Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are evolving from a niche interest to a mainstream conversation. All kinds of NFT art—from cute to avant-garde to threatening—are attracting new fans. In addition to art, NFT also provides a glimpse into new dimensions of social interaction.

When defined as a micro social network, NFT can lead a new type of social media based on creativity, ownership and contribution.

The community is the center of the NFTs project

Every week, dozens of Discord and Telegram groups appear to support new NFT projects. These groups act as the center of the project, helping people connect and understand the NFT space. Quickly listen to the conversation between Twitter Spaces and one of the groups, and you can find that many people are interested in NFT. Some members are experienced encryption users, many members are newbies to NFT, and some members have not used encryption at all. For users who use cryptocurrency for the first time, these groups have created a more friendly onboarding experience and reduced anxiety about starting to use cryptocurrency.

Dialogues in these groups reveal a shared interest in digital self-expression and a desire to connect with a community of like-minded people. Community values ??are usually formed around artistic quality, rarity, and ideas consistent with emerging energies in the community. Like other forms of social cooperation, these groups often have identifiable leaders who are interested in developing and nurturing communities. These members set the tone to help the community organize and ensure that the rules of the community are enforced.

Each group is establishing its own roles, values, and codes of conduct—usually in a way that echoes the animal characteristics or ideas in the NFT artwork.Monkey Island Ape shares monkey memes, Degen Yetis teases each other with phrases like “haha, snowman” and CryptoDads share Their best dad joke. Among different groups, there is a vocabulary shared by people in the know. Almost all groups use “gm” to greet, “gm” is the abbreviation of “good morning” promoted by CryptoTwitter.

And often see comments such as “looks rare”-hat tips or playful insults about the rarity of NFTs. This type of joke is the lifeblood of the NFT community, and for many enthusiasts, it is replacing the endless scrolling of Facebook and Instagram.

The world enters the metaworld

Large social media platforms have reached an inflection point. Regulatory concerns about digital privacy and declining user trust have raised questions about the future of these ubiquitous platforms. As the world enters a new stage of digital interaction-some call it Metaverse-users are considering expressions and interactions that do not need to give up digital privacy.

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NFT may be a step towards new social interaction, and this concept may not be as far-fetched as it sounds.Douyin recently Announcing a creator-led NFT Favorites, Twitter Accepting NFT verification For personal data and Coinbase Launching the NFT marketThese signals point to mainstream audiences, which can expand the opportunity to make NFT an important part of our social connections. Large-scale social media will continue to play a role, but the ideas formed in the NFT community highlight a new type of social interaction built on NFT, rather than follow and like.

Utility beyond monetary value

The community is vying for project awareness because it may cause the “base price” to rise-the average value of the NFT in the secondary market. In addition to the average price, the most advanced community is considering how to add value to members through privileges and exclusive access. This kind of membership reward is an open opportunity to add new utility beyond the value of NFT currency.

related: Beyond the hype: the actual value of NFT remains to be determined

As communities seek to act on their ideas, the use of national debt funded by project revenue has become increasingly popular.At the time of writing, nouns hold 13,722 Ether (Ethereum) In their treasury-this is an incredible amount for the decentralized community built around NFT. CryptoDads is brewing beer, and Cyber??Kongz is architecture A banana vending machine, you guessed it, more NFT. It seems counterintuitive to add utilities to NFT projects dominated by profile pictures and memes. However, as these communities mature, they are looking for creative ways to coordinate actions around shared values.

DAO and governance reimagined

As groups find their own way in community decision-making, the need for governance has inspired the idea of ??decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). The Nouns community is reimagining governance through NFT ownership, by giving members a “one token, one vote” approach. Members with at least 1% of the token supply can submit proposals that the community can vote on. With the decentralized network taking center stage, DAO is becoming an important part of the conversation. Combining NFTs with governance structures seems to be a natural combination of values ??that reward ownership and community participation.

related: DAO will be the future of online communities in five years

Embedded in the spirit of NFT culture is a new social code driven by ownership and collaboration. Although the NFT narrative is still young, it is clear that the social layer is driving adoption. NFT may prove to be the catalyst needed to lead a new wave of crypto users.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading action involves risks, and readers should research on their own when making a decision.

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