NFTs: From URL to IRL
IRL access is the next wave of utility
Hey everyone,
If this is your first time reading Degen University - welcome. Last week I was in Los Angeles for NFT LA. Many projects like Huxley, 10KTF and Azuki, held events for their communities.
Here’s what I saw and what I see as being a core utility for projects going forward: access.
(PS Part 2 of my ApeCoin breakdown is still in the works and will be dropping next week.)
About 7 years ago, I was invited to a friend’s birthday party. His sister was well connected in the Toronto nightlife scene and worked at one of the major venues on King Street West - EFS. Naturally, our group had a couple of tables and bottles reserved at the club.
For my early 20s self, this experience was brand new. I’ve never been particularly attracted to the clubbing scene. The few times that I did make it out, it was horrible - Spending hours waiting in a line, sometimes in the harsh Toronto snow, all the while seeing dozens of people roll up in a car, and get priority access.
“That’s not fair”, I thought. But such is life.
However, on this night, things would be different. Despite the long lineup on both sides of the doors, the path was cleared for us. This time, we got priority access. No line ups, no waiting, no cold. Coat check? On the house too.
“Wow” I remember thinking.
That felt amazing. That young twenty-something finally understood why people paid thousands of dollars for this.
Fast forward to 2022, and NFT events remind me of that first “VIP” clubbing experience.
IRL meetups are the lifeblood of NFT communities
Twitter and Discord are great. The memes, the reactions, the :KEK:’s - I’m here for all of it. I probably spend too much time in Discord. But I can’t resist. When you find your home community, your Default Discord - it’s hard to stay and not spend all afternoon there. For me, that’s the 10KTF Discord. But up until last week, my connection with my NFT friends in there has strictly been digital. I mostly knew people by their pfps and discord names. That is until 10KTF announced they will be hosting us at an IRL dance party in LA for NFTLA.
I knew I couldn’t miss this - the FOMO hit and my bags were packed. And after a full week of degening IRL with my Discord friends, I can safely say: IRL meetups + events are absolutely crucial for NFT communities.
It’s at these IRL events where the “vibes” of a community are really felt. It’s here where the bonds made on Discord and Twitter are strengthened. After all, I don’t think any of us spend this much time in the metaverse (Discord and Twitter, not some VR headset destination) and not want to connect with the people on the other side of the screen in person.
After only connecting with 10KTF Grailed members for months on Discord and Twitter, to finally meet in real life was incredible. Putting discord names and pfps to faces and voices, to laugh in person over the wild ride we’ve all been on. To connect with your tribe, sit with them, share dinner - I’ll admit, it’s hard to go back to just Discord and Twitter after that. The digital-only experience in contrast feels so… muted. Dull in comparison to sitting with people in a room.
After NFTLA, it’s obvious to me that Discord and Twitter are just the spaces in between, while we wait for the next IRL experience. The ability to connect in person is what we’re really after, it’s why I think NFT communities have really flourished.
NFTs: Access as a utility
Running an NFT project can be very cash flow efficient if you understand how to build in web3 and can garner the hype and become a status symbol that BAYC, Doodles, Azuki, and so many others have.
But the part where your team should not skimp out on is crafting experiences for your holders’ IRL. Right now, NFT projects plan their events around NFT conferences and events. Think: ApeFest in NFT NYC in 2021, Huxley’s event in NFTLA 2022, or 10KTF’s immersive “A Night in New Tokyo” event, also held during NFTLA 2022.
To do IRL events well, NFT projects should be wise to glean from the nightlife industry: people like to be appreciated and to feel special. Even if it’s just for one night. As more and more NFT projects host IRL events, their aim should be to reward their biggest supporters. Your NFT holders are your shareholders. They are also your marketing engine, spreading word of mouth and getting others bought into the vision. So your event needs to be about your holders.
Take Huxley. They had a VIP holders line which got you priority access inside, plus a red wristband. That wristband got you free merch and free drinks all night.
10KTF did the same. They created a VIP and OG lineup to reward the most engaged community members and get them priority access inside. Inside, the whole bar was transformed into Wagmi-San’s Shop, with New Tokyo-themed drinks (on the house too, of course).
Both these events made me feel like an owner - recognizing that NFT holders have doled out their own hard-earned ETH to help fund the project in the first place.
Executing well on these IRL events is absolutely crucial because the energy from these events carry back to Discord, Twitter, and Opensea. If you get it right, you’ll be the talk of the town online, with new members joining to get in on the fun. People like projects that treat their holders well.
Creating merch and airdropping NFTs to your holders is easy, but creating an incredible IRL experience is hard. So the real alpha on how well a team executes might just be to look at how they treat their holders IRL. Do they throw out the red carpet for them, or make them wait out in the cold?
- atareh.eth
Bonus: a couple of extra photos from 10KTF’s IRL event are below. Wrong floor sweep, I know.
