I was recently thinking a lot about what makes NFTs and the wider crypto field so enticing and alluring to younger people, and downright poisonous to old, boring boomers (like my good Native American friend, Liz Warren).

And I think it all boils down to this... FUN. I know it's kind of cliché, but let me explain and maybe break down fun. My basic premise is that more projects like Meme coins, and NFTs should lean into fun and be offering “fun as a service” to their respective holders/members. When you think about what makes a coin “good” or “bad,” people generally talk about fundamentals (lol, what are those?) like the “technology”. People talk about it so much that it has become a catchphrase to sarcastically say, “This coin is the future of finance,” yet people still buy meme coins and “worthless” NFTs. I mean think about it, Moon birds, were not fun. The created the project on some “ future utility “ that was supposed to be launched then it just turned out to be a fanny pack.

Why? Now, I am just a humble professor, but I do try to pay attention, and what I have seen is time and time again people talk in NFT spaces and say things like, “Man, you guys are so fun, this space was the most fun I have had in ages,” and other things in a similar vein.

So two things jump out at me:
1. Fun.

2. A sense of belonging.(to a group)

Now let's talk about fun first because I think it's worth starting with. So, what is fun? Well, I think it's hard to define. The dictionary says it's “enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure.” I don't really agree since there are definitely lots of “flavors” of fun (like blacking out at a warehouse rave, blowing up a car with explosive, etc.), but I think it offers a good starting point. If someone asked me to sum up fun in two words, I would say it is unexpected excitement. But if they let me explain a bit more, I would say fun is doing pleasurable things with people you like, and overcoming unexpected challenges. Ok cool... so where do NFTs or crypto come into this? Well, I think this points back to the “flavors” of fun. Something fun to an old guy, like mowing the lawn, would be total shit to a young person, or would be the opposite of fun(work).

This is why crypto tends to pull in younger people, and the old folks who do it, seem to see it as just “work” and don't tend to have fun. Ok, but what does this mean for your project... and what about a sense of belonging? Great questions, I'm getting to it. So, basically, most founders of crypto projects think their goal is to release the best tech, or pretend they are going to until they can cash out. Plainly, I think that's dead wrong(and a little fucked up). Unless you are building an EVM or some boring infra which 100% of NFT projects aren't, then the goal should be maximizing fun. That would mean that parties, fun spaces, fun price action, all of that should be done intentionally and thought out, planned, and above all SHOULD BE THE GOAL.

You should be making fun shirts, throwing fun parties, and making inside jokes, memes, doing fun spaces... basically unexpected fun stuff that people like. These things bring people together and cause this sense of community that a lot of project founders seek. They try to chase these goals of “we are going to release SHIBA NET!” And while that's nice to have a goal to shoot for, it shouldn't be the ONLY goal. We should remember that we all die eventually, and we should try to have fun while we are all here.

In closing if you are a crypto project founder who has made a lot of money via your project I think it is your duty…no your moral obligation to use that money to have some fun….and invite your community of course.

Now the problem is, one of the funnest thing is price going UP, price going DOWN, is not fun at all……so wat do?

Well you can try to focus the fun into the “lore” of your project. Things like inside jokes, common ideals, culture, fun spaces, fun memes, art, rave parties, and try to move away from price action as the main defining characteristic.

This does take time, and it takes a leader than really likes, believes in his project and above all understands his the real wants of his “customers”. So in order to make your project go beyond a gambling vessel (which there is nothing wrong with that) you need to build more stories and lore, highlight interactions between the community, throw parties, get meet ups, fund fun unexpected shit, make inside jokes, and keep yourself as the secondary figure or you will get burned out fast.