The consumer doesn't care about the old internet or the new.

Here’s a simple thought experiment - Where does a user exhibit their true self? Their Rinsta? Finsta? Or somewhere else ?

Let’s work through this. We’re measuring authenticity. Your Fake Instagram or your Real Instagram.

It’s D2C entertainment, and it’s no surprise that D2C brands have been sponsoring influencers to promote their products. Influencer marketing’s global market size increased from $1.7B in 2016 to $16.4B in 2022 at 46% CAGR !

Let’s first look at your Real Instagram, where you put gorgeous selfies, happy photos, and scenic clicks on “throwback Thursdays”. Is that really you? For those of us who trudge along the trenches of modern living, life isn’t always nice or easy. But that’s what your Rinsta shows: a happy life.

Your Fake Instagram is where your likeness most likely does not exist. You speak your mind and sometimes get a little mean. You tend to troll on hot topics and you’re probably more cynical than you are in real life. Your true self is hidden behind all this anonymity. This side of you is unpalatable for run-of-the-mill social circles and you’re probably not going to behave like that in real life.

Interesting, so neither your Rinsta nor your Finsta is your true self. Let’s look somewhere else.

Let’s look at social forums, where you respond to questions and ideas. Forums have rules (until someone invokes Godwin’s Law). If you break the rules, you’re penalised or worse, banned. The biggest social platform of them all is Reddit. Reddit has over 400M monthly active users and about 30B monthly page views. And it’s run entirely by individual communities (some of our favourites are AskHistorians, noSleep, and Fitness). Every user adheres to the rules, participates in the community, and rakes in karma points. Over time, these interest based communities become a part of your life. Sounds like we’ve got our answer! We’re most ourselves among strangers with whom we share common interests while respecting the rules of the space.

Now, what if we added self-expression to your Reddit accounts? People don’t often put up their real names, photos, or reveal their identity on Reddit, so there’s been no real outlet. Yet.

In July 2021, Reddit announced that it was launching a new feature called "Reddit Avatars" that allowed users to create and customise their own unique digital avatars on the platform. These avatars could be used to represent users in comments and posts, and could be customised with a variety of different features and accessories.

The result? See for yourself:

Dive deeper? Here's the Dune Dashboards link for you to nerd out.

There are a few key reasons why avatar NFTs have become popular on Reddit. One reason is that they allow users to stand out in the Reddit community and show off their creativity and personality. They can also be seen as a way for users to support their favourite creators and show their appreciation for their work. In addition, avatar NFTs can be seen as a way to monetize one's online presence and activity on Reddit.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a product-market fit!

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