# From Identity to Identifying

*Marketing is dead. Market making is here.*

By [RM](https://paragraph.com/@rm) · 2024-11-19

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For years, I’ve seen brands—whether a streetwear, onchain infrastructure, or even now memecoins—follow the same trajectory: they’ve moved from selling to engaging. From projecting an identity to giving people tools to identify.

In a world where everything is hyper-financialized, marketing isn’t about creating purchase intent anymore. It’s about **creating participation.**

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### **Marketing Is Dead; Market Making Lives**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/ec3001bdcc65645ed0c0082c0886e967.png)

Traditional marketing was one-directional: "Here’s what we sell." Market making is something else entirely.

Market makers aren’t just selling; they’re curating. They provide liquidity, buy and sell, and enable movement. They’re the **connective tissue**, turning static offerings into dynamic ecosystems.

Your community isn’t just an audience—it’s the creator. This is why [**headless brands**](https://otherinter.net/research/headless-brands/)—brands where the narrative is driven by the community—are thriving.

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### **Tools for Identifying, Not Just Identity**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/814e8cd827ab1aee69e8fd1727ea4a20.png)

A bold visual identity isn’t enough anymore. The strongest brands today don’t just say, "This is who we are." They hand their community the tools to say, **"This is who I am."**

Memes are the perfect example. They’re not content; they’re currency. Adaptable, remixable, and dripping with “IFYKYK” energy. They’re easy to share but impossible to control. And that’s exactly the point.

Strong teams understand this. Their tweets, interactions, and public engagement are more than communication—they’re **market making in real time** even before a token launch.

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### **Participation Is the Goal**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1ef47d813ea38286b3de02f4ede9add5.png)

Every successful market is built on participation. Whether it’s a memecoin frenzy or a Twitch stream, the principles are the same:

1.  **Tight-knit communities:**  
    Small groups of highly active contributors create intimacy and belonging. Think live streams with a handful of chatters.
    
2.  **Swarming collectives:**  
    Massive, chaotic crowds generate momentum and energy. Think a sea of emojis and rapid-fire comments in a viral event. These moments make you feel like part of something bigger—like a flock of birds moving as one.
    

Both forms of participation are powerful because they shift the narrative from **being marketed to** to **being part of it.**

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### **Attention Is the Battlefield**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/fc557357dc236bc0ea251e1d8149fde8.png)

The true competition for any brand isn’t just in its category. It’s everything fighting for attention—Netflix, Fortnite, Twitter, and [Pump.Fun](http://Pump.Fun).

Winning attention today means offering more than a product. It means **offering a new or alternative belief**. Whether it’s a run club, an open-source project, or a niche application, belief creates belonging.

But belief alone isn’t enough. You need **positioning.**

*   What do you stand for?
    
*   What do you stand against?
    

Without this, there’s nothing for your community to latch onto. No belief, no belonging.

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### **Your Brand Is a Networked Flywheel**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/ffc4ac0623c45cd36d2fb398e559f120.png)

Brand, marketing, strategy, and design aren’t just interconnected—they amplify one another. Together, they form a **networked flywheel** where every action fuels the next.

A bold stance shapes your visuals.  
Your visuals spark participation.  
Participation unlocks network effects.  
And network effects? They feed back into belief, multiplying everything.

The magic of a flywheel is that it gains momentum. Every new participant strengthens the network. Every shared idea becomes a catalyst for the next. The stronger the network, the faster belief spreads—and the more unstoppable it becomes.

But here’s the catch: you can’t trigger this flywheel with static announcements or polished one-way campaigns. That’s just noise in an overcrowded space. To activate the cycle, you need to **create dynamic spaces**—places where people engage, remix, and push the story forward.

The network doesn’t just spread your message—it transforms it. And in doing so, it transforms your brand into something bigger than you.

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### **The New Rules of Market Making**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/5e4b76b3a1e4f7759aeb48cedb64d08c.png)

Marketing is still about selling. But today, selling means **participation.** To thrive:

1.  **Flip the script:**  
    Stop promoting products. Start creating tools for participation.
    
2.  **Build rituals:**  
    Memes, small rituals, and shared language create engagement loops.
    
3.  **Focus on positioning:**  
    Strong beliefs require strong boundaries. Be as clear about what you reject as what you embrace.
    
4.  **Let go of control:**  
    Your community is your co-creator. Hand them the tools to take ownership.
    
5.  **Embrace the network:**  
    Every interaction should unlock opportunities for others to build, remix, and amplify.
    

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### **From Belief to Belonging**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/50bf777d81dc675344215601c453a3ec.png)

A brand isn’t just its visuals or messaging. It’s the **ecosystem of belief and participation** that surrounds it.

The strongest brands don’t just say, "Here’s what we believe." They say, **"Here’s what we built. Now make it yours."**

Want to explore this further, reach out to [www.we3.co](http://www.we3.co) or [DM me](https://x.com/NilsEdison)

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_cowritten with ChatGPT-O1_

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*Originally published on [RM](https://paragraph.com/@rm/from-identity-to-identifying)*