latter will be more effective in terms of fostering meaningful relationships. And can also help build a way bigger business.
Distribution is the most important thing on the internet. Without it, you are not seen. Today we battle the weight of distribution versus ownership, the ability to monetize directly or through others. Everything feels binary. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that while distribution is preferred over all else, the missing link is both knowing and having the ability to engage your customers at scale. Sure you can have an email or a relationship with customers on the platform… but how do you build a connection in a more cohesive way? How do you meet your customers where they’re at, but also bring them together?
I think NFTs can solve this.
In a world of NFTs, all someone needs to do to connect meaningfully with their customer is get their wallet address (drop your ENS) and the connection is made. What I like about this is that the NFT itself serves as your key to any experience the seller, creator, whomever wants to provide. This can be discounted merchandise, or the ability to buy tickets, or the ability to join a community of like minded people. On the flip side, it gives the seller, creator, whomever a universal connection to their customer, any information they want to provide (or publicly provide) in an experience that doesn’t spam your email, or phone, or venue that’s meant for something else.
As you can see, the emphasis here for me is not about making more money, but building a better, tighter experience between a seller and a buyer. And because of that, I think it’s most powerful when the NFT itself is free. Any individual or brand can just ask their fan or customer to provide their wallet address and boom, the key to various experiences and relationships are dropped immediately in your pocket. Easy.
This will take time to flesh out and will undoubtedly be set backs and issues as we identify the right model. But if we are looking to bridge the desire of distribution and ownership, and where and when and how to engage or monetize, this seems like an exciting function to shepherd the next wave of innovation.
Recently I’ve been excited about the opportunity for NFTs to unlock direct-to-consumer *everything* in ways that can bridge a tighter relationship between two parties. Where I’ve landed is that the value doesn’t rest solely on paid NFTs (“I pay to be a part of this”) but through free NFTs as well (“I am welcomed and asked to join this”). Time will tell but my hypothesis is the latter will be more effective in terms of fostering meaningful relationships. And can also help build a way bigger business.
Distribution is the most important thing on the internet. Without it, you are not seen. Today we battle the weight of distribution versus ownership, the ability to monetize directly or through others. Everything feels binary. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that while distribution is preferred over all else, the missing link is both knowing and having the ability to engage your customers at scale. Sure you can have an email or a relationship with customers on the platform… but how do you build a connection in a more cohesive way? How do you meet your customers where they’re at, but also bring them together?
I think NFTs can solve this.
In a world of NFTs, all someone needs to do to connect meaningfully with their customer is get their wallet address (drop your ENS) and the connection is made. What I like about this is that the NFT itself serves as your key to any experience the seller, creator, whomever wants to provide. This can be discounted merchandise, or the ability to buy tickets, or the ability to join a community of like minded people. On the flip side, it gives the seller, creator, whomever a universal connection to their customer, any information they want to provide (or publicly provide) in an experience that doesn’t spam your email, or phone, or venue that’s meant for something else.
As you can see, the emphasis here for me is not about making more money, but building a better, tighter experience between a seller and a buyer. And because of that, I think it’s most powerful when the NFT itself is free. Any individual or brand can just ask their fan or customer to provide their wallet address and boom, the key to various experiences and relationships are dropped immediately in your pocket. Easy.
This will take time to flesh out and will undoubtedly be set backs and issues as we identify the right model. But if we are looking to bridge the desire of distribution and ownership, and where and when and how to engage or monetize, this seems like an exciting function to shepherd the next wave of innovation.
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